Cucinare e amare

We’re honeymooning in the Hamptons, dahling, and life here doesn’t suck. After a couple days in New Jersey recuperating from the 11 hour drive home from Southampton, Ontario and catching up on laundry, we loaded up the car once again for a weekend in Watermill with two of our girlie friends and their 2 boys. The upside to unemployment is the flexibility to go wherever and whenever which has made this summer a vacation chock full of fun mini holidays.

It helps to also have generous friends with summer houses. Of course, these friends would not invite a family with 2 small children to their homes if we didn’t make it worth their while. We are a very easy family to please, and we absolutely put out. I mean put out in an asexual way though I would go there if the Mrs. were more open-minded. Sadly, that’s just not how we roll. I mean to say that we don’t just show up and expect to be served. We happily play with other people’s children and we clean up after ourselves and we are game for almost any kind of activity that doesn’t involve a sports bar. But at the top of our house guest desirability resume is Gabriella’s cooking. Every summer house friend knows that if Gabriella comes to visit, they’re going to have to wear loose fitting clothing so they can stuff themselves stupid on copious amounts of divinely inspired meals.

If Gabriella had a blog, it would be a foody blog called cucinareeamare.com (to cook is to love), and she would have you salivating over her recipes and her rack...of lamb. You’d salivate over her rack, too. It’s mighty fine. I wouldn’t mind being deployed to Her-raq. Roll your eyes if you must, but Gabriella got a good chuckle out of that one, and I had to add it. She’s got the acumen of Ina Garten, the endearing personality of Giada De Laurentiis, the classic beauty of Nigella Lawson and the authenticity of Lidia Bastianich. You'll forgive me for not going for the obvious comparison to lezzy chef, Cat Cora. Gabriella is a huge fan of that Iron Chef, but I felt I had all my bases covered with the aforementioned ladies. Gabriella is all and none of these chefs because she’s a unique flavor of mmm mmm good that tickles all of your senses and cradles you in a body hug of love. Sometimes I’m sure that Gabriella has walked out of the pages of a magical realism novel for the sole purpose of bewitching everyone in her path with the heartfelt spells stirred and sautéed in her kitchen creations.

Sadly, Gabriella does not have a foody blog. Enter Peaches & Coconuts. I may not focus on food in the content of my blog, but without food, I would certainly die. And if I died, there would be no blog. And while my sister Rachel contemplates how to make my death look like an accident and be rid of this blog once and for all, I will present with you with the last meal of our wedding weekend brought to you by the chef who has cast her delicious spell on me.

Herb stuffed scallops grilled on bed of greens

Ingredients
4 fresh scallops
2 Tbsp Basil
2 Tbsp Mint
2 Tbsp Cilantro
1 Tbsp Olive oil
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of cracked black Pepper

Mixed green salad (mesclun)
1 Tbsp Soy sauce
1 tsp Sesame oil
Juice of 1 lime
Salt
Pepper
Mix soy, sesame oil, lime, salt and pepper.
Toss mesclun with dressing and place on serving plates

Cut scallops in half but not all the way through
Chop finely basil, mint and cilantro mix with olive oil, salt and pepper
Stuff scallops with herb mixture
Brush scallops with olive oil and grill on high for 3 - 4 mins on each side
Serve one scallop on top of mesclun salad

Grilled Sesame crusted tuna steaks with soy dressing

Ingredients
4 tuna steaks
Sesame seeds
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Lemon
Lime
Chopped herbs from the scallop dish
Scallions
Salt
Pepper

Brush or rub sesame oil on tuna steaks
Coat each steak with sesame seeds
Sprinkle tuna with salt and a good amount of fresh cracked black pepper
Grill on high for 4-5 min on each side (change cooking time according to how rare you like your tuna)

Dressing
2 Tbsp sesame oil
4 Tbsp soy sauce
1 lemon
1 lime
Chopped herbs
2 finely chopped scallions
Combine all ingredients and stir well – add salt and pepper to taste

Serve tuna steaks with a drizzle of soy dressing

Farm fresh vegetable salad
1 pd green beans
½ pound new baby potatoes
5 plum tomatoes
1 large red onion
4 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Lemon
2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
Salt
Pepper

Cook beans in large pot with 2 cups of water and lots of salt. Cook for approx 8 mins - tender but still have a little bite and retain their green color
Boil potatoes in salted water until tender
Chop red onion into very thin slices
Cut beans and potatoes to bite size pieces and place in salad bowl with onions
Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lemon, salt and pepper (salt and pepper to taste)
Dress and toss salad

In all honesty, I hadn't originally intended to post Gabriella's recipes, but I needed a food themed entry in order to justify posting this photograph. Food is art and art is love and love is .... well, there's no poetic way to put it. The apron says it all.

and this one's for Vikki who requested girl on girl and because it could be that kind of blog.