Eating My way Across Iowa Day One

Hey Guys-

So the Dude and I are eating our way across Iowa- It all started when we go lost in Omaha because of the flooding of the Missouri River and we ate at an Applebees in Omaha.  Yes, I know Omaha is in Nebraska and eating at Applebees isn't really a culinary feat- but we were hungry and sometimes hunger wins out over culinary excellence. Besides, Chris Santos was in line with me at the Dunkin Donuts in the Airport and if Santos sometimes skips on culinary excellence, I figure I can too.

As a side note- the flooding of the Missouri River is awful and will have a major impact on farmers and food production, which translates into higher food costs for quite some time. Pray for those who were most affected by the flooding and give a little to your local food bank.

Anyhow- after we finally
got unlost and ended up at one of my favorite sister and brother in laws house, I got down and dirty in their kitchen.  We had these HUGE Iowa Chops on the grill, sweet corn and garden ripe tomatos- simple, delicious and perfect food.  I did a wicked fast marinade of garlic, orange juice, beer and Jack  For desert I used local apples to make an apple crisp- life was good.

Here is one of the recipes- what? I am on vacation
Pork Chops in Orange Garlic Marinade

•  4 Large (3/4-1 inch thick) Bone in Pork Chops
• 1/4 Cup Jack Daniels or other Burbon
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and rough chopped
• 1 can beer
• Juice of one orange
• 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1 TBSP Kosher Salt
• 1 Tbsp Chili Powder
• 1 Tbsp Onion Powder
• Pinch of dry sage
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

In bowl, mix all ingredients except for the chops.  
Put the chops in gallon Zip Lock Bag
Pour the Marinade over the chops- reserve one cup of marinade
Seal the bag and put the bag in a bowl (to catch anything if the bag leaks)
 Let sit for at least 30 minutes or over night- if sitting for more than 30 minutes, put in the fridge


Remove chops and Grill on Hot grill-8-10 minute per side, or until a thermomemter stuck in reads at least 145 degrees farenheit- basting with the reserved sauce.


Let rest for 10 minutes and then enjoy....


Ahh- Back to the pool--- soon- gorging on fair food...
 

Busy Night- Garlic Shrimp to the rescue!

So the dude, also known as my husband, and I are crazy busy- and there are nights that finding time to make a meal at home is a challenge.  We try to eat at home, together, as often as possible.  On the nights that have us heading in different directions, we usually have salad and some sort of down and dirty protein- like broiled chicken, or, our favorite- Gambas Ajillio (Garlic Shrimp.)  This is a dish that can be thrown together in ten minutes flat and is awesome! It is also very easy for beginners to make and can make you look like a kitchen pro if you take it to a potluck.  It has the added bonus of making your house smell AWESOME!!  This was one of my favorite things to eat when I lived in Spain, so I was uber excited to come up with a rendition that was close to the Chicken-in-the Dirt version.
Here it is:
Garlic Shrimp

1 Pound EZ peel shrimp- NOT peeled- thawed
1 head Garlic, peeled- or 8-10 cloves of the pre-peeled stuff- sliced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 Cup white wine
1 TBSP Kosher Salt
1/4 cup olive oil
Parsley- if you want

In a large skillet on medium heat, heat olive oil.  Once hot, put half of the sliced garlic in and stir for a minute then add shrimp, stir for 1-2 minutes, add the remaining garlic, wine, pepper flakes and salt. Bring to boil, once at a boil remove from heat and serve. 
Yes, you will have to peel at the table, but that is fun.  Serve with a salad and thick slices of French bread to sop up the juices.

This will become a family favorite!

Deviled Eggs & Peach Cobblers---OH MY!!

So, today was our church's home-coming picnic and barbeque.  This was my sixth home coming picnic at this church and we celebrated the 243rd Anniversary of the church. My Church- Old Pine Street was known as the "Church of the Patriots" during the Revolutionary War- it has been known, since 1768, as a place where socially minded progressives are welcome to come and worship God. Today, was also, as we know, the tenth anniversary of the horrible attacks on 9-11-01 on the  Twin Towers, Pentagon and Shanksville,PA. I would be remiss to not say that I didn't spend time thinking about all the lives that have been lost in pursuit of Liberty and Justice- whether by purposefully setting out to defend it, as our sailors & soldiers have done and continue to do, or as those who perished ten years ago did- just going to work and living the way they did. There is respect and honor in both. We need to remember this- the terrorists did not and will not win! We need to remember, and we need to proceed on with our lives.  Celebrating 243 years of service for the church that we have called ours since we moved to Philly seems an appropriate tribute.

Anyhow- My husband was the grill master and he did a pretty A-OK job- only a few of the hot dogs, burgers and veggie burgers were sacrificed to the coals in an attempt to feed our fellow parishioners. This picnic was also a potluck, and while there was a usual assortment of salads and deserts, there seemed to be an exceptional number of peach cobbler and deviled eggs.  For the first time in my life, there were left overs of both cobbler and deviled eggs. There were at least 4 different peach desserts (3 of which were cobblers) and 6 batches of deviled eggs- that's right- 6 batches!! Now, we all love peach cobbler, and deviled eggs, and most of us know that others love these dishes too, so it is fairly reasonable to see how and why we ended up with multiples.  I brought both (and a potato salad- I feel the need to over compensate...) I also talked to people who brought one or the other and the reason that was given was because they knew others liked them and that they just never thought to make them for just their household.  Why not?  Cobblers are easy.  Deviled eggs are easy.  Every body loves them.  Why shouldn't we make them for those we live with?

In that vein- here is my recipe for Cobbler:


4 Cups of fruit or berries- peel and chop pit fruit, wash and rinse berries, core and chop apples or pears.
2 cups flour
1 cup melted butter, devided
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup half and half or milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fairenheit
Put fruit in a 9x13 baking pan.
Pour 1/2 cup butter over the fruit
Sprinkle brown sugar over the fruit and butter mixture
In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients.  Once thoroughly mixed, spoon on top of fruit.
Bake for one hour.  Serve warm or cold with whipped cream or good vanilla ice cream.


Deviled eggs recipe to come...

Say a prayer for those that gave all, or are willing to give all, and those that love them


Old Pine Street Church

Chocolate Love

It has been a while since my last post- we have had a fairly stressful summer here in Kreieki land.  I am hopeful that we are done with family emergencies and no one else I love gets sick for a while. 

Last Monday my father in law passed away.  He would have been 92 in October.  He was one of the kindest, gentlest men I have ever known, and he, with his wife raised three great kids- Every one should have the blessing of being married into a great family.  The last line of his Obituary read "He loved his wife, his family, cake, ice cream and fudge." That about sums him up.  He was never very far from chocolate of some sort, usually mini chocolate bars.  His kids each had a story about his fudge addiction. My husbands favorite was how his dad would make fudge on Sunday nights to go with the popcorn they would have as a treat.  In honor of this great man-I say go forth and eat chocolate.

I can't give out my Mom's Fudge recipe under threat of being disowned, however, a close second, if you want to make fudge is to use the recipe on the back of Krafts Marshmallow Cream...