Friend ships

My friend from childhood ( a period that spanned the first 21 years of my life) is visiting from Colorado! We hadn't seen each other in 30 years. We hadn't talked in 25. We have been jabber blabbin' for 2 days ( minus the 3 hours we were trapped at church by the Spanish service that was a high Mass , included announcements, 2 Baptisms and a Confirmation at the end...) and we have yet to surprise each other with any of our stories. No re-friending needed here- we really knew each other well! Karen is still Karen and I am still Me and We are still standing in spite of ourselves. The same basic survival skills we used to get from Herrings to West Carthage were employed for the hundreds of thousands of miles that have been between us all these years.
There will be many thousands more in the future as it has ALWAYS been the journey for us and a destination is only a place to begin one. It is so wonderful to be reminded of that!
She brought me a scapular ( in case I die on the road)

Lombardi Gras

Dat Tuesday! I saw the Saints in our superbowl parade. I saw the trophy. 800,000 people (possibly more) attended the 3 mile route from the Super Dome. (half the distance of a regular mardi gras parade)I stood in the fiftieth row of the 50 deep crowd, in the freezing cold, having waited 5 hours, having walked from home ( 38 blocks) and having to walk back when it was over and NOTHING WAS GOING TO KEEP ME FROM MY MOMENT! After all they did to 'get there', it was the least I could do.
Now what?

a rose by any other name....

My father's name for that popular Southern New Years side dish (black eyed peas) was Black eyed Susans. I guess he thought I would eat them if they had my name but I prefferred the Francie cabbages and the Timmy trees. If I were going to name a vegetable after my Dad, it would be ...... Djeau Corn

Waste not Want more

Since you have some cilantro left over from the civiche and perhaps a lime......It's time to gear up and trudge back to the store and purchase 2 cans (large) of black beans, another shallot, sour cream, bacon or pancetta and a couple of cans of chicken broth.You also need a warm loaf of french bread.I am assuming everyone has butter. So for about 20 dollars more- we won't waste the 50 cent lime or the 25 cents worth of cilantro!
It's soup time.
Saute the pancetta in a little bit of olive oil to a light crispiness. Remove the pancetta and save.
Add the minced garlis and the thinly sliced shallot.( sea salt and pepper these guys)
Drain your black beans and add those once the shallot is soft
Let the beans cook a little bit to absorb the flavors in the pot then add the 2 cans of chicken broth. Let this simmer gently with the lid off and your constant supervision. It needs a stir every couple of minutes to make you look very important in front of your friends. Sip a glass of petit syrah and visit while waving a wooden spoon about your kitchen.
Once the broth has been reduced to a medium thickness, return the pancetta and the juice from half of that lime ( save the other half for next payday and I will tell you how to keep that from going to waste) and that handfull of chopped cilantro. Simmer just enough for that cilantro to make it to your nose and serve this up with a dallop of sour cream on top. Put your sliced bread and soft butter on the table.
Since your wine glasses have wine in them this time, I recommend a soup bowl for the soup.

Little Shop of Hor d'oeuvres

2010 is gonna be my year to eat little things in a Big way.
I intend to continue savoring my entrees but convert them to appetizer sizes.
Today I will share my recipe for civiche
Steam as many shrimp as you want ( shell and head on ) for a couple of minutes
(the marinade will finish cooking them)
Clean them and cut them in thirds
Sqeeze 2 lemons and 2 limes in a bowl and add 2 tbl sps of pineapple juice as well as 2 or 3 tbl sps of olive oil and a hand full of chopped fresh cilantro
cracked sea salt and black pepper to taste
Add the shrimp
dice a shallot, a green onoin and a couple of big toes of garlic and toss that in
Cube 1/2 cucumber, 1 roma tomatoe, a good size piece of mango and a couple of strips of red bell pepper and dump them in the marinade
Attempt to cube a firm but ripe avacado and quickly coat with the marinade
Taste your marinade and if you'd like it a little sweeter, add a little more pineapple juice
Cover with plastic wrap (right on top of the civiche) and another layer of wrap on the bowl.
Let the juice cook everything while in the frige for at least an hour
Serve in a wine galss over a pretty piece of romaine, garnish with a lemon wheel and stand a couple of crustini in the middle
Steamed scallops work real well in this also
Since your wine glasses are busy, serve the pinot grigio in custard bowls!

Northern Housepitality

I thought I'd write about Christmas in New York.
A visit from an old friend is a present in itself as it probably involved at least 2 trains,a brief walk on an icy street and 3 layers of clothing. Chances are your friend went even further out of his way to find tiramisu. I am certain parcels gain weight when you carry them in the cold and a 2 lb. bottle of wine can swell to 10 after walking up hill several blocks. I had forgotten all these things about the north and it's marvelous inhabitants who trade a cozy evening at home for the company of real human beings and spontanious conversations around a kitchen table. It is the repressed northerner in me that cooks. It's the childhood full of snow and stew that causes me to sob as I make a pot of sauce or stew a chicken for 5 hours. Thank you Camie and James for your kitchen, your wonderful friends and that table we just couldn't get away from. Thank you, New York, for a beautiful Christmas. Thank you Steve's G town for the pancetta, parmesan, heavy cream, Italian sausage, fresh basil and parsley. Special thanks to my grand dog, Freddie, who savored every morsel I dropped.
Happy New Year to all.

I eat Alone....Yeah, with nobody else.....

They say that breaking up is hard to do.... But eating ramen and go food can prolong the misery.
So, I am going to treat myself like a new boyfriend and try to convince myself that pescatore for one tastes exactly the same as if it were for two. Guess what, if ya miss pissin off the old boyfriend from time to time, you can indulge yourself by really irritating the man at the seafood counter in your favorite super market!!
I'll have 2 oysters, 2 scallops and 2 shrimp,please- no not that shrimp, this shrimp. ( I have done this before)
Saute some garlic in olive oil and a little butter and toss the seafood in it a minute. Douse with some lemon juice. Remove the seafood and add diced onion until soft, toss in chopped olives(green and black) and some chopped basil and a drained can of chopped tomatoes
. Salt and pepper the tomatoes. Keep cooking and if you have a jar of B&B mushrooms, throw them in.A microscopic pinch if cinnamin and a speck of cayenne. When all the ingredients seem to be enjoying their new relationships, return the seafood to the sauce to heat up and pour it over some linguini. Parm cheese and a glass of petite syrah. Is there a photo of your x in the trash can? Good, scrape your plate on top of that and go see what's on tv.