Culinary Adventures With Cookbooks: “Grill It”

A couple of weeks ago I checked out a couple of cookbooks, Bobby Flay’s “Grill It” and Mario Batali’s “Italian Grill”. We still haven’t set up WiFi at our place yet so I don’t get as much use out of my Kindle Fire HDX as I would like. Though it gets used plenty enough. However, as much as I love my Kindle I still love actual books too. Julie is reading now, above grade level and with her current pace she becomes more fluid by the day. She reads daily (thanks to the daily “Books in a Bag” program her Kindergarten has) and likes to pick up books that aren’t “easy peasy” as she refers to them; so she’s looking for a challenge. Jerry dabbles a little with sight reading now. They love the children’s room with all of the toys, playing with other children, reading books, and picking out a few to take home. While they are occupied it gives me time to browse more freely.

Anyways, it’s coming up on the middle end of winter but you can pretty much grill year round in Florida. We had a cold spell but our temperatures have been on a major upswing lately with plenty of sunshine. It has been perfect grilling weather but the daylight got ahead of us, after a second trip to the grocery for seasonings and condiments. We had already purchased all of our produce the week before from Shannon’s. We’re now regulars at her market and she knows us now lol because during the last trip she asked Papa Smurf “Where’s the wife?” while I waited with Jerry in the car (so that he could check out since Jerry was having a meltdown).

We tried 3 recipes from the book, including Chipotle Honey Glazed Wings with Toasted Sesame Seeds and Green Onion” (“Grill It” B. Flay pg. 79). I opted out of using the ancho chili powder. Okay, I just flat out forgot to write it down on my loose leaf list, add in the kids in rare form and receiving phone call as we went aisle to aisle…I was totally distracted and walked right past it. However, I am glad I left it out. I should have known with Chef Bobby Flay though, that the recipe would be spicy he is known for his heavy spice. With the small canned chipotle chilies in adobo alone there was more than enough spice/ heat! The glaze was very thick and not much of a glaze, even with the honey. However, I think it may have been a technical error on my part. I felt like it needed some citrus like maybe a bit of lemon or lime juice to loosen the paste up more and balance the heat. Overall, the wings were very good and had great flavor. The spice rub was perfect! Once combined you can smell the flavors coming together nicely before they even hit the oven or grill! Another word of caution, the wings are very spicy! I can’t even imagine with the ancho chili powder. But we love spice.
Now on to the “Grilled Eggplant with Manchego Cheese Salad With Balsamic Black pepper Glaze”. We opted out of the glaze. The eggplant and cheese seemed as though it would be great as a standalone. For the manchego cheese, you will have to look in the deli section of your grocery store as opposed to the refrigerated dairy section. I had never heard of manchego cheese before and looked it up prior to heading out to the grocery. It’s an imported, dry aged Spanish cheese. In appearance, it’s packaged as a thick sliced wedge and reminded me of a hybrid of parmesan an muenster cheese. It won’t knock you over but it does have a bit of an odor. I noticed that the cheese is prone to crumbling when its cold so I set it out at room temperature before having papa Smurf slice it. It was a very unique combination of flavors. I would’ve liked a lighter wet cheese like mozzarella or ricotta with the eggplant. I made another culinary discovery while making this dish. I used extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper to bake and broil the eggplant. A few of the more thinly sliced discs of eggplant had gotten quite crispy and were quite tasty without the cheese! Once melted, the manchego cheese reminded me of fontina cheese (a cheese we were first introduced to back when Papa Smurf was working for Panera back home in Maryland).

For anyone looking to stay on track with their NYE diet and healthier eating Flay cites that the Honey Chipotle Wings” are a healthier alternative to traditional deep fried buffalo wings. To my knowledge grilling is a healthier option since it burns off the fat. The grilled eggplant is also a healthy option which could definitely stand alone as an entree as opposed to a side it was quite filling.

The last recipe/ dish pictured was the “Green Onion Slaw” which was also a winner! My first tweak to this was to add a little sugar. I like my slaw a little sweet. I would only use half of the red onion. The whole onion was a bit much and gave the salad too much bite. Be sure to chop the onions finely to cut down the pungent/strong taste as with the scallions already present the onions can really overpower the slaw. I guess it is a matter of preference, taste, and what the chef was trying to create as far as bite, sweetness or without sweetness.

We looked forward to trying many more recipes from both Flay’s and Batali’s books before returning them to the library. However, we only managed to squeeze in grilled porterhouse steaks and grilled corn as Italians would eat it. I will say a little extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper makes a steak very good! I wish I had taken pictures! I plan on possibly purchasing both books in the near future. I am looking to build my cookbook library.

