5:01 Dinner Club

Cheers!

This recipe is really not a last minute quickie if you measuring the effort from start to finish.  BUT- If you make the sauce ahead of time, you can easily get it on the table in 30 minutes.  So, make the sauce over the weekend, put it in the fridge (It will actually taste better I promise) and heat it up right before you throw the shrimp in!  Oh, and serve it with instant grits that you have cooked up in milk instead of water.  Then add shredded cheddar cheese (1/2 – 3/4 C), salt & pepper to the grits! OMG-Yummmmm!

Back in the day when I actually had a lot of time to cook! New, more accurate , pic coming soon!

Okay-So it’s 5pm and your mind is on the meat in the fridge or the freezer.  You have, let’s say, chicken and you know you need to eat it.  One more day in the fridge and the chicken becomes questionable but you don’t feel like cooking and the hands on the clock are creeping close to the 5:30 mark with every tic…  Do the following and everything will come together-I promise!

My stepbrother Marc and a net full of blue crabs

My family was lucky enough to spend last week at the beach and food, surprise-surprise, ended up being the highlight of the week for me but not for the obvious reason:  I love to eat and good food is like a giant shot of happy juice…  I got to experience how food and family can become partners in an effort o create one of those memories that I will cherish from this point forward. 

My stepbrother Marc (whom we usually see every couple of years), his wife and their 2 kiddies overlapped their vacation with ours so that we could have a mini family reunion at the beach for a couple of days.  And though Glenn & I are in Sarasota a couple times a year, we got to do something we have never done before-go crabbing.  Marc has a “flats” boat that we all hopped on and he took us to sand bars where everyone took off, net in hand, in search of the elusive (for me it was elusive-for everyone else they were easy to find) but super sweet blue crab…

It was this sight, coupled with the sound of our 4 year olds giggling, a gentle breeze and music in the back ground that will always have a special place in my heart.  The kids, as happy as they can be, eyes glued to the water in search of crabs right where the sea grass meets the sand and everyone laughing as they twist the net to keep a just caught crab for escaping. 

So that describes the the sentimental significance of “crabbing” for me.  The culinary significance is the fact that we caught a lot of crabs-enough for 4 adults to enjoy for dinner.  And they were so delicious!  So what can you do with a ton of crabs besides boil and eat?  Well, Marc & Laura taught me that if you are from the South, specifically “Lower Alabama”, you make “West Indies” (crab salad).  This is the first time I have researched a dish, on line, and in books that doesn’t vary much between versions-at all really.  It seems that there is really one way to make West Indies and it must be good because everyone respects it.

So make this salad that screams summer beach trip, sit outside (with a good breeze & music in the background) with your friends or family, and allow food the opportunity to become part of your family album!

Me In My Favorite Place!

Soooo- Somehow, I have the mental fortitude to take 2 lbs of frozen ground beef and put it on the counter on Tuesday morning.  Thank god because then at 4:30pm, when I am nearing the end of my work day- when I am hot, sweaty and tired and it occurs to me that I haven’t given dinner one thought all day at least there’s that:  2 lbs. of ground beef waiting to be the star in the big Dinner Show.

Only…What’s the show?  Hamburgers?  No, we do that every week and we are not sure how much gas is in the grill.  Spaghetti?  No, we don’t have Marinara and I don’t have the time or energy to make home roasted marinara.  Meatloaf?  No, that’s too boring.  Or is it?  I have the power (and so do you!) to make meatloaf exciting, right?  I have an herb garden, I have garlic, I am thinking “Rustic Tuscan Meatloaf”.  (You can put the words Rustic and Tuscan with anything and make it sound good!)

Long time no blog, huh?  All I can say is that suddenly I have a much greater appreciation for what it is I have been trying to help people with for over a year now.  You see when I started the 5:01 Dinner Club, I was on professional sabbatical -errr-not working full time.  So really, it was pretty easy to get lost at the grocery store, in the kitchen and on the computer as I developed and tried new recipes and NOW, since April actually, I am working hard at a new job that I love so the is very little time to nurture the foodie within. 

