Chicken and Ricotta Meatballs

January 6, 2019January 6, 2019 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

One of the food magazines that I pick up regularly is called COOK. It has a lot of recipes with ingredients that I usually have on hand or are easy to come by at the grocery. And the magazine has beautiful food pictures!! The January issue has a great recipe for meatballs made with ground chicken and ricotta cheese. With a little planning it’s a meal you can have on the table in 45 minutes, and that included me grinding my chicken breasts in an old fashioned meat grinder! A food processor would work. Or purchasing ground chicken (or turkey) at the grocery would be even easier. The meatballs look a little different than what we’re accoustomed to…my husband saw them in the sauce and said “dumplings??”. But they’re light, moist, and have a great flavor.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground chicken

3/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese

1/2 cup panko

1 large egg yolk

3-4 cloves of garlic finely chopped and divided

1/4 cup fresh basil sliced thin and divided

2 tsp kosher salt

4 T olive oil

1/2 cup white wine

28 oz of crushed tomatoes

fresh grated asiago and additional basil for serving

First things first. If you didn’t purchase ground chicken you’ll need to do that. Grind your chicken. With the meat slightly frozen, cube it and grind. I used chicken breast but I don’t see why you couldn’t use boneless leg or thigh meat.

Preheat your oven to 400.

In a medium bowl stir together chicken, ricotta, panko, egg yolk, half the garlic, half the basil, and 1 tsp salt. Mix until well combined.

Use a 1/4 cup spring-loading scoop (I call it a cookie scoop) or a teaspoon and shape into 16 meatballs. Place in a foil lined pan. Drizzle with 2 T of olive oil. Bake for 12 minutes.

While the meatballs are cooking get your sauce started. In a heavy skillet, over medium heat, add remaining 2 T of olive oil and remaining garlic. Cook for 1 minute and add the wine. Cook until the wine is reduced by half, 3-5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, remaining basil and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a simmer.

Once the meatballs are done add them to the sauce including any pan juices. Cover and simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes.

Serve with fresh grated asiago and garnish with additional basil if desired. I served mine over a simple, creamy polenta. It would also be good with angel hair or fettuccine noodles or served with spaghetti squash.

NOTE: I made only slight modifications to the recipe in COOK. I used fresh basil instead of fresh rosemary. One, I didn’t have any fresh rosemary and two, basil just sounded better to me in this recipe. I also used shredded asiago for serving rather than Parmesan. I have a slight preference for asiago but either would be good.

My friend Jane made this recipe before I did and she gave it high marks so I was confident I would like it. However, when you’re mixing the meat and cheese you may be a little skeptical about how its all going to come together. But it does!

I have not made this with ground turkey but I cant imagine that it wouldn’t work. To me, when you’re cooking, a recipe is a guideline and you’ll like it best when you take your personal tastes and preferences into account.

Baked Beans

December 30, 2018 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

For Christmas this year my daughter gave me Carla Hall’s Soul Food Cookbook. I have loved Carla Hall since I first saw her on Top Chef and she was my favorite part of the Chew. Her cookbook is great. The recipes are not complicated and the dishes are all comfort foods. Like the recipe I found for Slow Cooker Baked Beans. It’s been a long time since I made real, from scratch, baked beans. Where you have to let the beans soak overnight in cold salt water. Bushes beans with lots of add ins like bacon and ground beef and onions, etc. have been my fall back. Don’t get me wrong. Those are very good! But real baked beans that have cooked all day are true comfort food.

When we were kids my mother would sometimes make baked beans and homemade bread and that would be our Saturday supper. It wasn’t a side dish. It was supper. We didn’t have crock pots back then so the beans cooked in a big roaster in the oven for the better part of the day. Baked beans with warm bread slathered in butter. A good memory. I also remember having homemade baked beans for hot lunch at school. Back in the day they didn’t have stations in the school cafeteria where you could get pizza or visit a salad bar or put toppings on your hot dog or hamburger. You had lunch ladies in aprons and hair nets, who also cooked the food, ladle it on your plate and that’s what you ate. And we liked the food. At least I remember liking the food.

