The last night of vacation sure is bittersweet. Drew and André went fishing and came back with a bunch of flounder and a dogfish (which is a kind of shark). Drew blackened them and the rest of us pitched in to make fish taco accoutrements.

I get the impression that making blackened fish isn’t something one does in one’s home kitchen. Drew brought out his mega-burner, it’s a gas burner about about 18″ in diameter. He cooked the seasoned fish in a cast iron skillet over the burner’s huge flame.

Anna attempted to replicate Ronni’s guacamole and I tried to make Wayne’s salsa from Mexican night. Both came out great, but not quite the same as the original. I seasoned up some sour cream with a bit of lime juice, salt and a pinch of sugar. Cathy made very cilantroey black beans (yum!).

Rita made a couple of gorgeous salads (which I didn’t photograph). One of the salads used what we’ve been calling “Drew-gula,” it’s Drew & Cathy’s delicious, spicy home-grown arugula. So good.

We were delighted to finally be able to eat in the “Olive Garden,” after a week of uncooperative weather. We may all be several mosquito bites the worse, but it will be worth the scratching.

Dinner was followed by s’mores on the beach at sunset, flying paper lanterns and sparklers. Goodnight vacation, see you next time.

The Lobster Boil has become an annual tradition here at Snug Harbor, Cape Cod. My late aunt Carole was the one who started the tradition, and we’ve done a good job of keeping it up. I think she’d be proud.

The day started with Rose, Alicia, Amelia and me making flag cupcakes. Easy and fun. The recipe is below.

Being a non-lobster eating person, I’m somewhat eluded by the lobster boil process. It involves boiling a lot of sea water over a fire and adding seaweed then lobsters. According to everyone, the seaweed and salt water add flavor to the lobsters. Maybe it’s that straightforward.

Before dinner we had Sea Breezes on the boat with Drew’s Clams Casino, clams on the half shell, and Cathy’s delicious guacamole.

It still blows my mind that five year old Rose loves raw clams and oysters. I know I should be used to it by now, but she still impresses me every time. Particularly now that she loads them up with hot sauce beforehand.

When we got back from the boat (which was at the end of the dock), the lobster boil continued, along with cocktails, the rest of dinner prep with even more clams (roasted with chorizo) by Drew.

In addition to lobster we had baked potatoes on the grill. Wayne butters them on the outside, wraps them in foil and then roasts them on the Weber. Steamed corn, Anna’s kale salad (here’s the recipe, which she only sort-of follows, Anna says the trick is to “massage the shit out of the kale”), and a roasted pepper, lime, garlic scape and purple romaine salad by my mom. It was way too much food.

Andre, Rita and Cathy stayed up late into the night picking lobster meat from the remaining lobsters and pieces for another meal. Happy 4th of July everyone!

• 4th of July Flag Cupcakes •
from this recipe by Martha Stewart
makes 18 cupcakes

For the Cupcakes:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (1 1/2 sticks)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk

For the Frosting:
1 lb confectioner’s sugar, sifted
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-3 teaspoons milk

For Decorating:
Blue food coloring
Red licorice ropes or sticks cut into pieces

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with paper liners; set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated and scraping down sides of bowl, beat in vanilla.

Add flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape the sides and bottom of bowl to assure the batter is thoroughly mixed. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling papers about 2/3 full. Bake on the center rack of the oven until tops spring back to touch, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, put butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and cream until light and fluffy. Sift the confectioner’s sugar into a bowl and add to the butter a little at a time, mixing on low and then medium speed between each addition, until combined. Add vanilla and mix to combine. If the icing is too stiff, add milk, one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is met.

Set aside a small amount of frosting, about 1/2 cup and color with blue food coloring to use for the stars. When the cupcakes are cool, frost each one generously with white frosting. Use a small ziploc bag with a hole in the corner or a pastry tube to pipe 9 (or whatever number you want, but 9 is easy) stars in the upper-left-ish of each cupcake. Cut strips of red licorice to use as the flag stripes and apply using the picture above (or Martha’s picture) for reference. That’s it!

A few months ago, Jenya had to give up dairy because her nursing baby (aka Mr. Adorable/Mr. Agreeable)  has a milk-protein allergy. To compensate, she invented BLT pizza. Genius!

BLT pizza is made with red sauce and red onion, then grilled, then topped with bacon, lettuce, tomato and chipotle mayonnaise. Jenya and Drew spearheaded the meal and I’m still not sure how they managed to cook 6 pizzas on one normal-sized grill and still get them all on the table hot. But they did.

In addition to BLT pizza we also had:  Clam pizza (a la Frank Pepe’s famous) with loads of garlic and a sprinkling of parmesan. Two artichoke and feta pizzas with mozzarella and Drew’s home-grown and home-made arugula-basil pesto. For salad, Drew made kale slaw from his (also home-grown) kale.

Other highlights of the evening included a lifting of Shane’s spirits by way of margaritas, and a dedicated margarita assistant (Rita). And henna tattoos by the talented 13 year old Alicia.

Something has inspired us to break out of our usual surf, turf, pasta & salad Cape dinner routine. What could it be? Perhaps the miserable weather. We’re compensating for the lack of sun with food.

Last night, Jenya was babyless for the evening. Naturally, she chose to occupy her free time by preparing a Vietnamese dinner for twelve. To put it in Jenya’s words “This meal is super-easy, except for the prep.” There really is a whole lot of chopping and julienning involved, but it was totally worth the effort. And it helps to have so many hands in the kitchen.

Drew made miso soup to have alongside Jenya’s dish. The whole meal was so yummy and refreshing, I can’t wait to have the leftovers for lunch today.

• Vietnamese Noodle Salad with Shrimp •
serves 4

For the sauce:
1/4 cup lime juice
3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

For assembly:
(vegetable quantities are approximate, use as little or as much as you want)
16 large shrimp
sesame oil
sriracha sauce
4 carrots, julienned
1 regular or 4 mini cucumbers, julienned
2 cups sugar snap peas, julienned
a big handful of fresh mint, chopped
a big handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
4 tablespoons salted peanuts, chopped
1 (8oz) package Mai Fun noodles
4 lime slices for garnishing

Prepare sauce by combining all ingredients, set aside.

Prep all of your vegetables and herbs and set aside. Put a large pot of water on to boil. Toss shrimp with sesame oil and sriracha, to taste, and cook them by your preferred method, broiling or grilling both work well. Set cooked shrimp aside.

Cook Mai Fun noodles in boiling water (per package instructions) and drain. Divide evenly between 4 bowls and top with sauce. Divide vegetables and herbs between bowls and top with chopped peanuts, shrimp and a lime slice. Enjoy!