Here is the final appetizer that I’ll be making this Friday on the “Oscars” edition on Valley Dish. Hope you’ll tune in at 3:30 on channel 12.

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This salad is so good and so pretty, you should not pass it by! Especially if you have a freezer full of citrus juice. If you need a refresher course on how to section citrus, click on the links in the ingredient list and it will take you there. Ditto for the citrus sugar, although regular granulated sugar may be used, the citrus sugar gives it an extra kick.

Oops, almost forgot to tell you… I’ll be on NBC Channel 12 Valley Dish tomorrow with Tram Mai, celebrating the show’s 1 year anniversary. Tune in or Tivo it, like I do, at 3:30.

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I have an excellent excuse for not posting yesterday and delivering with the promised seafood crepe recipe. I was on a “special, highly covert, high-security assignment” revolving around THIS, for the Food section of our newspaper, The Arizona Republic.

OK, it wasn’t exactly “all that”! But I was developing recipes for the cover story of the Food section for an upcoming issue. So, I was busy! And the story/recipes really do revolve around THAT.

As bizarre as it certainly sounds, I will fill you in on the details after the story runs in the newspaper, it’s quite amusing, (Let’s just say that THAT had never ever crossed the threshold of my home before this task was handed to me – and all of my friends and family were in a state of shock to see it sitting on our kitchen counter!) so stay tuned.

Now the promised, exceedingly sought-after, and highly anticipated “special occasion” crepe recipe…

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Remember to check out my Complete Thanksgiving Planning Guide and Timeline. Turkey Day is only 8 days away!!!

One other note before getting on with it… To the students in my series classes at Les Gourmettes Cooking School: The recipe for the pepitas I used in the soup last night can be found by – CLICKING HERE – it will take you to the link from an older post. Happy Thanksgiving, see you on November 30th!

What we have today is another “easy-breezy” recipe that you can nake as written or mix it up with what you have on hand. This version uses Italian parsley, but cilantro would be a great substitute or a mix of parsley and cilantro. Even switching from Italian parsley to curly parsley would change it up. The topper I used is shrimp – but minced chicken or turkey, coarsely chopped scallops with a little pancetta, or even flaked crab or tuna would also work fabulously. And of course, the cheeses and spices can be altered depending on the occasion or your taste. Let me know what ideas you have – I’d love to try them out!

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I realized as I was deciding what to name this dish that I use the words “quick” “fast” and “easy” way too often! I remember reading, some years ago, that the average person’s vocabulary is actually quite limited. So I did a little research… and when I say research, it means I “Googled” it, and here is one thing I found:

Average Vocabulary Count
Grade 1 Student = 1,000+ words
Normal Person (Graduate) = 5,000 to 6,000+ words
University Professor = 15,000+ words
Spelling Bee Winners = 30,000+
Shakespeare used 60,000 words
College Dictionary (Abridged) = 50,000 – 70,000
Total Words in English Language = 250,000+ (Growing)

I have no idea how accurate any of those numbers are, but I do know that my own vocabulary is extremely limited.  I use the same words over and over and over again … see what I mean? Although my “easy-breezy” category, which this dish fits into, would just sound all wrong if it was “perfunctory-breezy”, now wouldn’t it?!

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Shrimp: My darling daughter, Marissa, made dinner for the family last night. I’m guessing she did this for two reasons. First, she misses making “roomie dinners” for her college roommates now that they’ve all graduated. And second, she feels sorry for me, her sad exhausted mother.

Hoarding: Yes, hoarding is the reason for both my sadness and my complete and utter emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion. No, I am not the hoarder. Someone very close to me, who shall remain nameless, is though. When said person goes out of town for more than a week, (which only happens once, maybe twice, a year) I go over and clean up the disgusting mess that this person calls home.

I won’t go into the gory details, but trust me, it’s awful! During this particular cleaning and tossing session, I went deep, deeper than I have in many years. I began on Saturday and have been working on it every single day, every waking hour, since.

Hence, cooking and taking care of myself, my family, and this blog have been on the back burner (pun intended) and that burner has been turned off! I’ve missed a couple of days of posting and will miss a few more.

Thankfully, the next few days will be due to something much more fun and happy. I’ll be in Laguna Beach this weekend for the wedding of a dear friend’s beautiful daughter. I’ll be back on Monday.

