I'm Melting, I'm Melting!!!

I am so glad that the heatwave finally passed. Last week, I wanted to strip down to my underwear and take a nap in the frozen food section at the grocery store. Common sense actually won out against the heat stroke. I decided that catching freeze burn and a charge for indecent exposure wasn't that great of an idea especially if the end result was spending the night in a crowded, hot and smelly holding cell. Ewww... So yeah, I just ate half a box of Edy's frozen fruit bars, watched "March of the Penguins", and called it a day.

Seafood is the optimal dining choice this time of year. It's fresh, light and takes very little time to cook which is perfect if you don't like having a steam bath in your kitchen. Now this is one of my favorite dishes that I like to prepare during the summer. I call it Sunshine Shrimp Stir Fry because of the bright yellow and orange peppers that I used to create it. The beauty of stir-fry is that you can serve it with rice, lo mein noodles or just on it's own. I chose basamati brown rice this time around. Delicious! So give it a try and give Seamless a rest. You can always hang out with Jesse, the delivery guy, another time...

Sunshine Shrimp Stir Fry
Serves 4
 
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 orange bell pepper, sliced into strips (about 1 cup)
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced into strips (about 1 cup)
• 2 green onions, sliced with green and white sections separated
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup of chicken broth
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

 Instructions

1.      Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until cooked through. Remove the shrimp from the skillet. 

2.      Add the white section of the scallions, orange and yellow bell peppers to the skillet and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until the vegetables are tender-crisp.  

3.      Add the garlic, ginger and crushed red pepper to the skillet and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Return the shrimp to the skillet. Stir in the broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and water and cook for 1 minute or until the mixture is hot. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Sprinkle the shrimp mixture with the sesame seeds and green section of the scallions.

Wine Pairing:
I chose a semi dry Riesling from the New York Finger Lakes region. Rieslings that are semi and/or off dry are often recommended to go with Asian cuisine. The sweetness of the wine compliments spiciness of the dish and refreshes the palate. Always avoid whites that would be considered oaky, buttery, dry, or even neutral when pairing with spicy foods.
This wine has some intense tropical and tree fruits on the nose like green melon and pears. The palate is also very fruit forward. It tastes like a combination of apricot, melon, lime, and pineapple on your tongue. There is a nice balance of sweetness and dryness. It finishes clean and crisp.

 

Mmmm... I Love the Smell of Charcoal in the Morning!

It's summertime...and you know what that means?! Barbeque!!!
Yes, barbeque. It's the South's favorite pastime next to football, of course. To be honest it is the only thing I look forward to during summer. I hate the heat. It's mainly because I don't exactly like walking around all day feeling like a warm moist towelette and I really can't stand what the humidity does to my hair. However, that does not discourage me from attending any barbeques or cookouts. I just put my hair up into a ponytail, pull on a tank top, grab my shades and step out into the blazing sun. The blistering heat, stifling humidity, uncomfortable sweat...  its all just fades away once the ribs hit my lips.

Feeling a little nostalgic for some true Southern barbeque, I decided to make my own this 4th of July. I made barbeque ribs, potato salad, sauteed green beans and corn on the cob. Granted I almost burned myself alive cooking all of this inside my super hot apartment. GENIUS! But it was soooo worth it... 

Sweet & Spicy Cola Ribs
Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients 

Dry Rub:

•  1/4 cup brown sugar
•  1 tablespoon paprika
•  2 tablespoons kosher salt 
•  1 tablespoon garlic powder 
•  1 tablespoon onion powder 
•  1 tablespoon ground cumin 
•  1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 
•  1 teaspoon chili powder
•  2 racks pork spare ribs (about 3 pound each)

Sweet & Spicy Cola BBQ Sauce:

• 2 cups ketchup
• 1 can cola
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar  
• 1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper 
• 1 tablespoon onion powder  
• 1 tablespoon ground mustard 
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice  
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 

Instructions

For the dry rub:

1. Whisk all dry ingredients together in a small bowl. This can be stored up to 6 months in an airtight container. 

For the sauce:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine all sauce ingredients. 
2. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for about 1 hour 15 minutes.

