easy, satisfying day in the kitchen

I'm at the tail end of a good Saturday with some nice work in the kitchen.

No, work is too much. This wasn't a hard day, a difficult day, in any way. I made some things, I was pleased with them, and all of them took relatively little effort.

(and once again excuse the rather poor quality of iPhone photos if you view them in larger size)

First "project": scones. Part of my joking Scones for Smelts program. Just a nice treat for various friends on the team when I see them at Saturday AM practice. Two batches, with a few kept for me and Conrad.
The first ones were simply currant scones. The second batch were dried sour cherry (from the awesome Lily's of Traunik store) and chopped walnuts. I think they turned out well.

After practice, before I did some housecleaning, I made some mixed spiced nuts. A simple and very good, reliable recipe from the Union Square Cafe cookbook - rosemary is the twist that makes them so appealing, I think. We'll have these to snack on, including when Conrad heads out of town in a handful of days.

Dinner tonight? I'm rather pleased with it. Two Saturdays in a row of producing nice meals. A little thought works. Here's what I did:

• Marinated two pieces of halibut in fino sherry with olive oil, lemon zest, pepper, fennel seed, coarse salt, and saffron. Baked it at 450 degrees.
• Lightly caramelized parsnip with some shallot, seasoned it with salt, pepper, and thyme, then cooked it tender-soft in chicken broth. Pureed it and strained it.
• Blanched Brussels sprouts. Sauteed chopped thick-slab bacon, removed most of the rendered fat, added chopped onion. Mixed in the Brussels sprouts and set it all to bake in a small tin at 450 degrees as well.

All of this plated up nicely. We dined at the kitchen table,
and sipped some Conundrum white wine, a favourite.

And now Conrad has gone back to do some work he must get done in the days ahead. A lovely dinner, and a fine day all around in the kitchen for me, however. I feel a little inspired to perhaps tackle cookies tomorrow!