Dinner – Grilled Halibut with Grilled Asparagus and Caprese Salad
Every day is different and interesting lately. I guess when you are isolated small things are more noticeable. Today I ate the last bagel. I can not think of when there were no bagels in the house. I tell myself the Swedish eat Lax on fluffy French baguette with butter and that will do, but I wonder if it will satisfy my cultural attachment to the round water dipped bagel.
I toasted the last two slices cut from ½ of a bagel, smeared them with Philadelphia Cream cheese, lay thin sliced onion on each slice and the slices of Lax. I drank Manzanilla and green tea.
I became hungry at noon. There were no PPIs that excited me, so I decided to make a salad with some of the new ingredients. I opened the bag of Romaine lettuce hearts and diced a small head of Romaine. Then I clipped some of the larger leaves from the flat of micro greens Suzette brought home from work and squeezed lemon juice and poured olive oil into the Cesar salad dressing. I then added two green onions sliced thinly, a thin slice of brown onion, ¼ of a cucumber sliced, a tomato cubed, some kalamata olives, ½ of one of the roasted chicken thighs, and some fresh creamy goat cheese.
I loved the texture and fresh flavor of the goat cheese so I I sliced and toasted a piece of French baguette and spread butter and goat cheese on the toasted pieces.
It was a wonderful lunch and just filling enough to not hinder my effort to get a draft of my brief finished by 5:30, when Suzette arrived.
We watched the news and at 6:00 went for a ½ mile walk. I have been stretching a bit and can now squat and touch the floor, which comes in very handy when picking up things like the mail..
We decided to grill the fresh Halibut Suzette bought yesterday at Costco with a bunch of asparagus that needed to be cooked and a Caprese Salad with two of the fresh tomatoes Suzette bought at Costco yesterday.
I sliced about eight lemon slices and Suzette the put them under the filet on a rack so that there would not be as much direct heat on the filet. Then Suzette tossed the asparagus in a plastic produce bag with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
I then made the Caprese Salad.
Suzette picked fresh basil leaves from our basil plant in the utility room and I fetched the onion, the fresh sliced mozzarella cheese and two tomatoes.
I sliced the two tomatoes and several thin slices of brown onion and then arranged the salad with successive slices of tomato, onion, cheese and a basil leaf. I then made a creamy Dijonnaise salad dressing with about 2 tsp. of Costco balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp. of Grey Poupon prepared mustard, about 1/tsp. of minced basil leaves that I stirred thoroughly and then added small amounts of olive oil and stirred it into solution until I had amassed about ¼ cup of dressing. I then dressed the Caprese. Soon Suzette brought in the asparagus and Halibut from the grill. The Halibut was a thick 1 ½ lb. fillet that was slightly undercooked. There was enough fully cooked fish to provide each of us ½ lb. and leave about ¾ lb. for some amazing fish tacos in a couple of days. Suzette plated the fish and asparagus and I added some Caprese salad to each plate.
I had chilled a new bottle Italian wine I bought at Total Wine recently. It s another wine produced by Saladini Pilastri named Pecorino, which appears to mean “piglet” in Italian judging from the label.
We did bit like as well as the first Pilastri wine we bought. This one was heavier and lacked the light fruity bouquet, sort of like little pig, Alas.
The ratings and reviews seemed so encouraging. Here is one.
Saladini Pilastri Description
The history of Count Saladini Pilastri dates back to the year 1000; a noble family from Ascoli Piceno that boasts of a rich and fascinating past whose ancestors were priests and leaders. The deep antique roots of the family are a heredity for the present; it is a heredity of long lives of tradition over the centuries of history. The vineyard activity has always coincided with the value and culture of the land from which it belongs. Count Saladini Pilastri’s farm began three centuries ago; the land has always produced wine. Originally the tenant farmers gave up their wine to the Counts so they could age it in the so called ”barriques”, the famous durmast barrel. From the 1970’s new vines were planted; the present canteen was constructed beside the old one so that all the production could be kept in the same place. The Saladini Pilastri winery binds the knowledge of an antique tradition with the guarantee of advanced technology. It is a matter of fact the vines born on this small hanker chief of Marche land are exported to America, Europe and Asia and they are appreciated by the most sophisticated tastes. The flavor of this wine unites the perfumes and colors of its land; the care with which it is produced and the knowledge of an antique art.
The Pecorino grape is native to the Ascoli region. It thrives best in the fresh environment of the mid-mountain slopes, which experience wide temperature variations. This early-ripening grape produces a wine of great structure and character. Intriguing minerality, with notes of citrus characterize this high quality, classic wine. Like all great white wines, its flavors are best accompanying fine cheeses, classic fish and poultry dishes typical around the region of the Adriatic.
James Suckling: 92 points
A white with lots of cooked-apple and lemon-curd character and grapefruit undertones. Full and delicious. From organically grown grapes. Drink now.
The Market went up and then down to a bit above break even at the close and then lower after the close. Tomorrow may not be a happy day except for buyers.
Bon Appetit
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