For the ribs:

1. Rinse ribs with cold water.  Then pat dry with paper towels.
2. Place on a clean cutting board, pull off the membrane and trim the ribs of excess fat. 
3. Liberally season both sides of the ribs with rub. 
4. Wrap ribs with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or 8 hours so flavors can permeate.
5. Preheat oven to 350°.
6. Place each rack of ribs on a double layer of foil; sprinkle rub all over ribs. 
7. Wrap racks individually and divide between 2 baking sheets.
8. Bake ribs until very tender but not falling apart, for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. 
9. Carefully unwrap ribs and baste the ribs with the sauce. Return them to the oven to continue cooking uncovered, for about 15 minutes.
10. Remove ribs from oven and baste again with the sauce. Return them back to the oven for 15 more minutes.

Potato Salad
Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 pounds round white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 6 large hard-cooked eggs, peeled and chopped
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups Hellman's mayonnaise
• 1 to 2 heaping tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon celery seeds
• 2 heaping tablespoons dill relish
• 4 slices bacon, cooked until almost crisp, diced

Instructions

1. Put the potatoes and eggs in a large saucepan or stockpot; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and let cool. 
2. In a large bowl, combine potatoes and eggs. Stir in mayonnaise and mustard. (Stir the mayonnaise and mustard in a little at a time, until you have the flavor and consistency you like.)
3. Stir in salt, pepper, paprika, creole seasoning, celery seeds, relish and bacon. 
4. Chill until serving time. 

Sauteed Green Beans
Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

• 2 pounds green beans, stem ends trimmed and cut diagonally into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
•  4 scallions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
• kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Cook beans in large pot of salted boiling water (use 1 tablespoon of salt for every 4 quarts of water), uncovered, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Using large slotted spoon, transfer beans to colander set in bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, then drain well.
2. Heat oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until soft without browning, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and thyme; stir 1 minute.  
3. Add green beans and sauté until hot, about 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Squeeze lemon juice unto the beans, evenly.
5. Season generously with salt and pepper. Transfer vegetables to bowl and serve. 

Corn on the Cob
Serves 6

Ingredients 

• 6 ears of corn
• 2 tablespoon of sugar
• unsalted butter
• kosher salt

Instructions

1. Just before cooking, husk the corn, pull off the silky threads, and cut out any blemishes with a pointed knife.
2. Bring water to a boil in a large stockpot. Add sugar. When water is boiling at a full boil again, drop in the corn. 
3. Cover the pot and let the water return to a boil again, then remove from heat and keep the pot covered.
4. After about 5 minutes, remove enough ears. You can keep the corn warm in the water for another 10 minutes without its becoming tough. 
5. Serve with lots of butter and salt. 

As you can see, you don't need a grill or the outdoors to barbeque. All you need is the desire for good BBQ, a whole lot of ice water, and one of your friends on speed dial to come save you from a heat stroke...

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Eat like Paupers, then live like Kings

As everyone may already know, I am originally from South Carolina. Yes, a Southern belle living in the land of Yankees. Ironically, I actually live near Yankee Stadium. In the South, we have lots of chances during the holidays to feast and gorge ourselves, but New Year‘s Day dinner is a different matter altogether. On most holidays, we Southerners eat like kings, but on New Year’s Day we eat like paupers. We believe if we eat poor on the first day of the year that we will eat rich for the rest of the year.  

See the traditional Southern New Year’s Day dinner was designed to bring you good luck in the New Year. This New Year’s Day dinner generally features pork, seasoned collard greens, black-eyed peas, and rice. So what is the significance behind the food we Southerners eat on this special day? 

Serving black-eyed peas and collard greens began when Union soldiers raided Southern homes of all the most edible foods they could find. They took what they wanted from homes and farms, and left only the food that they considered undesirable, such as greens and fatback. Southerners learned to cook these undesirable foods in order to survive. Strangely enough, these foods are now considered by Southerners to be “good eatin’”. 

We usually eat black-eyed peas flavored with pork and collard greens for dinner on New Year’s Day for good luck and in remembrance of times of hardship. The black-eyed peas represent coins and the collard greens represent dollar bills. Pork is a meat with a rich fat content, thus it symbolizes wealth and prosperity. It is said that if you eat these foods on New Year’s Day, you will have plenty of money that coming year. Whether it really works or not, it’s a tradition that we Southerners have and will continue to follow for dinner every New Year’s Day. 

