The swans have moved on, most of them anyhow. On my run to the beach this afternoon I only saw 2 mixed in with the hundreds of Canada geese that reside on Hook pond this time of the year. Last week we had a cold spell with the temperature dipping into the teens for several days. As the pond began to freeze solid, I came across an older swan in a small hole in the ice just to the south of the 4th tee box. The bird was moving in a sluggish manner and had little room to move. I did my best to get it to fly by brushing a long branch within 2 feet of the hole in the ice, to no avail. The next day as it was even colder I set out to check and found the bird totally frozen in but still alive, there was nothing to do but wait. That night the weather broke and in the morning of the third day the temperature had reached 40 degrees. In the afternoon I was pleased to see that the hole was empty and it appeared that there had been no struggle as I checked the remaining Ice. Today the ice is gone and the thermometer outside our kitchen door reads 52 degrees. Read More »

Upon arrival in Hobe sound on Christmas Day we enjoyed a dinner of Baked Ham and Asparagus with Frank Mansell and his girlfriend Sandy Taylor. Frank’s faithful chef Kreta has loosened her grip on the kitchen just enough to allow me the honor of preparing the occasional meal for my children. On the second day after Christmas I was allowed access to make pasta for Whittier as she wasn’t invited to dinner at The Yacht club due to the rules, you must be 10 to dine there for regular dinner service, Whittie’s just 9. Read More »

Christmas is in the air on Dunemere lane. This Saturday after breakfast the Ambrose family set out to find a tree and by days end the chosen one was standing in the eastern most corner of our family room. The tree stands just over 7 feet tall, a balsam fir, it smells like Christmas and after a few hours of family time (and a few slices of yesterdays pizza) it looks like Christmas. Read More »

Family dinner on 96th Street last night was splendid.  On Jessica’s request, I prepared a London broil steak with thin cut French Fries and toasted garlic broccoli.  And for Lyman:  Pine nut-crusted tilapia with tangerine sauce.  In the middle of the table, a roasted Spaghetti Squash with sautéed red pepper and onions was served. Read More »

This was a family weekend to remember: 4 evenings in a row with all 5 of us in attendance each night with friends at a different table. The highlight of the weekend was last night Saturday at the Streeps. Thanksgiving dinner #2 — an annual event. Prior to Dinner we went to the beach, walking the dogs and casting a popper at the Jetty off Wieborg beach. We came up on a group of locals in pick up trucks towing a dory and to our great surprise we had a chance to watch them set the haul seine.

Mansell took a series of photos to document the event, a celebration of the sea on the beaches of East Hampton that may soon be completely outlawed. As the team pulled in the net, the large bass were tossed into the back of the truck while the shorts were returned to the sea, some too weak to make there way back into the shallow waves of low tide, a dramatic sight on this harvest moon.

As we were leaving, the girls asked one of the fishermen if they would mind if we picked up one of the short fish that had washed back up on the beach, he shrugged his shoulders and walked off. That was permission to us so we picked the exhausted fish up off the beach and carried it home in my tackle bag.

Lyman loves fish, this recipe was designed to use every ounce of our harvest. As the girls watched, I cleaned the fish, first removing it’s head and then opening the belly with thumb sized minnows pouring out on to the cutting board. Next step, slice the fillets from the spine to the tail and then remove the skin by laying the fillets skin side down on a cutting board and sliding the knife from tail end forward separating the skin from the flesh completely without having to scale the fish first. Next step is to go back to the remaining skeleton and trimming all the left over flesh.

This flesh is then diced fine and mixed with diced shallot and red pepper, parsley, salt & pepper. Sautee the mixture with butter slowly over low heat until the mixture is almost cooked through.

On the cutting board slice the boneless fillets in half from tail forward creating cardboard thin slices of fish (use your sharpest knife). Then roll the mixture into the fillets and spear them with a toothpick size piece of dried linguine.

For service roast 1 medium sized Spaghetti squash (@375 for 45 minutes w/ olive oil & water) and then remove the flesh, stir in 4 tablespoons butter, 1 cup diced shallots, red pepper and parsley mixed with a seasoning of salt and pepper. Place this mixture in a casserole and top it with the striped bass rolls, bake @375 for 25-20 minutes.

