June 2008

Who Gave God My Email Address?

Subject: To You From GOD

To:             YOU
Date:            TODAY
From:           GOD
Subject:       YOURSELF
Reference:   LIFE

This is God.  Today I will be handling All of your problems for you.  I do Not need your help.  So, have a nice day.
I love you.

P.S.  And, remember…
If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do Not attempt to resolve it yourself!  Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box. I will get to it in MY TIME.  All situations will be resolved, but in My time, not yours.

Rid All That Adds No Value

I’m reading a great little book this week, How Toyota Became #1: Leadership Lessons from the World’s Greatest Car Company. And I’ve been learning quite a bit. One valuable lesson comes from Chapter 4. Rid All That Adds No Value. So, you’re going to see some things missing here at the Wire©. I’m cleaning up this blog, making it a little easier to read and adding back in, some things that DO have value. Hope you enjoy the changes I’ll be making.  And, while you’re at it, stop by Amazon.com and grab a copy of this book, the case study can surely be applied to many aspects of our lives!

This Ain’t Your Mamma’s BarBQ

Well, its almost Friday, looking forward to the weekend, and heck the 4th of July is just around the corner. I thought I’d share my fabulous BarBQ Shrimp recipe with you all. Bring this to the table at your next outdoor gathering, and you’ll be the star of the party!

Now, gentle readers, when I say Barbecue Shrimp, I am not talking about helpless crustacean, slathered in bottled barbecue sauce, then some how thrown on a grill. Nope, contrary to what that lovely, though somewhat uppity and expensive restaurant in Pawleys Island, SC says, that just ain’t how ya do it.

One of my signature dishes , this fabulous shrimp rendition most likely originated at Pascale’s Manale restaurant, a funky neighborhood Creole Italian joint located on Napoleon Ave. just down the street from my Uncle Phil and Aunt Anna, in Uptown New Oleans and has been a local favorite for as long as anyone can remember. The name is a bit misleading because the shrimp are not grilled or barbecued but actually baked in a spicy butter and olive oil sauce in the shell. There are a number of variations including one by Emeril in which he removes the shells before cooking and used them in a stock as part of his sauce, but I find that his version, while good, requires way too much in the way of time and preparation. At home much to the surprise of some of our guests, I cook mine like Manale’s, in the shell. The shrimp are baked in the shell for a reason. The shells contain the essence of the shrimp taste and they flavor the sauce during the baking process. Without the shells the sauce would be tasteless. We normally split the shells down the back using scissors to make the shrimp easier to peel after cooking. (A little bit of time that your guests will thank you for)

The process of eating BBQ shrimp is every bit as important as the way they are cooked. Here is how we do it New Orleans style. First of all, USE YOUR HANDS! Forget  the  knife and fork; this is a messy process, it brings out the kid in everyone and don’t forget to have plenty of napkins or paper towels and handi-wipes around for cleanup. That being said, here is how it’s done.

DO NOT TRY TO EAT THEM UNTIL THEY HAVE COOLED. When you feel that you can eat them without burning your lips, take one of them by the tail, dredge it through the sauce, and suck the sauce that clings to the shell. Then, peel the shrimp, and repeat the same process, dredging the peeled shrimp through the herbs and spices that have collected on the bottom of the dish. Then you eat it, all the while savoring all of the wonderful flavors that have combined to make this very special dish. A very important part of this process consists of dipping pieces of French bread periodically to soak up the sauce. Remember SPE, suck, peel, and eat. Easy’nuf and shonuff good!

So, here, with apologies to the original chef (for my slightly changed recipe) is how ya cook ‘em.

4 pounds unpeeled, large fresh shrimp or 6 pounds shrimp with heads on
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 lemons, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons Creole seasoning
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

1 or 2 Bottles Abita Amber Beer* (Emeril uses white wine, but thats way too high-brow for me)

French bread (use the baquettes not french rolls for this one) heated

Spread shrimp in a shallow, aluminum foil-lined  pan.

Combine butter and next 12 ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until butter melts, and pour over shrimp. Cover and chill 2 hours, turning shrimp every 30 minutes.