Oven Roasted Pork Shoulder

• 1 (4 to 5 lbs) bone-in pork shoulder
• 1/4 cup  Shea's Sweet & Smoky Rub
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 
  
  1.    Preheat oven to 350°.
  2.    Trim 1 (4- to 5-lb.) bone-in pork shoulder. Rinse and pat dry.
  3.   Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Smoky-Sweet BBQ Rub. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
  4.   Place pork in an aluminum foil-lined 13- x 9-inch pan. Bake 4 to 4 1/2 hours or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 195°.
  5.   Let stand 15 minutes.
  6.   Shred pork with 2 forks.
  
  
  
  
  
  Collard Greens
  
  
  
        1 1/2 pound smoked pork neckbones
        1 tablespoon Tabasco Spicy Worcestershire Sauce  
        1 tablespoon Kosher salt
        1 tablespoon Creole Seasoning
        3 bunches fresh collard greens (about 2 lbs)
    
  1. Place first 3 ingredients and 1 qt. water in a large pot. Bring to a boil; simmer, uncovered, 1 hour.
  2. Trim and discard thick stems from bottom of collard green leaves. Collect and roll leaves into a big cigar. Cut leaves into 2-inch pieces. Place leaves in a large bowl of water with a little salt. Swish leaves around to remove any dirt. Remove leaves from bowl, and discard water. Repeat several times if needed.
  3. Add leaves to pot; stir. (The pot will be full, but the leaves will cook down.) Cover and simmer, stirring every 30 minutes, for 1 1/2 hours.
  
  
  Spicy Hoppin' John
  
  
  4 slices bacon, chopped
  
  
  1 cup scallions, finely chooped
  
  
  1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped (about ½ cup) 
  
  
  2 garlic cloves, minced
  
  
  1 can (15.5 oz.) black eye peas
  
  
  1/4 lbs Spicy Italian Sausage, cooked and cut into strips
  
  
  1 packet Sazón without Annatto
  
  
  2 cups cooked brown rice
  
  
  Adobo All-Purpose Seasoning with Pepper, to taste

  1.	. In medium, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, add bacon. Cook until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, about 7 minutes. Drain off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat. Add onions, peppers and garlic to pan; cook until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
  2.	.Add blackeye peas (and their liquid), sausage and sazón to saucepan; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened and heated through, about 10 minutes more. Stir in cooked rice, simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes more. Season with adobo. Happy New Year!!!

  
  
  
  
  
  

I'm BAAACCCKKK!!! Did you miss me?!

Hey guys! I know its been a minute since I first posted. Okay, okay...its been over a year and a half but I can explain. See I never knew how hard it would be to live and blog about it at the same time. Hey, I'm a social butterfly leading a very packed life. I can't help it if I am popular. You will be happy to know that during this long hiatus I have been doing anything but resting. Let's see if I can bring you guys up to date...

For the past couple of years, I have been trying to break into the wine & spirits industry. Who knew that trying to get a retail position in a wine shop could be so hard?! So I started working trade events as a volunteer. Once I got some event experience under my wings, I received referrals for events which paid me to present and pour wines at portfolio tastings for several different producers, importers and agencies. It was through these events that I realized that I was a natural when it came to promoting and marketing wine. Not to toot my own horn but... TOOT TOOT!!! So I took this experience and applied it towards a wine retail internship at Bottlerocket Wine & Spirit. Now originally as an intern, I was assigned to explain and pour the wines selected for the in-store tastings. However, you know me...I have to do better than the average. See some of the customers would say that they were looking for something else: wines were not their style, pairing with a meal, buying a gift, etc. So I began to step away from the tasting table and onto the sales floor. Now anyone that knows me knows that I do not like sales and I have never considered myself a sales person...that was until I stepped onto that floor. Everything came so naturally that it didn't feel like sales, it just felt like I was having a casual conversation about some of the things I love most, food & wine. The management staff loved this and asked me to help out with the classes and food/wine tastings. From that day forward, I signed on to help out for everything they offered. I think they may have gotten tried of my face at one point because I was there so much lol. Seriously, it isn't just the wine that I love at this store, its the staff. They have become like my wine family, my Cru...

