Tropical Themed Party-Pineapple Shrimp Skewers

Yes, mon! We had our tropical themed party dinner night thing on Saturday and it was off the hook! Okay, probably a mild exaggeration there but I associate the tropics with really cool people who can say crap like that without sounding like dweebs.

Anyway, we all had a really great time again and had some great food. We’re getting better and better! Featured dishes include, tropical chicken, fresh fruit salad, a special salad with a fruity vinaigrette, Caribbean black beans and rice with a mango salsa, and more. I made coconut jasmine rice (see the recipe on this site) and another P-Dub recipe…that’s Pioneer Woman for those of you who have yet to be initiated in the “I Stalk P-Dub” fan club. I made her “Yummy, Easy, Pineapple Skewered Shrimp.” I really liked them and got asked for the recipe so I guess that means they weren’t poisonous at the very least. You can view the complete assembly instructions here http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/page/9/ but here is what I did since I was cooking for a crowd:

60ish jumbo shrimp (headless, peeled, de-veined…yeah, buy them like this. Trust me, it is worth the extra $100 dollars unless you have no use for an hour and a half of your time.)
1 cupish of teriyaki sauce
3 finely chopped green onions
Roughly a ¼ cup of sugar
A heaping tablespoon of minced garlic (about three cloves)
2 cans pineapple chunks
Wooden skewers

Prepare shrimp; set aside.

Mix teriyaki, sugar, green onions, garlic, and pineapple JUICE (just one cans worth) into a shallow baking dish big enough to house all your shrimp; add shrimp.

Marinate for roughly 2 hours ( I bet less or more would be fine, though.)

Assemble on skewers in this order so the shrimp is hugging a pineapple chunk with a chunk between each shrimp embrace (look at the pic, it will make more sense.)

Grill until beautifully blackened. Serve hot ( I got one cold and one hot…the hot kicked the cold one’s butt.)

I was afraid the skewers might catch on fire but they didn’t. I wish one did though so I could run around screaming “ Fire! Fire ON THE GRILL!” Then, people would think I was crazy and pierce me with a skewer or 9 toothpicks just to see if I could feel pain. I can.

Pizza Margherita AGAIN!

Okay, here is the finished product...yeah, you can totally see the sogginess. I love it though. This was actually the only time I used the mozzerella balls. Typically, I like to use the hunk of cheese and slice it wider and thinner to cover more surface area with cheesy goodness.

Pizza Margherita

Aubrey and I first discovered this fab combo of tomato and basil when we were in Rome (it was the cheapest meal on the menu and we were living on bread and water by the time we hit Italy in our month long trip.)

Basically, this is store bought pizza crust, spaghetti sauce, roma tomato, torn basil ( I really only make this so I can feel all gourmet picking this out of my own garden), and fresh mozzarella cheese. I toss the toppings together in olive oil with minced garlic and slap 'em down and spread 'em around. 10 minutes at 350 and PRESTO! It kinda comes out soggy sometimes though...any suggestions? Maybe I need to break down and make my own crust. I need a good crust recipe.

Blogspot doesn't want to load anymore pictures right now so I'll post the "after" shot later...

German Night!- Sour Cream Apple Crumb Kutchen

Every month or so, we've been getting together with some friends to bring a wee bit of culture to our little town. Thus far, we have had an Exotic food night, an Irish food night, and the latest was.............

I know you're asking your computer screen, "WHAT WAS IT???" Well, I WILL ASK THE QUESTIONS because it was German night! Have you ever tried canned halibut in tomato sauce? Well, as we discovered, there's a good reason for this. Who knew that Germans enjoyed specialties other than the typical Bratwurst and Saurkraut? As it turns out, Deutsche cuisine offers a well-rounded smattering of delights ranging from fried, dark and heavy to...heavy, dark, and fried. From Wienersnitzel (fried pork) to fried potato pancakes, we had it all. We're getting pretty good at being authentic, too!

I made a particularly tasty dish called Sour Cream Apple Crumb Kutchen. Yeah, it sounds pretty nasty but it was really good ( much to my relief). The recipe is here: http://www.recipeatlas.com/germanrecipes/scapplecakerecipe.html

I have no clue what it's original source might be but it came up in "german cake recipes" and it looked like I could make it without becoming a pastry chef.

Let me just say, this was the most intensive cake I have ever made (also, like the third of which didn't originate in a box). I dirtied every dish in the house! Also, I thought all cake batter was poured into a pan. NO! This batter was spread with some difficulty and the end product weighed about 10 pounds. I think it would make a good breakfast cake. Very pure, dense, moist, apple-y, and not at all artificially sweet tasting. Sorry, no pictures of it because I was too busy engaging in other german customs... ( i.e. a shot of jagermeister with a lemon slice half covered in coffee and half covered in sugar). Has anyone ever heard of this? Crazy.

