My First Weekend in Newport

In September I went to Newport for the first time! I know, now that I've been there - I'm not sure what took me so long to get there and I'm looking forward to getting back there next summer! I can imagine the area gets a little crazy during the summer season, but thankfully in early September it wasn't too bad. We managed to get a little beach time in, explore the historic down town area, cross the bridge to Jamestown and Narragansett, and most importantly, I got to see some old college friends get married in Portsmouth at the Glen Manor House!

Anthony's Seafood
963 Aquidneck Avenue, Middletown, RI
www.anthonysseafood.com

While in Newport for this wedding weekend, we stumbled upon this great little casual seafood spot in Middletown, Rhode Island thanks to some highly recommended Yelp reviews. They have seafood retail in addition to the restaurant section, and have all the usual seafood dishes you expect to find in the northeast.

I had to try their New England clam chowder ($3.25), which was a thicker variety - that always clues me in to it being an unhealthy version because it must be made with cream and not milk, unfortunately. It was tasty, though I don't really remember it being spectacularly memorable.

We both opted for the same untraditional sandwich that sounded interesting: Grilled Sword Steak with pesto, grilled tomato and mozzarella cheese ($10.95). We were both totally into this sandwich - I know the rule is usually don't mix seafood and cheese, but on this sandwich it worked. The pesto and juice from the swordfish made the bread a little soggy for my tastes after a little time, but I'd rather that than dry fish. I also would've liked the cheese a bit more melted, rather than thrown on at the end just before serving. The sandwich came with pretty basic fries that were also tasty.

Would definitely recommend this local joint!!

Slice of Heaven
Jamestown, RI

I absolutely love going out for breakfast but it is usually the meal I find the least reason to go out for because it's so easy to make in for yourself. Another Yelp find - we sat down to a delicious breakfast at this little local place, Slice of Heaven, just over the bridge from Newport.

My favorite thing to do is share dishes out because it allows me to try more! Thankfully, we were able to agree on two dishes here - one of their omelets and an order of their pancakes - one blueberry and two banana walnut! The omelet ingredients weren't my favorite - the onions weren't cooked completely so they were strong. I liked that it came with fruit salad!

Everything was overall good though and the outdoors seating was nice, but I absolutely loved their pancakes the most - would highly recommend them! Three would've been a lot as breakfast so I'm glad we shared so it wasn't quite like eating dessert at 10am.

Newport Vineyards
909 East Main Road, Middletown

The morning before the wedding a group of us decided to take advantage of our proximity to area vineyards by scheduling a wine tasting and tour at Newport Vineyards. The tour was interesting, but I've had better guides at other vineyards. There were a few wines we liked enough to buy - and settled on purchasing a white and a red.

No wedding weekend is complete without a wedding cake! This wedding weekend had cake and matching cupcakes, in additional to lots of other sweet treats and a candy station too! Beautiful wedding Danielle and Zach - and thanks for giving me a perfect reason to get down to Newport for the first time!

'Forgot the Quinoa' Toasted Couscous Salad with Shrimp

It's true. My old roommate and I found this great recipe online that we planned on cooking this week after work one night. We went to the grocery store, where I insisted that I had a box of quinoa at home, only to find that, in fact, I did not have quinoa at home. We wouldn't let it ruin our dinner though - and quickly decided that a good substitute for the quinoa would be a whole wheat couscous, which I did have on hand in my kitchen. So, here is the recipe for what was originally supposed to be "Toasted Quinoa Salad with Scallops and Snow Peas." Oh yeah - we changed the scallops to shrimp and added more veggies too, so basically it's a new recipe but thanks to the Eating Well website for the original inspiration!

Toasted Couscous Salad with Shrimp and Vegetables
Easily serves 4

3 servings of frozen shrimp*
5 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tsp orange juice
4 TB oil
1 cup whole wheat couscous
2 tsp minced garlic
About 3 cups Chopped Vegetables: snow peas, broccoli, red and/or green pepper, spinach
1 cup chopped scallion
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
Salt and Pepper

*I used a medium sized, already cooked shrimp (which = 9 shrimp per serving) which I defrosted and took the tails off. Feel free to use fresh and just add a bit more cooking time than we did during that step.

Grilled Salmon with Fresh Tomatillo Salsa and Grilled Vegetables

It's summer time - and it's official because we've started grilling again! It's just not the same when you're using the grill and there's snow on the ground - so now it really feels like summer. The thing with cooking seafood is that whenever you plan ahead you get to the grocery store and the fish you'd planned on doesn't look good. Have a backup plan. In my case - I like going to the seafood department and seeing how the different options looked. Even though the swordfish was on sale it didn't look great so I opted for the salmon, which looked pretty good and was only $8.99/lb. For 3 people I got 1.23 lbs, which was a pretty good amount with just a little leftover.

Grilled Salmon
with Fresh Tomatillo Salsa and Grilled Vegetables
The actual salmon part of this recipe doesn't take a lot of preparation because you'll top it with the homemade salsa. I just rubbed about 1-2 TB olive oil over the salmon filet, as well as a little salt and pepper. You can make the salsa ahead of time if you'd like, but make sure it's done before you put the salmon and veggies on the grill because all of the chopping definitely takes longer than it will to cook your grilled foods.

First Meal in the New Apt - Honey Soy Salmon!

This past weekend I moved into my very first apartment living by myself! It's all very exciting, as a cook especially - because I have the entire frigde and freezer to myself! (It's the little things that excite me). A big thank you to my family for helping me move in and up the narrow stairs to my beautiful 2nd floor apartment. The entire place was just re-done - so also exciting as a cook are the brand new appliances! I'm definitely not completely unpacked, but I've unpacked the important boxes - the kitchen ones! I haven't gotten my microwave yet, so I'm sans microwave this week. On Sunday night, after moving in, I was so tired that I just wanted oatmeal for dinner so I could get to bed - I put it in my bowl, added the water and ... realized I didn't have a microwave. So I had stove-top oatmeal for dinner Sunday night - I don't count this as my first meal in my new apartment - it's too sad. Instead, my dinner on Monday night counts!

Honey Soy Baked Salmon
2 portions salmon (mine was .82 lbs)
1/2 TB lite soy sauce
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 heaping tsp honey
2 tsp olive oil
1 scallion, chopped
1/8 tsp ground ginger
sesame seeds to garnish
1 cup broccoli, garlic steamed