Grilled Shrimp Skewers with Lime Blossom Honey Dipping Sauce

Grilled Shrimp Skewers with Lime Blossom Honey

 Dipping Sauce 

Fresh shrimp from the savannah coast is reason enough to keep it on the menu often.
We've given you another reason, our lime blossom honey.
This is just one of many ways you can pair the two lovelies together
for a refreshingly sweet and savory snack.

12-16 shrimp 

zest and juice of one lime

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar 

1 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons Lime Blossom Honey

Soak 8 inch wooden skewers in water for about 30 minutes. 

This will prevent the wood from burning on the fire. 

Remove the shells from the shrimp, leaving on only the tail.  

Starting at the tail side first, thread the pointed end of the skewer through the middle of the shrimp until you have skewered the entire shrimp. the end of the shrimp should be at the edge of the flat end of the skewer, without any edges showing.  Continue until you have skewered all of the shrimp. 

Refrigerate until ready to toss with sauce and grill. 

To make the marinade and dipping sauce: 

In a medium bowl, add the lime zest and juice, vinegar, salt and honey. Whisk until smooth. 

Divide the mixture in half. Toss the skewered shrimp with one part of the sauce just before cooking.  Let the shrimp marinate with the sauce for about 15-20 minutes.  Use the remaining sauce to serve with the grilled shrimp. Serve the shrimp warm or at room temperature. 

Serves 6- 8 as an appetizer 

or 

4 as a main course. * 

*Serve with a gorgeous green jade pearl bamboo rice from our friends at Lotus Foods. 

Buon appetito! copyright 2011 Alisa Barry

Chickpea Pasta with Parmesan & Kale

It’s a cold but brilliantly sunny early winter afternoon.  It’s just me and my dog jack, both curled up on the couch. Me with a book and he with his eyes closed and an occasional twitch of his two hind feet.

My stomach reminds me that it hasn’t yet eaten lunch, which propels me to the large double doors where the pantry provisions are stored.  Pasta!  I spot a jar of garlic chickpeas and remember a few wilted leaves of the last of the garden kale  buried in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator.
I love the idea of using a few odds and ends to throw together  a feast.

Chickpea pasta with parmesan & kale

Ingredients:

2 cups of bite-sized dried pasta, such as rigatoncini, orecchiete or

a few leaves of kale , cut into thin ribbons {use any garden greens on hand}

2 Tablespoons garlic chickpeas in their oil,  slightly crushed

grated parmesan cheese

Heat a pot of salted water until it comes to a rolling boil.

Toss a handful of the cut kale into the boiling water along with the pasta.

Cook the pasta until it’s tender to the tooth.   

Though I don’t normally cook kale to death,  this method is more a matter of ease.  
Surprisingly,  it yields a delicious melt-in-your mouth texture. 

While the pasta and kale drain of it’s excess water in a colander, I grab what’s left of a once-substantial piece of parmesan.  Tender snowflakes of cheese fall gracefully into a ceramic bowl, inviting the other ingredients to join the feast.   

Toss the pasta, kale, parmesan and chickpeas together .  Grate another Tablespoon or two of the parmesan on top.  

Buon appetito!

Caesar Salad with Meyer Lemon Dressing

 Caesar Salad with Meyer Lemon Dressing

3 eggs 

1 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic
juice of half lemon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper 

3 Tablespoons Meyer Lemon Relish
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 filets anchovies {salt pack is best}
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese {use the good stuff, please}

1 head of romaine lettuce, tender young leaves best 

Fill a small sauce pan with water and bring to a boil.

Carefully lower in the eggs, trying not to crack the shell. 

Cook one egg for five minutes, and the other two eggs for eight minutes, removing in soaking in cold water to stop the cooking.  Let cool.   Set aside the eggs cooked for eight minutes.  

Cut the five minute egg in half. Remove the runny yolk into a
large mixing bowl {big enough to toss the greens}.

Add the lemon garlic, salt and pepper. Mix until smooth.
Rinse and remove any bones of the anchovies, as needed.
Chop the filets {use less or more depending on preferred taste}. 

Add the meyer lemon relish, lemon juice,  anchovies and 2 Tablespoons of the
Parmesan cheese and stir to incorporate all the ingredients. 

To assemble the caesar salad: 

To prepare the salad, remove any big, tough outer leaves of lettuce and set aside for another use. 

Slice the remaining head of lettuce into four quarters. Remove the core and disgard. 

Toss the lettuce with the dressing until well coated, but not drenched.  

Place the dressed lettuce onto a plate or platter.  Scatter a Tablespoon or two of grated Parmesan over the dressed salad greens.   Cut the eggs in half and arrange around the lettuce leaves.  Sprinkle the eggs with fresh cracked pepper. Serve with Parmesan crostini. 

To make crostini:
Preheat oven 350 degrees.
Slice a baguette into ½ inch slices and place on a sheet pan.  Brush the baguette slices lightly with melted butter.  Sprinkle 1 teaspoon grated parmesan cheese onto each slice. Bake for 10 minutes  or until golden brown. 

Serves 2-4 

Buon appetito! copyright 2011 Alisa Barry

Bella's Meyer Lemon Tart

Bella's Meyer Lemon Tart

Meyer lemons are a sweet citrus typically found in California.  Said to be a cross between a tangerine and a lemon, the flavor is almost floral and aromatic.   Using the jarred Meyer lemon is a real time saver for this delicious dessert! 

For the Dough:

1 ½ cups all- purpose flour

¾ cup powered sugar

1 Tablespoon Bella Cucina Preserved Lemons, rinse, discard pulp, and chop

Pinch kosher salt

12 Tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cold cut into cubes

For the Filling:

2 cups Bella Cucina Meyer Lemon Spread

2 Tablespoons sugar

5 egg yolks

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit

To Prepare the Tart Dough:

In food processor or stand mixer, process flour, powder sugar, lemons, and salt until combine.  Add the butter and process until the dough just comes together.  Remove from the bowl and knead by hand until dough is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap until ready to bake.  Keeps up to three days in the refrigerator and one month in the freezer.

Press the dough into a 9 in tart pan with removable bottom. Chill dough 15 minutes.  Prick the base of the tart shell all over with a fork, line tart shell with parchment and weigh with pie weights or dried beans.  Bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes.  Remove pie weights and parchment and allow shell to cool.

To Prepare the Filling:

Place a medium saucpan, filled half way with water over medium heat and bring to a simmer.  Put the egg yolks into a medium metal bowl. Put the lemon cream in a small bowl along with the sugar and place over the simmering water.  Continuously wisk the cream until hot through and the sugar is dissolved.  Whisk the lemon cream, a third at a time, into the yolks.  Place the mixture into a clean saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until very thick.  Remove from heat and strain.  Imeadiatly pour into the cooled shells and allow to set up at room temperature.

Buon appetito! copyright 2012 Alisa Bar

Tempting & Simple: Roasted Sweet Balsamic Peppers with Goat Cheese

Buon appetito! copyright 2012 Alisa Barry