If you have some of the above attributes but are not a geezer nor even approaching pre-geezerhood, thank God for that, press on regardless, and welcome.

We had not seen this before.  It turns out that it is made by a franchise called Edible Arrangements.  We later discovered via the Internet that it is a well established company with over 800 outlets in the US, Canada, UK, UAR and Dubai.  The skewered fruit was fresh and delicious. For example, the strawberries were better than the ones we bought for The Little Woman's strawberry pie.  Many thanks to the invited couple who thought of this and made the evening quite special. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Now comes around a new franchise outfit called Mosquito Squad that sprays the property every 21 days with an EPA approved insecticide.  I'm sure this season will be mosquito free.  But The Little Woman remains skeptical though not derisive this year, so far.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This May Be The Pasta Cookbook For Your Grand Child

Just got this book after seeing the authors do a demo on Emeril's show last week.  More to follow . . .
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

One glance at the photo, however, indicates that I forgot Chef/Owner Laura Bell's Basic Rule of Cookies, viz., always have chocolate chips and nuts at hand to place on top of those cookies that have none on the surface when scooped.  Sage advice from my catering days at  A La Belle Cuisine.  Surely you can see why:  If one person is served a cookie with five chips on top and another--seated adjacent--gets a cookie with none, one side glance leads immediately to all manner of introspective thoughts, i.e.,  "Mom does like him best," or "I think this cute waiter really is interested in me ...," or "That fool doesn't know who paid for this lunch." 

Anyhow, this morning The Little Women was cleaning out the pantry after a series of three dinners the past two weeks.  "Why not make some cookies and get rid of these stray bags of stuff."  The stuff comprised a cup each of old chocolate chips, walnuts from the carrot cake and coconut from the shrimp (see below).  So, using my chocolate chip cookie recipe as the base, we have Pantry Cookies.

Pantry Cookies
Yield:  2 dozen cookies 
See Abbreviations, if needed
2C + 2T      AP flour (bleached preferred)
1/2t             salt
1/2t             baking soda
1/2t             baking powder
12T             butter, melted and cooled to ambient
1C               sugar
1C               light brown sugar
1                  egg
1                  egg yolk
1.5t              vanilla
2/3C            chocolate chips
2/3C            walnuts, chopped
2/3C            coconut, shredded (sweetened OK)
1.  Preheat oven to 325F
2.  Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and set aside
3.  Cream together butter and sugars in a standing mixer
4.  Add egg, yolk and vanilla
5.  Add flour mixture
6.  Slow mixer to its lowest speed and briefly work in chips, walnuts and coconut, in that order
7.  Scoop dough with a #36 scoop (or by hand about 1/2 golf ball size) and place well apart on a greased sheet pan 
     or a pan with a silicone pan liner. 
8.  Bake about 18 minutes or until the cookie edges start to turn golden brown
9.  Cool cookies on the sheet pan a while before racking 

NOTE:  These cookies cooled out rather too crisp.  Consulting Corriher,  I'll substitute cake flour for AP flour next time and see if that helps.

NOTE:  We're going to use what's called a breading station.  The trick is to move the shrimp from one pan to the next while keeping one hand dry and the other wet, otherwise the whole process turns into a wretched mess.

Yield:  2-3 servings 
See Abbreviations, if needed
·  3/4C      unbleached all purpose flour
·  1t           hot paprika
·  1/2t        salt
·  1/2t        freshly ground pepper
·  1/2t        sugar
·   2           eggs
·  1C         unsweetened shredded coconut (sweetened OK, but then don't add the sugar...)
·  1 C        panko ()Japanese bread crumbs)
·  1 lb       large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 6 shrimp per person)
·  1.5 C     grapeseed, vegetable or peanut oil if using a wok, (about 3 cups if using a Dutch oven)

1. Set up a "breading station" to coat the shrimp: 
    (using three dishes and two hands--one "dry hand" and the other "wet hand"
     ·  Combine flour, paprika, S/P and sugar and place in a shallow dish, far left
     ·  Beat the eggs lightly with a little water and place in the second shallow dish, center
     ·  Combine the coconut and panko and place in the third shallow dish, far right
2.  With the left hand, drop a few shrimp into the flour mixture, coat thoroughly and 
      then transfer the shrimp to the egg mixture
3.  With the right hand, swish the shrimp to thoroughly coat them with egg
4.  With the right hand, transfer the egged shrimp into the coconut/panko mixture and coat thoroughly
5.  Again with the right hand place the coated shrimp on a rack to await frying
6.  Repeat with all the remaining shrimp
7.  Heat the cooking oil in a wok or Dutch oven to 375F. Use a thermometer!
8.  Carefully place a few shrimp in the oil and immediately increase heat to get the oil back 
     up to 350F to 375F
9.  Swish the shrimp in the hot oil until golden, about 2 minutes
10.  With a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer the deep fried shrimp to a rack and place in 
        warming drawer or oven 
11.  When all the shrimp are prepared, serve immediately
12.  Coconut shrimp can be accompanied with red onions, orange and lime slices 
       and/or chutney