Turn out into a well seasoned iron skillet and bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20 minutes; turn once.

Serve with the heated french bread, right from the iron skillet.

Now, in the summer, I take this cooking outside and use that iron skillet on the grill. Its not a problem with the skillet because of course it’s flame proof.  If you don’t have an iron skillet, I reccomend you invest in at least one, use any grill safe utensil that you have or just opt for cooking inside.

Don’t worry if you can’t find the Abita brand beer (its brewed in Louisiana and great but any amber beer will work.) Don’t forget, you’re cooking off the alcohol so even those who don’t drink will like this dish! If you’re concerned, leave it out, but I promise it makes the taste!

Serve this with a side salad of your choice, I reccomend the watermelon salad from yesterday’s post and you’ve got dinner for 6.  Yummy!

This Is How Ya Do The Watermelon Crawl

Quick, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind when I say Summer in The South? Yep, hot, sweltering hot days. And most of my childhood, those sweltering hot days were usually accompanied by, you guessed it WATERMELON. Here are my favorite 3 great summer coolers for the adults and a couple of family favorites. Enjoy!

Watermelon Martini

• ½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice or ½ ounce sour mix
• 1 ounce melon liqueur
• 1ounce citrus-flavored vodka (use the good stuff)
• 1 ½ ounce freshly pureed watermelon
• Crushed ice
  Sprig of mint, for garnish
  Small slice of watermelon with rind, for garnish

In a cocktail shaker, combine lemon juice, melon liqueur, vodka and watermelon puree over crushed ice. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with mint sprig and watermelon slice and serve.

 

 

Kudzu Queen’s Dream (fit for Royalty)

• 2 oz. Reposado* tequila
• 2 scoops fresh watermelon
• 1 mint sprig 1 oz. simple syrup
• 3/4 oz. fresh lime juice

Muddle mint and watermelon. Add remaining ingredients. Shake and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with mint sprig.

*Tequila Reposado
A Reposado Tequila is the first stage of “rested and aged”. The Tequila is aged in wood barrels or storage tanks between 2 months and 11 months. The spirit takes on a golden hue and the taste becomes a good balance between the Agave and wood flavors. Many different types of wood barrels are used for aging, with the most common being American or French oak. Some Tequilas are aged in used bourbon / whiskey, cognac, or wine barrels, and will inherit unique flavors from the previous spirit.

Watermelon Margarita (Frozen)

• 5 cups watermelon, cubed, seeds and rind removed (about 1 3- to 4-pound melon)
• 1 cup silver Tequila
• 1/2 cup Cointreau or Triple Sec
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup sugar
  Watermelon slices (optional), for garnish

Preparation:

Place cut watermelon in airtight container and put into freezer overnight.

Put the frozen watermelon and remaining ingredients into blender and blend until smooth.

Pour into margarita glasses and garnish with a wedge of watermelon if you like.

Watermelon Pickles

• 2 quarts water
• Rind from 1 large watermelon
• 1/2 cup(1 dL) salt
• 2 1/2 cups(6 dL) cider vinegar
• 2 cups(400 g) sugar
• 2 teaspoons cloves
• 1 small stick cinnamon, in pieces
• 2 tablespoons whole allspice

Remove the pink pulp from the watermelon and cut the rind into manageable pieces. Cover with boiling water and boil for 5 minutes; drain and cool. Cut off the green outer skin of the watermelon rind and remove any remaining bits of pink pulp. Cut the rind into 1-inch strips or squares or any shape you prefer. You should have 8 cups of cut-up rind. Mix the salt with 1 1/2 quarts cold water and pour over the rind. Let stand at room temperature for about 6 hours. Drain, soak in several changes of fresh, cold water, and drain again. Cover with fresh, cold water, bring to a boil, and simmer just until tender when pierced with a fork; drain. Mix the vinegar, 1 cup water, and the sugar in a pot, then add the cloves, cinnamon, and allspice tied in a cheesecloth bag. Simmer until the sugar dissolves. Add the watermelon rind and simmer until it is clear, adding more water only if necessary. Remove the spice bag. Pack in hot, sterilized jars and cover with the boiling liquid, leaving 1/4-inch headspace, and seal. If you wish, process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes.

