Pots and Pins

Shrimp on the Barbie...

The boy likes shrimp.  Lots of shrimp.  I sent him to the store to purchase some, thinking he'd use good judgment on how much to buy...once again, I was wrong.  He came home with 3 pounds of jumbo shrimp...proudly announcing that he got a pound for each of us -at $8.99 a pound I was not amused.    

This is a great tasting marinade for shrimp and since they cook up really fast they can be on the table for you to enjoy in a matter of minutes.

Shrimp on the Barbie by Me

1 lb. jumbo shrimp, rinsed with peels on

1/4 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 cup lime juice, either fresh or from a bottle

salt and pepper

Mix butter, garlic and lime juice in a small bowl, add salt and pepper, about a 1/2 teaspoon or so of each.  Pour marinade into a small baking sheet with sides.  Place shrimp on skewers, peels on, and lay flat on baking sheet, turning to coat..  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to put on the grill.  Over medium-high heat on highest rack (of a gas grill) place skewers with shrimp.  Discard remaining marinade.  Close lid and let shrimp cook for 2 minutes.  Using tongs, turn skewers over and let cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, or until shrimp has turned a nice pink color.  Remove immediately so they don't get tough.  Serve warm or refrigerate and serve cold. 

"Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we may diet."  Unknown

Okra, Tomatoes and Shallots...

I didn't tell you what I made the mister for Father's Day...all of his favorites, including this dish.  A traditional Southern side dish, the mister grew up eating this when he lived on a tabacco farm in North Carolina...but he never inhaled.  Father's Day is not a big deal around our manse...afterall, it's not like the mister is vying for the Father of The Year Award...as far as he's concerned, it's just another day off with better than usual food.     

Oh...there was a celebration of sorts - he did open gifts...another sweater for his collection...when he passes on to that office in the sky I'm going to have to rent an 18-wheeler to cart of his sweaters...he wears a sweater every day, vee-neck only, and never a cardigan, and of course he always wears a button-down shirt underneath- nothing that can be washed and hung up - oh no - the misters shirts must be "laundered" and starched...so they're stiff like cardboard...which should speak volumes about the mister.  He also opened two tickets to see Smokey Robinson in concert...he likes to pretend he's Smokey when he thinks no one is watching....Ooooooooh baby babeeeeeee....oooh-uh-oooooooooooh baby babeeeeeee....Ha!  I'm always watching!

Okra, Tomatoes and Shallots - Traditional Southern Side, so Slap Yer Granny and Get Cookin'!

2 cups okra, ends cut off and cut into 3/4-inch pieces

4 large tomatoes, washed, and cut into wedges

1 large shallot, cut into wedges

3 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper to taste

Put all into a medium-size saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.  Check okra, if it can be easily poked with a fork then it's done, if not, leave on for a few more minutes.  Serve hot.  This is good over baked potatoes, too. 

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"If it's beautifully arranged on a plate - you know someone's fingers have been all over it."  Julia Child on nouvelle cuisine

Ronald McDonald House...

I just want to take a minute to put in a plug for Ronald McDonald House...it's such a great facility!!! Almost every big city has one and all of them are desperately seeking help for the summer - it's so hard to staff the house when everyone is on vacation! If you have three hours a week that you can give to a shift at RMH please give them a call.  It will only take a few steps to get you "approved" to volunteer ....you fill out an application and they run a background check so if you've got a rap sheet or you know where the weapons of mass destruction are, you probably won't get called...I like to volunteer at the Resource Center in RMH...I check out videos and games to the kids who live here...if there isn't anyone to open the Resource Center then the kids can't check out movies - it's mindless work, as evidenced by me staffing the place, but enjoyable and the time flies by.

Think about it...if you've got 3 hours to spare a week, or even 3 hours a month...give them a call!  It'll make your heart feel good. 

Shot Pots...

You might think I'm kidding when I talk about the mister...I'm not.  Let me show you some of his handywork...the pots on the deck just couldn't keep pace with the monsoonal rains...and my plants were being drowned by the collecting water...so I asked the mister to drill a FEW holes in the BOTTOMS of the pots so they would drain a little faster...

