Amesbury, MA. A genuine not-to-miss establishment, if ever in the 'hood. Birthday lass and I for her birthday. Lucked out and had the joint entirely to ourselves. The owner is pictured. Born, raised and taught to be a master of foods in Florence, Italy. Emigrated to our great country in '68. The man is a genius. It's the simple things sometimes, people.













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Lobster and blue crab stuffing, respectively, in the wee pasta pockets, a great Tuscan wine, local sea scallops perfectly seared and matched with a black truffle sauce, a Northern Italy style chowder with a twist, with littlenecks, leeks, butter and cream, fresh braised cod cheek in a sweet glaze with endives, tiramisu and chocolate raviolis with fresh whipped cream and berries in a cognac sauce, a bottle of Muscat on the house...Man, that old Italian Florence boy took care of us, and can really cook up a storm. So glad to have a place so close that is so good. George, when are you coming down?

I had a few of these for dinner.

How DO you manage to keep your girlish figure? Seems all you do is eat!

Please tell me that you are joking. Pre-made PB&J?

Call me what you will, but I prefer my PBJ baked goods served without crust.

I was thinking the same thing, but about his wife! Leighton needs a certain amount of insulation/flotation for his hobbies. The wife stays very slim, in spite of mounds of wonderful food!

Leighton, how come I never see any bologna or viennie sausages in the stuff you eat?

Leighton...If you haven't already,you and your hottie wife need to take about 3 weeks and tour Italy. I've been to some superb Italian eateries in my day but nothing compares to the real deal. Plus,it's a stunningly beautiful country and Italians generally love us Americans. They seem to love our tourist dollars anyway.

Well Sir that there all looks simi eatable. Tell me though, how is he with a chicken fried steak?

BCR

lol James

we may be cut from similar cloth


fancy dining about twice a year suits me to a tee

pot of beans & pan of cornbread make my heart sing

and sometimes causes other parts to hum a bit too

The Chef looks like Gary Busey.

Looks good, but if you were the only ones in the joint how long can they survive?

Looks like some great eats and good time there.

Good pics lhonda. The opportunity to go out to places like that is nice. For us it is at least a 50 mile one way drive.

I just got the old frying pan out last night and started with 3 small red potatos in a dab of olive oil, added a small coarse chopped red onion, sliced up a pkg of white muchrooms, a dismantled brocolli crown and added a sliced up Nathan's beef kielbasa. Simple but very good.

In fact left overs for lunch today!

Dude, I could almost smell the garlic from here! That food looks fabulous, hard to believe you 2 had the whole place to yourselves.

Leighton,
I would hate to be guilty of agreeing with isaac, but you should go to Italy. Go to the town of Sorrento on the bay of Naples and eat your way thru the little restaurants there. Heaven on earth for a gourmand like me!

Italians really didn't seem too friendly - but American dollars are still very popular.

Johnny $

Hilarious! I said to Airi, with those chompers, that dude's a lock as the Italian Gary Busey...Of course, as it often the case, she didn't get the reference. The destroyer of all things funny the lass can be.

It was the evening of the Monday holiday, so it was essentially late on a 'Sunday' night. They seem to be doing quite well.

Thanks for the suggestions on the Italy tour. My folks have urged us to do the same, as they have enjoyed 6 or 7 trips just to Italy the past decade or so, along with their other travels. It's definitely on the 'Greatest Hits Eating Tour' hit list, as are Spain and France.

Thanks for the comments, y'all. It really pleases me that we have the place here now, as frankly, outside of the numerous excellent seafood restaurants close by, in the little town we live in, it's mostly a mix of crappy pizza, sub joints and bar food...

Leighton,
I would hate to be guilty of agreeing with isaac, but you should go to Italy.
==============

Getting something right every now and then shouldn't make you feel guilty.

lol. Ba DUM DUM!

Hello pot, this is kettle!

Sorry Bob couldn't resist.


Clyde

Wow! Looks exquisette, thats the only real draw back to living in the middle of now where. Nearest sizeable town is 1.5hrs away and still has mediocre (at best) eating establishments when it comes to gourmet or seafood.

Welcome to my world, except seafood is best at home.

LOL! I would feel sorry for you except for like you stated you got seafood. Moose and caribou probably help cure the menu blues, right?

I am AMAZED you don't weigh at least 400# Leighton. But I sure love your style.

Last year those were exotics.

Sounds very similar to my home version of a Spanish tapas type omelette. I made one just a few nights ago, actually. Start with a bit of EVOO and medium heat, and toss in a chopped yellow onion and a few cloves of minced garlic. When the onions get tranluscent, add thinly sliced potato (skin off or on; I prefer skin on). Let the potatoes cook while you slice some 'shrooms and beat 3 eggs, adding a couple TBSPs of water--NOT milk.

