Greetings from West Gilgo Beach

I'm still winding down from 10 days at the beach in a friend's house. West Gilgo is a community of homes sited between the ocean and the Great South Bay inlet on Jones Island. Head to Jones Beach, turn left and West Gilgo is just past Tobay Beach. There is no easy access to the beach for the public because the parking is in the gated community. So, on a sunny Saturday afternoon in mid July - a perfect beach day - there were maybe 50 people on the beach. (There is a public parking lot down the road at the next town, Gilgo, and definitely more crowds.

My daily routine included lots of long walks along the surf, in the morning and evenings with Franny, my sweet terrier mix, otherwise known as "Stevie's Mutt." I swam laps in the bay and then headed to the beach for body surfing and sunbathing. And naps.

Franny (Stevie's mutt)

I read lots of cook books - pouring over Italian and Sicilian recipes and commentary for a research project. I brought books from my collection and then was delighted to discover my friend's books. I also really enjoy the improvised, somewhat haphazard cooking one tends to do while on vacation. My "Italian frame of mind" led me to lots of pasta dishes: delicious, easy and fast, because who wants to slave away at a hot stove after a hard day at the beach?

I sautéed some Italian sausage removed from the casings. Then I sautéed escarole (I didn't have any broccoli raab) with some minced garlic. Added some cherry tomatoes, salt & pepper. Splashed it with a little white wine and let it simmer for a few minutes - for the flavors to mingle. Added cooked pasta and plenty of parmesan.

Another night:

I sautéed some chopped onion and garlic. Added chopped fresh tomatoes and broken up grilled sausage (because I had some.) Then added the cooked pasta and some diced fresh mozzarella. Let the mozzarella soften and add lots of parmesan. Fresh basil is nice, if you have it. Sort of Pasta Caprese.
Served it with some grilled zucchini drizzled with olive oil. 

I discovered in The Thomas Jefferson cookbook that he introduced macaroni to the new United States in 1790.  

On my last day I made a lovely tortilla - a recipe from a Spanish cookbook in my friend's collection. A great way to use up eggs, potatoes and half an onion. Franny agreed it was delicious. Home again, Brooklyn.