lobster

You are currently browsing articles tagged lobster.

Sun Day

The sun finally came out in Boston yesterday. I have a bunch of recipes, a Boston Brunchers brunch, a tortilla party with my favorite Boston bloggers, and more to share, but first, a recap of our Sunday.

After the Boston Brunchers brunch, I met my husband at South Station for about five hours of wandering around Boston, eventually finding our way to our deck for bubbly and relaxing.

Although I just finished brunch, I somehow found a way to eat half a lobster roll at the rebuilt James Hook & Co lobster.

James Hook Lobster

The lobster roll was perfection, sweet, tender lobster salad in a hearty bun, which we washed down with Pellegrino Aranciata before heading off for a walk along the waterfront.

James Hook Lobster

Our wedding flower, hydrangeas, are already blooming everywhere. This is a sure sign of summer to me, though our wedding hydrangeas were pink and white. Smile

summer in Boston

We wanted to get a little closer to the beautiful sail boat, Eos, so we wandered down a side alley and discovered the most beautiful marina and inn, The Boston Yacht Haven. I had NO clue this inn was here, but we may be back to stay there in the near future!

Eos Boston

We got to meet the very hospitable innkeeper, took a little wander around, and then found ourselves in the North End for the parade for Padre Pio, a favorite Saint of my mother as well as of my husband’s mother. I love the North End religious traditions. We stood around and listened to the music for awhile before heading on.

North End

We passed the future home of the Boston Public Market. All I can do is hope. It would be pretty amazing to have a year round public market in Boston, but things in Boston generally take a long time and a lot of red tape. Let’s get er done!

Boston Public Market

No walk through the North End to Faneuil Hall is complete without a stop at Saus. I figured we had burned enough calories walking that we could indulge in a cone of fries with truffle ketchup, bacon parmesan sauce, and the Vampire Slayer, a garlicky mayo. I am clearly happy with my fries.

Saus Boston

Much of the rest of our walk was along the Rose Kennedy Greenway. I have to give some major props to Boston for this beautiful space. It seems like an endless expanse of green, so well taken care of, so beautiful for all to enjoy. I believe Mrs. Kennedy would approve.

Rose Kennedy Greenway

Rose Kennedy Greenway

We ended up walking all the way home, through Southie, along the beach, and finally sharing a summery dinner and some Laetitia Cuvee on our deck. It felt so nice to be warm, to be outside, and to watch the sun go down late in the evening.

Boston is easy to fall in love with when the weather is just right.

What do you love about your hometown?

Tags: Boston, Food, lobster, Saus, Travel

Hello from Truro! It has been gray, rainy, and cold, but a gray and rainy beach day is still a beach day! I am heading back to Boston this morning and looking forward to a few fun events this week: tonight John Mariani (food and wine correspondent for Esquire Magazine) signing his book, How Italian Food Conquered the World at Bina Osteria, Wednesday a patio party at Sam’s at Louis, and Friday morning going home to see my family. . . on a plane!! Thank you fab Jet Blue sale for being cheaper than a car rental and saving me 10 hours of driving!

image

I love the Cape. I am pretty sure that Provincetown and Truro are two of the most magical places on the planet, and no matter where I live in the world, coming here will always be a travel priority. Even if I don’t go anywhere else, I want to be here.

lobster

Saturday nights of girls weekend are always dedicated to lobster.

Meet Lobby the lobster. We also had Larry and Lisa. I wanted to have a lobster race, but then I felt mean and backed out. My lobster would have won.

lobster

1.5 pounds of sweet, buttery bliss. New England love. The lobster dinner is simple, lobster, butter, corn, and plenty of wine, like this Secco that we picked up at The Urban Grape at their anniversary sale. It is inexpensive, tasty bubbly, perfect for summer. I highly recommend. And it comes in pink as well. Smile

Secco

The second part of the night is always karaoke. We always sing Sweet Caroline, but this year we mixed it up and ALSO sang Cherish. We are great singers.

The night always ends with dancing, then pizza at Spiritus. I probably shouldn’t share this crazy photo with the world, but what is life if you can’t laugh at yourself a little? I am certainly serious enough in day to day life. We had a fantastic evening, even without sun during the day. I can’t wait until next year!

P1000825

 

Do you have favorite traditions with friends?

Tags: beach, Food, lobster, Travel, wine

The International Boston Seafood Show brought with it a multitude of seafood purveyors from around the globe which resulted in some pretty great events around the city. I started my week with the Scottish salmon event at the Moakley Courthouse and followed that yesterday afternoon with an event called Feast your Senses on Canada’s Sustainable Lobster & Mussels at     Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Cambridge.