A Trip to Shannon's Market

 

It was Thanksgiving week. My Godfather was already here and my sister was on her way down with her kids (my niece and nephews). My Godfather had initial plans to go to Showcase of Citrus in Clermont. Instead, he found some place closer to get his raw peanuts and red oranges. He let us know that there was a wide array of produce as well as other essentials that we would need for our Thanksgiving Dinner.
As papa Smurf and I drove through Z-Hills to get there, it’s a very sleepy and no frills town. Alot of senior communities and trailer parks. When we arrived to the market, we pulled up on a cute little red open air barn, with a dirt and gravel parking lot. Once we entered we were pleasantly surprised. All I could think in my head at that moment was “Holy produce!” Not only did Shannon’s have everything that we would need comprised in a myriad of produce but a selection of items I had not ever seen before. This selection included, cranberry beans (a fuschia speckled with lime green bean), prickly pears (cactus pears), Chinese eggplant, red yams, and another fuschia colored item that resembled sea urchins. Just to name a few things I had not seen before in my foodie life.  For every food item you can often find three or more variations; For instance, cabbage, red cabbage, and bok choy. Then there are green beans, pole beans, and as I shared earlier their cousins the cranberry beans lol. For yams, there are plain yams, golden yams, red yams, and oriental yams (purple in color I had never seen oriental yams before either). For onions, there are white onions, yellow onions, red onions, and shallots. With the fruits I noticed three different types of pears, red pears, white ones and green ones. Tomatoes and green tomatoes are also available. There is so much variety and everything is so fresh! Fresh herbs are cut straight from their plants. The selection is also abundant. Collard bunches are very very generous. One bunch moreso resembles three. Enough to completely fill a large brown grocery bag. There were lots of tropical and international produce staples available. I could go on and on about the produce. I stumbled upon some refrigerated goodies as well, which included homemade cream butter (just good old cream and salt). plants are also available for sale.



The customer service is very friendly, inviting, hospitable and warm. If you need any help or have questions about the produce it’s no problem. The owner gave my sister a lesson on prickly pears and cactus pears. She is very knowledgeable, knows her products and produce. At checkout she made sure that we didn’t mix up our cilantro and flat parsely. During our last visit (oh yes, we made two visits in one week), we had all of the littles in tow; which included a 2 year old, 3 year old, and two 5 year olds. All loud and very busy! Shannon came over and offered the kids two baskets of grapes and napkins. One for each cart, as we had the kids situated two to a cart. Anyone who shops with one or two (let alone 4) in this age range knows it can get crazy! The grapes were right on time, and they kept the kids quiet and contained for the rest of the trip.
After our first trip we had our whole cart full of produce for the Thanksgiving meal. The total came up to about $25, jumped to $30 once our extra large bag of string beans were added. For a cart full we knew very well at one of the chain stores we could have spent about $75 or more easy! So for us the price was right and we will definitely be back!

"She Wants Her Some Fried Green Tamaters..."

One thing I can say as a foodie, that I love about Florida so far, is the abundance of farm fresh produce at cheap prices! After church on Sunday we finally stopped by a produce stand that we always drive past on Old Pasco. We ended up getting two big huge bunches of collards, a bag of yellow squash, and a bag of sweet potatoes all for only $5! I saw that they were also selling green tomatoes! Which are hard to come by sometimes in the regular grocery chains. And no sooner than I asked Papa Smurf could we please get some, the farmer says matter of in a joking but knowing tone, “She wants her some fried green tomaters!”. I most certainly wanted them and for that exact reason lol. I really like fried green tomatoes. Papa Smurf on the other hand does not. They are an acquired taste though, so I was not surprised. My mother, though a New England states native, her cuisine and cooking style included not only New England style seafood, and Italian; but also there were a lot of southern staples, delicacies, and comfort foods that she would prepare for us. She was influenced by my Nana Fran’s Kansas City BBQ and spicy flavors, though she is a bit milder with her heat and can’t hang with Nana’s spice lol. 

It was from my mother that I had the first experience of tasting fresh fried green tomatoes. She would use a lighter dusting for hers, but I decided that I would double dip between the egg wash, flour, and yellow cornmeal when I prepared mine. I’ll divulge another cooking secret for this recipe, I soak the tomatoes in salted and peppered water before frying ;-) 

Fried Green Tomatoes Recipe

Ingredients: 

Fresh green tomatoes (I used only 4) 

1-2 Cups of Cornmeal

1-2 Cups of Flour

2 Eggs 

Hot Sauce (just use your favorite)

Kosher Salt

Ground Black Pepper

1 Tblspn Cajun Seasoning Blend (preferably salt free)

Large non stick frying pan

1 Qt Canola Oil 

Method: 

Rinse and cut the green tomatoes into quarter inch thick round discs. Or you can cut them to the thickness of your choosing though it’s better not to cut them too thick. Soak the tomato discs in a large bowl of water. Before adding the water, salt the tomatoes with 1 tblspn of kosher salt and 2 teaspoons of ground black pepper. Soak the tomatoes for at least 15 minutes. During this time, I usually prep my frying oil, cornmeal and flour. I soak the tomatoes because of the texture of green tomatoes, I find that it is better to allow them to soak for a bit in order to season them. Prep your flour by only adding pinches of salt and pepper sparingly. Add your unsalted Cajun seasoning blend to the cornmeal. Beat two eggs in a bowl. I chose to leave the egg wash unseasoned. I used a regular frying pan in place of my deep fryer to fry the tomatoes. I like the texture of the fried green tomatoes better when using a frying pan instead of my deep fryer. There is something about using an old fashioned skillet to prepare them lol. Though, a deep fryer can be used if preferred. 

