Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today it is a thought for the day.....

 

 

Have a great safe fun day all!

[spinnaker2]

 

 

To Mysty

[mysty]

11 minutes ago, spinnaker2 said:

 

 

To Mysty

 

What a wonderful "unbirthday" message!  Thank you spins! 🥰

[zqtchas]

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great safe fun day all!

[spinnaker2]

[Fletcher]

I recently watched a repeat of a Rick Stein documentary about Shanghai's food culture and I was so taken by a 'red' pork belly dish I just had to cook it myself.  It was said to be Chairman Mao's favourite dish. You need so-called 'five layer' pork belly with the skin on.  It's a one-dish wonder.

 

You start by frying ginger and spring onions.  Add cinnamon, bay leaf and star anise.  Brown the pork belly pieces. Deglaze with Shaoxing rice wine. Add dark and light soy sauce and sugar.  Cover and cook for 30 mins or so, add balsamic vinegar and cook for a further 20 minutes, then remove lid and boil down until thick and syrupy. Garnish with spring onions and serve with steamed rice.  It was truly delicious.

 

 

[zqtchas]

[mysty]

38 minutes ago, Fletcher said:

I recently watched a repeat of a Rick Stein documentary about Shanghai's food culture and I was so taken by a 'red' pork belly dish I just had to cook it myself.  It was said to be Chairman Mao's favourite dish. You need so-called 'five layer' pork belly with the skin on.  It's a one-dish wonder.

 

You start by frying ginger and spring onions.  Add cinnamon, bay leaf and star anise.  Brown the pork belly pieces. Deglaze with Shaoxing rice wine. Add dark and light soy sauce and sugar.  Cover and cook for 30 mins or so, add balsamic vinegar and cook for a further 20 minutes, then remove lid and boil down until thick and syrupy. Garnish with spring onions and serve with steamed rice.  It was truly delicious.

 

 

 

That dish looks like a slice of heavenly yum!  Scrumptious!

[jpalbny]

Happy Friday all!

 

[zqtchas]

3 hours ago, Fletcher said:

I recently watched a repeat of a Rick Stein documentary about Shanghai's food culture and I was so taken by a 'red' pork belly dish I just had to cook it myself.  It was said to be Chairman Mao's favourite dish. You need so-called 'five layer' pork belly with the skin on.  It's a one-dish wonder.

 

You start by frying ginger and spring onions.  Add cinnamon, bay leaf and star anise.  Brown the pork belly pieces. Deglaze with Shaoxing rice wine. Add dark and light soy sauce and sugar.  Cover and cook for 30 mins or so, add balsamic vinegar and cook for a further 20 minutes, then remove lid and boil down until thick and syrupy. Garnish with spring onions and serve with steamed rice.  It was truly delicious.

 

 

 

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great safe fun day all!

[frantic36]

After our four nights away indulging in catch with friends for lunch and dinner, I need zqtchas's fork and to burn a lot more than 2000 calories mysty 😂.

 

Since we can't travel anywhere else but Perth we decided to indulge in an episode of  "Lifestyle's of the Rich and Famous". It helped they offered a big discount.

 

[mysty]

1 hour ago, frantic36 said:

After our four nights away indulging in catch with friends for lunch and dinner, I need zqtchas's fork and to burn a lot more than 2000 calories mysty 😂.

 

Since we can't travel anywhere else but Perth we decided to indulge in an episode of  "Lifestyle's of the Rich and Famous". It helped they offered a big discount.

 

 

WOW!  That looks amazing!  And you are a beautiful couple!  Enjoy!

[frantic36]

Just now, mysty said:

 

WOW!  That looks amazing!  And you are a beautiful couple!  Enjoy!

 

Thanks mysty. I hope you enjoyed your birthday. I totally understand the dilemma about age but have decided to enjoy my 60s as I am lucky to do so with my life partner. Since we never know what is around the corner I am trying to enjoy each day as it comes...but sometimes the petulant 2yo in me still comes out and throws a tantrum.😁

[TrulyBlonde]

26 minutes ago, mysty said:

 

WOW!  That looks amazing!  And you are a beautiful couple!  Enjoy!

