Lent

Grilled Shrimp Salad

Grilled shrimp salad is easy to make, even in the winter, or in an apartment without a grill. You can add spices to make it just for you.

Seefood and Bows (Seafood and Farfalle)

That's no misspelling when I made this dish the first time, I wanted to give it a catchy name, hence Seefood and Bows. It's actually Seafood and Farfalle, an Italian bow-shaped pasta.

I use a light lemony dressing over this. What makes the dressing stand out is the
Sunny Paris seasoning blend from Penzey's spices. You will find yourself using this wonderful spice in all kinds of foods. It stars shallots and chives, plus pepper and herbs.

You can use almost any shellfish, but I prefer shrimp and crab. No need to bust the bank, Krab works just fine in this, and you don't need much. If you want to go fancy, you can add lobster or King crab.

Orecchiette Pasta Salad

Orecchiette Pasta Salad with tuna and Caesar dressing is perfect for the hot summer months. Make it Vegan, and omit the tuna.

Pimento Cheese Spread - A Tradition from the South

My History with Pimento Cheese Spread

When I was a little girl, my mother would sometimes make Pimento Cheese Spread for cocktail parties. My father's family was from the Texas, my mother's from New York. At the time, my father was a Captain in the US Army, and we were stationed in Germany. He had aspirations to be a Colonel - and that meant having the Brass over for cocktail parties that my mother had to make all the food - they didn't have caterers in Germany that made American food that was in my mother's budget - so she made everything from scratch. Imagine a party scene from Mad Men, and you have an idea of what my mother's parties were like. Due to my mother's great talents at entertaining, my father made it to Major before deciding to come home and have the career he always wanted - antique furniture refinisher.

If I was well-behaved and didn't get in my mother's way in the kitchen when she was making all these things, she would put aside a plate of appetizers just for me, and if I was lucky, it had Pimento Cheese Spread.

Clean Out Your Fridge

The great thing about Pimento Cheese Spread is that you can put odd bits of hard cheese you have lying around in your fridge. You might have forgotten they were even there. They might have a bit of mold, cut it off and you're good to go. They might have a dried up outside, just cut that off, too. I usually have a good sharp cheddar as my main cheese, and I might have some pieces of Jack or Swiss left over in my cheese drawer. I wouldn't put in a pungent cheese that would overbear your main cheese's flavor. You could put a softer cheese in, too, just put it in after the pimentos go in. Important: don't use pre-shredded cheese - it has extra ingredients that can affect the flavor and texture of this luscious spread.

A Little Back Story

This recipe is cited from Spane's birthday in 2010, but since I am making them for this Thanksgiving in 2017, and they are so good, I thought it was high time they had their own post.

My good friend gave me this recipe. I do not want to identify her because of the allegations currently surrounding Sylvester Stallone. Let me suffice to say that I witnessed him while waiting for the valet to return with his vehicle, with his wife at the time, reach out with his free hand and grab my friend's breast as we passed them on the way to our car. Yes, this happened in a public place, and yes, it's true. We thought about reporting it to the police but knew that she would never be believed against a superstar like Stallone. I had never really liked him as an actor, but now, I can't even stand to look at his face considering how he assaulted my friend.

I don't usually do things that are complicated, and when I started making this bread, I thought it would be complicated, but in truth, it wasn't. If this is your first time making bread, you might be intimidated by this, but trust me, it's going to be okay.

Hearty Clam Chowder for a Stormy Winter Night

I have always loved Hearty Clam Chowder, that is good clam chowder. The stuff that comes in the can, even the expensive stuff that comes in a can, just cannot compare to the soup you make yourself. Homemade soup is just richer and tastier.

Ginger Man Shrimp and Pasta

This shrimp and pasta dish is very easy to make, comes together quickly, makes an excellent choice for a weeknight dinner, and would also make a great dinner for guests. You can use raw shrimp, or cooked shrimp you might find on special at the supermarket.

Shrimp And Crab Casserole Bake is a rich casserole that is simple to make, delicious to eat, and doesn't cost a fortune.

Recipes in this Post

Asian Inspired Fruit Salad

I have been a fan of Chinese Chicken Salad since the 1980's when I first had it. Everyone once in a while, I have all the ingredients to make it. This afternoon, Spane and I went and had a very filling lunch at Everest Burgers, so we didn't want a heavy or big dinner. I asked him if salad would be good, and he said yes. Then I went to my pantry and saw that I had Mandarin oranges, I knew what to make.

This salad has everything but the chicken, and if you happen to have cooked chicken, you are more than welcome to add it to this salad. Make sure you have a sharp knife because you will be chopping the greens and the onion into small pieces.

You could add other fruit to this salad as well, like lychee nuts, or even cherries. I had unsweetened coconut chips which had just enough sweetness, sweetened coconut would be too powerful, so I don't recommend it. Please choose whichever Asian salad dressing you like, we like Girard's Asian Dressing.