August 28, 2018 Lunch – Tuna and scallop Sashimi Dinner – Suzette’s girls group BD Party

August 28, 2018 Lunch – Tuna and scallop Sashimi   Dinner – Suzette’s girls group BD Party

I had two 1/3 slices of a toasted everything bagel smeared with cream cheese and garnished with onion slices and chunks of smoked white fish.

Then I rode to Montano.

I invited Aaron for lunch because I had two good sized chunks of fresh Aji tuna I had bought at Albertson’s yesterday for $6.97/lb.  The piece of tuna I bought was a loin piece, so relatively free of tendons. I sliced Sashimi sized pieces and put them on a plate.  Then I fetched a sheet of roasted nori and cut about ½ of it into ½ wide strips.  I then sliced four raw scallops I had thawed overnight into four slices each and placed a small piece of nori on each.

I then thinly sliced most of the piece of daikon I bought yesterday after cutting it down the middle, yielding lots of half moon shaped slices.

I made green tea and fetched a tube of wasabi mustard and soy sauce and dipping bowls.  We poured soy into our dipping bowls and then added some wasabi. I also fetched some pickled ginger to dip with the seafood in the dipping sauce.

Today was Suzette’s BD celebration with her girl group.  She had decided to celebrate at our house and was expecting five members to attend.

We had decided to start cooking at 3:00 for the 5:30 dinner, so I finely minced a medium shallot and covered the shallot pieces with lemon juice at 3:00.

I then boiled the shrimp for Suzette’s BD Party with her girl group at 4.00.

Suzette arrived at 4:30 just as I was draining the 4 ½ lb. of peeled shrimp that I boiled in a pot of water seasoned with lemon peels, ¼ of a medium onion and two bay leaves until the shrimp curled and turned pink.

Suzette made a cocktail sauce and made my favorite sauce for cold boiled seafood, a

mignonette sauce

 I went to the garden and picked two sprigs of tarragon and seven chives.  I de-stemmed the tarragon leaves and put them into the mixing bowl with the shallot and lemon.  Then I sliced the chives and added them and then added about 2/3 cup of mayo and some extra lemon juice plus a pinch of salt and three drops of hot sauce.  I then transferred the sauce to a colorful ceramic bowl Suzette chose and chilled the sauce in the fridge.

Suzette set the table at the table under the gazebo in the garden and I lay  down.

I heard Suzette welcome several of the girls and make their way out to the garden.  I was finally aroused when there was no one left to answer the door and so I greeted Mary Ann bearing a fruit salad and a yogurt and Kool Whip dressing.  I helped her put the fruit salad in the kitchen and the dressing into the fridge and escorted her to the group of four others already in the garden.  Since the table was set for six and only five were in attendance, I was invited to join the party.


Each person had brought a dish.  There were macaroni balls sautéed to golden brown, a bottle of Kendall Jackson Reserve Chardonnay, A lovely salad of chunks of avocado, cucumber, red onion, and grape tomatoes, a platter of cheese cake wedges from Walmart, and Mary Ann’s fruit salad and Yogurt dressing.

We ate appetizers for a bit and then decided to serve the shrimp.  I fetched the shrimp and  then two more glasses, the PPI bottle of Italian Pinot Grigio, my mignonette sauce, and spoons.  Suzette served bowls of the gazpacho she had made on Sunday garnished with chunks of avocado and French bread croutons.

We ate and talked.  When everyone had finished their shrimp and gazpacho, we cleared the table and Suzette brought out glass dessert plates.  I offered to serve some of the Cherry Clafoutis I made yesterday, so I brought it out.

We filled our plates with cheese cake, fruit salad, and pieces of Clafoutis for a serious dessert course. Suzette brought out the chilled bottle of Picton Bay New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (Trader Joe’s $8.99) and filled glasses of those who still were drinking wine.

I showed Tanya some of the art collection and then discussed a legal issue with Diana inside the house as a Suzette filled and ran a dishwasher load.

We finally said goodnight to Diana at 8:30 and watched the news until 9:30, when we went to bed.

It was a lovely garden dinner party that Suzette and everyone else enjoyed very much.  I apologize for not taking pictures of it.

Bon Appetit