My dad obviously loved beans because they were a “camp” staple. Eaten at breakfast with eggs and potatoes and meat. Sometimes at supper with hot dogs or brats. I think Van de kamps beans were a camp favorite.

Fun bean facts: Navy beans got their name because they were a staple food of the US Navy in the early 20th century. They are a good, inexpensive, virtually fat free source of protein, fiber and vitamin B1, copper and manganese. They are one of 13,000 species of the family of legumes or plants that produce edible pods.

So…yesterday I made Carla Hall’s beans with a slight modification. I added bacon. Because everything is better with bacon.

4 slices of thick cut bacon diced

2 pounds of dried northern beans

1 large onion finely chopped

1 jalapeño chili seeded and minced

2-3 cloves of garlic thin sliced

1 T smoked paprika

1 T Worcestershire sauce

3/4 cup catsup

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup molasses (I added an extra 1/4 cup of molasses)

3 T yellow mustard

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

This is the part that requires some planning ahead. Stir 3 T of kosher salt into 3 quarts of water until the salt dissolves. Add the beans, cover, and soak overnight in the refrigerator.

Drain the beans and transfer them to a 6 quart slow cooker. Mince the jalapeño, slice the garlic and dice the onion.

In a heavy skillet cook the bacon until most of the fat is rendered. Add the onions, jalapeño, and garlic. Stir occasionally over medium heat until the onions are translucent. About 5 minutes.

Stir in the smoked paprika, 2 tsp of salt and fresh ground pepper. Add the Worcestershire sauce, catsup, brown sugar, molasses, and mustard. Cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture starts to bubble.

Pour the sauce over the beans and add enough water (about 5 cups) to cover the beans by 2 inches.

Cover the cooker and cook on low until the beans are tender, 6 to 8 hours. Stir once or twice as they are cooking. Serve up while they’re hot and enjoy. Supper. Corn bread and beans.

I was messaging with a friend last night before we ate, bragging a little about how good these beans were smelling, and he told me his wife was cooking black-eyed peas and corn bread for their dinner. Unbeknownst to me, in the South, black-eyed peas, cowpeas, and beans, pork, and cornbread are symbolic foods served on New Year’s Day. They are considered “lucky” foods and, when eaten on New Year’s Day, are thought to bring a year of prosperity. The peas or beans are symbolic of pennies or coins. You’ll want to eat 365 of them. Corn bread, being the color of gold, represents wealth. The peas or beans and corn bread are supposed to be served with kale, collard, mustard or turnip greens which are the color of American currency and are supposed to add more wealth. There is a dish called Hoppin John which is a combination of rice, beans, greens and bacon. If you serve the left overs the next day its called Skippin Jenny and demonstrates one’s frugality. For the bad rap some people give beans I think after last night’s dinner 2019 will be a year of prosperity.

NOTE: I am quite certain my mother’s baked bean recipe did not include smoked paprika or a jalapeño. Just as I modified Carla Hall’s recipe a bit by adding bacon and a little extra molasses, feel free to customize this recipe to your own tastes. The beans would make a great vegetarian dish without the bacon and would be a great side dish with roast pork or sausage.

Gnudi (Pronounced NUDIE)

February 26, 2018February 26, 2018 / featherheadlady / 2 Comments

I just looked back on my blog and realized that I hadn’t posted anything since I posted the bologna cake I made to celebrate a good friend’s birthday back in early December. A lot has happened since December 10th when I posted that and I need to get back on my blog and share my food adventures. I subscribe to several food magazines, enjoy watching cooking shows (especially Top Chef and the Chew), and I have way too many cookbooks. Recently I watched an episode of the Chew where Michael Symon made Gnudi with brown butter and sage and I decided I had to make them. I told my good friend Jane about them and she decided she had to make them too!! Gnudi is basically a ravioli without the pasta. The semolina flour that you roll them in forms a skin so you basically end up with cheesy, buttery goodness. On television they looked really simple. They whipped them up in like 15 minutes! And everyone was smiling and wide eyed and ooohed and aaahed as they ate them. We all love things with only a few simple ingredients and no complicated instructions, right? Well. I would not recommend Gnudi! But I’m still going to share the recipe, the process, and ultimately the edible outcome.