Ginger Watermelon Pickle: Add 1-2 tablespoons chopped preserved ginger to the vinegar mixture

Watermelon Salad

• 1 (5-pound) watermelon
  
• 1 Vidalia or other sweet onion
  
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  
• Salt and pepper
  
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
  
• 4 ounces feta cheese crumbled
  
• 6 whole mint sprigs

Cut the flesh from the melon and cut into bite size pieces, removing and discarding the seeds, and set aside. Peel and slice the onion into rings.
In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, salt, pepper, and whisk until salt is dissolved. Slowly whisk in the olive oil, a few drops at a time. Add in the chopped mint, taste, and adjust seasonings.
In a large bowl, combine the melon, onion, and feta. Pour the dressing over the melon mixture and toss gently until everything is coated and evenly mixed. Garnish with mint sprigs.
To serve, divide salad among individual plates and garnish with mint leaves

Whine and Cheese

This week again, I’m back in Mississippi. Working from the local library. Why? Because ehubby is too tight to spring for DSL. So, I’m condemned to work from behind a firewall and filters that frankly just suck. No access to Facebook, Stumble, Twitter or much other than Google. Instead of being linkedin, I’m just out. Myspace is ummmmm just not mine while I’m here.

Yesterday, we drove from south Alabama, back to “home” (and I use that term loosely). After 8 hours on the road, all I wanted to do was stretch my legs and get rid of that infamous fanny fatigue. I opened the front door to find that ehubby had turned the AC OFF, before we left. So the house was more like the “hot box” from Cool Hand Luke. (You remember that one don’t ya?) I persuaded ehubby to take me out to dinner so we could escape the heat while the house cooled off. Of course I ended up driving home, again. Tequila and ehubby had a hot date (little did I know) after dinner.

So, needless to say, I was not a happy camper when we finally got back into the semi-cool, humidity filled box, ehubby so lovingly refers to as HIS house. Now, mind you we moved back to this den of depravity because the real estate market (at least the sales and construction portions of it), fell appart on the coast. Since he’s a luxury home builder (at least for the last 8 years or so), it made little sense for us to stay on the coast on my income alone. So, sell out we did and loaded up the cars and moved to Mississippi (ehubby’s family home location). I’ve not worked and 8-5 since, which has given me lots of time to devote to writing my book, developing this and other blog sites and visitng basically every god forsaken nook and cranny of the South east. Thanks in part to ehubby consulting in the paper industry while he’s negotiating with a firm for permanent employment. 

All of which means, I have NO personal income. Zip, Zilch, Nada. And after 30 some odd years of being in the upper end of management in my field, and not just bringing home the bacon, but fryin it up too, I’m now like the little Charles Dickens imp begging for porridge. “Please sir, may I have some more ?” (really sends me over the edge) Having to ask for spending cash takes me back to my teenage years and cheezus of Nazareth, I’m well over that portion of my life.  In the midst of the venture out last night, I brought up the fact (for like the kajillionth time) that I needed to go back to work. Something has to be done about this beggar syndrome. “But, I want you to travel with me”, ehubby lamented. That’d be all well and good, IF he’d share that paycheck. And I said as much.  His answer, “I’m not going to support you, its not my job”. OoooooK.

So, I’m back to digging through hospitality websites, checking for possible career openings, wondering just what the heck ehubby thought he was doing when he asked me to marry him. Knowing, that I CAN and will support myself. And, that I (at 52) need a male roommate like I need a hole in the head. Wondering, how in the heck I’m going to get this month’s furniture storage bill paid (so they don’t auction the stuff off). And trying to figure out, just how in the heck (with out a penny) I’m going to get the heck out of this lousy stinkin hell of a relationship that this marriage has morphed into. Yep, I need to leave, but that takes more than just saying, I’m gone. I’ve got places I can go, work I can do. Just no cash to get there, and he’s not sharing. I honestly need some help, and for the first time, in a long time, I haven’t a clue where I can get that help.

Yes, I’d like some cheese with my whine.

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