A Time For Tea

I hosted a mother-daughter Christmas tea and had such a fun time planning something totally girly.  My mother was in town visiting from Atlanta, which gave me an excuse to banish the boys to the basement and entertain my friends and their sweet daughters.  It was the perfect way to kick off a season of merriment. 

My "Adpot a Daughter" Tea Party

Tablescape

I wanted the little girls to enjoy the "big girl" table with some finery without worrying

Homemade Fish Stock

One of the things that I miss about living in D.C. is the abundance of good, fresh seafood.  Fortunately, we have a fabulous seafood shop in town that flies food in from the coast - but you pay for it it.  Unfortunately, they do not "prep" food as some of the coastal shops do and thus, I am on my own when a recipe calls for fish stock.  So Saturday was spent channeling my inner Julia Child making homemade fish stock.  I thought I would share since this is not something you find or use every day.

Seafood Stock
Makes 1 Quart

1 pound shelled shrimp
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion - rough chop
3 carrots - rough chop
3 celery stalks - rough chop

1 clove minced garlic

1/2 cup white wine
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

bunch of fresh thyme springs - do nothing to them - just toss in

Shell the shrimp and save for another use.  Warm the oil over medium heat and saute the onion for 3 minutes, add the shrimp shells, carrots and celery and saute for 10 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for a minute more.  Add 6 cups of water, wine, tomato paste, salt, pepper and thyme.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for an hour.  Strain the liquid and you should have rendered a quart of fish stock.  Perfect base for a fish stew!

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Lee

Chicken Piccata

Sunday Supper is something I look forward to all week long.  Cooking is how I relax.  My youngest loves to help me in the kitchen too so it makes for a special time for us when he is in there with me.

In the summer, I find inspiration from our local farmer's market and seafood shop.  Each week during my shopping, I am really looking ahead to the next week's meal.  While I was on a mission for peaches and blueberries last week, I was drooling over all the squash and zucchini.  Needless to say, you'll be seeing lots of posts featuring squash and zucchini this week.  They accompanied our Chicken Piccata last night by simply being roasted in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil and a tablespoon of Nature's Seasoning blend.

I do my sauce differently than posted in the link for Chicken Piccata above.  I melt 4 tablespoons of butter, half a cup of white wine two tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, the juice of a lemon and the slices of one cut up lemon.  I bring to a boil, add parsley and then toss in some angel hair pasta (just enough to coat the pasta).  I plate the pasta quickly so it does not absorb all the sauce, top with the chicken, fish one of the lemon slices out of the sauce to go on top the chicken and drizzle with remaining sauce. 

Enjoy!

xoxo,
Lee

Heirloom Tomato Pie

It is hard to pass up fresh tomatoes at the Farmer's Market and my haul this week screamed to be made into a Tomato Pie.  So, of course, I obliged.

TO MAKE:

2 1/4 pounds tomatoes
1 sweet onion
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1 /4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup assorted herbs - I use basil, parsley and  thyme
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mayo
1 store bought pie crust or homemade pie crust

Slice tomatoes and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt.  Let stand for 10 minutes.
Saute the onion in the olive oil with a 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper
Mix cheese and mayo together.
Dry tomato with a paper towel.
Mix herbs with a teaspoon of pepper.
Layer tomato on bottom of pie crust, sprinkle a bit of pepper, add the onion, another sprinkle of pepper, spread the herbs across top, use remaining pepper and then top with cheese.

Coot at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

xoxo,
Lee

Low Country Boil and Tomato Pie

                                     

Most Saturday mornings you can find me at our town's Farmer's Market finding inspiration for weekend dinners.  I already knew Low Country Boil was on the menu for Saturday night but I wanted some fresh fruit to make James Farmer's Summer Salad.  

Bride's Biscuits with County Ham

Bride's Biscuits with County Ham

I was recently asked to prepare Ham Biscuits for a luncheon and wanted to share the recipe with y'all. These are great to have on hand for company, for a tailgate, luncheon......basically any excuse you can think of.  The biscuits are flavorful and fluffy and the salty bite of the country ham adds nicely.  You could add egg, bacon, sausage or pimento cheese too!  They are called "Bride's Biscuits" because (aside from the time it takes to make them) they really are foolproof.

1/4 oz envelope of active dry yeast
3 Tablespoons of warm water
1/3 cup sugar, divided
5 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter (cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
1 3/4 cups of buttermilk

Combine yeast with warm water and a teaspoon sugar and let stand for five minutes.

Whisk together flour and five tablespoons of sugar, cut in shortening and butter until crumbly.

Stir in yeast and buttermilk and stir until dry ingredients are moistened.

Turn dough out on floured surface and knead five times.  Place dough in a bowl lightly covered with plastic wrap and chill for at least 8 hours (I usually let sit overnight).

Turn dough out on floured surface and knead 8-10 times.  Roll to an 1/2 thickness and cut with a 2 1/4 inch biscuit cutter.  Arrange biscuits, sides touching, on an ungreased baking sheet.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and sit at room temperature for and hour and a half until they double in bulk.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake 16-18 minutes until golden brown.  Top with melted butter if desired.

Game Day Nachos

College football has returned and all is right with the world!!!  Y'all know I need an excuse to gather family/friends and whip up some food like I need a hole in the head, right?  And who doesn't love a good tailgate?

Once again, I am back sharing some of my favorite munchies that are perfect for a tailgate or even a gathering with friends.  I hope you enjoy and if you subscribe to the blog (click the follow by email button), I'll even email you a recipe card.

All this gooey cheese, beans, meat and seasonings takes about 15 minutes to whip together.  Now that is something to cheer about!

Enjoy!

xoxo,
Lee