Eat. With. Hands

Some foods are just meant to be eaten with your hands. They taste better that way.

You know, the kind you eat with the full intention of licking your fingers. It's food that forces you to abandon the thought of keeping your hands clean or free from food smells like garlic and onions.

You're eating dirty and it's okay.

Really okay. It's part of the appeal.

Chicken wings, burgers, summer things made on the grill like hot dogs, chicken, ribs and seafood boils...

Which leads me to this....

These succulent shrimp, they wanted to come home with me. I obliged. I steamed them with some Old Bay and then we at them up. But that wasn't enough. Nope. I needed more. WE needed more. 

We devoured them and with the shrimp bits yet under our nails, we locked eyes. I said it first. 

"We need some more of these."

Inspired by the impending summer and outdoorsy food I wanted to make a boil-inspired dish. However, we didn't have potatoes or corn cobs, but my husband said, "We do have sweet potatoes."

And that settled it. I diced them up along with some peppers and onions, roasted them together with spices creating a hash. Then, in a skillet I charred some frozen corn and onions.  These veggies made a nice comfortable bed for the shrimp. A final resting place. 

Ingredients

Shrimp

Old Bay Seasoning

Sweet Potatoes

Green Pepper

Red Pepper

Onions

Frozen Corn

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Red Pepper Flakes

Granulated Garlic 

Shrimp:

Clean your shrimp. I left the shell on for the peel-and-eat fun. But you could remove them prior to cooking if you don't want your hands dirty and would like to eat the meal with a fork. Season liberally with Old Bay. Toss in pot and steam. I have a makeshift steamer. I put my metal colander inside of a soup pot that has water in it and let the steam cook the shrimp. If you don't have that, you could surely just toss them in a pot with a little water and do the same. 

Hash:

Dice your peppers, potatoes and onions. Season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic and toss them all in a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Just enough to coat the veggies. Spread them on a cookie sheet and bake at 425 for about 25 minutes. 

Corn:

Dice up a small onion. Toss it in a skillet that's coated with olive oil. Add your corn. Sautee on high heat until the corn is charred to your likeness. 

Combine your corn and hash if you'd like. It's all so good and you can eat that part with fork. :)

Salmon... Grilled wit Grits

Spring is being such a tease. Showing a little bit of sun, then completely covering it up like nothing ever happened. Today it's raining. It's chilly. It's wrong.

At times like this we all deserve a treat. If it's unappealing outside, we can certainly muster up some pleasures indoors.

I present to you two of my favorite things: seafood and grits.

Succulent salmon seared to perfection and resting atop a creamy bed of grits is soothing when the sun won't come out and stay. Honestly, though, it's satisfying even when the sun does!

Vacation Lunch

Like many Americans, the new year has brought me back to work. The holidays were joyous and restful, but they're over now. After almost two full weeks of leisure days and succulent lunches, I'm behind a desk again. I'm sitting here reminiscing about those days I spent lounging in my robe, sipping hot chocolate with the TV parked on the FoodNetwork.

But what I'm thinking of most is the food I ate. Without work to interupt my day, I have time to make extravagent breakfasts and lunches like this Parmesan Crusted Tilapia over a bed of creamy Spinach.

Tarragon Tilapia

Mushrooms are one of my favorites, they are meaty and chewy, earthy and rich. I know they can be a turn off to many people. Most of my friends and loved ones cringe when they appear on dishes. I've had many discarded mushrooms pushed my way. Whenever they order something that contains mushrooms, I wait. I'm like the wet-nosed puppy under the table longing for scraps. I can't bear to see them go to waste. I eat the orphaned fungi.

My husband never fails to ask me "Why would you want to eat fungus?"
My reply: "Whatever"

One of my best friends doesn't even respect them enough to call them by their proper name. Instead, with a snarl she'll call them "shrooms"
"I can't do shrooms, " she says.
I say "Whatever"

They're delicious! If you agree, you'd love this recipe. It's COVERED in mushrooms.

Ingredients
Tarragon
Baby Portobellos
Tilapia
Salt
Pepper
Garlic
Diced Onions
Heavy Cream

1. Season a filet of Tilapia with salt, pepper and garlic powder
1. Saute mushrooms and onions in a small skillet until they turn tender. Add Tarragon and cream, let it simmer
2. Sear the Tilapia in a hot skillet coated with olive oil for about 2 minutes on each side.
3. Plate Tilapia and top with mushroom sauce.