Ingredients:

1 pound whole milk ricotta

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 egg yolk

3/4 tsp grated nutmeg

1 pound semolina flour

For the brown butter:

1/2 cup butter

sage leaves

So here, at the very beginning, is where Michael Symon’s instructions have me scratching my head. He says to drain the excess liquid from the ricotta by putting it in a fine mesh colander or on paper towel. As instructed, I put my whole milk ricotta in a mesh strainer.

NOTHING. There is no excess liquid. There is no liquid at all. Michael must get special ricotta not available to me here in Michigan’s wilderness. So okay. Mine has been pre-drained. Next I shredded my Parmesan cheese, separated an egg and mixed the cheeses and egg together along with some fresh grated nutmeg.

For the record Michael did not add an egg yolk. I decided to do that since apparently I had some very dry ricotta. Once the cheeses are mixed cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. Then, using a small scoop, form the cheese mixture into balls and gently toss in a bowl of semolina flour. Remember, the semolina flour is supposed to form a “skin” or faux pasta on the gnudi.

Line a 9×13 pan with a layer of semolina flour and put your balls in the pan to rest. Refrigerate, uncovered, overnight or up to three days. Rotate the balls a few times.

Day one, after resting uncovered overnight.

Put up a large kettle of salted water and bring it to a gentle boil. Lower the gnudi ever so carefully into the water and remove them with a slotted spoon once they float to the top. Well. They floated to the top but then quickly disintegrated into mush and I was left with a gnudi the size of a small marble. Fail.

Day two, after resting uncovered 24 hours.

More disintegrated gnudi mush. Fail.

Day three, after resting a generous 36 hours.

The gnudi finally came out of the water intact. Success!

I immediately set them into the brown butter with sage leaves and basted them.

We had our first edible sample. After all the anticipation, on a scale of 1-10, I would rate them a 4. I can’t imagine making a meal of these.

So I still had about 20 gnudi balls and I need to rethink this. I happen to have wonton wrappers in the refrigerator so I decided to try cutting the balls in half and making them into ravioli.

Those cooked up beautifully. Once they floated to the top I transferred them to the brown sage butter and basted them.

Much better. But in this house we like things with tomato sauce much better.

Day 4, after resting 48 hours uncovered.

I made a red sauce with mushrooms, onion, garlic and pepper. I cut the gnudi balls in half and made up a nice batch of ravioli.

I served them up with the red sauce and we devoured them. This was the best use of the gnudi. At least in this house.

I’m happy to have finally put these ingredients to good use. Throwing away all that good cheese just seemed wrong. Will I ever make gnudi again? I will not. I will make ravioli again and, quite honestly, the wonton wrappers worked great! Almost as good as homemade pasta but a lot less work.

NOTE: Save the rinds from the Parmesan cheese to use in soups and sauces. They add great flavor!

Bologna Cake

December 10, 2017 / featherheadlady / 2 Comments

We have a good friend who requested a bologna cake for his birthday. He sent a photo of a bologna cake that was slice of bologna, cream cheese, slice of bologna, cream cheese and so on and so on. The sides and top were “frosted” with more cream cheese and decorated with the cheddar cheese that you buy in aerosol cans.

