Category Archives: In the Kitchen

Shrimp Fry

01 Sunday Mar 2009

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We had an unexpected treat last night because Kyle came home to visit.

Being a college man living in an apartment, he’s always ready for a home-cooked meal and tonight it was fried shrimp.  Frying shrimp is our version of killing the fatted calf for Kyle.   Everyone of our children has their own special dish and this is one of Kyle’s.

But he’s not alone.  Our entire family enjoys this meal though we don’t believe all fried shrimp are created equal — especially this far north of the ocean.  So here’s my confession–we’re a proud bunch of seafood snobs.  We’ve found nothing in OKC to compare to the melt-in-your mouth seafood so plentiful on the Texas Gulf Coast where fried shrimp is a menu staple — from the humblest of fish shacks to nationally acclaimed 4 star dining establishments.

If you’re ever near Surfside, Texas, treat yourself to either of these — Inn on the River on 2nd Street in downtown Freeport, or my personal favorite — owned by Greeks who serve a Greek salad that’s a meal in itself — Red Snapper Inn on the Blue Water Highway.  There are too many to list, but these all sit within a few miles of Surfside.  And if you’ve eaten you’re way through this list and find yourself craving more — any local will be glad to point you in the direction of their favorite place.

So what do seafood snobs do if living in land-locked OKC?   Well, if they want the best, they stay home and cook like we do.  And thanks to my good friend Wynona, whose aunt once owned her own seafood place, we gratefully use this recipe to make our own mouth-watering  fried shrimp.

The secret is the batter and having hot oil to fry the shrimp quick — it takes at least two inches of oil in a deep skillet.  We serve it with french fries and usually some cole slaw and cornbread.  Living up to its name, it’s as easy as one- two-three.

1-2-3 Shrimp Fry Batter

1 Pint Buttermilk

2 t. baking powder

3 T. white vinegar

Soak cleaned shrimp in mixture for 15 mins.  Dredge in flour.  Fry in hot oil — three to five minutes until shrimp are pink on the inside, golden on the out.

It’s A Wrap

17 Tuesday Feb 2009

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ilovelucytitlescreen1It was standing room only in our Mesta Park dining room last weekend.  I was extremely happy to be lighting candles on Kyle’s twenty-first birthday cake.  And to be honest, I was filled with relief.  There had been plenty of calzones in spite of  the near kitchen catastrophe that almost left none.     

 

While an over ambitious menu worked against me that day, it was mostly Sunday’s cooler temperature that set me up for my latest Lucy Ricardo dose of disaster.  Cold weather always sends my bread dough into a slightly heated oven to rise.  And then I always remove it before preheating the oven.  Except….this time…when I remained blissfully unaware I had just set three lovely batches of risen dough to bake at 450 degrees.  Fifteen minutes later, freshly dressed for party success, I unwittingly returned to the kitchen to play the starring role of my very own  I Love Lucy episode.  With my hubby playing his normal supporting role, I opened the oven door to stand trancelike before this huge glob of almost baked dough, while this stream of consciousness emptied unfiltered from my whirling disbelieving mind into a kitchen saturated with the fresh aroma of baking bread.   

“I cannot believe I did this.”

“Can you believe I did this?”

“What are we going to do now?”

Being the very intelligent man that he is, my husband said absolutely nothing — unlike Desi Arnaz, he knew no splainin’ from me was going to avert this dinner party crisis staring us in the face. And as for me, destined to play the part of the witless heroine, I desperately grabbed for my own happy ending as I removed the heavy glob from the oven to carefully peel the baked bread away from its bowl.   Underneath the golden brown crust, still soft and gooey, was about a third of the dough… enough for me to stretch into small calzones for everyone, with two to spare.  Well….make that one.  Because as we were all celebrating in the dining room, our standard poodle Max was having his own private party in the kitchen, woofing down the calzone he’d swiped off the countertop. 