He drilled a total of SIXTEEN holes in THE SIDES of each pot! SIXTEEN!!!!   Pictures might be worth a thousand words but when I look at my pots only a few words comes to mind....ARSE!  EJIT!  MORON!  Now, after watering the plants spew water like the Trevi Fountains! 

You've heard the expression..."He can't find his arse from a hole in the ground?"  Need I say more?

Soda Muffins...

Bon Appetit Magazine has a section where readers write in requesting recipes from their favorite restaurants...this is one of those recipes.  Sydney Grant of Portland, Oregon wrote, "I recently spent a week at The Overlook Inn, a B&B in the mountains of North Georgia.  I had a wonderful time and am still thinking about the breakfasts, especially the soda muffins."  Well Sydney, after reading that I too was thinking about soda muffins!  These muffins are very similar to my soda bread recipe - although not as sweet...so you'll need plenty of butter and jam...anyone got a problem with that? 

These were called Giant Soda Muffins...but since my giant muffin pan has disappeared, I had to make a smaller version...if you use the giant-size muffin tin you will get 6 very large muffins...or 12 regular sized.

Giant Soda Muffins - Bon Appetit Magazine, June 2008

nonstick vegetable oil spray

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup raisins

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 large egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray six 1-cup muffin cups with non-stick spray.  (I used cupcake papers in the regular-sized muffin tin.)  Whisk next 6 ingredients in large bowl.  Add butter; using fingertips, blend butter into flour until incorporated.  Stir in raisins.  Whisk buttermilk and egg in medium bowl.  Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients; stir to blend.  Spoon batter into muffin cups.  Bake muffins until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 23 minutes.  Remove muffins from pan.  Cool slightly on rack.  Can be made 8 hours ahead.  Cool completely and store airtight at room temperature.   

"I've been on a diet for two weeks and all I've lost is two weeks."  Totie Fields

Cute Apron...

I picked this apron up at a garage sale and plan to make several more just like it!  It's darling on, the pockets are deep, and it would make a great bridal shower gift!  As you can see, no pattern is really necessary....just take an old pair of jeans, cut the legs off, cut out the zipper area and attach a  ruffle...the ruffle on this apron is made from fabric but already made packaged ruffles would work too.  Add a "belt" thru the belt loops and it's good to go!

Again, my thanks to my body double, Miss Virginia, for being such a willing model.

"You can never have too many aprons...or too many memories."  EllynAnne Geisel

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake...

Today is the boy's birthday...seems like yesterday I was listening to him scream, wail, sob and cry...oh, it WAS yesterday!  He hurt his finger moving furniture and let out a whelp to beat the band!  He's always been a crier though...he cried the first four years of his life...and so did I!  Nothing consoled him except having me hold him...and so I did...while I ate, while I slept, while I showered, while I gardened, while I sewed...you get the idea...if I put him down he screamed.  But he grew up into a fine specimen....(specimen...an Italian astronaut!) and I couldn't be more proud of him.  He loves golf and so I decided to make him his favorite chocolate cake with a golf twist - inspired by a picture I saw in Sur La Table's catalog...If you have the catalog you can see what this cake SHOULD have looked like!  But I'm not a cake decorator...I'm a cake EATER...there is a world of difference!

Using my giant cupcake pan, which could double as breast armour if needed...I followed the recipe for the the BEST chocolate cake there is this side of Mars...Baking Illustrated's Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake.  The recipe is supposed to make two 8" round cakes that will serve 12 people...but when using this pan, I'll only get about 6 servings and the baking time is increased by 10 minutes.  The instant coffee added to the mix gives it a depth of flavor that you just can't get otherwise...truly rich and lucious..yes, definitely lucious...you're going to LOVE this cake!  

The boy and the mister, to their credit, thought my attempt at cake decorating was brilliant...to quote the boy, "Mom, you're a mad genius!"  Well, at least he got the mad part right!