I decided that rather than an ALL bologna cake I would make bologna sandwich spread and use bread for the layers. Several years ago I made a sandwich cake for a Super Bowl party. I made that “cake” with ham salad and chicken salad. It was lovely to look at and tasted ok but I made a mistake and didn’t cut the crusts off the bread making it very difficult to slice. You nearly mangled the whole cake sawing through the crust. I also learned that sandwich cakes are a real “thing” called smorgastarta, Swedish for sandwich cake.

Cake Ingredients:

2 loaves of a good sturdy bread

2 pounds of garlic bologna

mayo or miracle whip

sweet pickles

onion and celery

Icing Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds of cream cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 c mayonnaise

1 envelope ranch dressing seasoning

The shape of your bread does not matter. Round, square, rectangular. Just ensure that it is a good quality, sturdy bread so it doesn’t turn to mush when you add the filling. Shave off the crusts with a serrated knife.

Grind your bologna and pickles in a food processor.

Small dice your celery and onion and add to the ground meat. The vegetables give a little crunch to the sandwich spread. Add mayo or miracle whip until the spread reaches your desired consistency. Now you can begin assembling the cake. Spread a thin layer of the icing on each layer and a generous amount of the sandwich spread. Repeat. Repeat. Until you’ve used all of your layers.

When you begin icing the sides and top of the cake do just as you would with a real cake. Start with a thin layer of icing to seal in the crumbs and then go back and add more icing and smooth out the sides and top.

Decorate your cake with garnishes of your choosing. I used fennel fronds, carrots, green onions, radishes and miniature heirloom tomatoes.

Voila! I think my bologna cake is quite beautiful and it was appreciated and enjoyed by the birthday boy and most of the other guests.

NOTE: It isn’t necessary to use bologna. Any type of sandwich spread, sliced deli meats, lox, or hard boiled eggs would work. Adding sliced vegetables like seedless cucumber, radishes, or onion would add some crunch and flavor. I wouldn’t recommend using tomato slices which would make the bread wet and mushy.

I used the bread crusts to make breadcrumbs which I bag and freeze and croutons for soup or salad.

Roasted Vegetable and Prosciutto Tart

November 10, 2017 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

The inspiration for this recipe came from the Fall 2017 issue of Cook Fresh. When I’m in the supermarket checkout line I’m always looking at the tabloid headlines with the latest movie star gossip and the women’s magazines that have pictures of gorgeous desserts and promises that you can lose 15 pounds in 15 days. I’m always in the slowest moving lane at the grocery so I have plenty of time to read. I spotted this Cook Fresh magazine on the very bottom of the rack and it was the only copy left. The vegetable tart was on the cover so I picked it up and put it in my cart. Sold. I modified the recipe somewhat. The real beauty of this is you can use any vegetables you have on hand or just add or omit based on personal preference. These are the ingredients and quantities I used.

Ingredients for Filling:

2 cups of cubed butternut squash

1 cup of thin sliced leeks (white and light green parts only)

1 cup of course chopped sweet bell peppers

1 cup of course chopped cauliflower

3-4 cloves of garlic minced

1 T of fresh rosemary minced (I only had dried)

1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes halved

4 oz of prosciutto in bite sized pieces

2 T olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

10 oz goat cheese softened

grated asiago

1 egg

Ingredients for the Crust:

1 1/3 cups AP flour

6 oz of cold unsalted butter cubed

6 oz of cold cream cheese cubed

1 tsp kosher salt

2 T cold water

Preheat the oven to 375. Combine all of the vegetables (except the tomatoes) and toss with the olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Spread the vegetables out in a baking dish, cover with foil, and bake for 30-40 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool.

While the vegetables are cooking and cooling prepare your crust. Preheat the oven to 400 once the vegetables are out. Pulse the flour, salt, cream cheese and butter in the food processor until it starts to come together.

If necessary add a little cold water. Put the dough on a generously floured service and knead. Form the dough into a ball.

Roll the dough out into a 16 inch round. Place the round on parchment paper and spread with the softened goat cheese.

Halve the tomatoes and dice the prosciutto. Toss them with the vegetables.

