Doctors, New Restaurant.

Sorry no blog yesterday, wasn’t the greatest day for us although we spent a fair amount of time shopping and Matt finally found some pants he wanted. We had been a bit worried about Matt’s INR readings because he is on Warfarin (or Cumodin) and having tried one doc. who wanted $189 for Matt to become a patient before he could do the blood test, we were a tad disillusioned. However, we went to see the owners of a local garage who are good friends and they recommended another doctor so we went there and they gave Matt the test right away, still cost $51 for the doctor’s visit plus $10 for the test but…. The problem is, I am not sure if this will be covered by insurance as it is a pre-existing illness. As  we left the doctor’s my knee gave out, had trouble with it at home, this time I could hardly walk to the car, when we got back to the cottage we put an Icy Hot patch on it and it seemed to help. The reason I have these patches, I have been having neck problems. Ain’t life great? Back to those vicissitudes. We ended the day on an up note, Matt made chicken in Tarragon sauce and it was delicious.

The temperatures on Friday plummeted by some 25 degrees. It was  quite breezy and dull. Not the kind of day to do anything much when on holiday. Our friend had an appointment at the local doctors, the one that wanted us to pay $189. Guess what he paid!! However, he got a change in meds and is feeling a lot better which makes it well worth the money.

Last night we tried a new restaurant, Portofino, its only been open a couple of years - basically it is a glorified pasta joint although it calls itself an Italian restaurant. What people in North America do not seem to realise is that Italians do not live on pizza and pasta. That said, we both had very enjoyable meals, Matt had Gnocci made with applewood smoked bacon and creamy tomato sauce laced with asiago cheese and I had Scallops Portofino which were sea scallops served with rice pilaf and asparagus in sage cream sauce. Very good and very tender.
Today we are going to be barbecuing pork chops and baking taties. Several friends are coming bringing an addition to the meal. Should be fun. Sunday noon, we are going to an ice cream parlour with some friends who highly recommend it then Sunday evening out to supper.

Here’s a somewhat different recipe from Hershey’s. I tend to forget chocolate is excellent for savoury dishes too. I always like Satays so this will certainly find its way on to our table.

Chicken Satay Skewers

Ingredients

• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 teaspoons dried coriander
• 4 teaspoons light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 4 teaspoons fresh, chopped ginger
• 2-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
• PEANUT DIPPING SAUCE(recipe follows)
• 1/4 cup fresh coriander, chopped

Directions

1. 1 Combine garlic, coriander, brown sugar, salt, cocoa and pepper in large bowl. Stir in soy sauce, oil, lime juice and ginger.
2. 2 Cut chicken into 1-1/2 to 2-inch cubes. Add to soy sauce mixture, stirring to coat chicken pieces. Cover; marinate in refrigerator for at least two hours.
3. 3 Meanwhile, prepare PEANUT DIPPING SAUCE. Thread chicken pieces onto satay sticks. Grill or broil, basting with marinade. Discard leftover marinade. Garnish with chopped coriander, if desired. Serve with prepared peanut sauce. Refrigerate leftovers. 15 to 20 appetizers or 4 to 6 entree servings.
   PEANUT DIPPING SAUCE:
   1/2 cup peanut oil
   1 cup REESE'S Creamy Peanut Butter
   1/4 cup lime juice
   1/4 cup soy sauce
   3 tablespoons honey
   2 garlic cloves, minced
   1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
   1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
   Gradually whisk peanut oil into peanut butter in medium bowl. Blend in lime juice, soy sauce, honey, garlic, cayenne pepper and hot pepper sauce. Adjust flavours to taste. (You should have a sweet/hot flavour.) About 2-1/4 cups dipping sauce.

Have a great weekend.