 

With kitchen mayhem finally under wraps, it was time for the spotlight to shine on Kyle and the lovely little traditional birthday cake so fitting for February birthdays.  Made from a hand-me-down recipe of Grandma Betty’s, but baked in the shape of a heart, the cake did not resemble the famous I Love Lucy satin heart logo.  But it should have. dsc01219a2    

 

Grandma Betty’s Birthday Cake

Best made 8 – 12 hours before serving

 

Cake: Bake one white cake mix prepared according to package directions in two 9” cake pans.  Allow cake to cool on baking rack.

Frosting:  In a small bowl, blend 1 ½ cups of whipping cream with the boxed contents of one Betty Crocker Home Style Fluffy White Frosting Mix.  Chill one hour.  Then beat until stiff peaks form.

Filling & Topping:  1 can of Wilderness Cherry Pie Filling

 

To assemble, spread 1 cup of frosting on first layer with ¼ of the can of pie filling.  Add top layer and frost sides and top of cake.  Add remaining cherries to top of cake.  Keep refrigerated between servings.

 

Small Comforts

14 Saturday Feb 2009

Posted by in Home Restoration, In the Kitchen, Life at Home, Prayer, Soul Care

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dsc01212aPainting and death may seem strange bedfellows, but in my life they’ve been coming together like two peas in a pod.   It’s happened twice now in fifteen months.  With my mom, I painted my way through seven weeks of ICU and  five months following her death.  When I ran out of rooms, I stopped.

 

Last Sunday, with a free can of paint in hand, I began my second painting rotation, limiting myself to the vestibule walls.  I had no designs on painting its ceiling or smallish open cloakroom, as I thought the new grayish blue would become a good neighbor.  Monday’s morning light proved how unfriendly it was — as I was waking up to two more days of painting, my Aunt Carol was waking up to something so much worse – without a notion that her husband of fifty-five years would soon be dead of a heart attack.  I heard the news Tuesday morning.

 

As I slipped into my old familiar mourning attire – a pair of old paint-smeared sweats – I slipped into that much familiar practice of grieving with a paintbrush.  And as the cloakroom became a soft black and the vestibule ceiling a creamy white, I thought of Carol and Sonny, holding both close to my heart, and of the many days of summer vacation I had whiled away at their house and all the wonderful memories they had gifted me with– like swims at Twilight Beach and eating watermelon at the Rush Springs Festival.  Painting is a good way to say goodbye.  My mind empties of everything else, so that I am free to settle into peace and quiet, centered on the task before me.  Fully in the present, I sense God in a manner that’s both healing and comforting.   It’s just me and God, creating a little beauty together.  And each and every time I paint, I recall those comforting words written in the book of Revelations.

“Behold, I make all things new.”

My paintbrush teaches me that transformations happen quickly – in the blink of an eye—as quick as a hand can brush up and down the wall.  My faith tells me that death brings resurrection for the dead in the same fashion.

 

It will sound strange not to speak their names together.  These peas in a pod are no more; just as my painting is no more — both just for a while.  With the comfort of painting gone, it’s time to think comfort foods.  And what better, than Aunt Carol’s own recipe for home-made yeast rolls–one of life’s small comforts.

 

Aunt Carol’s Yeast Rolls

 

1.  In a cup, mix ¼ cup of lukewarm water, a pkg. of active dry yeast and 1 T. sugar.  Set aside – Let rise. 

2.  In a large bowl, mix ¾ cup of lukewarm water and ¼ cup of Milnot Cream.  Stir in 1 cup of all purpose flour.  Fold in the yeast mixture.

3. Add 2 more cups of all purpose flour.  Mix – Knead – Let it rise.  After one rising, punch holes in dough with your fingers and let rise once more.  (Allow 2 to 3 hours for both risings)

4.  Butter your hands to shape the dough into small balls, place in a buttered pan.  Let rise once more.  (Up to an hour)   Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.