Ditto. Yes, Very attractive couple. 

[zqtchas]

[TrulyBlonde]

We took an early morning hike today to the Maroon Bells. It was so nice because very few tourists were here. In the Summer, this place is a madhouse. There is a reason that Conde Nast voted our home as the best, little town in America this year. We are blessed.

 

[mysty]

B-Day Dinner at Black Tartan Kitchen

 

1st Course - Charcuterie board

 

2nd Course - French Onion Soup

 

3rd Course - Scallops with bacon bits and pork rind

 

4th Course - Beets

 

5th Course - Duck 

 

6th Course - Sorbet with Cotton Candy

 

7th Course - Pumpkin Mousse

 

So much awesomeness!

[Stumblefoot]

4 hours ago, TrulyBlonde said:

We took an early morning hike today to the Maroon Bells.

 

Man, you need snow.  I was hoping a lot more would be on the ground by now.  La Niña is clearly winning so far.

[QueSeraSera]

Beautiful pictures from all of you - thank you,  Perth, the Rockies, to great food from a special place in Canada.  Thrilling.  And to that young man up North, I too wish all soup had cheese on top!

Wife took this picture here in Southern Virginia yesterday.  Not my native state, but I love this place.

 

 

[jpalbny]

I made my go-to easy braised duck legs recipe today for dinner. The booster shot yesterday kicked my butt and I was too tired to cook anything fancy.

 

 

Duck legs, fried until the skin is crisp, then braised in broth over vegetables, herbs, and potatoes. Minimum effort. Yummy with a small berry Mourvèdre from Sonoma.

 

This has been a very hectic work week. Wednesday was non-stop busy. Thursday I worked the Holiday and it was busy again. Was hoping for a mellow Friday, but...

 

Yesterday was total chaos. Everything went south starting around 3PM while I was trying to wrap up and call it a week. Got 3 calls for emergencies within a 10 minute span. 

 

Didn't get home until almost 6PM then had to scramble for dinner before our dance lesson. And to top it off I got a "bonus" call from the hospital at 12:30, even though I wasn't on call, because they couldn't find the guy who was. 🤬 Just what I needed after a miserable week.

 

So I took a nap this afternoon while the duck was in the oven. At least today was a dark, rainy day, so I didn't feel lazy doing as little as possible! 

[spinnaker2]

JP

Thank you for your care of the vets.

 

[mysty]

2 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

I made my go-to easy braised duck legs recipe today for dinner. The booster shot yesterday kicked my butt and I was too tired to cook anything fancy.

 

 

Duck legs, fried until the skin is crisp, then braised in broth over vegetables, herbs, and potatoes. Minimum effort. Yummy with a small berry Mourvèdre from Sonoma.

 

This has been a very hectic work week. Wednesday was non-stop busy. Thursday I worked the Holiday and it was busy again. Was hoping for a mellow Friday, but...

 

Yesterday was total chaos. Everything went south starting around 3PM while I was trying to wrap up and call it a week. Got 3 calls for emergencies within a 10 minute span. 

 

Didn't get home until almost 6PM then had to scramble for dinner before our dance lesson. And to top it off I got a "bonus" call from the hospital at 12:30, even though I wasn't on call, because they couldn't find the guy who was. 🤬 Just what I needed after a miserable week.

 

So I took a nap this afternoon while the duck was in the oven. At least today was a dark, rainy day, so I didn't feel lazy doing as little as possible! 

 

Meal looks amazing JP!  Your week sounds gruesome!  Hopefully things will improve!  And swat that turkey who called you when he was s**t  up the creek with no paddle! 

[QueSeraSera]

10 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

Just what I needed after a miserable week.

 

 

8 minutes ago, spinnaker2 said:

Thank you for your care of the vets.

 

We love and respect what you do JP, like Mysty & spins says.

The food picture looks delicious.

Difficult nights around us here tend to result in delivered pizza, my hat is off to you & Chris.

Edited November 14, 2021 by QueSeraSera