Shrimp Corn Chowder with Cilantro Chile Puree

The Cook is Kayaking

Ingredients for chowder

1 bottle (12 oz) beer
2 cups water
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

5 TBS unsalted butter
1 large onion, minced
3 stalks celery, chopped fine
2 carrots, peeled and chopped fine
1/2 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 TBS dried oregano
1 TBS ground cumin
1 tsp dried thyme
3 TBS unbleached flour
3 cups chicken stock (low sodium)
4 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (6-8 ears)
1/2 cup light cream
1 cup milk
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Pepper to taste

Preparation

1.  Heat the beer and 2 cups water, the bay leaf, and red pepper flakes in a 2 quart pan-to boiling.
2.  Add the peeled and deveined shrimp and cook 2-3 minutes-until done. Drain the shrimp immediately, reserving the liquid.  Return the liquid to the pan and boil until the liquid is reduced by half.
3.  Melt the butter in a large stockpot over medium heat.  Add the onion, celery, carrots, and bell pepper.  Cook, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes.  Stir in the oregano, cumin, thyme and flour. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.
4.  Add the reduced cooking liquid, the chicken stock, and the corn to the pot.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Simmer uncovered or 20 minutes.
5.  Cut each shrimp into 4 pieces and add half the shrimp to the soup (reserve half of the shrimp pieces.) Remove from the heat.  Stir in the cream and milk and lime juice.
6.  In small batches (no more than 1/2 full blender), puree the soup in the blender. Put the puree mixture back into the stock pot and add the remaining shrimp. Keep warm over low heat (do NOT boil.)
NOTE:  If you want to make this a day ahead, Do NOT add the cream, milk and lime juice. Puree and store in refrigerator overnight.  Before serving add cream, milk, lime juice and heat over low heat until well heated (do NOT boil.)

Serve with Cilantro Puree

Ingredients

4 oz (can) green chiles, drained
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup olive oil

Preparation

Puree the chiles, cilantro and oil in a food process with steel blade, process until smooth.

Ladle hot soup into boils and swirl Cilantro/Chile puree ( 1 or 2 teaspoons) on top of each serving.

Serves  8-10 large servings

Preparation Time  2 hours

Notes from Liz  
Sarah Chase published Mexican Corn Soup with Shrimp and Cilantro Puree in the Nantucket Open-House Cookbook, 1987.  Although 95% of this recipe is the work of Sarah Chase, I reduced the amount of water, added chicken stock instead of clam juice, and used light cream instead of heavy cream.  I worked out the way to prepare it a day ahead without losing quality or flavor.  This has been part of our traditional family Christmas Eve menu for over twenty years.  It is good anytime of the year, especially when the corn is fresh in July and August.  ( The recipe is easily doubled but it does add to the preparation time.)

Slow Cooker Asian Ribs

Cape and Islands Orchid Sho

Ingredients

2 lbs beef ribs

Rib Rub
2 TBS Plum Sauce
2 tsp Hoisin
1/3 cup Oyster Sauce
1/2 T black beans, minced
1/2 tsp fresh ginger
3/4 tsp chili paste with garlic
1 TBS flour

Preparation

Mix Rib Rub and coat ribs.

Put coated ribs in slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours

Serve as an appetizer for 4-6

Preparation time 15 minutes prep and 2 hours cooking time

Notes from Liz


All ingredients for Rib Rub found in most grocery stores.

Shaker Lemon Pie from Linnie Sorrell

Hancock Shaker Farm, Massachusetts

My grandmother, Linnie Sorrell, lived about 7 miles from the Shaker community at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky.  She shared this recipe with me when I was in high school.

Ingredients

2 large lemons
4 eggs, well beaten
2 cups sugar

Preparation

Slice lemons as thin as paper, rind and all. Remove seeds. Combine with sugar; mix well.  Let stand 2 hours or longer, preferably blending occasionally.  Add beaten eggs to lemon mixture; mix well. Turn into nine inch pie shell, arranging lemon slices evenly.  Cover with top crust.  Cut several slits near center.  Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for about 20 minutes or until knife inserted near edge of pie comes out clean.  Cool before serving.

