Sherry – Page 35 – Rosemary and the Goat

Crunchy Firecracker Shrimp

Crunchy, quick appetizer.

These look just like the firecrackers we use to throw as kids — almost, but not quite.

I don’t think our parents had the same concerns of safety that parents have today. Maybe they just wanted us to go out and be kids but did they know we did the things we did while they weren’t looking. Like my twin sister and I trying to fly off the side of a half wall by our house or chasing each other around with a Davy Crocket knife in hand (I did get cut on the hand and still have the scar to prove it). We had a pony, Trixie, that got traded for a goKart and we use to race that little car up and down our driveway, and of course we blew up cans and other things with firecrackers and you know what, we’re still in one piece.

There is something about the word “crunch” in describing a tasty appetizer. Any appetizer that has crunch appeal just has to be good. Crunch could describe carrots, peppers, cucumbers, or cereals. But to me I’m thinking of salty things like potato chips, phyllo and these crunchy firecracker shrimp appetizers that are all rolled up and dipped in a fiery sauce.

June 2, 2015 By Sherry

Dessert/ Desserts/ Ice Cream

Grilled Pineapple Dessert

A great little summer dessert.

Looks like summer is here; can you believe that? Do you have your summer all planned out yet? We don’t. We are in the process of having an outdoor kitchen built and not sure how long that is going to take. We will be doing some babysitting for the grandsons this summer which should be a lot of fun and hoping to squeeze a trip or two sometime before the Fall.

This dessert is so easy to make for any of your outdoor parties where you already have your grill heated. In fact, you could cook the pineapple in advance and just serve it room temperature, then you don’t have your ice cream melting which is one of my complaints about warm desserts that are served with ice cream.

Remember when there were regular pineapples and then there were the new ones coming to the markets called “gold” pineapples. Now, that is all you see in the market. There are all sorts of test for checking the ripeness of fruits (scent, sight and feel). Pulling the center leaves from a pineapple does not tell you whether it is ripe or not. I just found this out and I have been using that technique for years. Probably a lot of my other methods of picking the most perfect piece of fruit or produce isn’t accurate either.

May 27, 2015 By Sherry

Egg Dishes/ Morning Foods

Impossible Ham and Cheese Pie

Not so impossible!

Aren’t you always looking for a new recipe to try out on company? Whether they are family or friends, this is easy and won’t have you up before dawn preparing this yummy treat.

I can just look at the picture above and it gets my mouth-watering. The taste of the melty cheese, the onions and the tiny pieces of ham is what your dreams will be made of when you preparing your breakfast menus for the weekend. Top the impossible pie with some salsa for an extra tang and you have a great breakfast dish.

This recipe can be changed up so many ways; try different cheeses, serve it for brunch, lunch or “breakfast for dinner”, add some jalapeños to the filling. I changed the flour to a King Arthur Gluten Free blend and could not tell it was not made with “real” flour. So, if there are any of you eating gluten-free because you have to or because you want to, try substituting a GF blend; you will be amazed at the results. (A few weeks ago, my grandson, Milo asked me “Gran do you eat gluten-free things because you want to or because you have to?”) The answer is I don’t have to but when I can substitute something gluten-free as the flour in this recipe, I will give it a try.

The Impossible Pie appeared first back in 1968 and was popularized by General Mills and General Foods to help promote their products in making this pie. There are sweet versions and savory version. Just Google “Impossible Pie” and you will be amazed at the different recipes that will come up.

May 22, 2015 By Sherry

Dessert/ Pies/Tarts

Angel Mango Pie

Luscious and delicious mangos.

Growing up in a small town (Caruthersville, MO) you can’t help to know who some of the best bakers are. Of course, our mother was a great baker but everyone knew that Mrs. Johnson’s (also know as Froni short for Veronica) pies and cakes were the best. If you wanted one of her delicious desserts, all you had to do was give her a call and place an order. She was known for her fresh coconut cake, from scratch angel food cake, Angel Pie (meringue only, no crust) and also her Angel Food Pie was a favorite with many of her 11 children. Her daughter, Aggie, told me that some of her siblings wanted peaches, some wanted fresh strawberries and another brother wanted no fruit at all for this Angel food pie. I think her original recipe for Angel food Pie was made with Peaches.

