For me, good food is about smell and texture and nothing smells more like summer than fresh basil and nothing has a worse texture than tomatoes out of season – that’s why these tomatoes were SO good – fresh, great texture and the lovely smell of my home grown basil – oh yeah!!! Just toss with garlic, olive oil, a splash or two of balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Its a summer treat that really can’t be beat!
Archive for May, 2008
Bruschetta
Posted in Vegetables on May 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Grilled Salmon
Posted in Seafood on May 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Summer is nearing and there will be much more outdoor cooking. Today I grilled a nice salmon fillet simply seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil and then served with a lemon wedge – very tasty!
Fried Asparagus and cheesy shrimp and tomato bake
Posted in Cheese, Seafood, Vegetables on May 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Tonights dinner was largely experimental, but I didn’t really think there was a chance things could go all that badly since all of the ingredients were fresh and things I love.
Fried Aspargus
Cut the ends off asparagus
Dredge in one egg, a tablespoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of salt
For the breading I used a mixture of Panko and a seasoned flour
Pan fry in vegetable oil for about 3 minutes each.
For the Cheesy Shrimp & Tomato bake
Preheat oven top 400 degrees
Grease an 8X8 pyrex dish
Sprinkle shrimp with old bay or similar seasoning
Add to dish along with one clove of chopped garlic; three sliced roma tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil
Top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese and bake for about 10 minutes until the shrimp are done.
Serve immediately as you really want to aspargus to be hot – its another yummy meal with the great fresh ingredients in the area right now.
Cheers!
Grilled Chicken, zuchinni, and mango salsa
Posted in Poultry, Vegetables on May 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Great, great dinner, and easy. I blogged already about the mango salsa. I served it over grilled chicken. I used a leg/thigh cut of chicken which I salted and peppered and then rubbed with olive oil. Put on a hot grill for about 12 minutes. The zuchinni, I seasoned with salt and pepper and olive oil also, added a nice ripe cut tomato, and threw on the grill in some aluminum foil on the top rack – about 5 minutes after I put the chicken on. It all got done at the same time and I simply spooned the mango salsa over the grilled chicken. It was very tasty and a nice late spring dish…and since I cooked it all outside, it made for easy clean up which is always a good thing.
I served this with a red zinfindel – YUM!
mango salsa
Posted in Salad, Sauces/Dressings on May 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Easy!! Dice one mango, add chopped onion, cilantro, a dash of lime juice and a dash of wine vinegar (red or white will work, I used red) Let sit for 15 minutes. Enjoy over grilled fish or chicken. YUM!
Mimi – you need to get in the kitchen!! 
Catfish Tacos
Posted in Seafood on May 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo
In deference to Devin’s belief that you shouldn’t eat bottom feeders…I love catfish tacos!! An easy and enjoyable meal. Went to one of my favorite seafood places – Shonuf; You buy we fry! I didn’t let them fry it as I like to do that myself and I bought the fish at 11 this morning and it was for dinner so….but it was nice of them to offer. ANYWAY – you can do this with any sort of fish, I have used Talapia just as successfully and of course blogged about the shrimp mango tacos last week. Just cut the fillet into nuggets or strips – bread and deep fry - add to flour tortillas with your favorite toppings – I had colby/jack cheese, plain yogurt (in place of sour cream) guacamole, and green salsa. Yum.
white sangria
Posted in Snacks on May 14, 2008 | 2 Comments »
I am noshing on leftovers from book club tonight so I don’t have any food to blog about. I did, however, also have quite a bit of white wine and lots of fruit left over as well. I decided to make a sangria.
I come from a great southern tradition of sapping the nutritional value from vegetables by frying the ever living crap out of them, so why not, in that grand tradition, ruin the nutritional value of fruit by soaking it in alcohol and soda water? Why not indeed.
I happend to have a pleathura of strawberries and pineapple left over so I threw it into a glass with the left over pinot grigio and a splash of soda water….YUM.
Bruschetta
Posted in Vegetables on May 14, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo
This was one of my contributions for book club last night. I hosted it this time and we had a lovely indoor/outdoor meeting with little talk of books and much consumption of food and wine – the best kind of book club there is! Okay so enough about the book club – here’s how you make this delicious treat.
Slice loaf of crusty bread – you can use French or Italian or whatever – I used a 5 grain loaf. Top with pesto (I used roasted garlic, basil, olive oil) chopped tomatoes and feta cheese. Place in 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes – until the bread is toasty and the cheese is just starting to brown.
Enjoy with as much wine as you’re allowed to drink on a school night
Chicken, Spinach, Goat Cheese and Fried Tomato Salad
Posted in Poultry, Vegetables on May 13, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo
Tonight was really my first night off in a while – and this morning I made pancakes. I followed this up with a creation all my own tonight. I grilled chicken marinated in the what is becoming the last of the High Fructose Corn Syrup items in my house which is a totally delicious Creamy Balsamic dressing from a restaurant in Ohio called Sturkey’s – its delicious, but it will have to go. 
Anyway…I grilled the chicken and then decided to make a spinach salad with my own touch…I fried tomatos and sliced goat cheese on top of spinach – it was great…For the tomatos – salt them and let them drain so the aren’t too watery…coat with olive oil and then sprinkle with garlic and panko bread crumbs – you could pan fry – I decided just to put them under the broiler…serve warm topped with goat cheese atop fresh spinach. It was really delicious!! I will definitely be doing it again, especially since my sister said – she loved the tomatoes and she’s only been a tomato eater for a short time.
Nice Stack
Posted in Breakfast on May 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo
Okay – so its just pancakes…what is so special about pancakes?? Well, nothing especially, unless you get to make them on a weekday morning because one of the schools you teach for is out for summer. I made a heaping helping of these for the weeks to come since I can never really figure out what to eat for lunch. If I eat these for breakfast I can get buy with a smoothie or some yogurt for lunch so its great. And who doesn’t love a good stack of pancakes with maple syrup!!