Notes on Pie Crust

My grandmother gave me a wonderful pie crust recipe, which I will share, but to be absolutely truthful, I have found that in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, Pillsbury has pie crusts in a package. This is NOT the frozen variety but the two crust package that you simply roll out into the pie pan.  It is really quite good and you can make a pie in less than 1/2 hour and then bake!

Serves 6-8

Preparation time:  30 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to bake

Notes from Liz


The Shaker Lemon Pie is a "custard-like" lemon pie with high marks from my guests.

Baked Sausage and Apples

Nauset Sunrise

Ingredients


1 lb link sausage, cooked, drained, and cut into bite size pieces
(You can use pre-cooked sausage of any variety.  Choose spicy or mild according to your preference)
5 or 6 large apples cored and sliced (peel left on)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/3 cup orange juice

Preparation

Grease a pan or oven proof ceramic dish (must hold 8 cups)
Put cooked, drained, cut sausage in pan
Add cored and sliced apples
Stir 1/2 stick of melted butter and 3/4 cup brown sugar into apple/sausage mix
Stir in 1/3 cup orange juice

Preparation Time
20 minutes to assemble in baking dish and 30-40 minutes to bake.

Cook at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until liquid is absorbed and apples are cooked through.

Serves 6-8

Notes from Liz
I made up this recipe for a brunch pot-luck before skiing at the Dartmouth Ski Way in Hanover New Hampshire.  It is also delicious for any meal.  When my girls were in elementary school, we would have breakfast for dinner on Sunday evenings.  Since their favorite breakfast foods -french toast and pancakes took more time to cook before school, we saved them for Sunday evening  Apples and Sausage was another favorite, especially with pancakes.  Enjoy!

Shrimp Remoulade

Fall on Pleasant Point

Ingredients

2 lbs raw shrimp
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup tarragon vinegar
2 TBS chopped tarragon (fresh or dried)
3 bunches of green onions (scallions), chopped fine
5-8 large garlic cloves, minced
3 TBS horseradish ( I usually use grated from a jar)
3 TBS dijon mustard
2/3 cup ketchup
2 TBS paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper powder
1 tsp salt

Preparation

Peel and devein shrimp
Boil 2 quarts of water, add shrimp, boil until pink
Drain shrimp
Mix all other ingredients in bowl or 1 gallon ziplock bag
Add cooked, drained shrimp to mixture
Marinate shrimp in mixture for at least 12 hours

Preparation Time
45 minutes to prepare, not counting marinating time.

Serves 6-8 people as an appetizer

Serve with crackers as an appetizer or on a bed of lettuce as a salad.

Notes from Liz
The original recipe was published in a North Carolina state fisheries publication in the 1960's. It is a Sorrell Family Favorite!   I changed the oil to olive oil (it was vegetable oil).  I added chopped tarragon.  If you cannot find tarragon vinegar, use white wine vinegar and 4 TBS of chopped tarragon-replacing the 2 TBS of chopped tarragon.  I have made this recipe for over 40 years.  The secret is to not overcook the shrimp! It is a favorite of all of my guests.

Moroccan Chicken

Looking at Morocco from Malaga, Spain

Ingredients


Spice Mixture:
3 cloves garlic minced
2 TBS olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Black pepper to taste

Other Ingredients:
8 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
1 cup Greek olives mixed green and black, pitted
10 dried dates, pitted and halved lengthwise
*1 preserved lemon sliced in half and then into quarters
*preserved lemons are not usually found in the grocery store (except in England-Tesco has a shelf of different preserved lemons!) but they are found in specialty food stores (Williams Sonoma, etc) or online
www.amazon.com/LEpicurien-Preserved-Lemons/dpB001EEOWBRQ
www.LocalHarvest.org/preserved-whole-organic-meyer-lemons-C11476?4=fr

Preparation

Combine all spices in a 1 gallon ziplock bag.  Add chicken pieces and shake until all pieces are well coated.  Marinate chicken at least onehour.

Place marinated chicken pieces in a deep, heavy skillet over medium heat and cove.  Cook twenty minutes over medium heat (you may have to add a small amount of water-1/4 cup-depending on moisture in chicken.)

