Hurricane Party

What better to do when a hurricane looms in the distance? Cook, eat, and catch up on DVR of course.

What to cook, what to cook, what to cook?  I love those times when dinner is a blank slate and you can literally choose anything you want.  After some serious deliberation, we finally decided on...Blueberry spinach salad with goat cheese, fried calamari, and penne with sun-dried tomato cream sauce with chicken.  mmmmkay?

This salad was so good, and actually just thrown together on a whim.  I visited a new store in Raleigh recently, which is amazing by the way, called Midtown Olive Press.  I picked up some blueberry balsamic and lemon olive oil while I was there.  

Don't get me wrong, both of these are so delicious I would have no problem turning up the bottles and just straight drinking them, BUT since I have guests and all, I needed to decide on a vehicle of consumption.  So, I opted for a flat out blueberry explosion.  I really cant give exact measurements here because we just through stuff in a bowl and hoped for the best.  But I will tell you, it didn't disappoint.  

Blueberry Explosion Salad:

Spinach

Sweet Onion

Toasted Walnuts

Blueberries

Blueberry Goat Cheese (I found this at Trader Joe's)

For the Dressing:

Blueberry Balsamic

Lemon Olive Oil

Honey

Lemon Juice

Salt and Peppa

For the next course, we turned up the heat a little.  Sue (sous) here, handled the dirty work.  

Due to the dietary restrictions of the one and only EmC, we looked for a gluten free calamari recipe.  Come on, once you batter this stuff up, submerge it in hot oil and dip it in marinara, are you really going to miss the gluten? I think not.  You can find the original recipe here.

Fried Calamari

1/3 lb calamari, cleaned

1/2 c rice flour

1/2 c cornmeal or fine polenta

1/2 t salt

1/2 t paprika

1 egg

1 T milk

oil for frying (I used only 1/2 inch in my pan and flipped them halfway through)

Slice your calamari tubes into slices about 1/3" thick, across the tubes so you make rings. Cut the tentacle parts in half. Combine the rice flour, cornmeal, salt and paprika in a ziplock bag. Zip closed and toss to mix. Beat the egg with the milk. Dip the calamari parts into the egg, then drop them in batches into the bag, seal, and shake. Repeat until all calamari is coated. Heat the oil until a bit of flour dropped in sizzles, then fry the calamari until lightly browned. It will only take a minute or so. Sprinkle with salt when they're still hot.

Last but not least, the good stuff.  Sun-dried tomatoes. cream. pecorino romano. spinach. pancetta. chicken.  

O M G.  It is exactly as good as it sounds.  This recipe had been submitted to the newspaper by a local restaurant.  Why they let this one slip I'm not sure.  But I am so glad they did.  Unfortunately I didn't get a great picture, but you will get the idea I think.  Yum.

Penne alla Casa
1 TBS olive oil
1/4 lb pancetta, diced
1/4 cup freshly chopped garlic
2 C heavy cream
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienne
1 1/2 C marinara sauce
Salt, pepper and granulated garlic, to taste
1/2 lb fresh spinach
1/2 C grated pecorino Romano cheese
1 lb penne pasta, cooked al dente and drained (we used brown rice pasta which was actually really good)
Grilled chicken or shrimp

Heat olive oil in a large pot over high heat.  Add pancetta and saute until crispy.  Remove and set aside.  Add garlic, and saute until it just begins to brown, being careful not to burn, about 1 minute.  Add cream and sun-dried tomatoes and bring to a boil.  BE CAREFUL!  It will boil over if you get distracted :)  Add marinara sauce.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until it thickens and is reduced by one fourth.  Season with salt, pepper, and granulated garlic.  Fold in spinach, pecorino, pancetta, and shrimp or chicken.  Heat just until spinach is wilted and cheese is melted.  Toss with pasta and serve hot.

                                                                           And thats all folks.

                                                                   

All things were made through HIM...

