When I was a teenager, and wanted something from Dad … money, the car, permission, etc. … I always opened the conversation with the question,”Daddy, Do you know how much I love you?”

And he would always answer with a question of his own, “What do you want this time?”

Well, this weekend I had the opportunity to show Dad how much I still love him. It was his birthday weekend, which, as in most families, means he chooses the meal.

And thus it was that on this gorgeous 80+ degree weekend in a valley in the Greater Puget Sound region, I baked bread bowls and made a kicker pot of clam chowder.

Dad, I love you enough to not only cook clam chowder for you on a hot day, but I also grilled some of the proscuttio-wrapped asparagus that you wanted to try.

Happy Birthday!

Bread Bowls

Recipe from Jacques Pepin’s Complete Techniques cookbook

9 c all-purpose, unbleached flour
3 envelopes yeast (6 3/4 tsp)
3 1/2 c water (at approx. 80 degrees)
1 T salt

- Mix the yeast and water together, and place two-thirds (6 cups) of the flour in the bowl of an electric mixer.

- After 2-3 minutes, stir the water/yeast mixture again. Wait another 5 mins. until the water starts to bubble on top. Add the yeast mixture to the flour and using the dough hook, beat on medium for about 5 mins. Add the salt and keep mixing for a few seconds.

- Add 2 more cups of the flour and keep beating on low for 1 minutes.

- Place dough on counter and knead by hand with the rest of the four. More or less flour will be needed, depending on weather, humidity, etc. Reserve at least 1/2 cup flour for the end. Work the dough by folding it with the palms of your hands. Continue kneading 7-8 mins. Sprinkle with more flour if it is sticky and absorbent. The dough should be satiny and resilient.

- Sprinkle the dough with flour and place it in a large bowl to allow for expansion. Cover with plastic to prevent a skin from forming on the top and to retain moisture. Allow to rise for 2 hours in an 80-85 degree area.

- After 2 hours, check the dough by plunging 2 fingers into it. If the depression made by your fingers remains, the dough has risen enough.

- Knead the dough for a few seconds to knock down the air bubbles. Let the dough raise a second time, or divide it into whatever shapes you wish.

At this point, I divided mine into 9 very large “buns”, let them rise a second time. About 1/2 hour before I thought they would be ready for the oven, I turned the oven on to 450 degrees and set a pan of water on the bottom rack to create steam.

Since we would be using the bread for soup bowls, I wanted a really good crust on the bread. Right before I put the bread in the oven, I tossed a couple “handfuls” of water on the hot oven floor to create steam and turned the oven down to 400 degrees. Then 5, 10 and 15 minutes after I put in the bread, I repeated the water-throwing process. It baked about 20 minutes more, to an internal temp of 210 degrees.

Next up…the chowder recipe…

This may not look like its poisonous, but believe me, it is. And we ate it for dinner tonight

Ages, eons and centuries ago, when Nick was 5 or 6, we were having dinner at Olive Garden. Nick, as usual, was having Fettucini Alfredo and (gasp!) there was a penne noodle in with his fettucini.

And being the loving, kind-hearted and caring parents we were, Paul and I managed to convince Nick that eating different kinds of pasta together created poisonous toxins. We even got the server to back us up!

Eventually Nick’s common sense kicked in, however it took a couple of years. which was nice, because its always good to have easy entertainment as close at hand as a box of spaghetti mixed with a couple of pieces of farfelle.

Now fast forward to tonight. Once again, I found myself with partial boxes of fettuccini, linguini and spaghetti noodles. So I combined them and served them together.

And thus, I have poisoned my family.

Deliciously.

Garlic Lemon Shrimp Pasta
Cook according to directions on box and drain, reserving approx. 1/2 c of the
pasta water: 1 box fettuccini (c’mon, be daring and mix in some linguini)

Combine in a bowl and marinate 15-20 minutes
1 lb shrimp, peeled & deveined
3 cloves garlic, crushed
zest from 1 large lemon
2-3 T olive oil

Heat additional 2 T olive oil and 2 T butter in a large skillet
Add 2-3 cloves garlic to oil and saute until it starts to smell delicious
Add marinated shrimp (cook in two batches if necessary to avoid crowding)
Season with salt & pepper

When shrimp is cooked, remove to bowl; set aside.
Squeeze juice from 1 lemon into pan
Add 1/4 cup heavy cream.
Season to taste with salt & pepper
Add a pinch of red pepper flakes, if desired.

Add pasta to pan and mix to combine. Stir in shrimp.

Serve with grated Parmesean.

Tonight’s dinner was the same pink sauce that Anna and I made with the gnocci last month, only this time I served it with fettuccine and shrimp.

Hush. I don’t care that it looks like spaghetti. It’s fettuccine. I didn’t forget to buy fettuccine. And you can’t prove it.

Cause it’s gone. Gobbled up.

You should have heard the table. Nobody was talking. We’re not supposed to talk with our mouths full.

We’ve actually had this halibut (snicker) in our freezer for a while. A neighbor gave it to us several months ago, and I just have never done anything with it. When I pulled it out to thaw yesterday, I figured I’d go to my fall-back fish cooking method…butter, lemon, and pepper. But the closer I got to cooking time, the less I wanted the same-old, same-old. So, once again, the internet. (How did people cook without it?) I found a couple of recipes for rubs and I took bits and pieces from them and finished up with this beautiful (just look at that color!) rub.

And the flavor! KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF! I just wish I had only put the rub on the top of the fillet because it completely overshadowed the fish – very bold flavor. But good.

And it’ll make a delicious lunch tomorrow with a salad!

Spicy Fish Rub
Mix together:
1/4 c brown sugar
2 T salt
1 T garam masala
2 T chili powder
1/4 t cayenne pepper
3 T paprika
2 tsp allspice
1 T black pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cumin

Coat top of fish fillet with mixture. Place on baking sheet & let rest for 20-30 minutes.
Cook at 425 until cooked through.