one fish two fish

My oldest is flying home today, which is officially now Dayton.

A weegie board would have come in handy in booking everyone’s return flights. With home a moving target for the last few months I did my best to guestimate where to pick up my travelers. But with plummeting stocks and falling house values what’s a couple airline tickets.

While my travel agency forecasting might be a little off, my menu planning is spot on. As is the custom the new arrival chooses the home cooked meal. Gazpacho and grilled salmon. Sometimes you don’t realize things are a bit stacked until you step back. Tonight’s dinner is a little- well- fishy.

With an abundance of farm fresh veggies the gazpacho’s secret ingredient is Clamato juice. If you are unfamiliar with that 1960’s bloody substitute it is a jazzy combination of tomato and clam juice. Garnished with a little fresh avocado and shrimp.

While at Foremost seafood to pick up the salmon I spied their incredible smoked trout. Trout pate being one of my daughter’s favs- I knew she’d love smoked trout stacks for an appetizer.

Who doesn’t love fresh salmon “marinated” with lemon zest and minced parsley for four hours before grilling over hot coals.

A side of broccolinni with grilled onions and pine nuts. Instead of picking the onions through the grates of my outdoor grill I decided to sear them on my Breville panini grill instead.

The fresh corn was hard to resist. Cutting the kernels of the cob is easy if you pull out that old Bundt pan.

Sauté a couple slices of chopped thick bacon, remove with a slotted spoon, “fry” up the corn in the bacon grease until just crisp tender. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Top with the crisp bacon.

A salad of mixed greens with a freshly made vinaigrette of Cavalli balsamic vinegar and Badia Coltibuono extra virgin olive oil and a little kosher salt and freshly ground pepper and a little minced fresh Italian parsley. While you might balk at the initial cost think of it priced by use (or tablespoon). If you use top quality oil and vinegar you need nothing else to dress your greens. A baguette and a wedge of Saint Andre round out the salad course.

An amuse-bouche finish of Dorothy Lane Market’s mile high cheesecake plunked into Sable and Rosenfel’s tartlet shells topped with a fresh raspberry.

Nothing says home like having those I love most around my dining room table, which has finally migrated south.