“Steamed” Shrimp

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Easy Steamed ShrimpI’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – I’m so fortunate to live here on the beautiful Eastern Shore, with the abundance of fresh seafood and wonderful produce available all throughout the year. Whether it’s buying crabs right off the boats in Crisfield in the summer, buying bushels of oysters from the Chincoteague Bay in December, or getting up early to do some rockfishing with Dad in the fall – it’s the environment that I’ve been raised in, and I couldn’t imagine it any other way. I’m so thankful to call this place home, and have the opportunity to raise my family here.

That being said, I’m very excited to announce that tomorrow I’ll (along with Jon) be heading to Charleston, SC to compete as a finalist in the Avalon Great Foods Of America Recipe Challenge at the Charleston Food & Wine Festival. It’s such an incredible honor to represent my great state of Maryland, and I can’t thank Avalon Winery enough for sponsoring it. For this foodie who also happens to be a history buff, visiting Charleston is pretty much a dream come true. I’ve got a couple restaurants lined up that I have to visit, and the old tree on John’s Island is on my list too. Any other must-do’s in that wonderful city? It’s going to be our first time visiting, but I’m fairly certain it won’t be our last!

Ok, so enough about me. Let’s talk about these shrimp! My favorite fish monger closes for a couple months after Christmas, but thankfully – he just reopened on Valentine’s Day! Ray has been a waterman for as long as I can remember.  He’s also had his restaurant, Ray’s Shanty for about as long as I can remember too. It’s the place to go for fresh fish, THE BEST hushpuppies known to man, and gorgeous fresh shrimp. There’s a seafood market on the side of the restaurant too – gorgeous scallops, heads-on shrimp, and various filets of fish; most of which Ray has caught himself on his charter boat. Ray taught my mom his way to cook shrimp over 20 years ago, and it can’t get any easier. While technically, they aren’t steamed – they are always perfect, and you’ll never have an overcooked shrimp again. They’re great to season with lots of Old Bay and eat as is, peel and serve in a martini glass for a fancy shrimp cocktail, or chill down and make shrimp salad with.

“Steamed” Shrimp

2 quarts water
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 tsp whole coriander
1/4 tsp whole allspice
1 bay leaf
3 Tbsp Old Bay (or any seafood seasoning)
Lemon wedges, for garnish

Combine water, vinegar, peppercorns, coriander, allspice, and bay leaf in a large saucepan*. Bring to a boil. Once water comes to a boil, add shrimp. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the water comes back to a boil. Remove from heat and drain IMMEDIATELY once water returns to boil. Remove bay leaves and toss shrimp with seafood seasoning. Serve with cocktail sauce and lemon wedges.

* You could also use a steaming spice mix. I love this one from Blue Crab Bay Co.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

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Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Happy Valentine’s Day, lovelies! Yesterday at my local grocery store I happened upon some gorgeous long stemmed strawberries. I couldn’t resist picking a pound up to enrobe in chocolate and then cram into my mouth. This is a dessert that is elegant, eye-catching, and easy as pie to make! Folks are always really impressed with them too. For so many people they’re something they buy on the boardwalk, or the county fair – not something you make yourself at home. And, those people are missing out!

I did some fancy tuxedo strawberries – although leave it to me to forget about the bow-tie, we’ll call it a “casual tux”. I also did some that were the traditional dark chocolate dip, with white chocolate drizzle. I had some leftover red melting chips too, from my Kaepcakes, that I melted down and drizzled as well for a pop of color. They came out gorgeous, and tasted as good as they looked. The strawberries were from California, and had wonderful flavor. We all enjoyed them for dessert last night, I took a few over to a girlfriend (my cupcake taste-tester, Jamie) to share, and have exactly 3 left – which I plan to enjoy for breakfast this morning!

If you need a last minute gift idea or dessert for your special someone – chocolate covered strawberries are the ticket. Can be made in under an hour, and they’re so special. I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine’s Day – full of love!

Chocolate Covered “Tuxedo” Strawberries

12 medium fresh strawberries with stems
1 cup vanilla or white chips
3-1/2 teaspoons shortening, divided
1-1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Line a tray or baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside. Wash strawberries and pat until completely dry.

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt vanilla chips and 1-1/2 teaspoons shortening at 70% power; stir until smooth. Dip each strawberry until two-thirds is coated, forming the tuxedo shirt, allowing excess to drip off. Place on prepared tray; chill for 30 minutes or until set.

