December 16, 2021 Lunch - salami, Jarlsberg Cheese, and taramasalata sandwiches. Dinner - poached Salmon in a garlic cream sauce with Country Fried potatoes and Steamed Asparagus

December 16, 2021 Lunch - salami, Jarlsberg Cheese, and taramasalata sandwiches. Dinner - poached Salmon in a garlic cream sauce with Country Fried potatoes and Steamed Asparagus 

I worked some today on a response to a COA order and Board minutes for several assignments of Earn-RE stock, including mine.

I made Oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar for Suzette and me for breakfast.

Then at 2:30 I made two open faced sandwiches with taramasalata, Jarlsberg Cheese, and Slices of salami.  I drank a glass of Guy Mousset Cotes Du Rhone rose. It was light, dry, and pleasantly fruity. I liked it a lot. 

The idea is to eat light meals of mainly carbs and protein, and that seems to eliminate any bursts of loose bowels after lunch.

I napped from 3:00 to 4:00 and then walked to the Country Club and back at 4:00.

Suzette arrived shortly after I returned from my walk at 4:30.

At 5:15 we decided to open the three Christmas packages that arrived for Suzette from her family. I poured us glasses of the rose.

After Suzette opened her gifts, a glass Christmas tree ornament from Jean with a container of cookies, an assortment of mustards from Don and Bev, and a tote bag full of Confections from Jeff and Kathy.  It is lovely that Suzette’s family exchanges gifts.

At 6:00 I took the over 3 lb. Salmon filet out of the fridge.  I cut a piece for Willy and bagged the tail for sushi.  Then I cut three more filets.  We froze two and used one for dinner.

Dinner 

I love Poached Salmon with a garlic Cream Sauce so that is what we made. I minced 2/3 of a large shallot and two cloves of garlic (about 1 1/2 tsp.) and sautéed those in four or five T. of butter in a deep sided skillet with a pinch of salt and white pepper and dried thyme. I opened a bottle of Spanish Verdejo and Suzette added about 1 cup of wine to the skillet and the we covered the skillet with the wok cover to hold in the heat and steam and poached the salmon for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Suzette sliced one of the previously baked russet potatoes and we sautéed the slices in another skillet

with butter and a bit of olive oil. I snapped about a dozen and laid them in the steamer basket and added water and out it on the stove and Suzette placed the steamer on the burner at moderately high heat to steam the asparagus.

Suzette then fetched a small sauce pan and we melted two T. of butter and added 2 T. of flour and stirred for three minutes to cook the flour.  Then Suzette removed the Salmon from the skillet and poured the poaching medium into the roux. I started to separate, so we poured all of the sauce base back into the skillet and Suzette added additional milk to loosen the sauce until it became a cream sauce.

I poured out the bottle of rose, Suzette fetched the cranberry sauce and then plated the plates with Salmon with cream sauce plus a pile of Country fried potato slices and asparagus. I put cream sauce on both the salmon and the asparagus.

This was almost exactly the meal we ate at a small bistro a block from Place St. Germain de Pres on our fist trip together 24 years ago.

After dinner we sipped cognacs and watched Midsomer Mystery until 9:30, when we went to bed.

Today was another meltdown in the market.  My portfolio suffered a drop of 2.8%.  A real bummer.

Bon Appetit