Sometimes it's easy to get it just right. Such was the case this past Saturday,
when Howard and I cooked dinner at the beach house.
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On our way out to Long Island's East End, we picked up corn, burstingly ripe local tomatoes, and flowers at roadside stands. The Southold Fish Market at Port Of Egypt (yes, that is really the name) yielded fresh-off-the-boat flounder filets.
Three ingredients, for the perfect meal.
Howard shucked the corn, and I put the ears in a stockpot to steam. Meanwhile, I heated up a couple of heavy pans to cook the flounder using my Grandmother's method. It's so simple, I can't even call it a recipe.
Lightly dredge the filets in some flour. When a drop of water sizzles in the pan surface,
it's time to pop in a pat of butter, and then slide in the fish.
When the fish is getting a little brown on the bottom, flip it over and do the other side.
When it's opaque and flaky, it's done.
By the time the fish was cooked, the corn was steamed.
Our third dish was tomatoes . . . just cut up and in a bowl.
No dressing, not even any salt. Naked tomatoes, window-sill temperature.
Now how does this look, for a simple, quick, fresh and local Saturday night supper?
I put butter and salt on the table, but we didn't use either of them. The corn was so amazingly sweet and delicious, it didn't need any embellishment. All we added to our meal of fish, corn and tomatoes was some wine. I'd have served this to Julia Child!
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The table setting involved "three or more" things that have been in use in our family summer homes forever.
The dishes came from John's Bargain Store in Smithtown, New York. They are Japanese knockoffs of Staffordshire, and they are a bit mis-printed, and oddly colored. I remember Mama buying them for 25-cents apiece when I was a little kid, and they make me smile.
The table setting involved "three or more" things that have been in use in our family summer homes forever.
The dishes came from John's Bargain Store in Smithtown, New York. They are Japanese knockoffs of Staffordshire, and they are a bit mis-printed, and oddly colored. I remember Mama buying them for 25-cents apiece when I was a little kid, and they make me smile.
My sister-in-law Doris says they remind her of old hand-colored postcards,
with odd blobs of color dabbed on monochrome prints.
with odd blobs of color dabbed on monochrome prints.
Old amber goblets from the back of the cupboard:
Also on the table -- serving bowls and platters of Hull brown drip pottery.
My Mom had lots of it -- good sturdy pottery for big family meals.
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I love fresh cut flowers, and they are cheap, sold at tables in front of houses along the Main Road.
It's done on the honor system; you put your money in a zip-loc bag or a coffee can
or an old cigar box, wrap your flowers in newspaper, and take them home.
My Mom had lots of it -- good sturdy pottery for big family meals.
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I love fresh cut flowers, and they are cheap, sold at tables in front of houses along the Main Road.
It's done on the honor system; you put your money in a zip-loc bag or a coffee can
or an old cigar box, wrap your flowers in newspaper, and take them home.
A pair of porcelain quails kept us company.
(Hey, that's Howard's hand. He is patiently waiting to eat!)
That's as fancy as it gets at the beach house.
But when your main course is this:
. . . you don't need fancy. Simple works best, for the food and for the setting.
Click here to visit her blog, and the other participants.
Thanks to Jennifer at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, for hosting Tasty Tuesday!
Click here to go there . . . and Jen is also asking for Domestic Diva tips today, so if you
have any great tips or secrets to share, hustle over and leave her a comment!
Have a lovely Tuesday, even if it does mean returning to work! -- Cass
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