Melt chocolate chips and remaining shortening. To form the tuxedo jacket, dip each side of berry into chocolate from the tip of the strawberry to the top of vanilla coating. Repeat on the other side, leaving a white V-shape in the center. Set remaining chocolate aside. Chill berries for 30 minutes or until set.

Remelt reserved chocolate if necessary. Using melted chocolate and a round pastry tip #2, pipe a bow tie at the top of the white V and three buttons down front of shirt (I actually just use a toothpick). Chill for 30 minutes or until set. Store in the refrigerator in a covered plastic container for up to 1 day.

Strawberries can also be dipped in the semi-sweet chocolate, let to set for 30 minutes, then drizzle with white chocolate (or any color melting chips) using a spoon. Let sit another 30 minutes before serving.

Source: Country Woman, July 1996

Enchilada Sauce

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Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Enchiladas are probably our favorite meal. Whether it’s chicken, pork, shrimp, or a simple bean and cheese filling – they’re so comforting, and relatively easy to make. The easiest part of all being making your own homemade enchilada sauce. So many recipes I’ve seen on the internet call for canned sauce – and it always makes me feel sad for them, a “bless their heart” type situation. It’s basically seasoned tomato sauce, taking only minutes to come together . No excuses.

And the flavor, wowza. Out of this world! The stuff in the can will just seem bland and watery if you ever have the misfortune of tasting it again. Often I’ll double the recipe, and freeze half in a Ziploc bag for a rainy day. It’s also great as a base sauce for taco pizza, which is another one of our favorites.

If you’re still buying your enchilada sauce from the can, do yourself a favor and try making it at home. You can thank me later!

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup chicken stock or water
1 tsp kosher salt

Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for a few minutes, until starting to brown on the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, and cumin. Cook for an additional minute to toast the spices.

Add in the tomato sauce, as well as the chicken broth. Stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat, and pour the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl. Using a rubber spatula, push down on the onions, forcing as much sauce out as possible. I like to just toss the strained onion mixture into whatever enchilada filling I’m making, but you can discard it if you like.

Season sauce to taste with salt and black pepper before using. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Makes about 2 cups enchilada sauce.

Source: adapted from this Chicken Enchilada recipe, from America’s Test Kitchen.

Vanilla Snow Cream

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Snow Cream

We got an unexpected amount of snow on Wednesday night. We got a dusting last Friday, and that’s pretty much what we were anticipating for this week. Only when we woke up on Thursday morning, there was close to 6 inches blanketing our neighborhood. Which, I know 6-inches isn’t much for many of you guys – who regularly see feet. But, here by ocean we never seem to get amounts worthy of playing in. I don’t know if it’s the warm winds off of the water pushing the storms away, or what – but it’s been a while since I can remember this much. And, more is supposed to be coming this afternoon and evening!snowdayWe had a great day playing in the snow, making snow angels and building a snowman. The boys were little icicles by the time they came inside, so I made a pot of hot cocoa and we all enjoyed it while trying to warm up. Everyone took a nap, we watched a movie, and then went outside for more shenanigans in the snow, and to gather some snow to make snow cream. It’s basically ice cream made from snow, and it’s absolutely delicious. Snow, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla – that’s it. These ingredients combine to form something so special. And, it’s something the little ones love to help with – gathering the snow, then mixing it.

Now, I know a few of you will be saying “Eeew – she eats filthy snow that’s fallen from the sky? Off the ground? Gross” Which, I suppose if I lived in some concrete jungle in a city, then no – I probably wouldn’t advise making snow cream. But, I’ve eaten countless batches and am still here to tell the tale. No third arm has started sprouting yet! So, I’ve never concern myself with those thoughts. I will say that I’ve heard to not use snow from the first snow of the year. But, I can’t say I’ve adhered to that rule either…

This was the first time I added the seeds from a vanilla bean, in addition to vanilla extract. It really bumped it up to the next level, flavor wise. And, who doesn’t love seeing vanilla bean specks in their dessert? If you’re fortunate enough to have pristine snow on the ground in the morning – do yourself a favor and fill up a bowls worth for dessert that night. Hell, I’ve even been known to make a batch for breakfast!

Stay warm guys, have a great weekend.

Vanilla Snow Cream

10 cups clean snow, or shaved ice
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (optional)

Pour sweetened condensed milk into a large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla extract and vanilla seeds that have been scraped from the bean. Mix to combine.

Add snow. Using a rubber spatula combine the snow with the vanilla milk. It’s harder than it looks, towards the end it requires a bit of elbow grease.

Serve immediately.

Source: My BFF, Morgan. Thanks for introducing this “come-here” to so many Eastern Shore favorites over the years!