Way, way back BP (Before Pandemic), when entertaining and having friends over was a common occurrence, we hosted a dinner party for our friends on Monday night. I know what you are thinking… entertaining on a school night? Indeed we did. Since it was literally the only date we all could find available we threw caution to the wind and made it happen. It was late May and we had been experiencing cooler summer weather than normal so the menu included my Fish & Bean Soup. But as typical with Mother Nature, she rules. When she flipped the weather switch from unusually cool to suddenly warm, it was she who now dictated the menu. Soup did not seem like such a great idea anymore.

Problem was, I had already purchased all the seafood, (shrimp, calamari and monkfish), and I didn’t want them to go to waste. A tiny switch-aroo was in order. Take it from a soup to a stew. Sure, you’re saying ‘How is that different? It’s still warm.’ First, let me remind you that I did say ‘tiny’ switch-aroo. I, and our guests, can attest that that slight alteration made all the difference in a dish that was originally going to be too hot, to just right.

Monkfish, shrimp and calamari from the original stew dish.

Well, it’s now November and the reverse weather pattern has occurred. It’s unseasonably warm but it’s still Fall. We were again hosting with another set of friends at our upstate country house and this stew idea seemed perfect. Plus I’ve had this blog post in a holding pattern waiting to make its debut since 2019. It was high time that it graced our bowls again. I couldn’t find calamari or monkfish for some odd reason. But that is the beauty of this dish, you can use different combos of fish; shrimp, calamari, monkfish, scallops, cod, mussels, clams. They all work.

This recipe is similar to the soup with some revisions, mainly how you cook it.

Ingredients

Makes 4 generous servings as a first course or 8 appetizer bowls
*Note: you can adjust the amount fish you use, adding more if you want this to be a main dish

2 scallions, sliced (Use 1 for beans, 1 for fish marinade)
1 med onion, chopped (1 heaping cup)
1 large carrot, diced (1 cup)
2 stalks celery, diced (1 heaping cup)
2 garlic cloves, thin slice (beans)
2 garlic cloves, crushed (fish)
2 32 oz cans Cannellini beans
12 shrimp, cleaned & deveined (12-14 oz)
10-12 oz cod, cut into chunks
10-12 oz. Sea scallops
Red pepper flakes to your taste
Magic 3 (Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper)
1-2 T Butter
1/4c White wine
Parsley to finish

Instructions

1. Peel and devein shrimp. Wash and thoroughly dry all the fish. I cut the cod into bite size pieces but left the shrimp whole. You can chose to cut the shrimp as well.

It’s important to always wash and thoroughly dry the fish, or any protein for that matter.

2. Marinate the shrimp, cod, scallops with scallion slices, crushed garlic, 1/4 t red pepper flakes, 3/4 t salt, 1/2 t black pepper and 2-3 T oil. Refrigerator while you cook the bean portion.

Marinated Fish with scallions, crushed garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and olive oil.

3. Chop and dice all your vegetables.

Mise en place: everything ready and in its place Celery, carrots, onions, scallions and garlic

4. Sauté the onions, scallions, carrots, celery for 10 -12 minutes then add the garlic slices, season with 1/2 t salt, 1/2 t pepper, 1/4 t red pepper flakes and cook another 2-3 minutes until soft and tender.

Sauté until soft then add the garlic so it doesn’t burn

5. Add the beans with some of their aguafaba juice and let simmer for 10 minutes until flavors meld. Taste for seasonings and add accordingly.

6. While the beans are cooking, sauté the fish individually (shrimp, then cod, then scallops last) in a cast iron pan or skillet. Once each batch is cooked place them on a plate until you are ready to plate.

High heat develops a nice crust on the shrimp. You only need to cook them 1-2 minutes per side

7. In the same hot pan, sauté any remaining scallions and garlic from the marinade adding a bit more oil, a pat or two of butter. Once softened then add a few splashes of white wine to deglaze the pan. Reserve this au jus to drizzle over the finished plate.

You can either plate it family style using one big platter with beans on the bottom and fish stacked on top. Or individually plate it as I did, spooning the beans then placing the fish on top of each bowl, sprinkle with chopped parsley and drizzle that delicious, concentrated jus over top.

We enjoyed a few appetizers first. Then had the Fish & Stew as a starter. Followed by Grilled Pluma (Iberico Pork), Paella Rice with roasted garlic oil, Oven Roasted Tomatoes, Salad and Sautéed Broccoli Rabe.

A scaled down cheese platter along with French Breakfast Radishes and Fennel with Coarse Sea Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil & Basil

We had such a lovely, leisurely afternoon lunch with our dear friends, Tecla and Scott. We feel blessed to have them in our lives, and willing to make the drive to see our Airbnb home.
(If you are interested in renting our home in upstate NY, check it out on Airbnb
The Cozy, Country Cape House

This is such a hearty and flavorful starter. If you don’t have any plans to host a small dinner party, use this dish as a main course and maybe add some roasted potatoes or rice as a side along with a salad and vegetable As I said, this might be a warm plate, and naturally perfect for winter weather but it’s not too hot for a cool summer’s night meal or warm November afternoon al fresco.