Heap the vegetables and prosciutto on the goat cheese leaving about a two inch border. Sprinkle with a little shredded asiago cheese.

Fold the edges of the dough over the edge of the filling. Whisk together one egg and a tablespoon of water and brush the edges of the dough with the egg wash.

Bake for 35-45 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Allow the tart to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Slice and serve with a fresh fruit cup or salad. We had ours with a side of applesauce.

NOTE: I put the goat cheese in the microwave for a few seconds on the defrost setting so that it would spread on the crust more easily.

Any combination of vegetables equaling 5 cups is the perfect proportion (not including the tomatoes). Brussel sprouts, carrots, golden beets, sweet potato, fennel, broccoli…any of those would work. I used nearly triple the goat cheese called for in the original recipe and I thought that was perfect. You can also change up the herbs and use basil, oregano or dill.

The Cook Fresh magazine was a great impulse buy!!!

Sloppy Joes

July 29, 2017July 31, 2017 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

We used to go north to our cottage on weekends and Sloppy Joes were frequently our go-to Friday night supper. Easy to prepare, especially because they involved browning some ground beef, opening a can of Manwich, stirring and loading it onto a bun. I always had cans of Manwich in the cupboard. Manwich first came out in 1969 and was marketed as a fast, one dish meal. It arrived on the scene before Hamburger Helper but much later than Kraft Macaroni and Cheese which came out in the 1930s. I’m sure, back in the day, I tried a few varieties of Hamburger Helper and I know I whipped up more than a few batches of neon orange Mac and Cheese. Now I prefer making my own Mac and Cheese, casseroles concoctions, and Sloppy Joes. Perhaps we ate Sloppy Joes a little too often because I hadn’t made them in years. Recently we had guests over for a casual supper and I decided to try making them, sans Manwich. They tasted mighty good.

Sloppy Joe Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef

1 cup diced onion

1 cup diced celery

2-3 gloves of garlic minced

1 12oz bottle of chili sauce

1/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c cider vinegar

1 T yellow mustard

2 T Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup sweet pickle relish (the secret ingredient)

In a heavy skillet brown the meat and season with salt and pepper. Use a colander to drain the meat and remove the grease.

In the same skillet, saute the onion, celery and garlic for 2-3 minutes until tender but not browned.

Whisk together the chili sauce, cider vinegar, brown sugar, mustard and Worcestershire.

You can combine all of the components in the skillet and simmer for 10 minutes or put them all in a crock pot on low until you’re ready to serve. I use the crock pot. Either way, you want the flavors to meld.

Just before you’re ready to serve the Sloppy Joes stir in 1/4 cup of sweet pickle relish, my no longer secret ingredient.

I served the sloppy joes on seasame seed buns with corn on the cob, coleslaw and chips. You can choose your favorite sides.

NOTE: If you don’t have chili sauce in your pantry you can substitute a cup and a half of your favorite catsup. My hands down favorite catsup is Brooks Tangy.

Spanish Rice

July 5, 2017July 5, 2017 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

Pork Loin with Tomatillo Salsa and Spanish Rice. That was last nights supper. (You can find the recipe for Roasted Tomatillo Salsa in an earlier post.)

This Spanish Rice recipe is one I started making in the early 70s. It is listed under “Pork Casseroles” in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book that I received as a gift from my Home Economics teacher, Mrs. Little. It has a serious burn mark on the back cover…another down side of electric stoves I say, and several pages that have splatter on them. For several years, when I first started cooking, it was my go to book.

We all either own one of these books or have seen them in antique shops. The Spanish Rice recipe is listed next to the Cantonese Casserole which calls for frozen French style green beans, soy sauce, sour cream, cubed ham and water chestnuts topped with buttered soft bread crumbs and then baked. I never did make Cantonese Casserole. On the opposite page are Glamorous Rice Rings…which call for pressing hot cooked rice with chopped canned pimientos and peas into a ring mold.

