Fillet of John Dory or Brill with Pears, Leeks and Noilly Prat Sauce
In the continuing series of Saturday Night Dinner Dates with my pretty girlfriend Carolyn, we drew from our favorite Irish cookbook, My Wild Atlantic Kitchen. A great find from our trip to the Emerald Island earlier this year. Tonight’s meal is Fillet of John Dory or Brill with Pears, Leeks and Noilly Prat Sauce. Of course, John Dory or Brill are not common items at the Colonial Beach Food Lion. But I googled Brill and found a picture of a fish that looked like a flounder. Since I had a Fredericksburg errand to run on Friday (my Rav4 finally has VA plates!) I swung by Publix and picked of some fresh flounder. I halved the recipe, but below is the full recipe. Ingredients Serves 4 Fish: • 4 John Dory or brill fillets • 2oz Kerrygold butter • 3oz leeks,...
James River Canoe Run
In June 2021 Team Foley/Towler tackled the Upper James River on a multi-day canoe run. We had a great time, and for Don, it was a nice change of pace from his usual calm, flat canoe runs on the Suwannee, Sante Fe, Withlachoochee, Wekiwa, Crystal River canoe treks that he had been doing for years. Don, Savannah, Mike and Dave, ready to start the James River Paddle Savannah and Mike on the paddle Something about a river Mike and Savannah setting camp Dave setting up camp Savannah and Mike Dinner, Don cooked potatoes, corn and rib-eye steaks on the grill. Don can fill up a canoe! Natural Bridge, VA, near our take-out point. A highway actually runs over this bridge. The hotel we stayed at was a short walk away from this natural...
Crumbed Scallops with Garlic Butter
This Saturday night’s dinner once again draws from Maura O’Connell Foley’s My Wild Atlantic Kitchen…Crumbed Scallops with Garlic Butter. This time I actually followed the recipe exactly, but had fun with the sides, grilled carrots and zucchini wedges. https://www.mywildatlantickitchen.com/ I halved the recipe and made two meals of the following IngredientsServes 42oz plain white flour4 eggs, beaten2oz fresh soft white breadcrumbs16 scallops2 tbsp olive or sunflower oil, for frying1 tbsp butterSea salt and cracked black pepper4 tbsp garlic butter at room temperatureFour carrots1 zucchiniVeggie seasoning (I mixed onion power, garlic powder, Toni’s cajun seasoning and…interestingly enough…Everything Bagel seasoning. DirectionsIn a shallow bowl, add the flour and...
Taos Run
In August 2022, I flew to New Mexico to explore Taos, a town I had heard much about. It was one of those magical trips you imagine of when flipping through travel guides (remember those?). At this point, I’m going to do a photo-dump, then add narrative later. Chase is NOT a fan of Don’s Suitcase setup. But he knows he is about to have a new adventure soon. He’s wet here from his weekly bath. Roadside view on the way to Taos, the gorge in the background Arroyo Seco, a small town between Taos and the Ski Valley Downtown Taos The Taos Gorge The view from our place in Ski Valley Scenes from the Taos Pueblo Scenes from the Taos Pueblo Scenes from the Taos Pueblo Scenes from the Taos Pueblo Scenes from the Taos Pueblo Scenes from the Taos Pueblo...
Cod Provencale
Saturday night’s dinner brings us another interpretation of a wonderful recipe from My Wild Atlantic Kitchen, an Irish cookbook by Maura O’Connell Foley…Cod Provencale.I love Mediterranean style cooking, and this meal falls squarely in the realm.Ingredients• 2 cod fillets• Soft white breadcrumbs (I put a frozen hamburger bun in a food processor for a couple seconds)• Kerrygold butter• Garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped• Kerrygold butter• 1 tbsp olive oil• 6 shallots, finely chopped (I used ¼ of sweet onion)• 2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped or good quality tinned tomatoes• 3 tsp tomato puree (I left this off)• 1/4 cup apple juice• 1 mild red chilli, split, deseeded and finely chopped (I used 1 habanero)• Black pepper• oregano and or...