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John, a deep and thoughtful thinker and soul. Don't you love that face!

I am the proud aunt to some awesome kids. For the past two decades I have had (and continue to have) the great privilege to be a part of my nieces and nephew's lives in ways big and small. A gift that couldn't be more rewarding, more fulfilling, more enriching, and one for which I am truly grateful.

As these munchkins get older it comes with some real plusses... and a few minuses. Bad part first: it means I'm getting older too, Boo Hoo. It also means that the amount of time I get to spend with them has been reduced due to their work lives, busy social lives, where they live and all the rest. However, the plusses outweigh those by a long shot as we enter into a different kind of relationship. Before I was the whacky aunt. Well, I'm still that. But now I don't have to pick them up anymore. Instead they drive over to hangout with JC and me for dinner. They are young adults with big imaginations, big dreams, open minds and hearts. The conversations have gone from 'What's your favorite Disney movie?' to 'How do you see driverless cars effecting society? to much more deep and engaging exchange of ideas. And although I miss their little, adorable selves, I'm grooving on spending time with their beautiful adult selves.

This past week my nephew, John, dropped by for dinner. He is bright, sensitive, socially and emotionally aware and responsible, thoughtful and a deep and loving soul. I'm telling you, hanging with these kids is one of the greatest joys of my life.

Besides coming over to discuss some new business ideas we all had (how cool is that!!!), it was a chance to share some new recipes with him. Normally, a meal for John would have required making some type of meat and starch. But over the years his palate has changed, broadened and matured. Just recently it has changed quite dramatically with him becoming a vegan. So the question was what to make to feed a growing young man and his active mind.

I have been reading a lot about Vegetable Bolognese. I love when vegetarians or vegans decide that they aren't going to eat that yummy, delicious thing anymore, but still really want to eat it so they reinvent it with a replacement. I'm not making fun. It's quite creative, and I'm all about that. But it still makes me giggle a little. I, too, fell victim to that years ago, when after craving bologna and missing it, I began eating fake bologna and loved it. Until such time that I realized it was probably better to eat the real one full of crap instead of the fake one full of really crappy crap. I haven't eaten bologna in decades; real or fake.

I saw mushrooms in the market and thought it's dark and could look and act like meat. (Isn't that mushroom's new claim to fame. It's meaty!) Mushroom 'Bolognese' sounded like it had potential to be hearty and filling. Since traditional Bolognese has milk and he is vegan, that put a halt to the traditional style. Even though cream and mushrooms are yummy, milk, tomato and mushrooms sounded kind of yucky to me. In times like these I rely on my internal gut knowledge. I checked my gut and it said; make it just like my Meaty Ragu dish, replacing the chop meat with mushrooms. I guess that replacement idea is a pretty good one after all. Here's how it went down.

The basics: mushrooms, carrot, celery, onion, garlic and tomatoes.

ingredients

10 c cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 medium sized Portobello mushrooms, chopped
4 c grape tomatoes, chopped
1.5 c carrots, diced
3/4 c celery, diced
1 c onion, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, crushed
1 T tomato paste
1.5 c white wine
salt, pepper to taste (if you want heat, add red pepper flakes)

instructions

Cut up the vegetables as stated above. Remember, I'm a big fan of mise en place. Prepping everything, having it ready and in place. It makes the whole process easier and faster.

Sauté the onions, carrots and celery until almost tender. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook through. Then add the mushrooms and let cook down a bit, until they soften and caramelize a bit.

Next, add the wine and the tomatoes and cook over a low heat for 45 minutes.

The grape tomatoes add a nice freshness. I decided not to use any canned tomatoes, and it proved to be a good decision.

Since this was the replacement for Bolognese sauce, the natural base for this dish was pasta. (Hello, it's me. You should know by now pasta will always be my first choice.) And meat lovers, I think you're gonna like this.

Also making an appearance for dinner was shishito peppers, Apple Crisp Salad and an heirloom and sour tomato salad served with a crisp Italian white wine, Verdicchio Podere Laila.

Two handsome, hungry, thought provoking men waiting for the picture to be taken so the eating can begin.

Now, there are dozens of ways of uses this yummy mushroom mixture. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that grilled bread is another great choice, but a picture is always nice. Please slather it, pile it, spoon it on whatever you like, and share with me your wonderful ways. So if you are vegetarian, or vegan or just need to avoid certain foods, go ahead and find healthy replacements for the dishes you love. No giggling from me, just smiles.

The recipe made such a big batch that I brought the leftovers to our friends' home and enjoyed it al fresco on crusty, grilled bread.

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