OK – we’re not literally pairing the mackerel with the grapefruit (although, now that I think of it, it sounds awfully good – BEN?) – rather we have a wonderful batch of seasonal ruby reds from south Texas. That’s where Ben spent much of his childhood, where our younger bro – Teo – got his name, and where I learned how to ride horses, shoot birds, drive, and be interested in girls. We also got a great looking batch of fresh west coast mackerel in from Quality Seafood. (I do love Quality Seafood – the space above their front door is festively festooned with the ditty “Everything from the Sea”.)

As usual, I digress – but all business from here on out, I promise – just the menu, ma’am:  Regarding said grapefruit.. (God. why are they called grape fruit? Honestly, they bear no resemblance to grapes. And are grapes not a themselves fruits?) In the words of that famous deep thinker Poo – oh, bother.   Onward… We thought we’d add a classic Italian salad to the menu.  Big slices of red grapefruit, sliced red onions and fennel, fresh mint, coarse sea salt and a dash of red pepper.  Ben’s debating whether to include a little radicchio and/or arugula – apparently the Italians do a good many variations on this salad.   And he’s made a champagne vinaigrette – ok, a prosecco vinaigrette – especially for the occasion.

Now the mackerel is also quite attractive.   Though I must confess, I spent a great deal of time this evening bent over the fillets with a pair of needle nose pliers de-boning them.  They are much bonier than their friends, the sardines.  However – like the sardine, mackerels are known to be sustainable (easy on the ocean), and very high in Omega 3 essential fatty acids.  Unlike the sardine however, the bony mackerels are thought to be quite snooty, and on occasion will simply turn fin and swim away from other fish mid-conversation. Even the humble flounder, who likes most all of the other fish, finds the mackerel to be quite a test. Ok – I made that last part up – just wanted to see if you were paying attention.

The point is this – we plan to sauté the the delightful, friendly, and charming little mackerels, coat them in super tasty high end extra virgin olive oil, and ply them with a side of onion relish.  The onion relish is a recreation of a dish I loved as a kid when my parents (back to south Texas) would take us across the river to Reynosa to dine at a really terrific restaurant called Sam’s (some people went to US Bar – we went to Sam’s, so I can only assume that Sam’s was vastly better).  At Sam’s, not only did they serve frogs’ legs (a culinary adventure I was toootally up for) – but they made this terrific onion relish that was very simple, but amazingly tasty, and I ate it by the boatload – diced white onions, soaked in lemon, and coated with crusty coarse salt. Loved it then – love it now.  The onions are pungent – the lemons sweetly acidic – and the salt cuts through, leveling everything out.

Hope to see you all this weekend.

Murph