Strawberry Sauce

This sauce goes great on the pancakes I just posted. Use leftovers on vanilla ice cream. Sweet!

Strawberry Sauce
a joyful foodie original

Ingredients:
1/2 pint of strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 splash vanilla

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a pot on the stove. Simmer for about 10 minutes, until sauce thickens. Serve warm on pancakes, waffles, french toast... whatever you fancy!

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Valentine's Day Pancakes

These are a great treat for any weekend morning, but are especially perfect for that annual heart-fest; Valentine's Day. I stumbled on this recipe on pinterest a few weeks ago and knew right away I had to try it. Who can resist a fluffy pancake recipe that claims to be the best? Certainly not I. This was the second time I made these, and they were superb both times. Make sure your baking soda is fresh, and your griddle not over hot, and these are foolproof.

Breaking news: I was just reminded that this Tuesday is Fat/Shrove Tuesday. For those of you not in the Mardi Gras/Lenten loop, that means pancake dinners, everywhere. Plan accordingly! Pancake supper time!

Ahem. Back to your regularly scheduled post. :)

Best Pancakes Ever
(Seriously, the hunt is over)
from Coleen

Ingredients:
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla


Directions:
1) Combine the milk and vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside and let it sour for 10 minutes while you prep dry ingredients. (You could substitute buttermilk here, but I promise the milk and vinegar way tastes AMAZING. Try it at least once.)

2) Combine dry ingredients (flour though salt) in a large bowl. (I use my standmixer, with the whisk attachment.)
3) Melt butter in microwave. Add vanilla and egg to butter if you are still waiting for milk to sour. (OR add directly to milk if you used the extra time on sauce *see tip below*)

4) Whisk together all wet ingredients and add slowly to dry ingredients. Whisk (again, I'm in the standmixer at this step) just until combined. Batter will be thick and slightly lumpy. Do not add extra liquid.

5) Let the batter rest for 10 minutes. Bubbles will start to form; do not stir.

6) Melt butter onto the hot griddle. Place adorable heart shaped molds on the griddle and spoon about 1/4 cup batter into the center and spread to the corners as needed. (Don't try a frying pan with the mold, unless it has a great flat bottom. Ours is old and warped and batter would leak right out.)

7) When the batter starts to bubble, and the mold can easily leave the edges of the pancake when wiggled, remove the mold and flip pancake.

8) Serve with warm maple syrup, or powdered sugar and fresh strawberry sauce (recipe here).

Let's all take a quick moment to admire how ADORABLE the hearts are. Ready? AWWWWW!
For me, they are doubly adorable because one of my soon to be brothers in law (the youngest) gave me the molds for Christmas. <3

Tips:
If it doesn't take you ten minutes to measure the dry ingredients (it takes me 5 at the most, if I'm distracted) use that time to prepare whatever sauce you are using. Hull strawberries for the strawberry sauce I've included here, or warm up maple syrup.
While you wait for the bubbles to appear in the batter, you can finish the sauce, cook bacon or sausage, and set the table.


Lucky for us, this recipe works in a small kitchen. We moved a couple months ago... into our first house! Well, condo, but we own it so it counts. I'll post before and after pictures once we pick paint colors for sure. <3 Anyways, the kitchen is small, but this recipe has perfect resting points for Brian to jump in and cook the bacon for me. (I don't do bacon. Eat it, absolutely. Cook it, no way. Well, not unless I have to.)

Reader participation time!
What is your favorite thing about your kitchen? Did it come with the house/apartment, or was it something you added or bought?

Superbowl Sundaes ;)

This has been one of my go-to dishes this fall. Easy, quick cleanup, ready when you get home from work. Its pretty healthy, as far as game day foods go, and if your crowd doesn't finish up the food, it freezes super well.

Barbecue Sundae
from Southern Living comfort food
You can take shortcuts by getting ingredients at a meat-and-three or favorite barbcue, but the pork is so easy in the slow cooker, why would you want to?? :)

Ingredients:
2 cups warm baked beans
2 cups coleslaw
1 pound warm shredded barbecued pork
Barbecue sauce*
Dill pickle wedges (optional)

Directions:
Divide baked beans among 4 small bowls, mugs, or wide-mouth jars; top each portion with 1/2 cup slaw, 1/4 pound shredded barbecue pork, and sauce. Serve with a dill pickle wedge, if desired.