Please make couscous as I was taught at school by our Algerian French chef and as described in my basic recipe for Couscous. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

COUSCOUS WITH DICED VEGGIES, OLIVES AND CILANTRO
Yield:  8 servings 
See Abbreviations, if needed
· 10 oz      prepared couscous
· 1 C         plain yogurt
· 1.5 T      RWV
· 1 T         Dijon mustard
· 3 T         EVOO
· 1 C         diced red peppers (or red and yellow)
· 1/2 C      finely diced shallots
· 1/2 C      finely diced carrots
· 1 C         diced calamata olives
· 3/4 C      minced fresh cilantro (or parsley)
· S/P         TT

1.  Prep couscous as per basic recipe and cool
2.  Combine yogurt, RWV and mustard in large stainless steel bowl
3.  Whisk in the EVOO
4.  Add couscous and other ingredients 
5.  Toss to coat
6.  Serve ambient with lamb, pork, chicken or fish

It's rather convincing too.  With this book in hand, I remembered my Aunt Pauline who was the dietitian, in the 40s and 50s, at the city hospital in Indianapolis.  But there are no dietitians today.  They have morphed into nutritionists. Pollen's right, the whole profession went from macroanalysis to microanalysis, from diet profiles of whole foods to fat, carbo and protein counts in whatever food carries them. 

Pollan's mantra is on the cover and the first page of the book.  "Eat food, not too much.  Mostly plants."  Here he joins Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's buy better:eat less.  Both authors are preaching to the choir of food phobics and wellness hypocondriacs who love to worry about their food.  Indeed, Pollan identifies this anxious and worrisome cohort as "orthorexics."  An new eating disorder, ripe for medical intervention. 

But there is something more here, or I wouldn't waste your time with these books.  It's obvious if you think about it:  Buy, prepare and eat good food.  Work that out however you like.  But give it a go.  These books might help.

So, is HFW another urban  political foodie elitist running against the wind?  Yes, but it is hard to blow off the idea that man has responsibilities regarding the raising and slaughter of animals for food and therefore, that we have options (albeit within our means) to buy meat that reflects these responsibilities.  "Buy better:eat less" is a new mantra.

HFW devotes the first part of his book to understanding meat, wherein he defines "good meat" and then applies it to the purchase and preparation of beef, veal, lamb, mutton, pork, poultry and game.  Part two is about classic cooking methods--roasting, slow and fast cooking, barbecuing and the preparation of forcemeats--with recipes.  In all, HFW is well schooled, trained and informed.  And since he's British, the American reader will find his take on things refreshing and innovative.  For example, his recipe for Boston Baked Beans and the accompanying photo remove all doubt that the British have forgiven us for the Boston Tea Party.

This is an important book about food and a virtual manifesto about meat that challenges the way we go about provisioning our table  Yet it is light hearted enough to be fun to read.  Not to mention its lush photos and recipes too. 

To my observation, the idea of good husbandry is impossible to fault on its own merits.  Read about the "good" farms in Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma (see below) or the critical control points of basic good husbandry in the slaughterhouse in Grandin's Animals in Translation.  Further, in my view, respect for food and its preparation is an implicit fundamental of good cooking. Without respect for food deeply embedded or pounded into you through training with good teachers (be they moms or chefs), you can't be a good cook.  At best, you're just a participant in a refereed food fight.

Lobby your librarian or buy the book.

I learned a lot in the first and second part of the book:  about big corn and its industrial food chain;  about a "grass farmer" down the road from us here in Virginia running an intense operation raising grass fed critters for market;  about the canonical evils of McDonalds but also their good influences in the slaughter house; about Whole Foods and the industrial organic food chain--now a $20B industry.  Interlaced in all this are the author's thoughts on the killing of animals for food, on vegetarianism, on animal rights, on animal welfare and the realities of feeding the multitudes --all with a measured and thoughtful hand.

I'm at peace with all this on the basis that there is, without exception, death in dinner.  Be it bacteria swallowed into an acid bath as one drinks water, munching a carrot or dining on a grilled chicken.  I once observed four boxwoods, planted in April, shut down and appear dead in the dry heat of August only to come alive the following spring--all four of them.  Do boxwoods communicate?  By extension, who is to say that there is not some primordial scream from a carrot as it is ripped from its earth womb? 

