Back in the Saddle Again

We are back from Ted's scotch tour of Scotland and there is very little I don't know about the scotch distilling process at this point.   I'm not sure how useful all that information is going to be to me but you know what they say.  Information is king.

While I suspect that the distilling process is only mildly interesting to all of you, I can tell you one thing that might be useful.   Never add ice to a single malt scotch.  Add a couple of drops of water to "open it up" but never add ice.  If  you've been drinking scotch with ice, even if you really like it that way, that's the absolute wrong way to enjoy scotch.  This seemed to be the main message of my scotch education and I'm happy to pass it along to all of you.

So, seven bottles of single malt scotch later, we made a stop at Mail Boxes Etc. in Glasgow to ship it all home.   This was a good idea for a couple of reasons.  First of all, seven bottles of booze are heavy.  Second of all, we could still carry on our luggage if we didn't have all that "liquid".  Third, and most importantly, shipping put an end to Ted's acquisition of said beverage.  Good news all the way around.

Lest you think all we did was learn about scotch, you would be wrong.  We did some serious sightseeing and a lot of serious eating.  The food was delicious.  Who knew the Scots were such good cooks?  Every meal was a winner, which is really amazing, given that it's possible to have a bad meal anywhere, even in Paris. 

But it's always the same for me after a vacation.  I crave simply prepared, homemade food.  As much as I love being waited on in fancy restaurants and subcontracting out the cleanup, by the end of any vacation I've had enough.  I want a simple piece of fish or a nice little salad.  Nothing elaborate.

That's why on my first day back I am sharing this incredibly simple, summery salad with you.  It's three ingredients (plus a little salt) and is a big hit with a piece of grilled salmon or halibut.  Truly, this recipe for sugar snap peas is Ina Garten at her most delicious.

So, over the next week or so I'll share more about our trip to Scotland and my follow-up trip to San Francisco for my dear friend Lisa's son's bar mitzvah with just a 12 hour turnaround.  Let's just say that it was a busy couple of weeks.

Recipe:  Sugar Snap Peas with Sesame
(Ina Garten)

Ingredients:


1 pound sugar snap peas
Dark sesame oil
Black sesame seeds
Kosher salt

Directions:


Pick through the sugar snap peas to remove any that aren't perfect.  Remove and discard the stem end and the string from each pod.  Toss the snap peas in a bowl with the sesame oil, sesame seeds and kosher salt, to taste.  Serve at room temperature.