Turn pieces of chicken over and place sliced preserved lemon, olives and dates over the top of all chicken pieces.  Cover and cook another twenty minutes over medium heat. (Again, if chicken is dry, add a small amount of water)

Serves 4-6
Preparation time:  1 hour

Notes from Liz
I first tasted this dish in a restaurant and I worked out the ingredients by testing different spice combinations and checking other Moroccan recipes for chicken. If you use chicken breasts it will not
taste the same and it will be much drier.  I don't recommend chicken breasts for this recipe

Sue Hoel's Cincinnati Chili

Cincinnati Chili

When the evenings begin to be cool, this is one of my favorite fall dishes.

Cincinnati Chili is unique!  You serve this chili one of FIVE WAYS:

A Bowl of Chili is ONE WAY

A Bowl of Chili + Spaghetti is TWO WAY

A Bowl of Chili + Spaghetti +Grated Cheese is THREE WAY

A Bowl of Chili + Spaghetti+Grated Cheese+Chopped Onion is FOUR WAY

A Bowl of Chili + Spaghetti+Grated Cheese+Chopped Onion + Kidney Beans is FIVE WAY

Ingredients and Preparation

How to make the Chili:

In a large pot put

 5 cups of water and bring to a boil.

 Add 2 medium onions grated

 2 lbs ground beef (low in fat)

Boil beef until it is done.  As it boils separate the beef with a spoon so that it is the consistency of soup and the beef is not in clumps.

 Two 8 ounce cans of tomato sauce

 1 tsp red pepper flakes

 5 whole allspice

 1 TBS Cumin

 4 cloves garlic minced

 4 TBS Chili Powder

 2 TBS cider vinegar

 1 large bay leaf

 5 whole cloves

 2 Tsp Worcestershire Sauce

 1 oz melted bittersweet chocolate

 ½ tsp cinnamon

 ½ tsp salt

Preparation Time and Serving

Cook over medium/low heat for 2 hours or until liquid is reduced and chili is thick.

Serve with the FIVE WAY options describe above.  


Serves 6

Notes from Liz

Who is Sue Hoel?  Sue is my friend from Cincinnati. Thanks Sue

P.S. If you go to Cincinnati, you will find this Chili at SKYLINE Chili restaurants.

Hot Pepper Jelly

Every year I make Hot Pepper Jelly.  The basic recipe is
(makes 6   1/2 pint  jars)
2 cups of cider vinegar
5 1/2 cups of sugar
6 hot peppers (your choice)
6 ounces of liquid pectin
Food coloring, if desired (green or red depending on the peppers)

Seed and chop hot peppers (use caution-wear gloves)
Put peppers in blender with 1/2 cup of vinegar, Chop fine.
Heat 1 1/2 cups vinegar,5 1/2 cups sugar, and finely chopped peppers until all of the sugar is dissolved. (Add food coloring, if desired)
Add 6 ounces of liquid pectin, when the mixture is boiling, boil for one minute.

Ladle into 1/2 pint jars (jars should be hot-either boil in water or run through rinse and dry in dishwasher).
Leave 1/2 inch space at the top of the jars.
Put the lid on the jars and wait for the lids to "pop".  When jars "pop" they are sealed.  Store in a cool dry place.

This year, I decided to try some different vinegars.   I used Blood Orange Vinegar and Portuguese Hot Peppers.  This combination is delicious.

I decided to make some other vinegars for jelly making.

Lemon Vinegar- 4 cups of white vinegar and the peel of 4 lemons plus the juice of 4 lemons
Lemon-Parsley Vinegar- 4 cups of white vinegar and the peel of 4 lemons plus the juice of 4 lemons and 1 cup finely chopped parsley.
Tarragon Garlic Vinegar-4 cups of white vinegar; 8 cloves of garlic, halved; 2 cups of tarragon leaves
Rosemary Garlic Balsamic Vinegar- 4 cups of Balsamic Vinegar; 8 cloves of garlic, halved; 2 cups of rosemary

Store in glass jars in a cool, dark place for two weeks.  Use for salad dressings or for Hot Pepper Jelly!