Here fishy, fishy.

flotsam from the sea

This past weekend I was able to steal away for a bit of a mini vacation to visit my parents in Florida. Since the onset of the empty nest phase, my parents have become increasingly more mobile and spend a good amount of time in Florida. With my dad's birthday last week and being between assignments in school, I took a long weekend for some good ol' time with Momma and Daddy. A girl needs it once in awhile, you know?  

After a couple of days of hanging out on the beach, fishing and finding the most beautiful shells ever, I planned a good birthday dinner for my Daddy. If I ever thought my parents' kitchen in Jersey was a treat to cook in, apparently I'd forgotten how amazing their kitchen is in FL.  Looking out over the sunset behind palm trees in the backyard, it was tempting to resolve to quit school and become their full time chef.  No, I am not exaggerating; yes, it is simply beautiful.

We spent Sunday fishing "on the wreck" ten miles offshore. As an aside, Schaeffer thought this was awesomely exciting and wanted a full report not on the fish we caught, but on the pirates that attempted to catch us!  Needless to say I'm happy to share that our trip was pirate-free, but not fish-free!  In fact, we caught dinner!  Two beautiful red snapper were added to menu.

Menu:
Hog snapper and Red snapper filets (#181 & 182) with Olive, Pine Nut and Shallot Relish (#183)
Caprese Salad with Arugula, Spinach and Parsley Pesto (#184)
Steamed Haricots VertsBirthday Berry Crumble (#185) with whipped cream

two fish, one way.

I got the fish at this awesome little fish market in town, Paradise Seafood. Not only do you always find the best selection of fish, - this time hog snapper filets, but they give the best cooking suggestions!  Scott told me to lightly season the filets with sea salt and pepper and then dust both sides with a bit of flour. In a skillet I used about a tablespoon of grape seed oil, at his suggestion due to the high smoking point, and sauteed the filets for about four minutes each side.  Delicious. And fool proof.

need to work on my 'drizzle'

My dear not-so-old Daddy is some fisherman, I should say. I've grown up with him knowing every fish that is pulled up to the boat on a fishing rod. At first glance he tell you what you caught and just about how many inches it is, which he then quickly follows up with the rule about whether or not it's a "keeper". Yesterday he was all boy scout style prepared with seven rods on the boat, plenty of bait and chum and two of his favorite skippers, my Momma and myself.  Our two red snappers, 15" and 16", luckily got the stamp of "keeper" approval from our Captain.

fishies, momma and me

The entire weekend was wonderful, and not getting too much time these days just the three of us, it did us all good to be together and relax a bit. We even sang a slightly belated Happy Birthday to my Daddy while watching the Phillies game. All in all, it was pretty perfect. 

Thanks, M & D. Miss you already.