Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Vacation, Round Two

I'm typing this from the sunny shores of the Outer Banks. We are currently enjoying a lovely vacation with Matt's family.  The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, and we have been taking advantage of some wonderful beach days. Even Elise is getting in on the action. I put her in the waterproof sling, and she drifts off to sleep to the sound of the ocean. It's very sweet. I thought it might be fun to do a compare and contrast of this vacation and our previous vacation. Let's see...

Things That Are Different
the house
the location
the people

Things That Are the Same
Greg's ability to find a third floor balcony to pee off of

What can I say? Our dear son is a huge fan of eliminating outdoors. 

Thankfully he is also very concerned with being safe in the water. I really, really appreciate this, because while I tend to be really cautious around him and water, it still gives me a little peace of mind to know he is very unlikely to jump into an open pool if he should ever happen upon one.  I did have to laugh, though, when he told the group of adults standing around him "someone make sure I'm safe in the water!" and then proceeded to move his boogy board 10 inches further from me at to the very edge of the surf. (Also, while he's on his surfboard he sings The Backyardigans Ho Daddy Ho. He is about the cutest thing ever, I think.)


Elise is also being an absolute joy. Tonight while I was putting her to sleep, I just had one of those moments where I fell more in love with her. She is very into babbling these days. If you start talking to her, she'll give you the biggest smile and just start babbling away. If there is no one there to engage is conversation with, she moves her attention to her toes and begins a dialogue with them during which she sounds very concerned about something. Something very important, I am sure.


We take turns here making dinner, which is a lot of work one night (cooking for 9 adults and 2 kids), but it's nice because then you only have to cook dinner once. Tonight was my night, and I made something which I thought was quite delicious. The main part of the meal was broiled shrimp and flounder, with three different sauces: lemon butter, lime butter, and mango salsa.  I added in roasted potatoes, a big green salad and garlic bread. The recipes:

Broiled Shrimp & Flounder: buy super fresh shrimp and flounder, put them in a broiler pan with some salt, pepper, and butter. Cook them on "broil" until the shrimp turns pink all the way through and the flounder is flaky. (Do this in two different pans as they probably won't be done at the same time)

Lemon Butter Sauce (from Bonefish Grill)
  • 1 tbs. Fresh, Chopped Garlic
  • 1 tbs. Fresh, Chopped Shallots
  • 2 tbs. White Wine (preferably Chablis)
  • 3 tbs. Fresh Lemon Juice
  • ½ lb. Cold Unsalted Butter
  • 1 pinch Salt
1.) Put all ingredients except butter in saucepan on low. Reduce to half.
2.) Slowly add butter, a few tablespoons at a time. Whisk while adding to sauce, and serve immediately. 

Mango Salsa (from Epicurious)
  • 1 firm-ripe mango, pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, chopped (I substituted cilantro for the mint)
In a bowl stir together salsa ingredients with salt to taste and let stand, covered, at room temperature. Salsa may be made 2 hours ahead and kept at room temperature, covered.

Lime Butter (also Epicurious)
  • 1 large garlic clove, chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
Purée garlic with lime juice, salt, and pepper in a blender until smooth. With motor running, add melted butter and blend until emulsified, about 30 seconds.
Roasted Potatoes
  • red potatoes
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper
  • italian seasoning
  • garlic
Dice potatoes. Coat with olive oil, add generous amount of spices. Stir to coat all the potatoes. Cook in at oven at 425 until crispy (about 35 minutes.)


Grandmom's Salad Dressing
  • 1 part olive oil
  • 2 parts rice vinegar
  • salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients, pour over salad.

Yum. It was very very good. 

OK it took me forever to actually upload the pictures to publish this post, but I finally did it. 

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