I’m sure when my sister and I first started making this pie she got the recipe from Mrs. Johnson because she and her husband use to go play pinochle at the Johnson’s house and I’m sure they were served many wonderful desserts. I hope I haven’t changed it from the original. Can you imagine growing up in a house where something yummy was coming out of the oven probably every day. With 11 children, I’m sure she spent most of her time in the kitchen or doing laundry. And, I only had 3 and that seemed to be a lot of work at the time.

I use to use can peaches for this pie. Can’t believe I would have done that but I did. I’ve made it also with fresh peaches; never tried strawberries but sounds wonderful. I’m using fresh mangos for this version since we get some beautiful ones here in Texas. You can try whatever fruit you want; it’s up to you. I think mixed berries would be yummy also.

May 17, 2015 By Sherry

Pasta/ Side dish

Pesto Pasta with Peas

A day in the garden.

Does this pasta look like it was born in a garden. Fresh basil and parsley from my garden, fresh spinach and English peas.

This year I was co-chair (with my friend, Linda) for arranging programs for our garden club. We had been told about this garden up in Conroe, Texas, Hope Farms Gardens and knew we just had to see it. Barbara Lopez opens her home gardens for one month in April/May for people to tour and buy her plants. Her gardens are a fun place to shop because you know exactly where the plants belong. If the plants for sale are placed in her shady parts of her yard that means they belong in the shade. Same for the sunny parts of her yard and that will be where she has the plants needing sun during the day.

So, we decided to see if our Hospitality Chairperson would like to take a look at her gardens to see if she thought our members would like to have our end-of-year lunch there instead of a restaurant or country club. Everyone agreed so for all of last year I had been thinking about what I wanted to do for lunch.

After a trip to the dollar store, I came away with 45 $1 rectangle baskets perfect for our French inspired luncheon. I have literally hundreds (not really) French looking cloths (I do have about 175 cloth napkins though that I accumulated while working at Williams Sonoma). The menu started taking shape about a year in advance with the baskets to hold all the goodies. Nancy’s Chopped Salad from Smitten Kitchen caught my eye early on and I knew I wanted to put this in a wide mouth pint jar. I also knew I wanted to do a fruit crumble dessert in the wide mouth 8 oz. jars. This Pesto Pasta with Peas is a recipe I have been thinking about for a while because I knew I wanted to use these tinsey tiny bow tie pasta noodles. Homemade focaccia bread and some baby bell cheese rounded out the basket.

May 12, 2015 By Sherry

Entree/ Fish/Seafood

Lemon Spaghetti with Shrimp

I love the look of this pasta blend…..

Isn’t everyone looking for quick recipes now that summer is here (may not be summer where you live but to me May in Texas is summer). Who has time to cook anyway? (Honestly, I still enjoy it.) I’m probably the only person that looks for hard recipe with lots of ingredients. This isn’t one of those and you can do it with or without the carrots and zucchini. If you want all pasta go for it.

I love Giada De Liuentiis’ shows on Food Network and when I saw this recipe in my old issue of Food and Wine I knew I was going to have to try it with a different twist for the pasta part of this dish. I would love to be part of that Italian family when they get together for their meals and it’s always so interesting to hear about her family stories. And this dish deserves a four finger kiss and a big “mama mia”. (Don’t know what that means but I picture them doing this when they like something.)

May 7, 2015 By Sherry

Salads

Cauliflower “Potato” Salad

No potatoes in this picnic favorite!

So, it is Derby day in Louisville and it’s our fifth grandson’s 1st birthday (He was born on Derby Day last year). We are in Austin helping to celebrate and if you are looking for something yummy to make today for a party, try out this twist on a picnic favorite.

How many cookouts, bbq, birthday parties, outdoor events will you be invited to this summer? Probably quite a few and if you want to please those people who are low-carbing, or people who want to cut a few calories, or people who are adventurous to try something new, try this new take on an old favorite.