Yields 4 servings, so double and triple away for a game day crowd.

*This family swears by Sweet Baby Rays. WWP+ is about 2pts per serving on that, which is plenty in a sundae.


Slow-Cooker Carnitas (or one rockin' pork starter) (5 WWP+ for 4oz serving)
from thekitchn
Ingredients:
1 (6-8 pound) pork butt, also called pork shoulder
2 tablespoons coarse salt
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp dried oregano
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
8 whole garlic cloves, smashed
4 chipotle peppers (canned or dried)
1 cup tomato juice
1 cup orange juice

Directions:
Trim excess fat from the meat and discard. Put all of the ingredients in the slow cooker. Set to cook on low for 8 hours. You can tell the meat is done when the house smells so good you can stand it any longer, and the meat falls off the bone. Shred the meat into a serving bowl.

Bonus tip, you can skim the fat off the juice and keep some to reheat the meat in. Great for storing leftovers in the freezer! I've had it keep as long as 3 months so far, but I can't resist it any longer than that, even for testing purposes. ;)
Yields about 26 servings



And my favorite slaw recipe? I'm so glad you asked.

Zesty Slaw (0 WWP+)
from the Food Network
4 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 head napa cabbage**, shredded
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
4 tbsp freshly sliced green onions
1 carrot peeled and shredded
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Whisk the rice wine vinegar, lime juice, canola oil, and sugar together in a small bowl.
Add the cabbage, cilantro, green onions, and carrot to a large serving bowl and combine. Drizzle with the dressing and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.

**Use judgement on the cabbage. If it looks like waaaaaaaaaay more than you need, half the recipe and stop chopping! It does keep for a couple of days though. :)



Not a fan of barbecue sauce? (I'm shocked you stayed this long!) Combine the pork and the slaw on a flour tortilla for a kickin' carnita instead!



What's your favorite Game Day recipe? And what's that one splurge item you can never resist?


EDIT: 2/10/13

I'm trying out something new, to give you guys some more options for saving favorite recipes. My go to method is to print full page and add to a binder, but I know a lot of people prefer recipe cards. Let me know if this method of printing works for you at all! :)

Bonefish Grill

I have always loved going out to eat. However, I have always wanted my food my way. My mom was impressed as a child when I once sent a plate of pasta back to the kitchen 4 times. Yes, 4. First, it wasn't specialized at all; normal sauce, and not what I wanted. The next two times it came out looking exactly the same; it had green stuff. (I believe now, looking back, that it was probably just finely chopped parsley.) Finally they got it right. Hey, I didn't say it was always easy eating out with me.

These days, the biggest challenge is finding a budget friendly place with food that still tastes better than I can cook at home. Usually that means we go Asian... I haven't ventured into Thai, Indian, or Sushi much yet. (Though I do have a killer shrimp curry dish that Brian made once to share soon.) When we go to the "big city" we have plenty of options, and many are even ok price wise. Of course places like Second Empire are a totally different story, and different blog post.

Our local options? Not so varied. Hence, the Asian. So when Bonefish Grill showed up recently, I was thrilled. I knew this one from Boston, but had never made it out. Very excited for the second chance!

I've been twice now; first time for drinks and dessert, second time for dinner. Totally different crowds, same great service. Shall we begin?

(All ratings out of 5 stars, slightly emotionally swayed by price point, and definitely based on the category. Wouldn't take bread over appetizer, for example.)

Bread 4 stars
The bread itself has a good texture. Served warm, good crust, soft insides. Sliced most of the way through so you don't mangle it trying to cut a slice. The oil really makes it though; its poured over pesto. YUM. Can totally do this at home, now that you have the idea. ;)

Appetizer
We got the special; Lobster Rangoon. 4 stars
Just enough crunch, rich filling. You get 6 on the plate, so plan on two plates if you've got more than two people. Good solid bits of lobster, you can tell its not a normal rangoon. Sauce is a great balance with it; you can just catch the hint of ginger, which is perfect. Only complaint was that a few over-puffed, leaving a disappointing hole when you bit in.

Entree(s)
Salmon with Warm Mango Salsa 3 stars
The salsa really made this fish. It was good fish, and had a nice wood grilled flavor, but it was a tiny bit dry. (I do mean tiny.) Really, quite satisfying. Best part? They have the salsa recipe on their website.

