Cooking with Cousina

We checked out of the Westin Providence and headed north to Hingham where our Cousina was waiting for her two sous chefs to arrive. It has been quite a few years since we have spent Christmas Eve with our closest cousin and now that she's a mere few towns away from RRR, the timing for a family reunion was perfect!

However, before the reunion, there were sausage breads to be made and a seafood aspic to prep. If you've checked in with f is for foodie this time last year, you know that sausage bread is a time honored tradition in our family and this year was no exception.

RRR did the 'heavy lifting' this time around and arrived at Cousina's with proofed dough and sauteed sausage, peppers and onions in tow, making this more of an assembly line than anything. Cousina grated the mozzarella while I began rolling out the dough.

Together we made six loaves (!) and as always, contemplated how to bake them with without having the loaves bust open. We still haven't solved that mystery...

Lucky for us, Cousina's new home has two ovens, so while the loaves were baking for an hour each, we moved on to prepping the seafood aspic.



Cousina's Mom is the originator of this recipe and this was my first time making it. We knew it was a lot of work, seems gross during its assembly and is a recipe circa 1950, but it is quite addictive and quite amazing. Take my word for it, don't knock it till you try it!

1 can tomato soup
8 oz pkg cream cheese
2 envelopes Knox gelatin
2 6-oz cans Sunnysea or other quailty lump crab meat (don't skimp here)
10 oz pkg cooked shrimp cut into small pieces (approx 1/4 large bag frozen shrimp)
2 stalks finely diced celery
1 small finely diced onion
1 cup mayonnaise
Worcestershire Sauce (a few drops)
Tabasco Sauce (a few drops)

Slowly dissolve cheese into soup (this is the gross part but don't get discouraged!) Chop crab, shrimp, celery, and onion. Add mayonnaise, Worcestershire and Tabasco to seafood and vegetables.


Add 1/4 cup cold water to 2 envelopes gelatin and dissolve. Add to soup mix, then add soup mixture to chopped ingredients. Mix well.

We've found that a fish shaped mold works best and brings the seafood concept home, but feel free to be creative and it this recipe makes enough for two molds.

Spray mold with cooking spray, pour mixture into mold, cover with plastic wrap and chill. Decorate your "fish" as you wish, spread mixture on quality crackers and enjoy!

We've found that radishes work quite well as the 'eyes' and 'gills' of the fish and once the aspic is presented, it is hard to tear your guests away. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of the aspic in it's glory, since it was about 3/4 gone by the time RRR and I arrived on Christmas Eve.

After a long but fun day in Cousina's kitchen, our work was done and it would be less than 48 hours until we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor!

Friday Night in Providence

I headed up to Boston the Friday before Christmas on the Limoliner. After a bit of traffic leaving New York, I met up with RRR and we hit the road to Providence for a post Spain/Portugal reunion with Mitch and Sharpie. Mr. Sharpie, the Ronin's and Mr. Sharpie's college pal rounded out the dinner party.

We checked into the Westin Providence, hopped into one of the hotel's adorable London-inspired cabs and headed to Bacaro. This Italian restaurant is owned by Brian Kingsford and Jennifer Matta, both formerly of the venerable Providence restaurant, Al Forno. If Bacaro is even remotely like Al Forno, I knew we'd be in for a treat!

The gang had ordered some items from the salumeria and a few appetizers before we got there so once RRR and I were settled, we dug in and headed straight for the entrees. Pizza-freak RRR chose a delicious grilled mushroom pizza with a crispy flat crust and plenty of fresh mushrooms and rich tomato sauce. Very nice! Especially when "good pizza"in New England can be a bit of an oxymoron.

I went for the wood-grilled spareribs "Scottadito" with roasted butternut squash and Westport turnips. What a delight! The fall-off-the-bone ribs were sticky sweet but not overpowering and the creaminess of the squash was perfectly balanced by the earthiness of the turnips. Delicious!

As full as I was from my rich dinner, I couldn't resist trying some of the desserts. We ordered the cinnamon bombolini with hot chocolate and the mini ice cream sandwiches. The bombolini were decent, but not being much of a doughnut fan, I was more into the mini ice cream sandwiches.

The mini cookies had more crunch than I had anticipated but were good nonetheless, it just made eating the sandwiches a bit difficult since the ice cream shot out the sides of the cookie on the first bite.

I often don't meet a cookie I don't like and I certainly appreciate where the pastry chef was going here; I would just recommend chewy over crunchy; especially when ice cream is involved.

Overall, this was a delicious meal and Bacaro offers a wonderful menu with a great variety. You can come here for a pizza and salad, wine and charcuterie, or a full blown belt busting meal like my spareribs! Bacaro's a friendly neighborhood restaurant where you can come time and time again and not get bored with the selection.

What a nice gem in the middle of an adorable city!