I’ve made potato salad the same way all my life. I need to preface that by saying I use to make it like my grandmother and then I sometimes made it like my mother. One (my grandmother) mashed her potatoes for the potato salad because that’s the way my grandfather liked it and my mother always chunked her potatoes and left them in chunks. I didn’t want to favor one of their methods over the other so I would give the chunked potatoes a few quick mashes and left the rest alone and then continued with my recipe so I had a little bit of them both in the way I made my potato salad.

How many different kinds of potato salad could there be? There’s Hot German potato salad, a mayonnaise based, mustard based, baked potato salad and I’m sure about a hundred different ingredients people put in their’s.

May 2, 2015 By Sherry

Dessert/ Pies/Tarts

Kentucky Walnut Pie

And……they are off and running!

There is no mint in this pie, only for garnish, but if you are at a Kentucky Derby Party this weekend you will probably be drinking mint juleps.

I’m sure almost everyone makes Derby Pie or at least has tasted it, but I have never shared my recipe.

The name Derby Pie is trademarked by Kern’s Kitchen in Louisville and they invented it or came up with the recipe back in 1950 at the Melrose Inn in Prospect, Kentucky.

I have been making Derby Pie which I have called Kentucky Derby Pie since we lived in Louisville back in the 70’s. If you look at the picture of their pie in the above link, mine looks nothing like their’s. Also, a lot of recipe call for pecans and bourbon. I don’t remember who gave me this recipe back in the 70’s but it had walnuts, no bourbon and definitely a homemade pie crust not a store bought one. According to what I have read on the web the family of Kern’s Kitchen is going after anyone I guess that calls their pie “Derby Pie” so, after years of calling mine Derby Pie, I’m calling it Kentucky Walnut Pie just so I don’t get sued. That seems kind of nasty if you ask me, to sue someone even if they change the ingredients. And, I have to say mine looks way more appetizing.

Both our sons were born in Louisville in the same hospital with the same doctor and I feel like if I ever want to talk about our years living in Louisville and going to the Kentucky Derby then I had to make a Kentucky Derby Pie.

Each year, I could not wait to go to the Kentucky Derby. No, we were not one of the beautiful people with gorgeously outrageous hats sitting up in the box seats or even the bleachers. We were one of the “infield crowd”; the ones that would carry coolers of booze and try to get in with it or make something called spoliolies that taste like lemonade but was full of vodka and lemon juice. We always did manage to sneek some concoction into the races.

April 27, 2015 By Sherry

Soup

Okra and Corn Chowder

I love okra, and I don’t care if it is fried or boiled and slimy.

What smells better than a pot of soup simmering away on your stovetop. Nothing. Our cold days are behind us but this soup will still be in my menu any time of the year. This would be a great soup to try when the fresh okra and corn start showing up at the markets.

Ya know what I love about soups, well, the instructions are usually about a paragraph long and they are pretty simple to throw together and the ingredients are usually something pretty easy to find at your local market.

This recipe happens to have two of my favorite vegetables — corn and okra and you can’t not like the potatoes and tomatoes and what about the bacon. Everything is better with bacon in it. My husband does not like boiled okra at all because he says it is slimy. How is that different than the slimy oysters he slurps down? He will eat okra in gumbo and soups though even though it is boiled but not just boiled okra as a side dish. (So, I usually get it all.) When I make gumbo, I cook the okra in a hot, dry, iron skillet because that is suppose to get rid of the sliminess before you put it in your soup. (Sliminess isn’t really a work that evokes thoughts of a delicious dish is it?) For this recipe though, I did not do that, I just added in the FROZEN okra since I can never find any decent fresh okra in my grocery. I also added some dried okra that a friend, Sheri, gave me to try.

What do you normally serve with a pot of soup? Salad? Bread? If bread, is it cornbread or a crusty loaf of Italian bread? I chose no bread when I made this soup.

On the day I made this, my project for the day was to organize my pantry (I have two – food and pans). My food pantry gets organized at least every couple of months. I like my spices in alphabetical order, all my foods stacked neat and tidy and containers holding pastas, rices, teas etc. I have racks on my doors from The Container store that hold mixes for dips and other packaged things I usually have a hard time passing up when I see them. After all, you never know when you might need a quick dip.

