She's Back

Hello Bloggers, Browsers and Anyone Else!

First off my apologies because it has been forever since Daddy or I have written anything. I am sure you understand how busy life can get. Now that your favorite blog is beginning again (just kidding) you might be asking yourself "Why?".

I am currently a Freshman and I have decided that I need to narrow down my career options. What I mean by this is I think I would like to get a job in Medicine, Law, or Journalism. So I decided why not try and start  blogging again and see if I find it fun, like it, and want to do it forever. Also I thought that cyberspace might want to gain some very small nuggets of wisdom from me. 

Lastly, I think it will be cool if I post a quote at the bottom of every entry. So here is the first quote of many. 

"I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon." ~Tom Stoppard 

Have a great night!

Daughter 

Shrimp and Grits

Daddy here. Daughter and I made shrimp and grits tonight. We tried last weekend but the recipe was somewhat of a bummer. We did not, however, give up. We did some research and found two recipes from Food Network. Our final delicious recipe is based on two recipes: One from Bobby Flay and another from Joe Barnet. We highly recommend this version. Daughter is not a big shrimp fan so she sort of had bacon and grits! Let us know if you try it.

Daddy’s Shrimp and Grits

Makes 5 big servings

Grits 6 cups shrimp or seafood stock (e.g. Kitchen basics low sodium) Kosher salt 1 3/4 cups white quick grits (Any grits will work but adjust cook time as per box) 2 cups grated sharp Cheddar Freshly ground black pepper 6 green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish

Sautéed Shrimp 3/4 pound thick double-smoked cut bacon, cut into 1 inch squares 3 tablespoons pure olive oil 1 pound medium (~30 count) shrimp, shelled and deveined 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (Optional: 8-16 ounces sliced sugar cured country ham)

For the grits:

· Bring the stock and 1 teaspoons of kosher salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Slowly whisk in the grits and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking until the grits are soft and have lost their gritty texture, whisking every few minutes, about 10 minutes. If the mixture becomes too thick, add remaining extra stock or water and continue cooking until absorbed. Add the cheese about 5 minutes before serving and whisk until smooth; season with salt and pepper as desired.

For the shrimp and bacon (and ham):

· Place the optional ham on a cooking sheet and bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Remove and cut into squares to add the shrimp later.

· Simultaneously, place bacon in a medium pan (NOT NONSTICK) over medium heat and cook until golden brown and crisp and the fat has rendered. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels. You will place this over the shrimp later.

· Remove all but 4-5 tablespoons of the bacon fat from the pan and place back on the heat. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the olive oil to pan and increase the heat to medium high. Add the shrimp to the pan with the garlic. Sauté until golden brown on both sides and just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove shrimp to a plate. Reserve the garlic oil to drizzle over the finished dish.

· Divide the grits among 5 plates and top each with 8 shrimp and some of the bacon and/or ham. Drizzle the top with some of the bacon-garlic oil (that the shrimp were sautéed in) and sprinkle with some of the green onion.

Birthday thoughts from a lucky guy...

Here are my 47th birthday thoughts to my wife and kids, and my family and friends. I thank you all for the great life you have given me and I look forward to many more wonderful years with you all.

From the movie Meet Joe Black:

What a glorious night.

Every face I see is a memory.

It may not be a perfectly perfect memory.

Sometimes we had our ups and downs.

But we're all together and you're mine for a night.

And I'm going to break precedent and tell you my one-candle wish:

That you would have a life as lucky as mine,

where you can wake up one morning and say,

"I don't want anything more."

..forty-seven years.

--Don't they go by in a blink??

Amici's in Myrtle Beach!