Contest: No, as you’ve probably figured out by now, this is not an actual “Shrimp Hoarding Contest”, although that doesn’t sound all bad. The contest I am referring to is the one that ends at 11:59 PM Mountain Time on August 22, 2010. That is Sunday night, so get on the stick and ENTER HERE! I don’t want any of you to miss out. The winner will be named when I return to blogging on Monday morning, it’ll be here before you know it.

Now for Marissa’s dinner. A wonderful cookbook, for novices and experienced cooks alike, is Homemade in a Hurry by Andrew Schloss. In fact, it is on my list of “must-have cookbooks” which you can view HERE.

Marissa adapted the recipe a bit to match her taste and it was delicious! Thank you, sweetheart, not only did you make dinner – you made my day! xoxox [Read more →]

Chimichurri is a thick vinegar and oil herb sauce made with garlic, parsley, and oregano, and served with grilled meat in Argentina. As for its origins, the story goes that it comes from an Irishman named Jimmy McCurry, who first prepared the sauce. He was marching with the troops of General Jasson Ospina in the 19th century, sympathetic to the cause of Argentine independence. The sauce was popular with the Argentine people and the recipe was passed on. However, ‘Jimmy McCurry’ was difficult for the native people to say. Some sources claim the name of Jimmy’s sauce was altered to ‘chimichurri’, while others say it was changed in his honor.

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This is the typical sort of dinner you’ll get at our house on a day when I don’t want to venture out in the 110 degree suffocating heat just to get groceries! I will do anything to avoid leaving the air-conditioned loveliness that is my house!

First I look in the refrigerator – not much there. More smoked pork, but we’ve had that 2 days in a row, so that will not fly with my guys. Produce drawers – bell peppers, wilting green onions, romaine that has about 24 hours before decisions must be made, and a surprisingly good-looking bunch of cilantro.

Next stop – garden – ugg! Everything is looking sad, drought-ridden, and parched! Snip off the last bit of tarragon and get back into the A/C!

What about the pantry – nothing at all inspiring. There is pasta, but that’s always sitting there…. Why in God’s name do these people need to eat every darn day – don’t they know how hot it is?!?!  OK, compose yourself.

Last stop the freezer – oh the glorious coldness that flows from the freeze finally gives me the inspiration I have been so very desperate for! What miracles do I find there? Nothing all that much really – shrimp, edamame, and peas – but it is enough.

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Graduation was wonderful! We stayed at the Marriott Starr Pass Resort in Tucson, which was beautiful. Had a celebratory dinner at J Bar after the big event, which was beyond delicious. After dinner, we went back to the girls’ house for a dessert party, which was the perfect way to end the night. Then the next day, we were able to spend a relaxing morning with our graduate at the resort pool and then had a fun lunch at Frog & Firkin (a University of Arizona hang-out) before heading back to Phoenix.  All in all – a momentous and memorable weekend!  To keep with the theme of relaxation and ease, here’s an “easy-breezy” and versatile dish that can be used as an impressive appetizer or a quick dinner. To make it a meal, just toss it with cooked linguini or spaghetti and add garlic bread.

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Easter is quickly approaching which means Lent is nearly over… and I have only posted one fish recipe… sorry! I’m not actually into frying fish at home… we’ll leave that to the church social halls. But with two Fridays left – including Good Friday, it’s not too late to get a fish recipe posted, so how about a little mahi-mahi and shrimp?

Contrary to popular belief the mahi-mahi is not related to the dolphin family of mammals. They are one of the fastest-growing fish and are carnivorous- feeding on crabs, squid, and mackerel. Mahi-mahi’s sweet taste and firm flesh make it perfect for poaching; along with halibut, swordfish, and salmon- just in case you are looking for a good substitute.

If you eat a lot of fish, a fish poacher is a great pan to have in your kitchen. Often thought of for cooking whole fish, it works wonderfully with fillets as well. If you are in the market for a poacher, you can check out this link or visit your local kitchen store. If you don’t have and are not interested in a poacher, no problem, a larger skillet with a tight-fitting lid will work just fine. And please don’t be intimidated or turned off by the long list of ingredients… the majority are either spices or items just dropped into the poaching liquid.

As a vegetable side, I made sautéed fennel and red peppers with capers and olives. I then used the fennel stalks in the poaching liquid and the fronds as garnish. I’ll be posting that recipe tomorrow, but in case you want to do your grocery shopping today here is the ingredient list: 1 fennel bulb, 1 small onion, 1 red bell pepper, capers, and Kalamata olives. And if you decide against this side dish, leave the fennel out of the poaching liquid – it is listed as optional.

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