Once the potatoes are almost cooked through, toss in the 'shrooms and add some paprika, coarse salt and fresh cracked black pepper. I also had some Italian hard sausage lying around. I chopped it into tiny cubes and tossed that in as well. Now you're ready to pour in the egg mixture. Turn the heat down a smidge. Use a shaking motion and a wooden spoon to periodically pull the edges of the omelette up and let the egg mixture run underneath. Give that about 5 minutes. Now to the tricky part.

Get a plate that matches the size of your pan. Place the plate on top of the pan, and in a quick, fluid motion, flip the pan 180 degrees, so that the pan is upside down and the omelette has landed in the plate. Now put the omellette back into the pan, 'raw' side down. Cook another 4 minutes or so and remove pan from heat. Most Spanish omelettes are served cold, but I like hot, though it should be cooled sufficiently to allow everything to set. Slice into wedges and serve, maybe with another light sprinkling of kosher/coarse salt. Enjoy. Very nice snack, or meal.













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That's a lot like what we call Cowboy Sumbitch or when the kids were very young, "Good guy whitehat wearin cowboy breakfast".

Kielbasi
Taters*
Eggs
Top with cheddar.


*This turns out best with leftover foil potatoes - layered taters and onions, with butter, salt and pepper in between, wrapped in foil and cooked on the grill. Quicker too.

Sprinkle some shredded Velveeta over that bad boy and you'll have yourself some culinary perfection.

Velveeta??? Really?? It's a wonder you don't weigh 400 lbs!! Only thing Velveeta is good for is for putting on mouse traps..........lol

I use Velveeta in my layered bean dip as cheddar gets pretty stiff after baking and cooling.

Velveeta couldn't get stiff is you sprinkled it with Viagara.

"Well, Sarge, this is a weird one. Seems the big Asian fellah--over there in my cruiser wearing the cuffs--was preparing something to eat earlier tonight, and walked away from the stove for something. All of a sudden, his houseguest, the deceased there--huh? um, yeah, the one with the spoon jammed in his eye-- sneaked in from behind and tossed a brick of Velveeta onto some kind of food that the Asian was preparing... Yep, I said Velveeta. That's pretty much all we know so far, but yeah, sounds like a righteous kill to me too."

Let me tell you sumpthin, those things are outstanding for the tackle bag. Nothing can settle my stomach like PBJ's. I grab a handful of those on the way out the door, by the time yee be heading out of the jaws, they are thawed out and ready. I love those things. And by the way, no crust, hence "uncrustables".

Crust don't bother me, but I can't do grape jelly.

Not to worry.

Because I like you, I'm giving you this as a gift. People have begged me for this recipe and I wouldn't yield. And, in spite of all the culinary snobbery here, sprinkled with meanness, I'm still going the good guy route with this gift. You're welcome.

1 1/2 lb Velveeta cheese, cut up
8 oz blue crab/back fin
1 1/4 cup finely chopped hot Italian sausage(grill cooked)
2 6 oz cans of Rotel with green chiles
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (1/8 for sissies)

Melt it,spoon it onto your fave chip,bread or cracker,savor it and then make sure you post thereafter and speak of my genius!

You've just found your way into a very special inner circle. The things I do for the common man!

NOW we're talkin'.!!!

I challenge you, buy a box and tell me you ain't hooked...those things are like crack.

Can't do it Barkoff.

There's always 3 boxes of each in our law firm freezer. They're the number one stolen snack throughout the entire building.

Great for the deer stand,too!

So there, if lawyers can eat them, who are you to snub your nose?

I need a deer stand too.

If you and Isaac like them, that's fine by me. As my friend Randy is want to say...Ya only got to make your self happy!

My pard won't even feed Clif Bars to his horses!

Evah body is diff'rent.

That's very touching, to be welcomed into the special inner circle, counselor. Ta.

Couple things, though. What on earth are backfin and Rotel, and when do I add the M&Ms to your recipe?

You're a waterman and you don't know what back fin crab meat is? Oh my word!! And, every real chef in the know uses grape seed oil these days. Olive oil is SO yesterday!

PS...Rotel is to Velveeta what Miso dressing is to salad. The perfect blend!!

Velveeta is not cheese...you ever seen that schitt made? Lets just say acceptable maggot content.....

Read the fat content on those PB&J premade sandwiches, you'll thank me later. My arteries are already starting to harden reading that cheese recipe.........lol

How's that saying go........"That's nacho cheese, that's Velveeta"!!!

It don't even have to be in the refrigerated dairy section!

I am a waterman, of sorts, but we only get crabs worth bothering with (blues) south of the cape (cod). Mostly I use jonahs and green crabs for bait for tautog and bass. Must be a regional thing. Do you call your oysters 'arsters'?

Grapeseed oil is OK, but I still prefer my EVOO. You can have your yellow plastic cheese-like substitute and canned veggies, sir!

