Fish Pie and Dancing

-
“River Run?” he said. “You have relations with Mrs. Jocasta Cameron?” “She’s my husband’s aunt,” I replied. “Do you know her?” “Oh, indeed! A charming woman, most charming!” A broad smile lifted the Baron’s pendulous cheeks. “Since many years, I am the dear friend of Mrs. Cameron and her husband, unfortunately dead.” The Baron launched into an enthusiastic recounting of the delights of River Run, and I took advantage of the lull to accept a small wedge of fish pie, full not only of fish but of oysters and shrimps in a creamy sauce. Mr. Lillington had certainly spared no effort to impress the Governor.
--Diana Gabaldon, Drums Of Autumn 

 I made the Fish Pie at the Lillingtons' recipe for Hubster's birthday last February so yes, I'm behind on posting the picture.  First things first when making any meal -- I really need to read the recipe and assemble ingredients BEFORE the cooking process commences.  Assorted fish is called for so I used shrimp, salmon, some whitefish (may have been sole) and scallops.  I think the oysters will make a nice addition next time. I made mashed potatoes from scratch, just the way I like them.  Stiff with some potato chunks so you know they're not instant.  I suggest thinning them out a bit more - not doing so made the whole mess impossible to spread when I added the cheese. But the taste? Holy Moly this pie is good!  Once the weather cools I see this added to the rotation of dishes to make. I've got an idea to make this with the short-crust pastry topper instead of mashed potatoes too - I think it'll work fine. 

 Oh school, you drive me crazy!  The art of skimming my reading is part of the routine and I'll be glad when these courses are over.  I do like the subject matter, but I'll be rethinking the "two classes in summer" move again next year.  The end is in sight.  Two weeks left for one Creativity and three for Cognition. Right now the teacher has issues with my term-paper topic.  But I'm excited about the final project for Creativity.  Dancing and PechaKucha.  Next weekend we'll be in the mountains for relaxation, but will undoubtedly be working on schoolwork since Hubster is also in an accelerated class.  But the evenings will have wine and hot-tubbing involved, so we'll smile in anticipation. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Coming to the end of the semester, another try

-
Image
Unhappy with the last batch of Tomato Pickle in the Manger, it was time to try again.  Last batch I used cherry tomatoes and the skins took up so much of the batch I was not happy with the effort at all.  So this time I went and purchased a bunch of large (beefsteak) tomatoes from the local King Soopers.  Four pounds of peeled tomatoes and three hours of cooking I have another pint of this wondrous concoction. Lessons learned: Use more tomatoes, but don't increase the sauce.  Peel the tomatoes as they cook. Enjoy the devil-fruit goodness! This semester is quickly coming to a close and I'm happy.  The Spirituality class has been rough and I'll be glad to be rid of it.  It's not because of the whole "Apathetic Agnostic" thing - it's because this professor overly critiques everyone's work.  Why would you ask me to write, essentially, a personal essay, then criticize my sentences?  Not the structure or grammar, but the words I'm writing?...
Read more

Brianna's Bridies

-
Image
“Bridies! Hot bridies!” A high-pitched screech cut through the rumble and racket of the hall, and Brianna turned to see an old woman elbowing her way robustly through the crowd, a steaming tray hung round her neck and a wooden spatula in hand. The heavenly scent of fresh hot dough and spiced meat cut through the other pungencies in the hall, noticeable as the old woman’s calling. It had been a long time since breakfast, and Brianna dug in her pocket, feeling saliva fill her mouth.   -- Diana Gabaldon , Drums of Autumn Brianna knew what she was doing when she bought meat pies on the dock. Giantess or not, one will simply not do. My friend Kathy uses the word "Yummalicious!" which is a perfect description of these meat pies. Made with the Short Crust Pastry the inside is a perfect blend of meat, vegetable, and butter. The recipe in the book is separated into vegetarian and meat bowls - the recipe says this will make four of each using a packed 1/2 cup of filling in each ...
Read more

Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy!

-
Image
I wonder if I can count my efforts in getting through the Outlander cookbook as part of my efforts for this Creativity and Aging class?   Like trying to find creative ways to make Cherry Bounce not taste like industrial strength cough syrup?  This effort was tasty but put me into a sugar shock. 2 oz Cherry Bounce  1 oz Moscato 4 oz Club Soda Garnish with a slice of orange  On the school front, I have nine papers to read for the week (plus a few chapters out of our books), but one of them is a 34-page research study. FFS, this doesn't even account for the papers to write or comments on the message boards. 
Read more