Pecan Parmesan Crusted Rainbow Trout 3.5 stars
Topped with artichoke hearts; genius. They add the best flavor! This one reheated pretty well as leftovers. My only complaint was that it wasn't as pecan crusted as my expectations. It had a lovely crust, but it was a lot more breadcrumb and parmesan feeling than pecan. I have a walnut rosemary chicken recipe that was guiding my expectations though. I may try this one at home soon. :)

Sides
Herbed Jasmine Rice 1.5 stars
I would have liked a lot more flavor from this side. I will try something different next time. Potatoes Au Gratin 2.5 stars
It was good. Served in a scoop. Probably not a be all end all potato for me, but good.
Garbanzo beans 2.5 stars
These were the seasonal vegetable. If I'd realized, I'd have gotten a steamed veggie instead of the rice. They well prepared, but very starchy compared to green veggies. They did have spinach sauteed with them, but I'm always thinking there should be more spinach.

Dessert
Chocolate Creme Brulee. 5 stars
Omg. I have this problem where if creme brulee is on the menu, I have to order it. It holds this sick fascination over me. I love cracking the sugar with a spoon. I love the crunch of it on my teeth. I can't help it. Any flavor, anytime. Boy did we get lucky with the chocolate. Just the right amount of bitter to off set the sweetness from the sugar crust. A hint of Grand Marnier that you almost have to look for. Fresh cream. We got the last one in the house, and I am so glad we did not miss out. YUM.

Drinks
Sparkling White Mango Sangria 4.5 stars
The mango wasn't in your face, and it wasn't sickly sweet or fake. They use fresh mango puree. It was topped with cinnamon which gave it a great smell and a nice zip. It was garnished with a slice each of lime and orange. I think mango would have been nice there, but I know there is a cost issue with that (plus they can keep sliced citrus better).
Fresh Cucumber Collins 4.5 stars
I'm still not a gin drinker (though apparently Hendrick's is more my cuppa than Bombay Sapphire or Tanqueray). But Brian enjoyed this a lot, and the cucumber was nicely balanced and refreshing.


The other visit I had the Pomegranate Martini (YUM) and the classic Creme Brulee (YUM).

Service both times was stellar. When we went for dinner it was packed. There was a 40 minute wait, but they came around with a sample of their chicken marsala and took drink orders. The service was quick and friendly, our waiter attentive without being intrusive. When I went for dessert and drinks, there weren't many people there. They gladly pushed tables together for our large group, and were quiet helpful even though we didn't order entrees or apps. Really pleased with the staff both visits. :)


***Sorry the pictures are not my usual quality. It was dark, my real camera was at a friend's house, and I was really hungry. XD

Sangria Saturday

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone! I know for most Americans this is just an excuse to have a taco and a Mexican beer, but the holiday does of course have deeper roots. Fortunately, recent years have brought us ignorant Americans greater enlightenment, so most people no longer believe that it is a Mexican Independence day. Before that wide information wave, the rumor probably started because 5th of May sounds so much like the 4th of July, but Mexico's independence is celebrated on September 16th. El Grito de Independencia is marked as the day that Father Hidalgo (and others) rang the bell of a local church to signal the start of their fight for liberty from Spain. My understanding is that original plans had the revolt starting in October, but they were discovered and started things a bit early. Just like my rum mixing this morning. ;) ;)

No, Cinco de Mayo marks the Battle of Puebla, an unlikely win the Mexican army pulled against French forces during the American Civil war. That was about 50 years after Hidalgo did his thing.

And since the Spanish had nothing to do with Cinco de Mayo, I have no problem serving (vaguely) Spanish Sangria at my boyfriend's birthday party tonight. While I love celebrating Mexican heritage and culture (and all cultures!) I love celebrating him more. ;)


The ingredients for this recipe are approximate, and per pitcher. If you are having more than 6-8 people over, I recommend 2 pitchers and up. You don't need very many glasses of this stuff to really really feel it, but it is super tasty with all the fruit and people will come back for more! The apples soak up rum really well and give a great burst when you bite them. YUM.