Daughter here... Today Mommy and I spent a fun morning shopping, a relaxing afternoon at the ocean, and a lively night shopping and eating. First, in the morning, we went to Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle beach. We shopped around at a few boutiques. We finished by buying some delicious peanut butter chocolate swirl fudge. We spent the afternoon chilling by the gorgeous ocean with some girl magazines. On to dinner… after a rather lengthy drive from our hotel. We arrived at Broadway at the Beach. This is a large shopping center with some restaurants and attractions. We walked around a bit until we found a visitors center and asked for a map. We then went to Amici's Brick Oven and Italian Bistro. It was delicious and it has earned a spot on my top restaurant list. The decor was nice and basic but the food was great. Mommy and I decided to split a salad and entree. Our starter was sliced bread covered in butter and Italian spices. We ordered the Caprese Salad. On top of the modern looking plate there were sliced tomatoes and fresh in house made mozzarella cheese. They had a basil pesto drizzled on top. On the side there was cut up iceberg lettuce topped with a delectable balsamic vinegar. My only suggestion would be to have actual leaf lettuce not iceberg. We then received our entrees. We ordered Chicken Saltinbocca which is sauteed chicken cutlet in a lemon and mushroom sauce. On the side was linguine pasta with thinly sliced basil and prosciutto. The chicken was moist but by far the sauce was our favorite part. After that we were too stuffed to eat dessert. Overall Mommy and I give them a 9 out of 10. We will be visiting Amici's soon.

Amici's is located at:
1320 Celebrity Circle
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Call: 843-444-0006
or Fax: 843-448-8224

Daughter's off vacationing...

Daddy here… Mommy and Daughter are off on a gal’s vacation. The house is already looking worse for the wear. I miss them both!

Carrabbas on my own!

Daughter here! For the next couple of days I will be writing singular because my mom and I are in North Myrtle Beach! Daddy is home with the brothers. So… tonight we went to Carrabbas Italian Grill for dinner. We sat at the pizza bar. While we watched, the chefs cooked up delicious food and pizza. Our waitress was very personably and took time to talk to us. We then ordered our drinks. After a short wait we received our soft drinks. We then ordered our entrees. And to our surprise one of the line cooks gave us a complimentary appetizer. We received Zucchini Fritte. Which is julienned zucchini that was lightly battered and deep fried to a golden perfection. They were served with a spicy roasted garlic aioli. It was very hot when we it came but it was good. After another lengthy wait we received our soups and salads. That came with our entrees. I had a Pasta E Fagioli soup which is a white bean Italian pasta soup. It was very filling so I ended up not finishing it. My advice to Carrabbas is to have a smaller portion size so that the costumer will not waste your food. Mommy got a house salad with Italian vinaigrette. Mommy's review is that the lettuce was nice and crisp with carrots and celery the dressing was also delicious but there was too much of it. After another lengthy wait we received our entrees. I ordered the Chicken Cattacori with a rather watery tomato sauce on top of a rather gritty cheese polenta. It was very hot and I thought it was mediocre. My Mommy ordered Seafood Cannelloni. It was stuffed with lobster, shrimp, and scallops blended with roasted garlic and chives. The pasta was topped with crab and a light tomato sauce. My Mommy's review was: The dish was very rich and filling so she didn't finish but it was ok. Over all I give this Italian Resturante a 7 out of 10. The waitress was nice but the service was slow. It was cool that they let us watch them cook and the food was always extremely hot and filling. To find a Carrabbas near you go to:http://www.carrabbas.com/restaurant/locations/

Cookies for a cause - Japan

Daddy here... Daughter came up with the idea to make and sell cookies to help the people of Japan. I got to buy the ingredients and she is donating 100% of the proceeds to the Red Cross Japan Fund. The sale has been a big hit so far and I am very proud of her initiative.

http://cookiesforacausenc.blogspot.com/

Dear [Daughter] Cookies for a Cause NC,

The American Red Cross is acting swiftly to put your donation to work in communities affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific. We are supporting relief work to meet critical needs. On behalf of those we serve by our humanitarian mission, thank you.

As one of 186 Red Cross and Red Crescent societies around the world, we belong to a global humanitarian network of 13 million volunteers uniquely positioned to save lives and provide assistance to those affected by emergencies, such as the earthquake and tsunami in countries across the Pacific.

We’re grateful to have your support. To learn more about your gift at work, please visit redcross.org. On those rare occasions when donations exceed our American Red Cross expenses for a specific disaster, contributions are used to prepare for and serve victims of other disasters. Once again, thank you for your generous gift.

Sincerely,

The American Red Cross