A Thanksgiving dinner promotion at the Little Kitchen kept me busy all day, working with Raul in a quiet kitchen, the dining room empty (it’s Tuesday and we’re closed) made for an exceptional day. He works efficiently and keeps his station clean. The stuffing recipe called for 6 loaves of bread, 2 seven grain, 2 Tuscan loaves & 2 rye. The bread was cut into cubes and then dusted with chopped parsley, oregano and allspice. Then Raul tossed it with olive oil and toasted the herbed bread cubes. In the morning we will add sautéed celery and shallots and then stuff 4 turkeys, a few sheet pans of the remaining croutons will be soaked with turkey stock and milk then toasted then stirred and toasted some more. Read More »

The Brussels sprouts at Quail Hill are ready for harvest, many larger ones at the base of the plants were picked weeks ago but I’m finding the small top sprouts to be tasty and quick to prepare in the pan. Sautéed with a few chopped shallots and a tablespoon of butter they only take a few minutes. This weekend we’re serving them with a blackfish and tomato stew with Israeli cous cous. I like the little pasta balls which require the same amount of cooking time as the 7oz fish fillets (bluefish or weakfish would work with this recipe too). Read More »

Last weekend on Sunday night we hosted the 13th annual Quail Hill harvest dinner at Estia’s Little Kitchen. On staff, Lyman (14) & Mansell (12) Ambrose with Nicholas (16) & Christopher (13) Cinque. It was a rewarding evening for me and it seemed our guests enjoyed it too. In the prayer I gave thanks for the color of Quail Hill eggs and the beautiful beets that we add to salads, I also mentioned how much all the little hands help. On Saturday we harvested raspberries with the Briggs girls, in 15 minutes pie pans were full, not the case when I harvest alone and certainly a lot more fun to watch the children harvest, 1 for me 3 for you. Read More »

After further research the swan report has changed. We still have a single signet on Hook Pond and the birds feathers are still grey, I did not see it fly. The sky is blue and a light breeze moves. At least 20 swans move about. Ernie Clark explained the gathering of swans at the bridge, it’s a gaggle of males that have yet to hook up. They are eating something off the bottom, ravenous, preparing for a long flight south. I wish I could find out where they will winter.

Tonight I eat alone at home. Quail Hill delivered vegetables at 4 pm and my poached meal was the bounty. It’s tomato season so the red & yellow varieties from our special salad looked great, a head of fennel made the bag and I grabbed an eggplant too. My choice of protein was the remaining 6 inch end of last weekends pork loin special. Since Raul chose to trim the fat our refrigerator came to the rescue and provided a topping of thinly sliced salami layed over sliced red tomato and a seasoned piece of pork loin. It was roasted for an hour at 350 degrees. Read More »

The rain falls like an electric blanket on 96th Street this morning, New York city is not much different than a steam bath. I walked Whittier and Lyman to school this morning following a new routine of waiting in front of the building at 50 East 96th St. for bus #164, Mansell’s new transportation to school at Windward in Westchester. Today opened a chapter of our lives that should be titled 58 dollars please—it seems every turn involves the next outing or uniform and $58 is the magic number.

Dinner on Sunday night served the family at our dining room table in Manhattan. It featured a chicken roasted in the rotisserie chamber at the local grocery store, bathed in herbs and the juice of 20 other chickens it was moist and flavorful. My contribution was a spaghetti squash roasted simply in its skin and separated from its seeds after 40 minutes in a 375 degree oven. I do what I can to feed the kids yellow vegetables at every meal that I prepare for them. The squash was topped with a sautee of garlic, green beans and sliced red pepper tossed with EVO and a touch of salt in a hot pan until the beans begin to soften. Start with the garlic and oil in the pan first then (as the garlic begins to brown) add the rest of the ingredients.

To serve, the squash should be shredded on to a serving platter then topped with a few teaspoons of butter followed by the bean and red pepper mixture.

For the Spaghetti Squash For 4:

1 spaghetti squash
1 large red pepper
1 quart green beans (tips snipped)
4 cloves of garlic (sliced thin)
¼ cup olive oil
salt to taste
4 teaspoons unsalted butter

The beans and Blackfish sold out early on Saturday night, a big hit. Tonight we replaced the blackfish with meatloaf. It went well side by side with the green bean salad.

At The Lodge I was short on staff. Just Andrew and me on the line, family meal was an early priority, when the pork chops were delivered I open the brown wrapper to find 8 attractive porterhouse chops and several smaller tail pieces. The tail pieces were perfect for this casserole, on a cool night in August the staff was content with creamy potatoes and onions that surrounded the pork. Read More »

Summer is upon us. Crossing the road requires advanced planning ( if I can take a right & then a left). People are settling in for the summer, my children seem to be very happy …Jess, too. We dined in the “Tavern room” at the 1770 house on Thursday, no kids just us. Read More »