Heading South

Marking a milestone birthday with 10 days of celebrations

My birthday morning started with a walk with friends Nina and Sam on the paths at Oak Hall Regional Park near State College.

It was a historic birthday, and to celebrate turning 75, I wanted to be part of history. After a very fabulous dinner in a renovated church in Frederick, MD, on my actual birthday with John, my brother, Geoff, and his wife, Barbra, we took the train from Shady Grove into Washington, DC, to take part in the No Kings march the following day. It was a street party with gamely dressed, sloganeering participants—and everyone was courteous and upbeat. The marching and chanting took me back to my youth and the DC protests against the Vietnam War. I felt young again, like I had a voice and it mattered. Like I could change things.

Our dinner at the Wye Oak Tavern in Frederick, MD started with oysters (oddly, delicious ones from Raspberry Point in PEI) and country ham served with pimento cheese and Sesame Rolls. I had Rockfish, Barbra had shortribs, and both men enjoyed their porkchops with grits. The next morning we headed into Washington, DC for the protest march.

The next day, I headed south solo to Leonardtown, MD, for the National Oyster Shucking Championship with my sister, Mary, her husband, Rolf, and daughter, Brooke, and her SO, Jonathan. There was no oyster cook-off this year, but that event is destined to be resurrected next year for the 60^th anniversary. There were still plenty of oysters to slurp, in various iterations, as well as shucked oysters from the contest, served by the participants. It was great fun to see Honor Allen win again—the young man claimed his 6^th Top Shucker award—and will compete next September in Galway, Ireland. Here’s a story posted two years ago about the event—and it is pretty much always the same.

The oyster festival features local oysters as well as the county specialty, a ham stuffed with collard greens that is made into sandwiches for non bivalve eaters--like my sister.

The next day, I headed further south, after getting an invitation from our son Alex and his wife Mary to check out their new vacation home in Cocoa Beach. It needed to be outfitted, and they are limited to visiting on weekends that pass by too quickly. I was happy to scout it out!

The Ron Jon Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach is a mecca for surf and skateboard enthusiasts.

Cocoa Beach is a town with a long history as a surfing capital, thanks to the Ron Jon Surf Shop brand. The founder of the business, Ron DiMenna, passed away last month at 88, after pioneering surfing in America. His first shop opened in 1959 in Ship Bottom, New Jersey, the beach town where John and I met, about the time Mr. DiMenna was starting his business. Now there are 13 Ron Jon stores nationwide as well as in Cozumel, Mexico and Grand Turk.

The beaches are as dog friendly as the town is people friendly and the thrift stores house a wealth of treasures.

But I haven’t been surfing here; just cooking and trolling the local thrift shops for kitchen items and vintage Florida art to outfit the new property. The family came in on the weekend, and we had a great time exploring the area and connecting with the local foodways.

We might not have furniture, but we did have fine French champagne to go with our Spanakopita and Pimento cheese.

I made a Spanakopita for Friday night when they arrived at dusk, mainly because my sister Mary had made one while I was visiting her, and it looked so good. Pleating the top layer of phyllo made it extra crispy and beguiling. We also had some pimento cheese from South Carolina, widely distributed and highly addictive (right, Jeanne Murphy?).

The Tripletail fish was super fresh and so thick that I butterflied the pieces before breading and baking them. The Kuri squash was slightly caramelized with the miso butter and very tasty.

And for Saturday’s dinner, Mary and I tracked down some local fish, a species called Tripletail that was excellent. We went to what was listed on Google as a fish market, but when we got there, it was a restaurant, and the manager explained that the retail fish market is only open during tourist season. He was glad to sell us some of the fish they use at Jazzy’s Mainely Lobster. We found a Kuri squash at the local Sunseed Food Coop, and I knew just what I wanted to do with that, and picked up some white miso at the natural food store as well.

Smiling faces at dinner!

We enjoyed what I call a “proper dinner,” i.e., local fish, seasonal squash, and Mary’s delicious black beans and rice, with a simple salad and a Cilantro Remoulade for the fish. The teenagers, Larissa and Armando, loved it, and CoCo did too.

We watched the launch of the Falcon 9 from the beach near the house.

It’s the dawn of a new era here on the Space Coast, and there is only one way to go—UP!

The Kuri squash before roasting.

Recipe for Kuri Squash with Miso Butter

Kuri squash is very hard-skinned. Use a sharp knife to cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and microwave the halves for about 6 minutes, flipping once after 3 minutes. The squash will be much easier to slice into wedges then. Put the wedges into a large bowl and drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil on them, and toss well. Warm 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter and two tablespoons of white miso in the microwave on very low power so you can mash them together, and then massage the butter/miso mixture onto the squash wedges. Place on a sheet lined with parchment or a sprayed cookie sheet, and roast at 400º for about 30 minutes, until the squash is tender. The skin is edible and delicious.

Barbra Quinn made the cake of my dreams for my birthday. Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Frosting, embellished with browned butter.