M-M-Mercado Melts

This is my favorite sandwich, ever. My mom and aunt made it at a deli they used to run and it was the star of the shop. It is so full of melty, spicy goodness that I just salivate all over myself thinking about it. Seriously, I remembered that I was having it for dinner at about 3:00 in the afternoon and literally drooled a little on my keypad. It was kinda gross. Actually, a lot of disturbing situations accompany this melt...like loss of sleep if you cook it overnight and burned eyeballs, to name a few (yeah, you can't touch your eyes while eating this).

Experience your own torments for this heavenly experience here:

1 bloody slab of beef brisket ( I get the cheapest I can find which was about 13 bucks this time)

A few shakes of the ol' Lawry's seasoning salt

8 hours in the crockpot on high

Shred the brisket with a fork or two and separate the chunks of fat and throw them away... ditch the juice, too.

Get 2 cans of "whole jalepenos" from the market ( the kind that are next to the nacho jalepenos and have carrots in them) and pour ONLY THE JALEPENO JUICE over the shredded glory.

Soak 8 hours in the fridge. Perfection.

I serve these by heating a portion at a time in the microwave with shredded jack on top and slide it on a mayonaised, warm white bollio, or sub roll, whatever. You're in for a treat. I love you, too.

Thai it, You'll Like it!- Thai Salmon and Coconut Jasmine Rice

This is Aubrey's favorite meal of all time. I like to ration it out to him on special occasions but I was feeling giving today (okay, the salmon was on sale). Usually, I serve this with *gasp* Rice-a-Roni but decided to make some coconut jasmine rice that I learned how to make recently from Rachel Ray's "Everyday" magazine. It is so choice.

Thai Salmon ( I had some prepared like this and took a stab at the recipe...I'm awesome).

1-1 1/2 lbs fresh salmon ( I take off the skin stuff)

2 Tbsp. Sesame Oil

2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce

1/2 Tbsp. ground ginger or 1 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger (both ways are good)

Pinch of salt

Few shakes of black pepper

Brown sugar ( add until the mixture is a smooth paste)

Fresh cilantro ( about a palmful of it, snipped)

Mix all ingredients together. Marinate salmon in the good stuff for about 20-30 minutes. Grill ( I do about 6 minutes on each side).

Meanwhile...

Coconut Jasmine Rice

1 1/2 cups Jasmine Rice

1/2 coconut milk

1 cup cold water

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 cup thawed frozed peas

Segments of one pineapple slice ( or, more if you like more)

Combine rice, coconut milk, water, and butter in sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then put heat on low. Simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Add thawed peas. Fluff. Add pineapple.

I serve everything together with grilled orange slices ( just put some on with the fish).

This rice is easier to make than Rice-a-Roni so I'll use this from now on and feel all cool like that. What? Anyway, I have to go...it's Aubrey's favorite meal....

Horseradish-Mashed Potato Shepherd's Pie

Aubrey and I have drastically reduced the amount of red meat in our diet with the exception this little beauty from Rachel Ray "Everyday." It was almost a little devious throwing this into the weekly rotation. We got away with it, though, despite some obstacles.

5 baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
Salt
1/4 cup milk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3 parsnips, peeled and chopped ( couldn't find these so I just used more carrots)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 bay leaf

2 lbs. ground beef sirloin ( expensive! I went with ground chuck)

3 tbsp. flour

1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2-3 tbsp. chopped, fresh chives ( also pricy if you haven't grown them but so worth it)

1. Place the potatoes in a large pot of cold water, boil. Salt the water, lower heat, and simmer until fork tender ( about 15 min.). Drain, mash with milk until smooth. Add horseradish, egg, and season with salt and pepper.

2. In the meantime, in a deep skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add parsnips ( if you have them), carrots, onion, and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper, cook until crisp-tender( cousin of sweet-sour)

3. Crumble beef into pan and brown, stirring often. Sprinkle flour on top and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add broth and cook until thickened. Add worcestershire sauce and plenty of salt and pepper. Remove bay leave.

4. Preheat oven to 450. Grease a medium casserole dish that looks like it will hold all this stuff you have created. Add meat mixture and top with horseradish potatoes. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Remove, sprinkle with chives....devour.

OKAY! Sounds smooth as pudding, right?

Things I would do differently next time:

Notice there is no talk of draining the 2 lbs of beef? Well, next time I will either fork over the extra dough for ground sirloin ( not sure if this will make a difference) or drain it before adding in the flour and broth. I wish I could buy grease credits for my body.... I guess that damage is a little closer to home so you don't quite get the blind bliss of carbon credits.