Le Cordon Bleu Boston

The event was held in Le Cordon Bleu’s Technique Restaurant, a place where culinary students and chefs work side-by-side. What a neat space!

Technique Restaurant

I received a very friendly welcome at the restaurant entrance, where I also stopped to check out this beautiful, bright wall decorated with photos and quotes about food. This would be a GREAT place for a blogger event.

Technique Restaurant

The room was set up with rows of chairs with several reserved rows in the front, in addition to a demo table stacked high with lobster and mussels.

Lobsters and mussels from Atlantic Canada

The kitchens were massive, truly amazing, and for more than a brief second I was totally jealous of the students in culinary school.

Technique Restaurant Kitchen

Le Cordon Bleu students

The event was hosted by the Consulate of Canada, and they could not have been more welcoming. This is a broad generalization, I realize, but I don’t think I have ever met an unfriendly Canadian person. Our neighbors to the North are just so nice and happy. I have been to various places in Canada including Montreal, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island (to stalk Anne of Green Gables, I kid you not), and I have always found the people to be so helpful and friendly. I love Canada!

Speakers at the event included Linda Duncan, Executive Director of the Mussel Council of Canada and Ian Wentzell, Chair of the Lobster Council of Canada. Did you know that Canada has the most miles of shoreline in the world? Over 150,000 miles, to be exact! A large portion of the seafood we eat right here in Boston comes from Atlantic Canada, and I was excited to get started eating.

The chef performing the demo was Chef Alain Bossé, also known as the kilted chef. Chef Bossé has an enviable and impressive resume in the culinary and hospitality world, but he was incredibly fun and down-to-earth. I also got a friendly hello from him. And he was indeed, true to his name, in a kilt!

Atlantic Canada lobster cakes with dill and caper remoulade

First up were the mussels. I absolutely love making mussels at home and usually put them in some sort of coconut or tomato broth. I actually bought “the perfect shellfish wine” in California and will have that on the blog, with mussels next week. While Chef Bossé cooked, we learned about the mussel farming practices in Canada from Linda Duncan. Both mussel and lobster products from Canada still come from family farmers who have made great strides in making these products sustainable. To make things even better, sustainably-farmed mussels are also more consistent in size and quality, making them an easy dish for restaurants and home cooks alike.

Our first dish:

Atlantic Canada Mussel on the Half Shell with Blueberry Maple Vinaigrette Served on Local Greens

I didn’t know how blueberries and mussels would be, but this dish was incredible. The mussels were cooked perfectly, and the sweetness of the vinaigrette was a nice little burst with the briny and sweet mussels.

Atlantic mussels on the half shell with blueberry maple vinaigrette

Atlantic mussels on the half shell with blueberry maple vinaigrette

The second mussel dish:

Thai Sweet Chili Atlantic Canada Mussels

I was grateful that Chef Bossé encouraged us to pick up our bowls to drink the broth that these mussels were in. It offered up some of my favorite ingredients, chili and cilantro, again, with perfectly cooked mussels.

Thai sweet chili Atlantic mussels

After the mussels course, we learned a little bit about the Canadian lobster industry. Chef Bossé showed us how to put a lobster to sleep, how to tell if it is done (pull on the tentacle, if it comes off, it’s ready), how to dismantle a lobster hygienically, and even how lobsters mate. Embarrassed smile He was hilarious.

Then we ate lobster, and lots of it.

Atlantic Canada Lobster Fresh Roll with Maple Ginger Sauce

Again, some of my favorite flavors were used here, ginger, daikon, maple, chilis, and of course, sweet, tender lobster meat.

Lobster fresh roll with maple ginger sauce

Atlantic Canada Lobster Cakes with Dill and Caper Remoulade

These cakes were so savory, and there were no fillers here. It was all lobster, some veggies, and a nice, tangy remoulade.

Atlantic Canada lobster cakes with dill and caper remoulade

I was pretty amazed and pleased at the size of the sample portions; it was enough for lunch for me! The culinary students in the audience were absolutely adorable, and it seemed like everyone had a really great time. I definitely learned a lot about Canadian seafood, and it made me want to try my hand at using seafood in different recipes as Chef Bossé did here. Everyone involved in the event did a fantastic job and should be commended for the success of the event.

Are you a fan of lobster and mussels? Do you have a favorite way of eating them?

Tags: Alain Bosse, Canada, cookin demo, Le Cordon Bleu, lobster, mussels, seafood

« Older entries § Newer entries »

new restaurant
WordPress SEO fine-tune by Meta SEO Pack from Poradnik Webmastera