In case you're "decorated-cake-challenged" it's supposed to be a golf green...complete with a hole and golf balls, 3 to be exact - obviously it's a green at a driving range - and a "rough"...oh, the brown stuff around the bottom is the sand trap..the white sides of the cake represent the White Cliffs of Dover...got a problem with that?

Today was also the big finish for the US Open played at Torrey Pines in San Diego...all 6 television sets were tuned into the Open all day...so as I baked I heard grown men whisper....that's an amazing shot...wouldn't want to have to hit that one...he's got great range...the breeze is picking up...if he makes this shot it's going to be a big one....it's often been said the watching golf on TV is like watching paint dry...I beg to differ...watching paint dry is stimulating, exciting and invigorating compared to TV golf...Men, their sticks and their balls...paaa-leeeeze...are they ever going to have anything else to talk about or use for entertainment?!?  Sorry mom, but you know it's true!

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake from Baking Illustrated

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pans

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup non-alkalized cocoa, such as Hershey's, sifted

2 teaspoons instant espresso or coffee powder

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Generously grease two 8-inch round cake pans (unless you're using the type of pan I did) and dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess.  Beat the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer at medium-high speed until smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds.  Gradually sprinkle in the sugar; beat until the mixture is fluffy and almost white, 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating 1 full minute after each addition.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa, and instant espresso powder or instant coffee in a medium bowl.  Combine the milk and vanilla in a liquid measuring cup.  With the mixer at the lowest speed, add about a third of the dry ingredients to the batter, followed immediately by about a third of the milk mixture; mix until the ingredients are almost incorporated into the batter.  Repeat the process twice more.  When the batter appears blended, stop the mixer and scrap the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.   Return the mixer to low speed; beat until the batter looks satiny, about 15 seconds longer.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.  With a rubber spatula, spread the batter to the pan sides and smooth the tops.  Bake the cakes until they feel firm in the center when lightly pressed and a toothpick comes out clean or with just a crumb or two adhering, 23 to 30 minutes.  (I had to bake my cake 35 minutes because my pan is quite a bit deeper than an 8-inch cake pan.)  Transfer the pans to wire racks; cool for 10 minutes.  Run a  knife around the perimeter of each pan, invert the cakes onto the racks.  Reinvert the cakes right sides up.  Cool completely before frosting. 

I frosted this cake with buttercream frosting, used drink stirs for the golf balls and the stick...I have a rather large collection of drink stirs and am always looking to add to my collection so if you ever have a mocktail with an unusual drink stir save it and send it to me!  I'll love you forever if you do!  

"When men reach their sixties and retire, they go to pieces.  Women go right on cooking."  Gail Sheehy

Everyone Needs A Friend Like This...

I found this picture the other day...it's of my mom and her friend Dick Moore...and today is his birthday so I wanted to give a huge shout-out to him! 

Everyone should have a friend like him...he's an antique connoisseur, raconteur, Lord of the Hilltop Manor and man-about-town with a heart of gold.  Years ago, Dick, who used to own a large plastics manufacturing company, hosted my mom and a group of 35 others on a fabulous trip to Germany.  After my mom returned from her trip, she talked about the darling little German glasses she saw in all the pubs and restaurants - short stems with a bulb on top was how she described them.  I wanted to get her some for her birthday - and this was long before the internet and I didn't have a clue as to how to go about finding them.  So I rang up Dick Moore at his office (I had only heard my mom mention his name and I certainly didn't know him!) and told him what I was looking for and he said he'd call me back.  Well, when he called back he told me he had personally spoken to the president of his company in Germany, some guy named Wolfie, and Wolfie told him where to get them and about a week later there was a package on my mom's doorstep with the most beautiful German glasses you've ever seen! 

If I was with my mom today we would raise two of those beautiful German glasses to Dick...

Happy Birthday Dick Moore and may you have many, many Moore!

Thai Salmon Curry...

