March 11, 2019 Lunch – PPI Shrimp Scampi and Spaghetti Dinner - Scallops Provençal with Pumpkin Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Asparagus

March 11, 2019 Lunch – PPI Shrimp Scampi and Spaghetti  Dinner - Scallops Provençal with Pumpkin Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Asparagus
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Three big events today:  I finished the paperwork for the hotel closing tomorrow, I ate wonderful seafood dishes for lunch and dinner, and I had a Super day in the Market.

Apple was upgraded and Nvidia entered an advantageous merger, so the Market rose approximately 2%, which is huge, since it is not projected to rise more than 4 or 5% for the entire year.  One can expect such a day only one or two times a year. I am finally back above where my portfolio stood at the beginning of 2018.

I ate yogurt, granola, blueberries, and milk for breakfast.

I ate the PPI Shrimp Scampi from Saturday’s dinner with a generous squeeze of lemon juice for lunch with a glass of Picton Bay Sauvignon Blanc at noon.

At 3:00 I rode the 3 ½ mile circuit on my bike and drank a cup of hot chocolate with rum when I returned at 4:00 and thawed 8 or 9 scallops.

Suzette arrived around 5:00 and we decided to make Julia Child’s recipe for Scallops Provencal in the Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  Here is the recipe.

I could not resist eating some Clafoutis while we prepped dinner.  Then I chopped 1/3 cup of onion, 1 ½ T. of shallot , and 1 clove of garlic that Suzette then sautéed in butter and olive oil in a large skillet.  I then cut the scallops in half horizontally so they lay flat.  Suzette dusted them with flour, salt, and pepper in a freezer bag and then sautéed them with the other ingredients in the skillet.  After the scallops were cooked suzette deglazed the pan with ½ cup of white wine and added 1/8 tsp. of fresh thyme, ¼ cup of chopped fresh chives from our garden, and a bay leaf.  The flour and wine combined into a quick cream sauce.

Suzette heated the PPI pumpkin mashed potatoes and steamed 10 stalks of asparagus.  The fresh asparagus is wonderful now and super cheap.  For the last two weeks I had not paid over $1.00 per pound for the best asparagus of the year.  The Chinese must have put a tariff on asparagus or there is a bumper crop.

Here is a picture of dinner.

We drank the last half of the bottle of Picton Bay Sauvignon Blanc fro New Zealand with dinner.

After dinner Suzette serves us bowls of Clafoutis garnished with whipped cream for a lovely finish to another great seafood dinner.

We decided to throw out the remaining pumpkin mashed potatoes.  Sometimes our recipe experiments are less than successful.

Bon Appetit