Sensational Sangria
a joyful foodie original

Ingredients:
750ml bottle of red wine*
1 1/2 cups spiced rum
1/2 cup sugar
1 orange, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
1 lime, sliced
1 apple, cubed
any extra fruit you can find, including strawberries, blueberries, peaches, plums, pineapple, mango, etc. (I've never tried banana...hm.)
1 can lemon-lime soda or flavored seltzer

Directions:
Wash ALL fruit (even the citrus, the peel is going in the pitcher). Slice all citrus into thin rounds. (Be sure you start at the stem, so you get a nice cross section. Chop the apple into bite size pieces. Add rum, sugar, and fruit to a pitcher. Stir or swirl to make sure the sugar isn't sitting on top of the fruit and is down in the rum and to coat all fruit.

Chill for at least 6 hours, overnight would be best! You can speed it up if you must, but maybe use simple syrup instead of sugar so it is dissolved.
In the morning, or at least 2 hours before party time, add the red wine and continue chilling.
When ready to serve, add 1 can of lemon-lime soda OR 1 1/2 cups of seltzer in a complementary flavor (think: mixed berry seltzer if you went heavy on the berries, etc).



*Red wine note: I've always used box wine. That works out to be 3.17 cups of red wine, so I do basically 3 1/4. A little extra wine won't hurt. ;) If you want to use an actual bottle, I've heard really good things about Blackberry Merlot in this recipe. :)


Tips and tricks:

If you are an organic produce shopper, this might be a good occasion to bend your rules. Usually, you only need to buy organic produce that you will not peel, ie apples, pears, berries, etc. However, the whole peel is going in the pitcher on this recipe, so if you are really conscious of pesticides etc, consider picking up all your fruit on the organic wall of your local shop this time. :)


If you are having a big big party, and going big punch bowl with this one, you can expect to need something more like:
2 apples, 3 oranges, 3 limes, 3 lemons, 2 quarts of strawberries, and much more of a 5L box of wine!

Depending on your punch bowl this is super easy to scale. Basically, you want 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 cups rum for every three cups red wine. Keep in mind that a box of wine is almost 7 bottles (like 6 2/3), so you can scale up a LOT with one box, but you will need extra bottles of rum. (I need a whole 750ml bottle of rum for 3 pitchers, consider doing a handle if you are scaling up a lot.)
Add as much fruit as you want from there!! The more the better, really! It makes the punch bowl super pretty and adds such great flavor.


If you don't have a punch bowl and want to have refills handy, soak extra fruit in rum and sugar in a sealed container in the fridge. Then you can add to the pitchers as necessary throughout the night. The balance won't be quite the same, or mingled, but people will be quite a bit along and they won't notice. ;) Do keep an eye on the fruit though, as people tend to try to snitch pieces. XD


Whatever you are up to this lovely cinco de mayo, I hope you have a lovely time at it. And maybe have an extra one for me. ;)
Joyfully yours!
Kristen



Edit 2/10/13: I'm trying to make my recipes more printer friendly. If you like this format for printing, please do drop a comment and let me know so I can decide how best to proceed with user-friendlyfying this place!

Chocolate Lava Cakes

I am so excited about this recipe I have to start the post before they are even finished cooking!! The last chocolate lava cake recipe I tried was from Cooking Light. They were just OK. They called for espresso powder and I found they were just a little too... dark. The flavor was kinda smokey. Don't get me wrong, we ate most of the cakes the batch yielded, but I knew there had to be better.
Tonight's recipe came from my new favorite blog. I found it while trying to refresh my memory on an old favorite salmon recipe. The pictures are gorgeous, the recipes simple and encouraging, and the whole thing made me completely miss cooking. As you may have noticed (or forgotten due to my looooooong absence), I have had a new teaching position this year. (Did I even mention? 4th grade math.) It has been exhausting (beyond any teaching job I've had before, with the exception of student teaching and the semester with mono).

Brian has done all of the cooking since I got the job.

I think I have made breakfast two or three times on the weekends. And there was a chicken pot pie (which he learned how to make and made the next time). And something else more recently... that I can't remember.

