Seafood and Wings and Ritas - Oh my!

July 8, 2010
Broad Brook, CT

Hmmm. Where did the time go for the last few days? Well, we did more visiting and eating. What else is new?

As expected, Sunday we headed to the beach. It was a nice day, a little on the warm side, but the breeze kept things under control. Al dominated at the cribbage board, but that's OK. In the evening we all headed to Ted's after the beach. He did two excellent pieces of meat on the smoker: a pork butt and a beef tenderloin. Both were great, but the beef "won" in most people's book. It was on the "rare side of rare", just the way I like it. My friend Dave might say "blue". With Cindy's sides of salad, potato salad, guacamole, etc., it was a fun meal.

Monday, we caught up with colleagues from my Aetna days - a long time ago - Pat & Sharon. We reconnected last year via Facebook, which does actually have useful purposes at times, and caught up out in AZ when they were visiting. This time, we met for lunch at Sophia's, a local restaurant, and then returned to the coach so they could check out our "retirement home". In the evening, the "Seafood Fest" continued, as Al and I made a run to Stew Leonard's and came back with 4 lobsters (steamed and picked for later in the week), King Crab Legs and a pound each of shrimp and sea scallops. Everything was nice and fresh, and went well with a salad from Pat's garden laced with seared Ahi Tuna.

Tuesday was an easy day, as most everyone was back to work. We caught up on bills and birthday cards and generally relaxed in the afternoon. Al made his famous Lamb Chops with Mushroom/Port sauce for dinner, and we did a comparison taste with Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec wine options, both of which were excellent.

I got an early start Wednesday in cleaning the coach, wanting to get something done before it got too hot. After 4,400 miles, it needed a bath! I started with the roof and did the shady side before 10:00. We had a little bit of excitement, as the power lines burned right off the house next door. Overloaded? Could be; these houses were built with 100 amp service originally. We upgraded Pat & Al's to 200 amp service when we put in the RV pad. Anyway, the Fire Department and Power Company responded quickly, and nobody else in the neighborhood seemed to be impacted. I guess record-setting heat will do that.

Wednesday was also designated as "Wing Night", so that was the focus of the rest of the day. We had already gotten one package of wings but knew we needed another, so off to Costco we went in the morning. Back home, we spent most of the afternoon preparing the wings. Off with the tips, split in the middle, then into the steamer. Yep; our recipe starts with 12-15 minutes of steaming to render some of the fat, then they cool until cooking time. Deep frying? Nope; just 45-50 minutes in a 450° oven on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. These are "healthy" wings! We did four different sauces, starting with Budweiser Wing Sauce (if you like mild Buffalo-style wings and can find this sauce in the grocery, give it a try). The other three were Sticky Fingers BBQ sauces (thanks, Mike & Lynn!): Carolina Original, Carolina Sweet, and Habanero Hot. All were excellent, even the Habanero (not as fiery as expected). Oh, and it turned into "Margarita Night" as well - bonus! Two pitchers of "George-a-Ritas" did the trick, and we ended the evening with a couple of games of three-handed cribbage with Mike's new board, "imported" from South Carolina on his recent vacation in Myrtle Beach.

Today was another scorcher, so I once again got an early start and finished up washing the rest of the coach before it got too bad. As is often said, "It's not the heat; it's the humidity", and I was drenched by the time I finished. In the afternoon, we made another trip to Stew Leonard's and stocked up for the weekend. Pat bought a couple of containers of Lobster Bisque, which was doctored up with the lobster meat that Al had prepared earlier in the week. And the "Seafood Fest" rolls on!