My Birthday Dinner!

Our grilled Yellow Tail Snapper with our version of Latholemono

Last year for my birthday we rented a Hummer Limo and took a bunch of my friends to dinner. This year I opted for something much quieter and more intimate. Even after having numerous friends volunteer to take the girls for me so that T. and I could go out I still wanted a nice quiet meal at home. I also couldn't see any reason to deprive the girls of a night they were soooooooo excited about.

Very fresh Yellow Tail Snapper

For dinner I told T. that I wanted some Snapper. We are fortunate living here that we have an abundance of seafood at all times. Snapper is one of my faves. Locally we are able to get Yellow Tail and Mangrove Snapper. When T. went to the fish market the Yellow Tail was the freshest. The 2 fish that he brought home had just been munching on shrimp last night!!! The inspiration for this meal was my friends Peter's blog, Kalofagas - Greek Food & Beyond. Last week he posted a grilled Red Snapper with Latholemono. His pictures made the fish look incredible and it was all I could think about for days (yeah...how sad is my life that that is what over takes my thoughts at times??? Some people get songs...I get recipes!)

Anyway we had the Yellow Tail Snapper as well as a large salad with feta and home made dressing. To me this was a perfect meal. We ate outside by the pool and as soon as we were done the girls went out to the play set to play so we got to sit and enjoy. I tried fish eyes for the first time and had free reign over the cheeks. It was an incredible evening and one that would not have been anywhere near the same in a restaurant!

Salad with feta cheese and poblano peppers

Latholemono (our version-definitely not true but it was what we had fresh and available)

1/2 shallot (finely chopped)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp fresh Greek oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp crushed pink peppercorns
juice of 2 small lemons
1/4 olive oil

Place all ingredients in a container with a lid and shake well. When the fish is done cooking on the grill simply pour this over the fish and serve! (Peter, I will follow your recipe to a tee next time as promised!)

One of my favorite wines with dinner (thanks Sarah!)

I won - the dog got NONE of this cake!

Sorry about the flash but I loved that way the layers were - lemon curd, buttercream and fresh berries on each layer!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com