Fun in The Kitchen

It has definitely been awhile since I cooked. Tonight I broke the streak with a fillet of cod dinner featuring Parmesan potato pancakes and asparagus. The simple cod preparation was inspired by Megan's Dover Soul and the potatoes are adapted from an Iowa Girl Eats recipe.Tonight I got to break out some fun kitchen supplies - my new bright yellow lemon juicer (A recent birthday gift, thanks Gretchen!)

as well as my green potato masher.

You can't beat brightly colored kitchen supplies!

Parmesan Potato Pancakes

Boil 3 medium sized Yukon Golds until fork tender (about 20 minutes), drain and let cool. Baby Yukons would also work well, just omit the next step where you slice them in half.

Slice width wise and place face down on cutting board.

Apply light pressure to each individual half with the potato masher.

Use a spatula to place rounds on a tin foil lined baking sheet. Careful not to let them fall apart (mine were rather misshapen circles at this point, but they did stay together.) Slice a small slab of butter on top of each pancake. Sprinkle garlic powder, fresh cracked pepper and Parmesan cheese on top. Broil until the cheese is brown and bubbly. Serve with sour cream if desired. The potato pancakes are a fun alternative way to eat a baked potato. Next time I'd be a little more liberal with the Parmesan cheese, as the melted brown goodness crispy and bubbling over the golden skin was by far the best part, it just didn't coat every bite!

Fillet of Cod

Normally for a flaky white fish I prefer coating in a panko or Italian breadcrumb mixture but since I was out of both I chose to prepare it seasoned with thyme in a lemon butter sauce.

Pat cod fillets dry and season with salt & pepper.

Coat both sides evenly in flour and then sprinkle with a few sprigs of thyme.

Meanwhile, juice 1/2 a lemon and set aside

Heat a couple slabs of butter in a nonstick pan over medium heat and cook the fish until the bottom is golden brown and the edges are opaque, or the fish begins to flake.

Drizzle lemon over the cod as it simmers and to taste if desired.

I enjoyed this simple yet flavorful meal alongside a Long Trail Double Bag Ale.

The strong amber ale paired well with the rich buttery components of the dish. The chocolate and wheat malts didn't overpower the flaky fish as I initially thought it might. Instead it stood up to the flavors, and complimented the crispy golden potatoes and crunchy asparagus spears quite nicely. It felt good to have a home cooked meal this evening, especially since this week has some fun dinners out in store!

Killington, Vermont

This past weekend holds a record for least amount of photographs taken (33 to be exact!) on a weekend trip. Spent at one of my favorite places on this earth, with some of my favorite people; including my Mom and Sister, some family friends who'd been missing from my life for ages, and my cousin who recently moved to Montpelier, we all had an absolute blast. Killington holds a special place in my heart, residing in my often proclaimed most favorite state; I love it not only for the vast terrain of incredible skiing it provides, but for the lively atmosphere, the apres ski scene, and the familiar faces of old friends. The connection runs deep. Here are some of my best photographs....minus the pre-dinner keg party at the Butternut Inn down the street, the apres ski jacuzzi, the madness at the Pickle Barrel, (your typical ski mountain nightclub...wait, what?) the late night jacuzzi and the hungover Sunday morning brunch. (All the good stuff, right?!) Here is the scene on my front stoop as we were departing Boston on Friday afternoon. Bags left to right include: Long Trail 6 packs + Uggs, clothes, ski boots+gear, bread+cheese+wine. All the necessities, pretty much.

Our accommodations were simply amazing,

complete with a roaring fire and stunning fireplace.

The girls room had plenty of space for us to spread out.

Saturday morning we made a quick stop at Snowshed Lodge where the low hanging fog over the beginner terrain was intense. We made out way over to Bear Mountain, which is typically the least crowded parking lot of the six or so that you have to choose from, and offers a mix of intermediate to more challenging terrain.

Bear Mountain: Skye Peak Quad and the halfpipe slope

And the infamous "steepest mogul trail in the east". Outer Limits we meet again.

Skyeship Gondola: Leah, me & Rachael

Roxanne, my Mom & Robin.

Experts Only: Ovation

It was a very foggy day, but the snow was great. Conditions in my opinion are considered great as long as they don't involve ice.

Roundabout: My favorite hole-in-the-woods mogul trail.

Apres ski #1: Bear Mountain Bar.

An extremely well deserved Long Trail on tap.

Apres ski #2: Back at the house, Long Trail Blackbeary Wheats with my cousin Justin.

In front of a roaring fire.

Apres Ski #3: Undocumented Keg Party.

Roxanne cheffed up an amazing meal for the group.

We had shrimp scampi, bruschetta over polenta squares and sauteed kale.

Apres ski #4: Time for the bar!

And a fun time was had by all. Looking forward to doing all over again in some form or another this weekend, I'll be off skiing with friends in New Hampshire!

Tacos!

Everybody loves tacos. Am I right, or am I right?! If you don't love em, speak now or forever hold your peace....

Attention friends, Delux has a new menu. If you're new to the blog, Delux is my favorite bar in Boston, where I spend the majority of my nights out. The bartender pours a stiff drink and they have incredible food that is reasonably priced. The menu is small but it changes about every six months. New to the menu for the Summer season are Pork Tacos.
Despite the small menu, I had a hard time making decisions on Friday night. Everything (including the latest version of the Delux Grilled Cheese) sounded really good. The Pork Tacos are actually an appetizer - one for $5 or two for $9. The braised pork was tender and oozing with citrus and spice flavors. The thick rings of pickled red onions and creamy crunchy napa slaw were piled high and had a generous sprinkle of cilantro on top. Now that I've had a taste, it's going to be hard to order anything else off the menu next time I'm in. I drank these with a dirty martini. I washed down the tacos and martini with a glass of white wine. Then I had a few Long Trail Belgian Whites. Long Trail might be one of my most favorite beer companies ever. Largely due to the fact that the Vermont house my family spent weekends at growing up was next to the brewery.
The rest of the weekend entailed a good old fashioned late night dance party and some city walks. I have soooo many city walk pictures that I haven't shared yet. These walks included Adam, ice cream, seals, fountains, weeping willows.....who wants to see pictures? CHECK ONE: (aka leave a comment)

-Yes, I enjoy your random pictures of Boston sights
-No, you take too many pictures, stop inundating us.

And on Sunday night I made Tacos. I wasn't planning on it, but whenever I make a Shaws trip (The supermarket across town - 5 stops on the train) I make sure to pick up ground beef, an Old El Paso Dinner kit and Near East Spanish Rice. This is such an easy dinner to whip up. I usually save it for a rainy day, but Adam was so excited I to learn I bought taco fixins, he requested I make them that evening.

Beef tacos it was.

With fresh shredded Colby-Jack Cheese.
The standard taco fixins in our house also include lettuce, avocado, tomato and sour cream.
Clearly, I like both. I always buy the dinner kit that has 6 of each shell.

Near East Spanish Rice is the perfect accompaniment to any Mexican meal. I ate a third taco and another scoop of rice. The next night I ate a taco salad for dinner. Sometimes my camera decides not to shoot with the flash. Interesting.

Other highlights of the week - the fridge pre supermarket sweep.

Post. (On an average day it looks like the shot above.)
I did well.