April 29, 2023 Breakfast - Crab, Asparagus, and Cheese Omelette, Lunch - Erin O’Neill’s Pub and Grill, Poughkeepsie, NY, Dinner - Baked Teriyaki Aji Tuna and Asparagus and Rice
A day of travel with a stop for a wonderful lunch sandwiched between a remarkable breakfast omelet and a just okay dinner of seafood.
We stayed at Jean’s home and I woke up at 5:30, which is the normal starting time for PL soccer at home, only to find out that because there is a 2 hour time differential between Mountain and East coast time, the soccer fixture began at 7:30.
But I wanted to blog and talk to Jean, so I sat at the table with my back to the TV.
When Suzette came down about 1/2 hour later we turned our attention to breakfast. Jean had saved about 1/2 of her Colossus crab Newburgh from dinner, so we had about 1/2 lb. of white lump meat crab. I chopped up five lovely asparagus stalks diagonally so they sat up in the pan and two slices of American cheese. Suzette then took over and whisked four eggs and sautéed the asparagus and then added the crab and egg and finally the cheese. When the bottom had firmed Suzette and I flipped one-half onto the other half with about a 3/4 inch gap at the edge, close enough to be perfect.
It was the most delicious omelette I have eaten this side of a crab and cheese soufflé.
Jean then left to man her booth at the Grove and we packed up and left around 9:30.
Suzette wanted to buy some fresh picked Pennsylvania Asparagus at a road side stand, so we meandered our way north along small rural roads.
Unfortunately we did not see and stands, so Suzette started studying Google to find a indoor farmers’ market. We went one that had only one produce vendor and his asparagus were from NJ and $4.99/lb., so unacceptable.
We then diverted to Shillington??, but their large factory converted into an indoor market turned out to be fast food stalls connected to a large Antique Mall. We bought large cups of chai and continued to Erin O’Neill’s Pub and Grill in Poughkeepsie for a late lunch at 2:00. O’Neill’s is divided in half with a square bar on one side and a dining room with views of the Hudson on the other 1/2.
There was jovial banter and even songs going on at the bar as we walked through to the restaurant side. I immediately thought if I lived in Poughkeepsie I would gladly become a happy drunk at O’Neill’s.
We found an empty table with a view of the river and ordered the Polish Platter and Panko coated Salmon that we had seen on the menu when we planned our lunch stop in Poughkeepsie several weeks ago.
Both were excellent. The Polish Platter had about 1 lb. of Boiled and grilled Kielbasa sausage, three pierogi (a sautéed flour dumpling stuffed with seasoned mash potatoes) on a pile of sautéed cabbage onions, and mushrooms with a ramekin of beet dyed horseradish.
The Panko crusted Salmon was even more interesting. The generous salmon filet was completely coated with a 1/8 inch thick crust of reddish colored panko. God bless the person who figured out how to emulsify panko so it would stick to a slippery salmon filet. My guess is pureed tomato as the emulsifier.
The salmon topped with a glob of ramp aioli was served with rice, a Thai slaw, and a pile of steamed edamame. Everything was delicious and we ordered an extra ramekin of ramp aioli.
Suzette ordered a local beer and I ordered a Down East apple cider produced in Boston.
We enjoyed the Salmon and ate it all but, the Polish Plate was more than we could eat, so we boxed the last 1/3 and drove across the bridge to the Thruway and north to Luke’s and arrived at 5:15.
Luke immediately ate the remaining Polish Platter and then we discussed dinner.
Luke recommended shopping at Adam’s a specialty grocer south of Kingston, so we drove there.
Adam’s had a very expansive selection in almost every category. Its widest selection seemed to be in candy. We bought two dark chocolate truffles with soft centers for Luke and 1/2 lb. of both milk and dark chocolate coated orange peel, my favorite. I looked at the Torrontes and almond nougats, but there were20 to 30 to choose from and we wanted fish, so I pushed on to the seafood section. There were lots of choices but we settled on two Aji tuna steaks weighing .9 lb.
We also bought cremini mushrooms, and cippolini onions, Suzette’s favorite, beautiful NJ asparagus, beautiful green beans, a huge bunch of rainbow kale, an artisanal baguette, mirin, and a few items for Luke.
The menu idea was teriyaki tuna with steamed asparagus and rice.
It was a great meal and we drank the Mas white wine.
The teriyaki marinade turned into a teriyaki sauce.
After dinner we ate some of the chocolate covered glacéd orange peel with the new green tea.
Bon Appetit
No comments:
Post a Comment