So when I stumbled on this blog tonight, I was... engrossed. Perhaps obsessed. Every few entries was another "ohhh, I want to try this one" or "Oooooh, look at this picture!!" So while Brian finished making our salmon dinner, I read about lemon poppyseed cake and latkes and chocolate lava cakes. After dinner I seemed restless. When queried as to what was the matter, I whined, "I miss cooking." Brian asked if I wanted to make dessert. He had trouble reading my reaction, as I limped my tired feet back to the couch to check the still open laptop. Did I have the ingredients for those magically looking molten chocolate piles of heaven?? Butter... check, Brian restocked tonight. Eggs... check, exactly the right amount. Flour... always. Semi-sweet chocolate... I buy the chips in bulk at Costco. Powdered sugar... I always have powdered sugar, in case there is a frosting emergency. And whipped cream. Hmmm. Maybe?? There was a can at least... maybe?? Brian checks; there is! HOORAY! I leap into action.

Everything on the counter.

No powdered sugar.

I realize then that I have not baked since we arrived in August. Well, French Toast while the family was still here. But not a cake. Nothing with icing. All the powdered sugar I remembered was in Massachusetts. Not North Carolina. I had decided it was cheap enough to not bother packing, and left it for the roommate (who also bakes). That would save me worrying about a powdered sugar explosion in the moving boxes.
Then I got the job. And stopped cooking, for reasons of sanity. Lesson plans, assessments, paperwork, new acronyms, filing systems, 53 fourth graders (at last count, if the "he moved" rumors prove false). o.0

Brian, seeing my disappointment, ran to the store. Is that love or what? (I joke sometimes I can't tell if it is of the dessert or me, but we all know. <3) So now they are happily baking! The batter sure tastes better than last time. And smells fantastic. So without further ado... the recipe!! Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes
from Rachel at homesweetandsavory

4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
½ cups butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 whole eggs
2 whole egg yolks
6 tbsp flour
Whipped cream
Extra chocolate for topping

Preheat oven to 425˚.
Spray 4 ramekins liberally with cooking spray and place on cookie sheet.
Microwave chocolate and butter in large bowl on high for about 1 minute, until butter is melted. Whisk until chocolate is also melted.
Stir in sugar until well blended.
Whisk in eggs and egg yolks. Stir in flour.
Divide between cups.
Bake 15 minutes until sides are firm and centre is soft. Let stand 1 minute.
Top with whipped cream and shaved chocolate.


I did not modify this at all, as Rachel's recipe looked fantastic. I think my batter was a little less moist than hers, and her tops look more like my brownies in the middle, but all around I am drooling at the smells from the oven. I'm at the agonizing "let it cool for one minute" phase.


Combine the chocolate and butter. (I don't think this looks like enough chocolate... I will fiddle with my balance next time since I had possible moisture issues due to measuring errors (?) with the chips. I have been reallly tired today.)


Even if the chocolate doesn't look completely melted, take it out at 1 minute or less. It will blend in with the hot butter, and you don't want to mess with burned chocolate. I took it out after 45 seconds since the chips are smaller than chopped chocolate.


Whisk to blend butter and chocolate. Resist sticking your finger in the chocolate at this point. Pure chocolate and butter tastes so decadent you might not finish the recipe.


Add powdered sugar, stir in. Then add flour and stir in. (I was too impatient for seperate pictures. XD)


Put batter into spouted cup for easy pouring.


Rachel says to coat with cooking spray until you think it is enough and then add more. She must be right, these popped right out without any trouble.


Filled ramekins. This was about 1/2 cup batter per dish.


This cake was so molten it couldn't wait to be served.


Enjoy!


It was quite good in the end. I think there are a few things I need to tweak next time. Mine seemed drier at the batter stage, roughly judging by picture, and I think I should have trusted that. Next time I will use baker's chocolate instead of semi-sweet chips to get a more accurate measurement of chocolate and if it looks dry I will trust it and add a little oil.


Joyfully,
Kristen

New Grill -- Shrimp and Pineapple Kebabs

There is nothing like grilling in the summer. We've been fortunate in Boston to have either my landlord's grill or my roommate's grill, so we've never had one of our own. Luckily there were never any "ugh, they left the gas on AGAIN?!" moments or surprises. Once we got here it seemed important to find a grill as quickly as possible. It happened pretty quickly... we found one today! Best part? It was free!! Thanks be to craigslist. A very kind gentleman posted a grill his friend had left behind, and was asking $20. The starter is broken, it has some slight cosmetic rust, but it works! And he didn't want a dime. Said he didn't want scrap metal seekers bothering him. Bonus; he took one look at Brian's compact car and threw it in his mini van.



