June 30, 2015 dinner. Grilled Halibut, sautéed PPI pasta primavera and Shishito peppers

June 30, 2015 Dinner sautéed PPI pasta and Shishito peppers and Grilled Halibut 

I shopped at Sprouts Farm Market at the corner of San Mateo and Academy and bought fresh Mexican halibut, fresh baby portobello brown mushrooms, fresh Shishito peppers,Brussels sprouts, and hard  salami.  I noted one thing and possibly two new things about this store that may separate it from other Sprouts stores in Albuquerque.  First, I has not shortened its butcher cases of fresh meats, as the San Mateo and Lomas store has.  The added space has provided space for a significantly larger selection of seafood, such as the one filet of fresh Halibut that I bought today. Second, this store has a kitchen with a staff of cooks and a deli with an extensive assortment of Boar’s Head prepared meats. For example, there were four different types of salami to choose from before making my selection and there was a live person to slice and package my selection.

When Suzette got home we decided to make an easy dinner of grilled Halibut and sauté some PPI pasta primavera. 

Suzette made a butter and lemon juice marinade for the Halibut and put the fillet on a piece of aluminum foil and bathed the fillet with it.  Then she put the aluminum foil on a vegetable tray we use for the grill and grilled the fish on the grill until tender and flakey.

  

I went to the garden and plucked a handful of chard leaves and de-stemmed them.  Suzette then sautéed the pasta and I added the chard to the large skillet as she cooked the pasta.  

I then remembered that I had bought fresh Shishito peppers ($3.99/lb.) and we selected 6 of the straightest and sautéed them in a small cast iron skillet at high heat in olive oil and sea salt until the edges browned, which seems to be the recommended method of preparation. This method of cooking shishito peppers produces a soft steamy inside and a slightly charred, crispy outer skin.  We eat the Sauteed peppers by picking them up by the stem and stripping the thin skin away from the seedy  core inside the pepper with our teeth.  The Shishito pepper has little or no capisan, chili heat, so  even I enjoy its flavor.

I opened a bottle of Josephina California rose wine of syrah, which proved to be slightly sweet and not to our liking.

We sat in the garden under the gazebo and discussed our kitchen remodel and bocce court installation.  Suzette was thrilled because she had just found a source for oyster shells for the playing surface of the court that would save us approximately $2,000.00.

The idea is to develop the westerly side of our yard into a bocce court and entertainment area, where folks can sit in the shade and watch folks play bocce, while sipping beverages and eating appetizers.

Bon Appetit