I've also decided that next time I will put a cookie sheet under the casserole dish so as to avoid grease fires. Aubrey had to have been crestfallen when he noticed the inferno in our oven but somehow he managed to calmy analyze the situation and draw my attention to the flames. Fortunately, I saved the day by saving the pie and it was TASTY...and a little greasy. Do yourself a favor and get rid of it. Oh and get parsnips if you can find them. I bet they're good.

New York, New York

I just got back from my first trip to New York and had a fabulous time. I planned to take loads of creative photos but was so overwhelmed by visual stimuli I found myself staring up in the sky, oblivious to my surroundings, taking pictures of Times Square with about 100 other people. What can you do? I only had two meals on my own in the Big Apple and one snack. Like the photo situation, I had planned on having unique New York fare but ended up eating whenever I was too hungry and too tired to walk any further.

Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt



I wanted to walk around without looking like a doofus so I turned to the crucial elements of tourist disguise.

#1. Don't look obnoxiously happy.

#2. Walk in a determined direction as though you are late.

#3. Eat something ( It also helps to be on your cell, listening to your ipod, and reading a newspaper at the same time).

I had never heard of Pinkberry and went in willing to throw my "diet" out the window. Turns out, these babies only have 70 calories and are packed with vitamins. I had an original, small, with strawberries ( I blew my cover ordering- it was like learning how to order at Starbucks all over again). I didn't want to add insult to injury so no picture was taken. It looked like this except with a ton of strawberries. Refreshingly crisp and delicately sweet.

Heartland Brewery and Rottisserie


This brewery found only in New York has a convenient location at the foot of the Empire State Building. Since they are famous for their rottisserie, that's what I ordered... and that's all I got. One big plate of half a chicken in lemon and rosemary marinade. The chicken gets two thumbs up. The presentation needs some help...especially at a price of $15.95. The location limited interaction with locals...I swore to do better next time.


Maui Taco

This little hole-in-the-wall haven was a mad house of activity. I had passed it several times while getting where I needed to go so I decided to try it. So happy I did! I had the #1 burrito at $6.95. In simple foil wrap, complimented by a full salsa bar, this burrito was pure wonder.

Well, that was it for my New York food adventure. It would be glorious to visit in the springtime in a Soho farmers market.....

Blackberry and Peach Cobbler

Ahhh. Sweet and delicious Blackberry cobbler. I've been wanting some of this for a few days now and finally got around to making it. It's another Pioneer Woman recipe and it's easy as pie... actually, easier! Check it:

1 cup sugar
1 cup self-rising flower
( mix these together)
1 cup milk ( whisk it in baby)
1/2 cup melted butter ( that's one whole stick- add it in there! Now whisk it! Whisk it good!)
Put the cobbler mixture in a buttered baking dish
2 cups Blackberries ( of the fresh or frozen variety- Just throw them on top)
1/4 cup more sugar ( sprinkle over the top of all that beauty)*
Bake for an hour at 350 degrees. That's that.

* This is "all that beauty" before it gets sprinkled with sugar and popped in the oven.
For an extra tasty alternative I made one with peaches and blackberries. I'm usually not one to brag but this was the best cobbler I have ever had. No joke. You may kiss my ring.

Grandma Sylvia's Delicious Chili Beans

I finally tried to make my Grandma's Chili Beans which are my favorite thing in the world to eat at her house. They remind me of summers spent watching "The Wonder Years," playing with fabric scraps making quilts, embroidering, and scrapbooking together. Basically, delightful childhood memories. Without further ado:

3 1/2 cups pinto beans
1 finely diced medium sized onion

1 1/2 tbsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

1 mounded tbsp. minced garlic

1 lb. ground beef

1 can stewed tomatoes

4 tsp. of chili powder

1. Sort and rinse beans. Add beans, onion, salt, pepper, and garlic in large pot. Cover with water about two inches above the ingredients. Simmer on medium heat for 2 hours. *

2. Brown meat, season to taste. Do this step just before the beans are done.

3. Add meat and stewed tomatoes to the beans

4. In a separate dish, mix some of the bean juice with the chili powder to make a paste. Add to beans.... blend well.

5. Simmer on low heat for "a while" and serve.

* Be sure to check the water and make sure it isn't running low. I thought I could run to the grocery store...bad idea. I took it out on Aubrey which was also a bad idea!

I tried again, determined to make these beans ( albeit for dinner now instead of lunch). I screwed up again because I added 4 tablespoons of chili instead of 4 teaspoons. I wouldn't recommend this. Also, next time I would actually measure the salt...two shakes didn't do it.

Moral of the story? Pay attention and listen to your Grandma! I have a sneaky suspicion that even if I followed the instructions perfectly, they still wouldn't taste as great as they do while curled on the couch with a steamy mug and continuously turning down the offers for more ( knowing more is on the way anyway=).