Lately, I have really been trying to stop and smell the roses. A few weeks ago, we had a guest teacher at church who really got me thinking about some things.  This is usually something I try to avoid, but since then my mind has been whirring.  Dr. Smith, our guest, spoke about a collegue of his named Norman Wirzba.  Dr. Wirzba is a research professor of Theology, Ecology, and Rural Life at Duke University.  Basically, the earth is a garden that we are to tend and care for.  This garden has provided sustenance to its inhabitants for millions of years, without fail.  When we lose sight of the fact that everything we eat is a gift from the earth, (and not something that is dropped off the back of a truck) we forget to give thanks to God for the nourishment that He provides to us and every living creature.
This year, I am teaching at a school with a beautiful and bountiful community garden.  This garden is tended by the students, faculty, and community volunteers.   When the students enter "The Grow Zone", it is obvious they are consumed with excitement that the garden is in their hands, and they cannot wait to accept this fundamental responsibility.  They are weeding, sowing, reaping, and loving every minute of it. When these students harvest, and hold in their hands, their first red, juicy tomato I can't wait to see the joy, pride, satisfaction, (and most likely dirt) that will be spread across their faces.  When is the last time you saw anyone look at a tomato in a grocery cart that way?

On a different note, my students and I read an article in Time For Kids recently about a little girl who is doing her part to care for and protect the earth.  She uses old drinking glasses (which aren't recyclable) as pots for plants.  We were so inspired by her story, we purchased one of her succulents.  Check out her website here.  

If this doesn't light your fire, your match is wet...

Yep, I think my dad summed this dish up best.  If it doesn't light your flame, your match is wet.  This is the second dish I made for the basketball party.   I love parties.  I'm not sure you read that with the correct emphasis.  I LUUUV parties.  In case you haven't read my bio, my favorite thing in life is family, friends, food, and a nice cold beer.  Well you can always find at least two of the above at any party you may stumble into.  Our little basketball party definitely didn't disappoint.  Does this look like a fun crowd or what?

For some reason I had a hankering for some shrimp tacos.  I came across this recipe in Food and Wine.  The flavors work so well together with the tangy pickled onions, sweet onion sauce and...no.  I'm not even going to waste anymore of your time.  Go.  Just go.  You need to go and make this tonight.  Seriously.

Shrimp Tacos with Pickled Onion Slaw

INGREDIENTS

• Red Onion Salad
  1/2 cup white wine vinegar 
  1/2 cup sugar 
  Salt 
  1 medium red onion, thinly sliced 
  1/2 cup fresh orange juice 
  1 small white onion, finely diced 
  1 tablespoon pure maple syrup 
  2 tablespoons malt vinegar 
  1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds 
  2 tablespoons vegetable oil 
  2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 
  1/2 large ripe mango, cut into thin sticks 
  1/2 cup thinly sliced green cabbage 
  1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 
  
Shrimp Tacos
1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
1 small white onion, finely chopped 
1/2 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper 
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (I use North Carolina's own Bone Suckin' Sauce)
1/2 cup shredded jalapeño Jack cheese 
Four small corn tortillas, warmed 
2 tablespoons salted roasted pumpkin seeds, 1 thinly sliced seeded serrano chile and 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, for garnish

• DIRECTIONS

  In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, sugar and a pinch of salt to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the hot pickling liquid over the red onion in a small, heatproof bowl and let cool, then refrigerate overnight. 
  
  In another saucepan, combine the orange juice, white onion, maple syrup, malt vinegar and cumin seeds. Boil over moderately high heat until the liquid has reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a blender, add the oil and lime juice and puree until smooth; season with salt. 
  
  Drain the red onion and transfer to a bowl.
  
   Add the mango, cabbage, cilantro and half of the vinaigrette and season with salt.
  
  In a skillet, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until softened, 5 minutes. Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper and cook, turning, until white throughout, 3 minutes. Add the barbecue sauce and bring to a simmer. Off the heat, stir in the cheese. Spoon the shrimp and red onion salad onto the tortillas and roll them up. Garnish with the pumpkin seeds, chile and cilantro, and serve with the remaining vinaigrette.

  

  This is how it looked before I folded it into taco form, and then devoured it in 3.6 seconds.