I enjoyed the book, the banner of this Web site notwithstanding.  But don't log in every week waiting for my first vegetarian menu.

BAKED SHRIMP SCAMPI WITH FETA CHEESE
Yield:  2 servings entrée, or 4 servings hot appetizer
See Abbreviations, if needed

·   12        uncooked jumbo shrimp (11-15 count), shelled and deveined
·   1          lemon, juiced
·   3T       EVOO
·   1         shallot or 1/2 onion, finely diced
·   1C     dry white wine (or 1/2 C if for appetizers)
·   3         large garlic cloves, pureed
·   2t        dry mustard
·   1t        Italian seasonings or herbes de Provence
·   TT      pepper, no salt (feta is very salty)
·   5oz     feta cheese, shredded
·              fresh parsley leaves for garnish

1.  Preheat oven to 450F
2.  Briefly marinade shrimp in lemon juice
3.  Sweat shallot in EVOO to translucent then add the garlic
4.  Add seasonings and wine
5.  Simmer and reduce for about 10 minutes , or to dense if for appetizers
6.  Spoon some sauce into a large baking dish or 8 ramekins 
7.  Add shrimp and cover with remaining sauce
8.  Top with shredded cheese
9.  Bake until shrimp are done and cheese is melted, about 10 minutes
10.  Serve over pasta and garnish with parsley, or garnish and serve with bread points as an appetizer

(Photos portray service for two.)

Shabu-Shabu
Yield:  4 servings
See Abbreviations, if needed
For the broth:
·   14oz          (1 can) beef broth
·   28oz         (2 cans) chicken broth
·   1/3 cup       chopped fresh cilantro or parsley 

For the meat: 
·   1 lb           beef tenderloin

For the veggie selection:  (adjust quantities and improvise selection, to taste)
·   1               Asian radish (daikon) or 5-7 regular radish
·   1               fresh, large fat carrot 
·   ½ head     Chinese cabbage 
·   8 stems     baby bok choy
·   12             broccolini or broccoli flowerets
·   3 cups       fresh spinach leaves, stemmed
·   6               spring onions
·   12             fresh asparagus tips
·   1/2 cup     fresh sprouts
·   2               red bell peppers
·   8               mushrooms of choice, sliced
·   1 block      tofu (optional)
·    3oz          Asian noodles or rice, but not both

For the dipping sauces: 
·  Select 3 or 4 prepared sauces, such as Hoisin, Szechwan, Mandarin Orange, Duck, 
    Sweet/Sour or Sweet Teriyaki
·  Mix 8 parts of really good soy sauce with 1 part of sesame oil 
For the meat and veggies: (pre-wash all the veggies)
1.  Trim the beef tenderloin, square up the sides and place it 
      in the freezer to harden and make it easier to slice
     o  Remove the beef from the freezer before it is frozen
     o  With a very sharp knife, cut into very thin slices
     o  Set aside in the refrigerator
2.  Place the broth in the selected pot, toss in some onion spears, cilantro or parsley
     and set aside
3.  Cut the hard veggies on a slant into very thin slices 
4.  Cut a half head of cabbage, quarter it and separate the leaves
5.  Cut and trim the bok choy
6.  Cut broccolini flowerets off stem
7.  Wash, dry and de-stem the spinach leaves 
8.  Cut the spring onions into thin strips about 3 inch long
9.  Cut the bell peppers into very thin rings 
10.  Cut the optional tofu into 1 inch cubes (or whatever you do with that awful stuff)
11.  For the dipping sauces:
      o  Place each sauce in 2 sets of separate dipping dishes or ramekins
      o  If a sauce is too thick, cut it with rice vinegar or white wine vinegar,
          to taste.  Improvise but don't use soy sauce as a thinner since all of these 
          prepared sauces are already very salty
To serve: 
·  Each guest should have a bowl and chopsticks (or tongs) 
·  If serving rice, put some in each bowl
·  Each guest should have access to all the ingredients 
·  Each couple should have a set of dipping sauces 
·  Add to the boiling broth those veggies that take the longest to cook
   o  Everyone add ingredients in small amounts to cook, dip and sample
   o  The beef, spinach and onion shoots, for example, are shabu-shabu items. That is,
       a couple of swishes and they are done
·  When the beef is gone and the veggie selection is diminished:
   o  Add the noodles, if prepared
   o  Bring the broth to boil then turn off the heat
   o  Ladle a portion of the broth, (noodles) and veggies into each bowl for soup
Note:  This can be messy fun:  Shabu-Shubuers who are not proficient with 
           chopsticks, but are determined to learn, should be fitted with bibs.