Tonight's Dinner - Grilled Just Caught (by my husband) Local Striped Bass

Thanks Dan for a fresh local striped bass!

Score fish (make small incisions along the fish) and stuff with garlic, lemon and fresh herbs. Fill cavity with the same and / or also stuff with sliced fennel. Toss in fish grill basket and grill (at about 425) for about 12 minutes per side.

Enjoy!

Tonight's Side Dish - Grilled Local Summer Squash and Zucchini with Fresh Mozzarella and Basil

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Slice zucchini and squash (leave scallions whole) and season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Grill. Slice scallions once they have cooled to the touch. Arrange nicely on platter. Then top with fresh mozzarella, basil, salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Enjoy.

Tonight's Dinner - Seared Local Scallops in a Coconut Curry Sauce over Sticky Rice with Fried Plantains

Try this easy one dish meal the next time you pick up some fresh scallops from your seafood market.

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Start by using this quick, easy and flavorful recipe from Epicurious for the Coconut Green Curry Sauce.

In addition to the ingredients in the above recipe, you will need for 4 people:

2 cups of sushi rice

1/8 to 1/4 a pound of scallops for each person
1 handful of cilantro

1 medium tomato

1 avocado

1 lime

2 plantains

After you make the sauce (keep it warm), prepare the sushi rice.

Dice a tomato, chop a handful of cilantro, dice an avocado and cut a wedge of lime for each bowl.

Then slice the plantains and then fry in peanut or vegetable oil over high until golden brown. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

Season scallops with salt and pepper and sear over high heat in a little butter for about 1.5 minutes per side until they are a nice golden color and remove from heat.

Fill bowl with rice and top with scallops, tomato, avocado, cilantro and pour sauce over the top. Garnish with the plantains.

Tonight's Dinner - Local Iacono Chicken Roasted on a Bed of Root Vegetables Thomas Keller Style

Thomas Keller, I know what you are thinking, "I don't have 6 hours to make dinner tonight." Well, neither do I. And you won't need more than 20 minutes to prep out this fabulous 1 pot meal from Keller's newish book Ad Hoc at Home a collection of accessible and fast recipes of meals he likes to make at home.

This recipe is by far the best recipe from the book that I have tried so far!

I didn't have the time to do a whole chicken tonight, so I used a bird cut into 8 pieces. In the future I will probably make it this way as well. Also, I didn't have any rutabagas so I used sweet potatoes. But honestly whatever root vegetables you have will work well in this dish. Also, I didn't have leeks so I used red onions. I also squeezed a lemon over the top before roasting.

We enjoyed this meal alongside slow roasted roma tomatoes.

Enjoy!

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Oh and this was a huge hit with the kids below is a picture of Chloe's plate.

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Here is the recipe.

Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables

from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home

Ingredients

One 4 to 4 1/2 lb chicken (whole or cut into 8 pieces)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

6 thyme sprigs
2 large leeks
3 tennis-ball-sized rutabagas
2 tennis-ball-sized turnips
4 medium carrots, peeled, trimmed, and cut in half
1 small yellow onion, trimmed, leaving root end intact, and cut into quarters
8 small (golf-ball-sized) red-skinned potatoes
1/3 cup canola oil
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Instructions
Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until it comes to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 475 F.

Remove the neck and innards if they are still in the cavity of the chicken. Using a paring knife, cut out the wishbone from the chicken. (This will make it easier to carve the chicken.) Generously season the cavity of the chicken with salt and pepper, add 3 of the garlic cloves and 5 sprigs of thyme, and massage the inside of the bird to infuse it with the flavors. Truss the chicken. OR use 8 cut pieces.

Cut off the dark green leaves from the top of the leeks. Trim off and discard the darkened outer layers. Trim the root ends and thinly slice leeks.

Peel and chop your root vegetables into 1 inch cubes.

Combine all the vegetables and remaining garlic cloves and thyme sprig in a large bowl. Toss with 1/4 cup of the oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread the vegetables in a large cast-iron skillet or a roasting pan.

Rub the remaining oil over the chicken. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Make a nest in the center of the vegetables and nestle the chicken in it.

Cut the butter into 4 or 5 pieces and place over the chicken breast.

Put the chicken in the oven and roast for 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to 400 F and roast for an additional 45 (20 if you have 8 cut pieces) minutes, or until the temperature registers 160 F in the meatiest portions of the bird--the thighs, and under the breast where the thigh meets the breast--and the juices run clear. If necessary, return the bird to the oven for more roasting; check it every 5 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a carving board and let rest for 20 minutes (5 minutes if you are using cut pieces).

Cut the chicken into serving pieces, arrange over the vegetables and serve.

Tonight's Dinner - Local Iacono Chicken Roasted with Clementines and Oregano

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Season chicken with salt and pepper. Half clementines and prepare a handful of fresh oregano.

Heat pan over high heat. Add an oil (that can withstand a high temperature) to the pan and sear chicken skin side down until the skin browns. Remove pan from heat and turn chicken over.

Squeeze clementines over the top of the chicken and scatter clementine shells and oregano over the top of the chicken.

Roast for 35 minutes or so at 450 degrees.

Serve with a cranberry relish or chutney, rice and a salad.

Tonight's Dinner - Roasted Local Quail Hill Spagetti Squash Tossed in Pesto topped with Bacon and Caramelized Onions

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Try this easy one dish dinner (that will be loved by the whole family) the next time you have a spagetti squash on hand.

Split the squash in half and roast it on 425 for about an hour until it has lightly browned and the squash can easily be pulled into "spaghetti like noodles" with a fork.

While its roasting, cook your bacon and then reserve the fat. Thinly slice onions and sauté until brown and tender in the bacon fat.

Toss the squash in pesto and top with onions and bacon.

Tonight's Dinner - BBQ Pulled Pork Served in a Homemade Roll with Quail Hill Cole Slaw and Roasted Local Potato Wedges

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I apologize for my radio silence the past several months. While I have still been cooking daily, my postings to this blog have dwindled.

In an effort to post more often, I will post pictures of the meals and provide links to similar recipes as opposed to composing the recipes nightly - as that task has proven to be to overwhelming. When possible I will provide my recipe. As always, please email me with any questions or if you'd like my adaptation of the recipe provided.

Enjoy.

Oh, and a tip to add a little something extra to your next cole slaw - sprinkle with poppy seeds before serving.

Click here for the recipe

Click here for recipe