First, let me just say...I LOVED this dish!  Last month my quilt group went over to Port Angeles where Terry lives.  Terry has made the 3 hour drive to Seattle (and 3 hours back) each month for our meeting - leaving her home at 6:30 am...so we thought it was time we went to her.  It was a typical Northwest day - cloudy and gray - but we had hopes of sun because Port Angeles is in the "banana belt" of Washington...which is propaganda the states spews out to lure the Californians up here.  Occasionally even the natives believe that.  We didn't see any sun...but we did see across the Strait of Juan De Fuca (trying saying that 3 times fast!) all the way to Victoria, BC - Terry has an incredible view!  But even more spectacular than the view was the lunch she served.  It was worth the three hour drive in drizzle, including a ferry crossing!    

We were all starving when we got there but went about our "quilting business" while the rice finished cooking...I think everyone had seconds - or maybe I just wanted to think that so I didn't look like a pig!  There were more ooohhs and aaahhs that I've heard in a very long time - everyone loved it!  Coconut and mild curry with pieces of salmon that had been cooked in lime juice, swimming happily with veggies and fresh basil...I do think it was one of the best meals I've ever had!

Recreating Terry's recipe would have been a snap...but I strayed just a tad...Terry used red, yellow and orange peppers in her dish...I used what I had in the fridge...green beans, onion, mushrooms and a few renegade red peppers.  It was delicious.  Now, you know how the mister hates anything spicy...well he lapped this up...even had the leftovers again the next night!  It was NOT spicy...just extremely flavorful.  Personally I was sorely disappointed that he liked it so much - I was hoping for some leftovers myself!

 

I'm going to give you Terry's recipe - exactly as she wrote it - because you'll love it...and if you want to deviate by adding vegetables of your choice, go ahead, you can't make this not taste great!

Thai Salmon Curry by Terry Tamaki

2 tablespoons yellow curry paste (Terry uses "Thai Accents" brand - each is a little different)

1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk (Terry used "light")

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce (Terry used "A Taste of Thai" brand - do not use the one that says "seasoning."  When Terry told me she used fish sauce I was worried that this dish would taste fishy...as in 3-day-old-fishy...but she uses the fish sauce for the saltiness and this dish definitely did NOT taste fishy.)

1/2 onion sliced in thin wedges

2 or 3 red, yellow or orange peppers, sliced thin

a big bunch of fresh basil (Terry uses Thai basil that she buys at an Asian market, it's much cheaper there, only $1.50 for a big package.  She didn't have an exact amount for this.  I used about a cup of fresh basil.)

enough salmon for 4 people (I used 1 1/2 pounds of salmon)

lime juice

olive oil, about 3 tablespoons

McCormick's Seasonal or similar seasoning salt

Sprinkle salmon with lime juice and Seasonall.  Wrap in foil and bake in 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes.  (This time can vary greatly depending on the thickness of the salmon.  But try not to overbake or the salmon will be tough.) 

In a large deep frying pan, saute onions and peppers in a little oil.  When lightly sauteed, turn out onto a plate.  In same pan bring can of coconut milk, 1 tablespoon curry paste (start out with 1 tablespoon and then add more if you like -  2 tablespoons is way too much for Terry) fish sauce and sugar to a boil.  Reduce heat.  Return vegetables to the pan; add the whole basil leaves and simmer till flavors are well blended and basil leaves have wilted.  Cut salmon into serving size chunks and add to pan of sauce.  Spoon sauce over salmon pices to completely coat in curry flavors.  Simmer until salmon is heated through.  Serves 4.

"The two biggest sellers in any bookstore are the cookbooks and the diet books.  The cookbooks tell you how to prepare the food and the diet books tell you how not to eat any of it."  Andy Rooney

