Fried Chicken and Fireworks!

Every summer on Martha's Vineyard, the fire department puts on a spectacular fireworks show in August. People from all over the island, tourists and locals, all gather on the big lawn in Oak Bluffs with beach chairs, blankets, and picnics, and wait for the sky to get dark and the fireworks to begin. I hadn't been to the fireworks in a number of years, so this year, while my girlfriend and I went to visit my parents for the weekend on MV, we decided to attend. A summer tradition deserves a delicious summer meal, so I wanted to a make a fried chicken and slaw dinner to be eaten in beach chairs.

Pretzels, Mustard, and Salmon

Earlier this summer, my roommate was in Alaska, visiting his sister. While he was there, he went salmon fishing and caught 6 salmon! He had the fish filleted and frozen and sent home to NYC. I am fortunate enough that he is very generous and offered up some of the fish for me to use. The salmon was a beautiful red color. Much darker than any fish you would buy in the supermarket.

Is that watermelon in a sandwich??

It sure is! I love the flavor of watermelon in the summer. It's a melon with such a sweet flavor and interesting mouthfeel. Whenever I have some watermelon, I'm instantly transported to somewhere near the beach (figuratively, otherwise I would be eating watermelon non-stop...) Watermelon is normally eaten in wedges or cut up pieces. For this meal, I wanted to use it in an unconventional way. I decided to pair the sweet watermelon with the salty, meatiness of sausages in a sandwich. To go alongside this unconventional sandwich pairing, I decided to make some fried zucchini to make a sandwich and some chips a truly unexpected meal.

The Least Cost Effective Sushi - EVER

I often walk into the supermarket with little idea of what meal I want to create. The other day, I was on my way to the market, and I passed a sushi restaurant I have wanted to try out. My girlfriend and I contemplated going there instead of cooking, but I said, "Nay! I will make us sushi!" I've never made sushi, so this was a bit of an experiment, but I figured it would be fun to try.

A Spanish Fiesta

Paella is a really delicious seafood and rice dish that originated in Spain. One of the most interesting aspects of this dish is it's versatility. You can make paella with all different types of seafood and meat, from lobster or cod to ham or chicken. The one constant for all paella dishes is having rice and saffron. Saffron, though expensive to purchase, is a really great seasoning that adds a very unique flavor and a nice yellow coloring to a dish. For my paella, I decided to use shrimp, scallops, calamari, mussels, chicken, and chorizo sausage. I also want to thank my friend Tim for doing a great job as my stand-in food photographer.