Oh, I have not given up on my culinary ambitions. I cook all the time and I have the pictures to prove it, so there :p . Last year, I took a chance and tried out for the third season of MasterChef. I think Gordon Ramsey is hella sexy (Purrr...). Now when you go to these open calls they tell you that you will not have access to a kitchen or even a microwave to reheat your food. They say that the judges take this into account but I was taking no chance. So, I decided to make a dessert, Heavenly Hash Cake. Like its name suggest, this cake is inspired by the ice cream flavor. Its a chocolate cake with walnuts topped with marshmallows then covered in a chocolate ganache. This cake is my brother Emile's favorite. So much so that I use it as a bribe to get him to do anything just about anything. That is why I also refer to it as "The Bribe" or "Emile's Price".

Heavenly Hash Cake aka "The Bribe"

I thought I was on to something because I was one of the few out of thousands of people to bring a dessert. Everyone seemed to love it at the open call, even my fellow competitors. A couple of them compared it to good sex and some even tried to hug me. The judge said it reminded him of his childhood and he loved the way the different textures went well together. Well, apparently he didn't love it too much because as you can see I did not make the show :(

Do you think that stopped me?! Hell no! Matter of fact, I tried out last Saturday, the the 14th, for this new cooking show coming on ABC with Nigella Lawson and Anthony Bourdain (Love him!). Instead of several rounds in one day like MasterChef, you presented once to the judge and then they would call you to let you if you advanced to the next round. This time I decided to go with something savory: Poulet a'la Diable (Chicken Diablo). The chicken is brushed in a herbed dijon sauce covered in panko breadcrumbs then baked with a little butter for color. I sauteed some spinach with mushrooms, green onion, garlic and truffle oil and served it on top of basamati brown rice. It may sound complicated but actually the dish is quite simple and may I add quite delicious. Don't believe me?! My friend tried to put his fork on his boyfriend's plate and they almost had a misunderstanding. My chicken almost broke up a happy home, people! That is why my friends now refer to this as "Shea's Dealbreaker Chicken" lol... What do you think? Does it look "super crunchy"?

Poulet a' la Diable aka "The Dealbeaker"

This time I knew I had them. Don't only did I prepare this killer dish fresh that morning, I paired it with a off-dry Gewürztraminer from the Alsace region of France. The touch of sweetness helps to cool the palate and temper the spiciness of the chicken. Food and wine go hand-in-hand. I believe pairing food and wine is like writing music. If you bring the right melody together with the right harmony, you will walk away with a Billboard Top 10 hit. However, if you make the wrong combination, you could end up with a huge flop. The pairing definitely helped my dish stand out, along side my glowing personality :) . The judge came back around to my station several times... However, I am still waiting for that phone call... Oh, well. In the words of Jay Z, "On to the next one, on to the next one..."

Trying out for cooking shows can be a little stressful and intense. But it can actually be quite a lot of fun too, especially doing the test runs on my friends/coworkers aka "culinary guinea pigs". Oh and standing in line for hours just for less than 15 minutes of face time, its freakin PRICELESS! I may not have won a spot on a show... YET but I have done something others may never even attempt to do and I've done it twice so far. So, I haven't really lost and I am not going to lose simply because I refuse to quit.

  "It's never too late to be who you might have been."

- George Eliot

(one of my favorite quotes)

Coming Around Full Circle

Being born and raised in the South, I was taught to cook from a very early age. Its our birthright. I started as any newbie in the kitchen would by shelling peas, snapping green beans, grating cheese, and the most important job of them all, watching the pots. There is nothing worst than burnt food. It takes forever to get the smell out the kitchen and destroys the rest of the meal, at least in my opinion. As I got older and bigger so did my jobs because now I could really reach the sink and the stove. I could even handle myself with the big kitchen knife. Before I knew it I had become your mom's sous chef, cleaning the vegetables, putting the pots to boil and even prepping the meats. I started off cooking side dishes and vegetables. During all of this, I never took my eyes off the master, my mother.

Please recognize my mother is a culinary genius and anyone who has tasted her cooking can testify to that fact. Hey, I have seen her do some pretty amazing things with a chicken. Being a working single mother, she would take scraps and turn them into feast on a daily basis. And all I could do was watch in total awe of her skills. Then one day she said to me what all sous chefs wait to hear from the master chef with great anticipation and dread, "Shea, I need you to cook dinner tonight."