As you read this cookbook you’ll find that the ring mold was a must have in every kitchen. It was used for salads like the Harvest Fruit Mold, Frosted Cranberry Salad or Rosy Strawberry Ring; vegetable dishes like Tomato Aspic; and main dishes like Jellied Chicken Salad. Back in the day we had lots of “molds” hanging in our kitchens. Of course the conventional ring mold but others shaped like a fish or fruit or fancy loaf shapes. I love this cookbook. There are some tried and true recipes that I still use today including a never fail pie crust recipe written in the margins.

Back to my Spanish Rice. I have modified the recipe a bit but even in its original form it is a good recipe.

Ingredients:

3-4 slices of bacon

1 cup diced sweet onion like Vidallia

1 half sweet bell pepper diced

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 pint tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup uncooked long grain rice

1/2 cup chili sauce

1 tsp brown sugar

1 T Worcestershire

Fresh cilantro to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

In Dutch oven or heavy skillet cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Set aside.

Add the onion, pepper and garlic to the bacon grease and cook over medium heat until tender but not brown. Two to three minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, broth, rice, chili sauce, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce.

Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes until all of the liquid is absorbed. Once the rice is done stir in the crumbled crisp bacon and cilantro.

Dish up and enjoy. This was a perfect side to my pork loin but would also go well with pork chops or roast chicken. The tomatillo salsa kicked the pork up a bit.

NOTE: When I buy bacon I freeze some in 3-4 slice servings to use in recipes like this one.

The original recipe calls for 8 slices of bacon, thus qualifying it as a Pork Casserole. I reduced that significantly but you’re welcome to add more bacon if you’d like. If you do use significantly more bacon be sure to drain off most of the grease before cooking the vegetables.

I was fortunate to have a jar of chili sauce that someone had made and given to me. It was excellent! Perfect for this recipe. I wish I remembered who gave it to me so I could thank them. I think I’ll add chili sauce to my tomato canning this summer.

Potato Salad

July 2, 2017July 2, 2017 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

Today is our friend Joyce’s annual 4th of July party. She loves to entertain and is a natural at making people feel welcome and comfortable. And she LOVES feeding people. She makes the main dishes…her famous lemon breaded chicken, meatballs, and sauerkraut with several different kinds of sausage. People bring dishes to pass and today I’m making potato salad.

I have never been a big fan of potato salads. But I do like this recipe. This is not the traditional mayonnaise, mustard and egg potato salad most of us are familiar with. This salad is perfect for hot days when we all worry about having to keep mayonnaise based foods adequately chilled so as not to poison our guests. Actually this salad tastes best served at room temperature. Lots of veggies make this salad colorful and marginally healthier.

Salad Ingredients:

5# Yukon gold or redskin potatoes

1# green beans

3 sweet bell peppers (one each red, yellow and orange)

2 bunches green onions

4-5 stalks of celery

Dressing Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

2 T whole grain mustard

2 T Franks hot sauce

2 tsp salt

I leave the skin on the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into potato salad size pieces. Rinse them well and cook until tender. Blanch the green beans and set aside. While the potatoes are cooking rough chop all of the vegetables.

You want to dress this salad while the potatoes are still warm so they absorb the dressing.

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together.

Put all of the rough chopped vegetables in a large mixing bowl. Add the drained, still warm potatoes to the mixing bowl and pour on the dressing. Gently toss all the ingredients together.

While this salad is good cold it is really best served warm or at room temperature. It’s a bit reminiscent of German potato salad. Make sure you sample a bite. Or two.

NOTE: If you’d like to serve this as an entree cut some spicy smoked sausage or polish sausage into bite size pieces and brown them in a little olive oil. Stir the sausage pieces into the potato salad and serve with a fresh green salad.

Enjoy!