To celebrate, we've had two of three meals hot off the grill today. :D Basic hotdogs for lunch, and never fails to make me swoon shrimp and pineapple kebabs for dinner. Wouldn't you know this is another recipe I can't recall where I first saw it? I know I read it the first time... I've just made it from memory - or as close as I can get - every time since then.

Shrimp and Pineapple Kebabs
from ???

40 raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails on)
1 pineapple (you'll use about 3/4 of it)
1 red onion
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 tbsp sesame seeds

Cut up the pineapple; start by cutting off the top leafy part. Then cut down the sides to shave off the outside spiny bits. Then cut off the bottom outside bit. If you look at the middle, there is a core - this part is woody and not good for nomming on. Cut off sections of the pineapple leaving that part behind, just like you would an apple. If you cut too far into it, you'll know, just trim it off. Cut those pineapple portions down into rough cubes, about 1 inch chunks. The idea is that the pineapple will char before the shrimp, and help protect it from overcooking and drying out, so don't get them too small. Plus, they split when skewered if they're too small.
Of course you can skip all that if you are substituting canned pineapple cubes. ;)

Cut the red onion into quarters or eighths (depending on number of skewers planned, and how cooked you want the onion). My pictures show eighths.

Toast the sesame seeds for a couple of minutes. Do not burn them! I find 4 minutes at 350*F is usually enough, it may finish faster in a toaster oven (I don't remember toaster times, and don't have a new toaster yet to try it).


Mix the sesame seeds with the teriyaki sauce.


Recruit a partner to help skewer the ingredients. I go every other pineapple, shrimp, pineapple and so on. Make sure you have a pineapple on each end; this helps keep the slippery shrimp in place, and boosts them off the grill. Put a red onion quarter/eighth near the middle of the skewer. Keep going until all skewers are full! We got 6 skewers out of the ingredients listed. It just depends on the size of your shrimp and pineapple pieces.





Use a silicone basting brush to brush on the sauce/seed mixture. The silicone really grabs the seeds, I was pleased with how easy this made it. Just brush them off on the pineapple chunks!



Grill for about 6 minutes, turning once. Shrimp are done when pink. Make sure they aren't grey, but don't leave them on the grill to dry out!




Tips:
*to pick a pineapple, look for 3 things: color, smell, leaves. Color: it should be yellow, not green or brown, over much of the outside. Some green or some brown is ok, but too much means its either not ripe yet or past the ideal. Smell: if you smell near the base of the pineapple or the yellowest parts, it should smell like pineapple! Funny thing, huh? Leaves: my mom's fiance Steve swears by the leaf trick; grab a leaf and pull... if it comes out, its probably ripe. If they don't budge, don't buy it.
* you can easily sub a can of pineapple chunks if fresh pineapple isn't affordable/available/ripe.
* grill the extra pineapple to serve with vanilla ice cream for dessert. You can chill it a couple of days and then nuke it for a few seconds and it will still have that smokey grilled flavor. You can even make a simple glaze for it... though I bet a simple carmel sauce drizzled over it would be yummy.
* this can be prepped a few hours in advance. Then you're all set to throw them on the grill at dinner time! I wouldn't do it more than 4-6 hours early... you don't want the pineapple to dry out or anything weird. I'm too excited to eat this recipe to try longer advance prep times!
* Get the kids involved making their own skewers! Just be sure to help them with the onions (if they want onions... I don't eat them, but Brian loves them) since they can be tricky to stab through.
Notes on skewers: Some people swear by metal skewers. I haven't gotten around to buying a set yet. I find the wooden ones you pick up at the grocery store work fine. For shrimp, you don't usually have to do the pre-soak step because the cook time is so short. However, if you want to cook something that has to be well done (like chicken, or thick steak), soak the skewers in water for around 20 minutes before you load them up and grill. Once we get to more chicken and beef grilling, I may revisit my stance on not getting the metal ones. ;)


Tonight I served the kebabs with sliced French bread. It was handy and quick. This is also lovely with rice, cous cous, or grilled pita or naan slices. Start the meal with an appetizer salad while you wait, or be sure to have an extra helping of greens at lunch. ;) Just don't try to do too much once the kebabs are assembled - shrimp grills up really fast! (And gets cold quickly.)



Joyfully,
Kristen


PS: I just hit 1000 site visits! Thanks guys! :D