Nothing on my "To-Do" List But Eating, Drinking, and Relaxing!

Peter Gibbons, my hero!
taken from examiner.com

It’s not very often that I find myself able to simply sit down, relax, and watch a movie. All too frequently, my free time is spent at the gym, in the kitchen, or locked in my room furiously scribbling away thoughts and stories in any one of a dozen active notebooks. But on Friday night, after a jam-packed week at the office, I treated myself to a night of nothing.


Once the work day was finally done, I bolted out the door, scrambling to get to Salumeria Italiana before close. I made it in time and filled my basket with an assortment of goodies, including burrata and taleggio cheeses, farro pasta, and a jar of eucalyptus honey produced by Alce Nero, a group of organic farmers based in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region. Somehow I resisted the salumi counter―no small feat, considering what a rare occurrence it is for me to leave this shop without at least a few strips of their 24-month prosciutto.

Treats in tow, I rounded the corner onto Hanover Street, on my way to The Wine Bottega, where the team was pouring French, Italian, and Portuguese wines from Oz Wine Co., a Massachusetts-based importer of organic/biodynamic/sustainable wines. I left with two wines: an Aglianico-based red from Campania featured in the Oz array, and a recommended Montepulciano d’Abruzzo that I passed on my way to the cash register but couldn’t pass up when I saw that it was only $12.00.

Next stop? Mercato del Mare, because a food-gathering excursion to the North End that doesn’t include oysters is like a martini without an olive. I left with 6 Onset oysters from Buzzards Bay, MA, as well as a half-pound of local cod and inspiration for an interesting mignonette (recipe below).

Finally home!  I changed into pajamas, uncorked the Montepulciano, threw “What About Bob?” in the DVD player, shucked my oysters, plated my cheeses, kicked up my feet, sipped my wine, and basked in the glory of doing nothing. It was everything I thought it could be!



Curry Mignonette for Oysters

1 t. malt vinegar
1 T. mild white vinegar
1-2 drops vanilla extract
Dash hot curry powder

Stir the ingredients together in a small bowl; use a few drops to season oysters on the half-shell.


 

Onset oyster, Buzzards Bay, MA

 

Onset oyster with Curry Mignonette



Burrata - Cow's Milk; Puglia, Italy

Taleggio - Cow's Milk; Lombardy, Italy - drizzled with Alce Nero Eucalyptus Honey