Tenderizing Therapy

Today was one of those days where all went well until you walk in the door days. Let's just say that after a day of teaching fifth graders wearing gym attire because I was supposed to be the PE teacher, the news I came home to did not do much to perk me up (although the coffee coolatta that J brought me helped). Today has brought my attention back to the fact that there is no way you can please everyone, and that the only person you can make happy is yourself. But, when I set out to make chicken cordon bleu..as requested for the nights meal, had not yet found this inner piece of wisdom. So I whipped out the "meat hammer" and went to town on my poor chicken breasts! This chicken demolition was indeed gratifying and ranked right up there with a good hour at the gym. I did go too far with one chicken breast, accidentally smashing it to a pulp..oops. But after the flattened chicken was stuffed with ham and cheese, dredeged in flour, egg wash and panko bread crumbs, and after a few curses when my eggwash bowl upended and poured the sticky mixture onto the kicthen floor, I walked away from the oven (preheated to 350) for 20-30 minutes feeling much better. Another example of how a good bout in the kitchen is the best therapy I know!

 

After making this, I would make a few changes, first of all, it took longer that 30...more like 40 minutes to cook through. Also, J requested more Swiss cheese! Very tasty! But in all of my tenderizing therapy, it was pointed out to me that I forgot a vegetable..oops

Portuguese Shrimp

I tried out this recipe for New Years Eve, and again a few weeks ago. I first had this dish on Christmas Eve at the my boyfriend's aunts. Nearing 11 or 12 at night, after we were all stuffed from dinner and desserts, had played games and were almost talked out, a giant pot of spicy shrimp was put in front of us along with chunks of bread. I wasn't sure I could manage more food, but was convinced that this was "the best thing ever". Now I had already been impressed by all of these new Portuguese dishes his family had laid out, but this is by far one of the best things I have EVER eaten! A week or so later, I was looking for something special for New Years Eve, and I made a call to the head cook of his family who gave me the following recipe...

(technically called Shrimp Mozambique)

2 Lbs shrimp Raw with the shell on- very important

1 can beer ( I used Bud)

2 sticks butter

2T paprika

1 tsp salt and pepper

juice from 1/2 of a lemon

1/4 cup fresh parsley

1/2 T garlic

Tabasco to taste

4 small packages Goya seasoning (conazafern- the orange one with shrimp on the package)

In a skillet, melt 2 sticks of butter

 add the can of beer.

Place shrimp in skillet

Add all other ingredients

Cook on Medium heat for about 15 min

Turn off heat

Let shrimp sit in sauce for 1 hour to absorb.

I serve this in a deep bowl, with a side bowl for the shrimp shells and Portuguese bread which I get at the bakery in Ludlow MA. Your fingers will be orange by the end but the sauce is THE BEST part!

My Kitchen Introduction

I have loved cooking since my teen years. I was always asking to cook for my family, wanted to have dinner parties and probably drove my family crazy with the mess I always left in my wake. After moving out on my own, I found cooking to be therapeutic. I could forget my loneliness, the bad day at work, the fight I had with whomever and just focus on making something complicated and delicious. Of course cooking for yourself is not quite as rewarding as cooking for others. I made endless bowls of pastas, vegetables and always felt guilty when all I could produce was spaghetti and meatballs with those frozen meatballs I had to pull out from behind some forgotten pint of ice cream.

I then met a man and that seemed to change everything. I had someone to cook for! He loves to tell the story of how I said I loved to cook, and  then the first meal I made for him turned out to be the " worst ribs on the face of the earth. " I challenge myself not to repeat meals for him, and I must say I have done fairly well, repeating only those which he requests again. I think I made up for the ribs! Now about to enter my late twenties (ech) I find that I would rather grocery shop, plant an herb garden and create dishes in his sunny yellow kitchen than go out on the town. 

I have been inspired by a grad class in which I had to create a blog, and I began reading blogs of friends and strangers alike...stealing recipes and ideas. I wavered about making my own but  here goes nothing...