Pepper Lime Shrimp Salad

When the weather breaks it's definitely time for salads. Standing over the good ole range is not as enjoyable when it's already 90 degrees outside. So expect to see many more salads coming up. There are just so very many ways to make one of these things.
This one features Spinach leaves and Shrimp. Delightful!

Creamy Crab and Tomato Bisque

On Sunday it rained in Atlanta. Then that turned into snow. The snow came down for hours. I'd call this my first official snow. I've been living here for about 5 years now and have seen it ice, light snows, hail, but never this much white. I mean we actually had inches of it.

I built a snow man with it, had to push it off my car, drive in it. And I actually had to make use of my Nissan's defrost feature just to see through the windshield. But that's not the point. The cold, the snow and an uncommon ingredient in my refrigerator all inspired me to try another "first"

I decided to try a bisque. Tomato soup and grilled cheese is a classic and comforting combination, but I had to do my own take. I had some crab meat at home, and I intended to use it. This was a seafood lover's weekend. That seafood lover is me and since I was home alone nothing stood in my way. (like a husband who rejects the idea of consuming aquatic creatures)

Now maybe this isn't a formal "bisque" made with all the right techniques and ingredients, but it's a bisque to me. And I paired it with some provolone-filled grill cheese sandwiches. Mmmmmmm Good.



Ingredients
6 oz. Crab Meat (not the artificial stuff)
Onions
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 cup Chicken Broth
Spices (Oregano, Nutmeg,Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper)
1 cup Spaghetti Sauce (Ragu Traditional)

1. Throw some diced onions and the crab meat in a pot, let the onions cook down a bit
2. Add the spices
3. Pour in some broth, let it warm through, then some spaghetti sauce.
4. Pour in the cream and then start tasting...add the spices until you get the right flavor.

Spicy Shrimp & Grits

My husband was out of town this weekend. I anticipated a couple days of relaxation and some pre-spring cleaning. That's about it. But on my way home Friday I got the urge to get some seafood. He doesn't eat it, so I rarely buy any. I ususally get my fish fix when we dine out. And occasionally I'll buy some frozen filets to prepare at home. Friday I bought some shrimp too.

Then, Saturday morning something remarkable happened. I made shrimp and grits. They were soul stirring. The grits were creamy and smooth and the shrimp were succulent and tender with a slightly charred exterior. It was perfection.

Ingredients
Shrimp
Grits
Heavy Cream
Onions
Chorizo
Provolone Cheese
Butter
Spices (Cayenne, Garlic Powder, Salt, Red Pepper Flakes)
BBQ Sauce

1. Bring water to a boil for your grits, add half stick of butter.
2. Season shrimp with red pepper flakes and bbq sauce.
3. Add grits to water and stir faithfully. We can't let these get lumpy!
4. In a separate pan saute some chopped onion and sausage, let the sausage bits get crispy.
5. When grits start to solidify, add cream slowly, while continuing to stir. Then add cheese and sausage/onion mixture, spices
6. Toss shrimp into the empty sausage pan and cook.
7. Plate grits and top with shrimp.
8. If you did it right, it will look like this.

Fish and Grits (and Spinach)

I like grits. For me they have been an acquired taste. I ate them from obligation as a youth but since my pregnancy I've actually been craving and enjoying them. One day on the way home from work I began craving fish and grits. Yep I could taste the lightly battered and fried tilapia and creamy, cheesy grits as I drove on the interstate.

When I reached home I put the filets in some room temperature water and got some more water boiling for my grits.
I was truly satisfied by the end of this meal. I sauteed some spinach on the side with some minced garlic.

Ingredients

Tilapia Filets
Grits
Butter
Salt
Cheese

1. Boil water and add grits. Put butter, milk and cheese into the grits as they expand
2. Season and lightly flour tilapia and pan fry in a quarter inch of olive oil

Crab Artichoke Dip

Ingredients

8 oz. Lump Crab Meat

6 oz. Artichoke Hearts

4 oz. Sour Cream

8 oz. Cream Cheese

5 oz. Parmesan Cheese (shredded)

1 Red Pepper (chopped)

1/2 Onion (chopped)

Old Bay Seasoning

Garlic Powder

Cayenne Pepper

Lemon Juice

1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1. Sauté red pepper and onion in olive oil until onions are transparent
2. In a bowl, combine red pepper, onions and softened cream cheese and sour cream
3. Mix together until smooth
4. Add garlic powder, Old Bay, cayenne and lemon juice to taste
5. Fold in crab meat, artichoke hearts and parmesan
6. Place in baking dish and top with cheese
7. Cook for 25-30 minutes until heated through
8. Eat it up!