Shrimp and Polenta

April 6, 2017April 7, 2017 / featherheadlady / 1 Comment

When we visited Charleston last spring we went to a little brewery for dinner and adult beverages on our first night in town. Everyone said, if you visit Charleston you need to eat some shrimp and grits. So…I ordered the shrimp and grits and enjoyed every bite. This recipe is my take on that dinner but I substituted polenta for the grits. I like grits but I like polenta a little better. You can serve this with grits if you’d like. It’s a really easy meal to prepare and very satisfying. I tried to enjoy an IPA with my dinner when we were at the brewery but they were tapping a new keg and I had my IPA for dessert. My timing was better at home.

Ingredients:

4 T olive oil

1/2 cup green onions diced

2-3 cloves of garlic sliced thin

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup fresh parsley chopped

1 lemon zested and juiced

2 T tomato paste

red pepper flakes to taste

3/4-1 pound of raw shrimp cleaned and deveined

salt and pepper to taste

Prepare your polenta (or grits) per package instructions.

In a heavy skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat and saute about half of the onion, red peppers flakes to taste and all of the garlic for a minute or two. Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook a couple minutes on each side.

When they’re done the shrimp will be opaque and the shells will be pink. Remove the shrimp to a platter and set aside.

You want to cook the shrimp with the shells on because the shells add a lot of flavor to the dish. Add the tomato paste to the skillet and cook over medium heat stirring constantly for a couple minutes. Stir in the white wine and a quarter cup of water or chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 3-4 minutes to reduce slightly.

Stir in the remaining green onion, parsley, lemon zest and lemon juice. Add the shrimp back to the skillet and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Dish up some polenta (or grits) into your bowl and ladle on the shrimp and sauce.

Serve with a salad and some crusty bread and a nice cold IPA and enjoy!

NOTE: I buy white wine in little four packs. We drink very little white wine and the little bottles are the perfect size for cooking. If you don’t have any wine on hand you can substitute chicken or seafood broth.

I did not do this but, if you prefer, before adding the shrimp back into the sauce you can remove all but the tails from the shrimp making them a little easier, less messy, to eat.

Black Rice

March 5, 2017 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

On our way home last weekend after visiting friends we stopped at Horrocks in Lansing. I’ve always loved that place! Their website says they are a Farm Market but they are so much more. A huge selection of beers and wine, all sorts of packaged products including a lot of organic items, meats, cheeses, and, of course, produce. Many things that you might not find in your average grocery store. We were with another couple and my friend Jane and I can both spend a LONG time reading labels and looking for new and unusual items to try. We met a woman in the rice and pasta aisle who is apparently a kindred spirit. She was looking for Forbidden Black Rice. She said she loves the taste and consistency. We had never heard of it or seen it. So naturally, each of us bought a bag. On the way home we looked up recipes for preparing black rice and found instructions for the pressure cooker.

A little more research told me that black rice is a superfood. It has more anatioxidants than blueberries. Its always a bonus when something tastes good and is good for you. Legend has it that it was grown only for the emperors of ancient China and was called “forbidden” because it was off limits to the general public.

Last Wednesday I cooked my bag of black rice. I served it with chicken with a mushroom sauce and asparagus. And we loved it.

Ingredients:

2 cups black rice

2 3/4 cups water

1 T olive oil

1 tsp salt

The instructions are pretty straight forward. Combine the rice, water, olive oil and salt in the pressure cooker. Select high pressure for 22 minutes.

Allow for 10 minutes of natural pressure release. After the 10 minutes, release any remaining pressure. Keep the rice warm until you’re ready to serve.

Black rice is not as fluffy as white and it has a rich nutty taste and a chewy texture. We liked it much better than brown rice. I think it would be excellent in a stir fry or a cold rice salad. I had quite a bit leftover and took the advice of the lady we met in Horrocks and froze it. Maybe I’ll use it in soup next.

The day after I had cooked my black rice I got a picture and a text message from my daughter. Unbeknownst to me, they had cooked black rice as well. Great minds apparently think alike. And from the looks of their dish they liked it as well.