Happy Xmas

Happy Xmas to everyone. Just finished up video calls to India and Ireland and everyone is doing fine.

Seeing that it is snowing, i have to don suitable armor, to protect my beard :-)

Once all the calls are over with, its time for brunch. Hungry business, talking to folks who have already eaten, describing their steak or turkey and ham or Xmas pudding.

Once everyone has had their fill, its time for a nap .... or a catnap as the case may be

For us, we went outside to see the geese flee south, and all of us took note, Ulysses included

and show off some mad dog skills until we came a cropper

Adventures on Ice

Well despite the lovely weather, we still had some issues up here in Starlight, notably with the summer tires, and absence of winter tires. My winter tires I bought are on Long Island, but my buddy Mike is bringing them, next week, so our ice hill in Starlight should no longer pose a problem. It just happened that the week that we brought up the old tv, was the week that we got stuck on the hill and had to leave the car below while we transported everything by hand. Just a lot of ice underneath the snow. Oh well, you win some, you lost some :-)

Feast of the Fishes

Well, my favorite day of the year has arrived - the feast of the 7 5 fishes, where we eat seven five different fish on christmas eve. I became envious of a co-worker, Joel, who rhapsodized at length on the various fish preparations that his lovely wife Joy would create for Xmas eve. Joel, a jewish kid from "joisey" was married to an Italian, and he made me want to be italian too :-)
So, my beautiful wife and I decided to make it a custom of our own, despite the fact that neither of us is Italian. I am Irish and my wife is american of swedish heritage mostly.
So for the last number of years, we try and do 7 fish over the course of one day. We generally start with  smoked salmon and then it largely depends upon what the fishmonger has available, in our case this year, Wegman's of Scranton, PA.
First up, smoked salmon, served with capers, on a bed of arugula, and lemon, with a side of apple chipotle bar-b-q sauce (Truett-Hurst winerey in Sonoma). Accompanying this was either a little dram of  Aberlour 12 year old scotch, or a glass of 1998 RH Coutier champagne.

Either one went deliciously with the smoked salmon.
Following that we had some Barrier Island oysters, from Chesapeake Bay. Again sampled with our glass of champagne, a bit of lemon, and the bbq sauce as an optional side. Mmmm.

Next up .. moules marinere, cooked in a little dry white wine from Savoie (Domaine Idylle "Cruet")

And here is the end result. Edited the recipe slightly to remove the shells at the end, and add a soupcon of cream to the mussel broth, butter, garlic, and shallots

After that it was rest and take a break for a while.
Ok, break over. Next up, some grilled calamari, a la "Locanda Locatelli" which is just brushing the squid with some garlic, oil, and seasoning with salt and pepper.

 After that it was onto the Tuna, similarly prepared. Simple yet superb. To accompany these, we had a '95 Chablis from Robin ... a grand cru "Le Clos" and it hit all the notes that we had hoped for. Quite herbal, with hints of sage, vanilla, melon and a nice fatness that complimented the fatty grilled tuna. Arty shot is courtesy of Nikki :-)

Once we had finished the five fish, we were done. The portions were too generous for two, so we had to call it a night. A nice sea salt chocolate with a glass of Dow's vintage port, and we ended the night on a high. Next year we plan to make it Seven :-)

Happy Christmas to all.

Love,

KnN

Repent before it's too Latte !!!

The Mayan Milkopalypse ...
Even the milkmen know that the world ends tomorrow, on Dec 21st, as evidenced by the label below

Ulysses (Uly for short)

Here he is, in all his magnanimous beauty

 and with Nikki (left) as well as Henry-Dog and Louise (right)

 myself, and Nikki, with the rockstar

 And here we are again with the little puppy, aged 16 weeks.

Louise and Henry Dog trying to convince the owners to let them have Ulysses (no go ....he's ours :-)

Who better to enjoy a watermelon margarita with, than McNulty :-)

After the Rain -- Coltrane For Lovers

Just let the sounds wrap around you as you listen to John Coltrane, and "After the rain".