Never one to disappoint my mother, I made dinner. And surprisingly to myself and little brother, I actually did pretty well. Basically, I didn't burn the house down and the meal was edible which pretty much made it a success. Now because of my mother's work schedule, cooking the week day dinners soon became one of my chores and I fully embraced this promotion. I started off cooking the basics, nothing fancy (fried chicken, pork chops and spaghetti). Everyone was satisfied but me. I was tired of cooking the same old foods, the same old ways. Then I stumbled upon my mom's cookbooks. I would read and stare at the pictures everyday like they were pure fantasy. They were like my romance novels, my porn. One day I finally worked up the nerve and decided to cook one of those great looking recipes. So I cooked the fruit braised pork chops and everyone loved it. I know you are probably asking yourself why this recipe. Simple, it was because of the fact it had a picture and the recipe was easy to follow. For awhile all of the recipes that I took on had to have a picture. Hey, I needed to see what the end product was suppose to look like.

And that's how it all started, my love affair with food. However, I just could not accept the fact that something I considered just to be a hobby could actually be a part of my destiny. See, I went to Tulane University to study political science so that I would eventually use it to go to law school. However my senior year, I decided I wanted to do something different. I wanted to help people. So after graduation, I moved to New York and enrolled in the forensic psychology program at John Jay College. Within a year, I was working for a huge nonprofit organization that helped survivors of domestic violence. I thought this was how it was suppose to be. Yet somehow something was missing. I was my happiest when I was hitting the city scene with my friends. They took me to all of these different clubs, bars, cafes, and restaurants. I discovered the culinary mecca that is NYC and could not get enough.

It was through this culinary venture that I found wine tasting. I have been wine tasting for 5 years now. I used the knowledge that I picked up from the wine shop sales reps to learn what I liked and how to pair with foods. Last year I took it even further and received my WSET Immediate Wine & Liquor Certification. Cooking and wine had become my escape from a mind numbing job, moronic boyfriends and some not so great friends. When I stepped into my little kitchen, everything just went away as I mixed, stirred and chopped. Every time I uncorked a bottle, I was transported to another land. Still for some reason, I could not yet see the connection until earlier this year.

I finally woke up and realized that I was surrounded by a cloud of negativity that caused me to continue to run into the same damn brick wall over and over again. I almost lost myself but with the help of my family and some kick ass friends, I was able to catch myself before I truly fell off the deep end. So it is now through food and wine that I am finding my way back, coming around full circle...

See this blog will be about my culinary journey back to sanity. I will share my thoughts and opinions on all things concerning food and wine. I might even share a couple of recipes, if you're lucky. Because I am a foodie and oenophile (wine enthusiast) who happens to live in one of the biggest culinary capitals of the world, I will talk about the wine events I attend and dining establishments I happen upon, be they big or small. Since I am also trying to breaking into the food & wine industry, I will also be sharing my trials and tribulations of entering this field. One of my biggest dreams is to have my own acclaimed cooking show and be able to rub elbows with Hubert Kellar, Susan Feniger, Jonathan Waxman, Bobby Flay and Paula Dean, that's only to name a few. My other dream is to marry the owner of a winery in Argentina. Well since my Spanish vocab is a little limited, I would be willing to settle down in Australia or Austria. I never really cared for traveling alone (even though it never stopped me) so anyone is welcome to tag-a-long. You just have to carry your own luggage, partner.

My best friend Shawn, the savvy techie, was the one who inspired (more like pushed) me to start my own blog. She is like a sister and second mother. Shawn truly believes that I should be the Next Food Network Star or Top Chef. In fact, she says it each time they start a new season. Gotta love her. I introduced her to wine tasting and she has become quite taken with it as well. Shawn has even been actively encouraging and supporting me to pursue my dream of working for a winery in Argentina or Australia. I think it also has to do with the potential of  having free cases of wine delivered to her doorsteps. The girl loves free. So, I think its only fitting that I launch my blog on her birthday.

To my best friend, sister and personal Tony Robbins...

Happy Birthday, Shawn!