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I had a little fun with the mister last night....now stop that, that's not what I meant! Let me explain - the mister never spends money...he has some allergy that prevents him from shopping...including buying his clothes, shoes and even his tidy whities...I buy everything for him.  I call it the Catch and Release Program.  I go to the mall, buy 3 of everything and bring it home for him to pick what he wants...then I return what he doesn't want.  It's really a win/win situation because I always pick up a little number for myself to cover my service fee.  He just can't seem to spend "little money" - a hundred here or a hundred there...but he has NO PROBLEM spending the really big bucks!  So last night I knew he was with his good friends and they always bring out the spendthrift in him.  I mentioned to him when he got home that Sarah Brightman tickets would be going on sale today for her "world tour premier" in New York, November 23....knowing full well that he would bite.  He LOVES Sarah Brightman...loves her!  I know for a fact that when he mumbles in his sleep he is actually trying to sing Phantom of the Opera to her.  Hey, if he wore a mask I'd sing for him!  So he tells me to buy the tickets...I point out that it's the Sunday before Thanksgiving...and that hotel rooms and airfare would be at a premium...but he doesn't care and for a brief moment visions of MY dream vacation dance in my head like sugarplums...shopping the Christmas decorated streets of New York, watching the annual Macy's T-Day parade, room service at the Plaza...then the TV comes on and I am brought back to reality and our conversation ends.  12 hours later...he's on his way to work and he remembers telling me to buy the tickets so he calls me in a panic..."Did you buy those tickets?" He asks.  I let him squirm a bit before I tell him..."NO YOU CRAZY FREAK!  Spending thousands of dollars for you to live out your fantasy with Sarah Brightman is not my idea of a good time!" 

Now I'm having non-buyers remorse...I could have had a trip to New York!   

   

Chocolate Peanut Fudge Cakes with Peanut Butter Cream...

You are going to LOVE this recipe....provided you're not one of those people who doesn't like peanut butter except on toast (which is one of the Aussie's issues...nonetheless...even SHE liked this!)  This recipe is from Kathy Casey Cooks Favorites - the very same cook book I told you about the other day - with only about 30 recipes in the book - I figure I have a chance at making all of them before my untimely demise...that should go without saying, that my demise would be untimely, but it didn't.

 

Think of a thick, dense brownie with a slightly gooey center - that's what these little cakes are like.  They are baked in an over-sized (Texas-style) muffin pan so you'll only get 6 of them but one of them is almost too big for one person...almost.  The peanut butter cream is mouth-watering good - it's kind of like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup on steroids - only better.  I think the peanut butter cream would also make a good filling for a cake or a cupcake or a wonderful topping for a chocolate cream pie...really, the possibilities for this delicious cream are endless!   

If you're wondering if I have a thing for peanut butter, wonder no more....I definitely do.  It's made from peanuts, grown by peanut farmers, like Jimmy Carter, who lusted in his heart and had a brother who peed in front of news cameras ...what's not to like? 

Chocolate Peanut Fudge Cakes with Peanut Butter Cream from Kathy Casey Cooks Favorites

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate

12 tablespoons ( 1 1/2 sticks) butter

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

4 large eggs

1/2 cup flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup coarsely chopped, unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts

Peanut Butter Cream:

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoons powdered sugar 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine chocolate, butter and peanut butter in a metal bowl and place over a pot of just-simmering water, or use a double boiler.  Stir the mixture until the chocolate and butter are just melted.  Set aside.  In a mixing bowl, mix eggs, flour, sugar and vanilla until glossy, about 2 minutes.  Then, mix in the melted chocolate-butter mixture until just combined.  Stir in the peanuts.

Lightly pan-spray and flour oversized muffin pan.  Divide the batter into the 6 muffin cups.  (Do not fill the cups up to the edge of the pan - leave about 1/2-inch of the cup showing.  The cakes will rise a bit but will not overflow the pan.)  Bake in the preheated oven for about 34 minutes.  The cakes will be slightly gooey in the center.  Let the cakes cool in the pans for 8 minutes, then un-pan and cool the cakes right side up on a wire rack. 

To make the peanut butter cream, place cream, peanut butter and powdered sugar in a bowl and whip until just softly peaked.  Serve cakes while still warm, or totally cool them and individually wrap in plastic wrap until needed.  (The cakes keep this way for up to 4 days.)  Serve the cakes at room temperature or warm just slightly in the microwave on high power for about 20 to 30 seconds or until just warm.  Serve the cakes topped with a dollop of Peanut Butter Cream.  Makes 6 individual cakes.