Off to market day on nearby Boulevard des Batignolles. Picked up cheese, charcuterie, fresh pasta, salad greens, olives, two types of tapenade (black olive and green olive). BSK tucked a long baguette from the corner bakery under her arm. Casual dinner at home (Beautiful Granddaughter Sofia slightly ill). Ate the market’s delicious offerings, drank red Corbieres and then were off to nearby Pathe Wepler to see Le Loup (Wolf) de Wall Street. Basically, Goodfellas translated to the hysterical penny stock market of the 1980’s. Bad boys acting badly. Lots of nudity featuring young ladies with surgical enhancements. Martin Scorcese’s manic and creative directorial energy infuses the film and makes it worthwhile. For HG however, the mad, macho life of drugs and hookers did not seem very appetizing.
SJ returned to Prince Edward Island after his labors in steamy New York. SJ was accompanied by a surprise, a surprise carefully concealed from HG: a visit from the joyous, golden presence of Restaurateur Daughter Vicki. The excellent woman did not come empty handed: Wine, cheese, salumi, artisan pasta were amongst the treats she brought. Three days of feasting began with each family member displaying their culinary chops. Exquisite Maiko sourced a dozen mackerel, so fresh they were still frozen in rigor-mortis, from a Naufrage Harbor fisherman who refused to accept any money for his catch. She deftly produced mackerel-3-ways: tataki (roughly chopped raw fish with scallion, ginger and soy sauce); Shime Saba (marinated mackerel filets served with ginger and scallion); Sashimi (beautifully sliced raw fish with a sauce of ponzu and EM’s own secret Onion Dressing). EM also produced a variety of salads: fresh water shrimp with avocado, soy-sauce and wasabi, cellophane noodles mixed with strips of egg crepe, etc. And, to show off her mastery of the flame EM cooked some tiger shrimp to perfection in the Spanish style with crispy garlic and a dusting of smoked pimenton. BSK countered with BSK’s spectacular sauteed sea scallops. Naturally, scores of Colville Bay and Savage Harbor oysters were consumed. Ears and ears and ears of seasonal corn on the cob (shucked by Grandson Haru and cooked using BSK’s infallible method) and the first tomatoes of the PEI season (with local feta cheese) were on the table. SJ produced a great platter of herbaceous linguine. This was the SJ technique: SJ chopped every herb in the garden (basil, mint, sage, parsley, marjoram, etc.); sliced 2 cloves of garlic paper thin (in the Goodfella’s style), added some chopped anchovy and mixed it all together with salt and pepper. He then heated about a 1/2 cup of olive oil until it was almost smoking and poured it over the herb-anchovy- garlic mixture causing a huge sizzle and the release of an extraordinary fragrance or herbs, garlic and olive oil. Tossed it over warm pasta and mixed it all up. SJ also produced some very good pizza topped with sliced potatoes, olive oil and mix of goat cheese and mozzarella. Restaurateur Vicki did a knock-your-socks off pesto. RV bought a huge bag of the freshest basil from the Charlottetown Farmers Market and using methods learned from RV’s husband, chef Marc Meyer, did a pesto that had sublime texture, taste and aroma. The ambrosial mixture clung to every fold of the special pasta RV brought from New York. Yes, these were three days of incomparable family fun and festivity.(Sadly, daughter Lesley R. and family were back in Rhode Island and so LR couldn’t contribute her exemplary Italian/Provencal dishes and delicious countenance). And, what did HG contribute to this delightful extravaganza? HG ate. HG drank. HG made judicious and complimentary comments. True artists, after all, need an appreciative and knowing audience and HG was glad to oblige.