April 21, 2015 By Sherry

Cake/ Dessert/ Pies/Tarts

Mocha Chocolate Icebox Cake

What would the world be without chocolate chips?

What would the world be without chocolate chips you say? Definitely not as sweet for sure.

I have to admit to occasionally buying chocolate chip cookies for my kids when they were young and they would probably have been Chips Ahoy by Nabisco. But, 99% of the time they would have had homemade, warm out of the oven, cookies waiting for them when they returned from school with a tall glass of milk.

When we lived in Chicago back in the 80’s and my daughter was in pre-school, I was guilty of talking her out of going to pre-school one day so we could go to Woodfield Mall. At the time, I think that was one of the largest malls in the U.S. and they had a Mrs. Fields Cookie shop which I absolutely loved their Macadamia Nut White Chocolate and Chocolate Chip Cookies. These cookies were always warm out the oven. So on our little outing that day, which was a cold, snowy day, we checked our heavy coats into a locker and took off for a little shopping excursion. Ummm, I can still taste those warm cookies with large pieces of macadamia nuts along with all those chocolate chips. We didn’t make a habit of skipping school but that was one nice mother/daughter day.

I was looking for a dessert to make for our bunco group and wanted something memorable. I seldom sign up for dessert because there are always so many appetizer recipes I want to try out on everyone. While out to dinner one night, my friend, Peggy told me about this dessert she had seen on one of Ina Garten’s shows. I remember seeing this show in the past but the only thing I remembered about it was her talking about going to Tate’s Bake Shop to buy their chocolate chip cookies for this recipe. Since my cc cookies are not nearly this flat and crunchy I decided to try Tate’s recipe that was printed on Food.com’s website.

April 16, 2015 By Sherry

Appetizers/ Entree/ Fish/Seafood/ HotApp

Crispy Salt and Pepper Shrimp

And you can even eat the shells!

When I first saw this recipe I thought of my sister. She loves to eat the tails of fried shrimp and I thought she would love to try this recipe. We also love (maybe most people do) to eat the fried fins of fish when they are fried whole; that would be Crappie fish, of course, but I don’t get that anymore.

I have a closet full (not really) of Szechuan peppercorns that I ordered years ago and never really know what to use them in. Well this recipe calls for them and what better way to use some of them up.

While recovery from foot surgery I decided to spend some time at the computer before the pain finally set in (wow, it never did) and I found a blog with this recipe. The recipe looked so good and I loved the fried jalapeño pepper rings for garnish.

We can get all kinds of fresh shrimp all times of the year here in Texas so I can go tiny or all the way up to Tiger shrimp and I think there is even one bigger that I used to make Shrimp Kiev one time. Now that was really good.

Seems like I have more shrimp recipes than just about anything I cook. Here are some of my favorites (they all really are so good, look under “entrees”- “seafood” to see them all) Bang Bang Shrimp, New Orleans style BBQ Shrimp (a must try), Shrimp Corndogs with Blueberry Mustard Sauce (from Moonshine Grill in Austin), and Honey Walnut Shrimp that I also had at a restaurant in Austin and definitely worth a try.

April 11, 2015 By Sherry

Side dish

Candy Striped Beet Greens

Treasure from the farmer’s market in January.

A day at the farmer’s market back in January rewarded me with these beautiful candy striped beets. They had been promising me all fall that once it got cold they would have beets. The first time this winter I bought the candy striped beets from them I roasted them but was disappointed they didn’t keep the red and white rings.

If you didn’t know this; the beet greens are just as good as the beets. Most grocery stores are going to just have the beets without the greens because, I guess, they take up too much room in shipping. My beets and greens were about 2′ long.

I knew I was going to be cooking the beet greens; how could I throw away greens that beautiful and only keep the root end of this vegetable and had planned on just slicing up the candy striped beets and eating them raw in salads. But, at the last minute, I decided to throw in a few slices at the end of cooking the greens to see if they would retain their unique coloring and they did. They could probably take a quick saute in a little olive oil and not fade too much.

April 6, 2015 By Sherry

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