Life has gotten in the way of my blogging and I have neglected to share some of the recipes of images I posted on Instagram stories.
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We vacationed in Nags Head, NC during Easter week. We arrived on Easter Sunday, my sister-in-law graciously hosted 13 of us for dinner. For the children she had homemade chicken nuggets, but for the adults she made End of Summer Supper, or better known as a shrimp boil. The dish is easy to prepare and can be made outside on the grill or in the oven. The recipe feeds 12 people using the following: 12 ears of corn, 3 packages of smoked sausage, 3 pounds baby new potatoes (bite size ones), 3-1/2 or more shrimp (peeled or not). The shrimp boil can be prepared a day ahead and kept refrigerated until ready. They potatoes need to be boiled until just tender, but not over cooked. You add clams if you wish. For seasoning my sister-in-law used both Old Bay and Chesapeake Bay Seasoning. I found Chesapeake Bay seasoning at “The Spice & Tea Exchange,” with locations located throughout the country or available by mail order. They carry spices, spice blends, teas, sweeteners, salts and accessories. 

​It’s warm enough at the Jersey shore to begin planting herbs in the garden that can be used all season long with my weekly CSA ingredients. This year again, my daughter and I are splitting a medium size box from Dreyer Farms in Cranford, NJ. The produce in the first week box included a four pack of lettuce, asparagus, spinach, leeks, beets, Swiss chard, lettuce, kale and mushrooms.
 
My husband, though not Italian, adores having pasta once a week; preferably with red sauce. It was with a bit of hesitation that I decided to use two ingredients from my CSA share to make Alexa Weibel’s recipe for Creamy Swiss Chard Pasta with Leeks, Tarragon and Lemon Zest.  Besides the Swiss chard and leeks, you’ll also need unsalted butter, panko bread crumbs, kosher salt, black pepper, nutritional yeast, fresh garlic, fresh thyme, chicken or vegetable stock, heavy cream, fettuccine or linguine, Parmesan cheese, fresh tarragon and a lemon. 

Recently Atlantic Offshore Fishery, in Point Pleasant, NJ, had a special on artic char fish. It’s a cold-water fish that goes between freshwater and salt water. Although both artic char and salmon share similar habitats, artic char lives much further north than salmon. Artic char is a mild fish with a skin that crisps up well when cooked.

I found on “The Spruce Eats” website, a recipe for Grilled Arctic Char with Honey-Dijon Marinade. Besides the fish, you’ll need Dijon mustard, honey, olive oil, garlic, fresh thyme, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and fresh lemons.

The mustard, honey, oil, garlic, thyme, lemon juice, salt and pepper are combined into a marinade for the fish. Your grill is preheated and the grates oiled. You can do this with grill tongs using several sheets of paper towels folded and dipped into either grape seed, or other high smoke point oil, and coat the grates. The fish begins cooking skin side down for 3 to 5 minutes, turned, and cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 145°.

This was a lovely meal. The fish was light and delicate tasting. The marinade gave the fish a wonderful flavor which wasn’t overpowering. Overall, a delicious meal.

Back in 2016, I was posting recipes that I prepared on my Facebook page.  My daughter thought that instead of posting on Facebook,  I should have a website, hence for Mother’s Day 2016 “Donna’s Daily Dish” was created. I can’t believe that eight years has passed. Donna’s Daily Dish also has an Instagram and Bio Link page promoting family friendly meals. My mission with this website was to inspire people to prepare easy, everyday meals at home. Some may be a little more involved, but those are recipes you’ll prepare on a weekend or special occasion.
 
Recently, I decided to make fresh pasta. I have a manual pasta machine that my late aunt purchased for my mother to make ribbon cookies. I looked through my cook books by Marcella Hazan and Arthur Schwartz for recipes, but settled on a recipe by Lidia Bastianich. For her recipe you’ll need all-purpose flour, eggs, extra-virgin olive oil and ice water. ​