Dedicated to my one true love, my baby .... Nikki

Patience is a Furr-Chew

Nikki took this great shot of Dessie, lounging in all her majesty. These cats have a biological desire to chew on couches, particularly Knoll flavoured couches :-)

Starlight-isqatsi

Our own version of the nature and wildlife as seen through the lens of an outdoor cam. Nikki had the great idea to capture life, and in particular a supposed mountain lion that was apparently loose in our neck of the woods, and she got one of these outdoor cams, that take pics, when motion activated. Fab idea, and nice to see the shadows and light, in Starlight, from March to May, with deer, turkey, bear, coyote, dog, porcupine, bobcat, fox, hawks, eagle, bluejay, finch, pheasant, and ravens .... all part of the cacophony of rural life. Co-starring our buddy in Starlight, Arthur, who cuts the lawn and keeps an eye on the place with his trusty shotgun :-)

We have yet to capture the mountain lion, however, as she has done a bit of a Loch Ness monster on us   :-)

Beaune bottles

The local bottle bank. Someone in Beaune had a good time. Nikki has a nice way of selecting subject matter for our pics .... and she thought this would make an interesting pic, which it does. This was outside the tourist office, and across from one of the more popular restaurants in Beaune. Bottles were strewn everywhere :-)

 The Central Hotel (my paternal grandparents had a hotel in killarney, called the Central Hotel - this must have been my subconscious taking this pic)

 The hallowed tiles of Beaune, seen from an angle that give you no clue whatsoever, as to what all the fuss is about :-)

 A famous butcher shop in Beaune .... Where you can find pork brains ... larger than i thought they would be :-0

 All other sorts of meats

 A meat not found in the butcher shop, happily enough

 A very nice Puligny .... good value for money is Monsieur Pascal

 This was morels with something with something, from the prepared food part of the wonderful butcher shop. Excellent indeed. Made for a nice farewell dinner. Thx babes.

Fuzzy Muzzy

The guy looks fuzzy, the wine is not. Good tasty Meursaults.

 Domaine Bouzereau is worth finding. They guy is very funny, opinionated, and interesting.

 This was a food station at the hall that we visited

 In a restaurant in Pommard, was this "grande Dame" taking lunch. She looks so perfectly coiffed, I had to ask Nikki to take a pic. And Nikki did take a pic, to capture the moment. So quintessentially french, a grand dame.

 Inside Pommard, the hard work continued.

 And there was quite a crowd indeed.

 The food was good though, and long queues to get it. But, it was worth it, as the food was spectacular.

 Inside the tasting area, were many different wineries. For us, we liked Domaine Lejeune. Just as well, as we were renting an apartment from the owner's nephew. Lejeune is a seriously good wine, of good repute, and worth tracking down, or even visiting if you get a chance to do so, in Burgundy. Really nice people.

 

 Underneath Chateau Puligny, with a nice moody shot by Nikki, of the barrels in the basement

 A menu of wines for sale we came across

 Exiting the chateau

 The Italian cousins were a bit late to the testing, but arrived in style.

 Our crazy bus driver, complete with Doc Maarten boots, in patent, and regular leather, depending upon the day. Wicked crazy driver. Almost got us killed numerous times :-)

The Fox & Raven

We needed to shop for some supplies. Now if I called this a deli, I would be shot, as it was much more than "just" a deli. They had a tonne of stuff. And stuffed animals to boot :_)

 Prepared foods such as you see below

 Mmm, getting hungry now.

 And presentation is as important as food quality

 Aren't these not gorgeous?

 If you wanted fancier food haunts, you can get it ... such as Michelin starred Lameloise !!

 Wine crew at lunch ....

 With a tonne of stuff to try and taste and eat.

 What a selection to choose from

 Ahh, the 246 cheeses were well represented

 A nice big for Dave Conklin, with a Conklin daisy on the steering wheel

 Some nice choices at a local restaurant

 The restaurant was in a cave ..... very good place to eat, mind you. We had a great time. In fact, Niiki and I decided that you cannot go far wrong in visiting Beaune .... we have been converted to tourism advocates for the town. Great restaurants, great wine, small enough to walk around. Nice people. 'Nuf said....

Again all pics, by Nikki, our ace family photographer.