As far as miso, it has lots of uses; one is as a salad dressing. Airi's grandma 'marinates' cuts of fish in a light miso paste before broiling. Good lord it comes out fantastic.

man when you come down for the redheads your going to have to whip up one of your meals.

Airi's grandma 'marinates' cuts of fish in a light miso paste before broiling. Good lord it comes out fantastic.
===========

I bet it does. Can you buy the paste at the Asian markets. We went from 1 Asian market, a good drive from here, to about 5 now and all compete with Wegmans as far as store volume and sales are concerned. I love the Asian markets near my home and office. Eat there once a week.

Major money hauls!

You won't have to wait that long if your fishing outing works out, brother. I'll be bringing as many bugs as I can fit in my large duffel, and maybe a gallon of chowder...I'll just ask you to have a large (and I do mean large) pot, some ability to have a blaze (outdoors is fine; not sure what your laws are as far as fires on beaches but that'd work fine if we can) and point me to where I can get some corn and butter. You might want to have some small tools with you for you and the gang, in order to get into the meat of the bugs, but we should be in good shape.

Bob, if you're around a Japanese market (or a market that carries Japanese products) ask for Koji miso. You can really use any, but most Japanese use a light miso, kind of a yellowy-creamy tan color, for the home use for fish. I'd not recommend the red or brown, as it's quite salty for this use, but you can suit to your taste. Many Japanese chefs mix three or four, but no need to get fancy. Say you've got a lb. of snapper or bass filets. Take about 4 TBSP of miso paste, and dilute it in a bit of hot water; maybe half a cup. Add a bit of sake or mirin to the mix, and pour it on the fillets to marinate for a bit (30-60 mins is fine). Then broil/bake. A very thin, but nice little crust should form.

Toss some chopped scallion on those bad boys for a bit of color and flavor. Do NOT add salt or soy, as the miso already has plenty salt. Add a few cold veggie side dishes like daikon radish, pickled mushrooms, or maybe just a little salad, and serve with some hot rice. You'll make honorable Nihon-jin in no time frat. I mean flat.

I was wondering the same thing...Ya think that the I-Talian Gary Busy can make good gravy too?

Wait a second: you have Italian in you? Only here in New England have I ever heard anyone other than Americans with Italian backgrounds use the term 'gravy' in reference to a sauce...

Or wait, did you mean it in like a, "taters n' biscuits 'n gravy" kind of way? Now I'm confused. Man, you Texan boys are a downright mysterious lot sometimes. This meeting is going to be like a 'when worlds collide' type scenario. Sounds like a kick in the head. I'll just have to keep one eyed peeled watching for the shenanigans. I've been known to take pics, y'know. You have been warned.

I ain't skeer'd of no stink'n camera......
I'm thinking that you've been chicken fried steak deprived... Or is it just that you're ignern't about it?

Hell yes I know what chicken fried steak is. I order mine slathered in gravy--usually it's been a white, and not brown-- every time when I'm down in FL. I prefer smashed potatoes to the grits that's offered as a standard choice, usually, though they can be nice. Whatv puzzles me is that you'd even think I'd NOT have ordered a piece of meat that's breaded and fried. That doesn't even pass a first level fat guy sanity check. I was born at night, but not last night!

no problem with fires on the beach so we're good there. how big a pot you talking. we got one for frying turkeys.

Perfect; we're in bidness. We use one here for the same thing. Just need to make sure the fry oil is completely washed out of it. If you have one of those inserts (smaller pot that nestles inside the main one, with a handle and drainage holes), so much the better, but a metal colander will work too. I steam mine, as they're a little less of a hassle to rip apart when not filled so much with water, which is what happens when you straight boil. If they have any monsters, I'll bring one down to play with. Like this one. Took these shots on my phone about an hour ago (wife is heading to see some old Tokyo friends in VA, and took a few bugs with her). Hard to see scale due to water, but that big bug on the left is a 17 pounder. The crusher alone must go 5 pounds, and is larger than a kid's baseball glove. The 'little' ones in the tank seen are 7 and 9 pounders.

Looking forward to it, bud, and thanks.

seeing those reminds of onetime we ran offshore. we stop at a local store to buy some stuff to eat drink, while we were fishing, and they had live crawdads. we bought some and used them for bait. caught some snapper on them.

Local sharpies will use crayfish they've caught (I've been known to use the time-tested string and hotdog method myself) to fish for striped bass. Now why would anyone do that, pray tell? Because a crayfish, despite being a freshwater critter, is virtually indistinguishable from a baby lobster. Stripers love eating lobsters. One slob I caught years ago had two squid, six crabs, a herring and THREE lobsters in his stomach (I check the stomach contents of bass I keep for the grill). Two of them were legal sized bugs. Yep, that fish was a real glutton.
I have pics of it somewhere...

.......and then Honda ate the fish

Circle of life, man, circle of life...