Make sure your frying pan has at least 1 ½ inches (depth) of oil in and around it. As a seasoned cook, I usually know that the oil is ready when a sprinkle of cornmeal makes the oil sizzle. However, a technical rule of thumb is to allow the oil to reach a temperature of 350 degrees (esp for those using a deep fryer). 

First, dip the tomato in the egg wash, then dredge in the flour, and then into the cornmeal. Shake off the excess, but make sure that the tomato is nicely coated. Fry in batches of 4 if you are using a frying pan, larger batches can be done if using a deep fryer. You want to fry the tomatoes until they are a light golden brown. Flip the tomatoes after they have cooked about 2-3 minutes on each side to achieve this perfectly fried coating. Remove and set aside on a paper towel or unused clean brown paper bags to soak up the excess oil and keep them crisp. Once the batches are all done, serve hot with a dash of hot sauce or your favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy! 

The Fresh Market and Stepping Out Of My Comfort Zone

Yet another long overdue post. I really did not know what I was getting into with adding video. However, I always knew that once I had kicked off this blog it was definitely a feature that I wanted to incorporate. Sometimes we just know that we want something but don’t realize what goes into it, especially the hard work that goes into it as well as the time. For myself, it’s mostly a timing thing. It will take some time as I juggle, balance and gain better resources. But as the president of an old banking institution that I used to work for years back would say “You gotta use what brung ya to the game”; put simply you have to use what you have. One of the hardest things for me to do is step out of my comfort zone, yet one of the easiest things for me to do is just be myself. The day we went to The Fresh Market at Wiregrass I decided to step out of my comfort zone and film our very first footage for our food and travel “vlog” to supplement our blog. I learned alot, it will be a continuous learning experience. I am sure the videos will get even better with time. Based on observing our interactions during our make shift recording I have decided on a few things I may invest in like a monopod and tripod. 

As for the main topic at hand, The Fresh Market itself. We attended The Fresh Market at The Shops At Wiregrass on October 18th for the first time. We loved it! The more we explore and venture out down here, we find places, things, and experiences that remind us of home while also making us feel more at home here. With November coming up at the time, I was already disappointed that we wouldn’t be attending The Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show back home in D.C. Despite not having as many kitchen gadgets for sale The Fresh Market came quite close though somewhat better. An open air foodie’s paradise especially for the healthy foodies out there; as well as those who like to indulge. The warm weather and having plenty of space to spread out made this event better. The warm weather meant no freezing your behind off in November D.C. weather as you make the long trek to and from whatever was available for parking. Which usually isn’t anything close to the venue. I figured the lack of kitchen gadgets for sale was okay because that’s what the onsite Williams and Sonoma store was for. 

Overall, it’s brilliant. The Shops at Wiregrass is a very nice open air mall. Family oriented and very aesthetically pleasing shopping venue that already has the steady and heavy foot traffic in place. Therefore, if you vend the traffic is definitely there! As a vendor I have done more than my fair share of events that don’t pan out in that department so just thought that I would share that is definitely not an issue here. They shut down the main boulevard that goes through the mall and align the vendor tents right outside and along the shops. There was lot of fresh produce and fresh herbs. There were holistic herbal, natural remedies and products to  promote healthy eating and living. I made sure to get some kale and string beans. It was hard for me to stay away from the plants but I managed. I also purchased some Summer peach tea from the Urban Tea Gardens. Which led to a later purchase of a tea infuser (which by the way are hard to find in some of your regular chain stores I was surprised). The teas had very rich aromas that would just draw you in. The fall aromas reminded me of the real fall season as it is likely occurring back home, cool weather with red orange and yellow leaves the whole nine. 

I purchased and olive tapenade with blue cheese from Joy’s Gourmet to include with my antipasto. The olive tapenade was so flavorful and rich with olive oil, garlic and blue cheese chunky and creamy with just a small bit of bite to it. They had a chipotle mayo dressing that we really liked as well. The chipotle mayo was very robust in flavor with a perfect balance of heat from the vinegar based chipotle pepper blend used and would be a great condiment for sandwiches. 

The live music gave the event a bit of ambiance. There were a myriad of cuisines available from Mediterranean, Thai, Vegan, New England style seafood (ie: lobster rolls, clam chowder), Greek, Italian, and Caribbean. It was a great experience and event. Now that we know what the event is about and that it occurs monthly, we will definitely be back again. If you are a foodie and ever in the burbs of Tampa (Wesley Chapel) be sure to check out The Fresh Market at The Shops At Wiregrass, you definitely will not be disappointed.