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

We saw a Holocaust survivor yesterday

Yesterday Daddy and I went and saw Frieda E. Roos-van Hessen speak. We also met her briefly as she signed a copy of her book for us. She is a lady who survived the Holocaust and Nazi occupation of Holland as friends and family were lost to Nazi annihilation.


More info from her book:


Ms. Roos-van Hessen was also one of Holland's foremost concert and opera singers before the war. At 19, she sang the lead for the Dutch version of Walt Disney's Snow White. At 24, she was the soloist in a performance of Verdi's Requiem for the Dutch Royal Family. The future could not have seemed brighter until she was forced into hiding when the Nazis invaded Holland.


She is now 91 years old and still tells about her hiding, miraculous escapes, and determination to survive some of the worst horrors this world has ever seen.
It is important for testimonies such as this one, to come forth to affirm the truth of that dark period in current history and to uplift the hope for a brighter future for generations to come.


She was an inspiration to Daddy and me. She survived so much yet did not let it keep her down. It is an amazing story. You can borrow my book when we are done...


http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Swastika-Frieda-Roos-van-Hessen/dp/0974134589

Bye Bye Birdie

Daddy here… Daughter and I went to see Bye Bye Birdie tonight on the other side of town. It was an absolute riot. It has been so long since I was forced to watch it in high school and now have a new appreciation for it. Daughter loved it too. The actors who played Rosie and Albert were amazing and Albert’s mom was a hysterical terror. Daughter said that after watching Kim’s dysfunctional family (crazy father and nutty brother) she thinks we are pretty normal! I must say that I still do not like Conrad!

Chelsea Cafe 9 out of 10

Today for lunch Daddy and I went to the Chelsea Cafe located on 1007 Slater Rd, in Durham, North Carolina. It is run by David and Rhonda Jones; two of our favorite people. I ordered a spinach quesadilla. It was delicious. It was filled with mushrooms, cheese, and spinach. The quesadilla was served with a small salad consisting of lettuce and tomatoes. I also bought a brownie, which was delightful. On top of the actual brownie was a layer of hardened chocolate, which added a little something special. Yum Yum! Daddy got a Mediterranean special wrap, an oatmeal cookie and a banana. It was all fantastic! 9 out of 10! Great people, great food, great value. Visit them today!

Saffron Indian Resturant

Do you want to have a nice night out in a cozy restaurant with spicy traditional Indian food. Well then Saffron might be the place. It's where Daddy and I ate tonight. It is not perfect but the food is actually pretty good for curry lovers. Saffron is located in Morrisville, North Carolina conveniently near Research Triangle Park. The atmosphere was loud but fun. The only issue for Daddy and me was a TV that was near the bar which seemed out of place in a nice restaurant. The decor was modern and Indian inspired. We sat near a wall and it was pretty dirty. This thoroughly grossed us out. The service was ok but there were many gaps and we had a different waitress every time. I felt that they just went in circles never really trying to check on us to see if we needed more water or soda. It did give Daddy and me plenty of time to talk about our next adventure! All the waiters were polite and friendly.

Our starter was Papadam bread. This is a thin and crispy wafer bread (think thin Tortilla chips) with three sauces. The first sauce was a cilantro pesto, the second a thin yogurt tzatziki, and last an apple infused barbecue. We then ordered our meal and received our drinks. I ordered a Mango Lassi which was delicious it tasted just like you were biting into a fresh mango. I could drink this every day! Daddy loved it too! Our appetizer was Tandoori Paneer-- homemade cheese, stuffed with mint and garnished with the same cilantro and barbecue sauces. In our opinion the fried cheese tasted too much like scrambled eggs. After a rather lengthy wait our entrees came. I ordered Lamb Chop Masala-grilled lamb chops cooked in a spicy curry sauce served with potato wedges. I found the lamb to be very moist in delicious but it was drenched in an inferno hot curry sauce. If you could take the pain it was delicious! It was a big entree and I brought plenty home in a doggy bag. Daddy got Lamb RoganJosh-a traditional north Indian lamb curry, served with long grained white rice. It too was spicy but the rice helped balance out the flavor. It was a little oily but in a delicious way. We also order some basil naan bread. It was really yummy, buttery, and perfect to dip in the thick curry sauce on our entrees.

After another long wait, we ordered desert and coffee. The coffee was average according to Daddy. I think he is waiting for us to hit a Turkisk restaurant to get some real coffee! We then received our desert: Mango Kulfi-a traditional mango ice cream. I found the ice cream to not be creamy at all. In fact it was rather icy like a sorbet. It also tasted like someone had replaced some of the sugar with salt. Not a favorite of mine but Daddy loved it. Overall we give this restaurant 6.5 out of 10. They need to clean up the place a bit and train the waiters to be attentive but the food raised the score. For more information and to see the menu, please visit http://www.saffronnc.com/home.html

Whole Foods

We are pleased to say that a Whole Foods has opened in nearby! As you probably know, it is a spectacular store with anything and everything a chef or nutritionist will ever want or need.

Daddy's wallet will never survive!

For more information please visit their store website at http://wholefoodsmarket.com

You'll want to visit this amazing store today! ...and then head to Trader Joes!