Soooo, the 5:01 DC as it has been will just no longer cut it.  I don’t know who I have been kidding over the past year but if you are out there working full time, I wouldn’t blame you for laughing at me as I have suggested that even if you don’t  think about dinner until after 5, you can still get a good dinner on the table by 5:30.  Ha!  The reality is, for me now, if I haven’t given thought to what’s for dinner by the time I leave in the morning or told my husband what to do to prep for dinner, it is not on the table until after 6:00pm-if at all.

My new goal is to simply provide some sort of easy, time saving tip or recipe once a week.  And I am really, really going to try to deliver helpful info to all the people that wish dinner would just magically appear on the table most every night!

My helpers!

One of our greatest culinary traditions as a family is pancakes (or waffles) and bacon.  At least once a week, we race to the kitchen in the morning and we all take part in cracking eggs, stirring and getting all of the food ready.  And let me tell you, I have over the years perfected my pancake batter recipe and I can make some kick A** Pancakes/Waffles (even better waffles now thanks to Pops & Goose)!

  So last night as we were winding down for bed, we saw that a Bobby Flay’s  “Throw Down” episode was coming on where the featured dish in the competition  was blueberry pancakes so, of course,  we had to watch.  And this morning when we got up, there was no question about what we were going to have for breakfast:  Pancakes (blueberry for me)!  Watch out Bobby Flay!

 We raced downstairs like we always do and began to assemble the ingredients.  I turned on some music, turned on the oven (for the bacon) and started mixing.  Then the most amazing thing happened.  I looked around at everyone taking part in the process.  Owen hovering over the flour insisting that he be allowed to crack eggs (I don’t think so!), Chloe helping to set the bar (we never sit at the table) and Glenn leaning on the bar drinking coffee.  And it hit me that I sooooo hope that my kids remember this.  Everyday every parent has an opportunity to create good memories for their kids-something that they will describe to others as they get older as a favorite part of their childhood.  Now, just in case my kids don’t remember, I have documented the experience-for me and the kids!  So I ask, what do you want your kids to remember?  And what are you doing to make sure that they do?

I need this in my head!

For the first time in almost a year, I have had my first bout  of “bloggers block”.  Usually, I am jotting ideas and recipes on tiny pieces of an envelope off of the corner of a piece of junk mail just to make sure I get the outline of my next set of posts documented before the thought leaves me-  And my mind is such that if the thought leaves, it may never return.   And usually, I am sneaking around as I try o squeeze a few moments out of a day to try out a new recipe and take photos…  But for the past week and a half, I have just not been feeling it-  I think it must have something to do with being busy with work again.  And this is a good thing-work that is.  So bear with me as I work on getting my creative juices flowing again. 

I have got 3 recipes in my head and I will post as soon as I test and photograph:

• Super Fast:   Angel Hair Pasta With Pan Roasted Asparagus, Tomato and Onion Sauce & Goat Cheese (20 minutes)
• Super Cheap:  BBQ Chicken Over Spicy Black Beans & Yellow Rice With Fresh Cilantro
• Super Fast & Cheap:  A Pizza Bar!

Me In My Favorite Place!

I have been thinking about this blog post for over a week and I am not sure I can say what it is that I want to say without being wordy but I am going to try.  I have realized over the past couple of years that adult life can be a little challenging-kids, work (or lack of), money (or lack of), marriage, family… can all introduce stress.  Managing adult life is work and it can be exhausting and draining and all of this work, I believe, can sometimes leave one feeling dulled & lifeless-like you just go through the motions looking forward only to the moment at which your head hits the pillow. 

Sooo-I have begun, in my life, to look for and relish opportunities to “season my life”-that is to make sure that we are weaving fun activities (from hiking and low key trips to the neighborhood pool to traveling to France to see the start of the “Tour”) into our routine.  And this past year was my spiciest yet!  My getting laid off allowed us to travel like never before (every member of my family got to meet a personal hero-see pics below)-allowed me to become a (mini) entrepreneur, and allowed me to start a blog (one of my favorite things in the world!)-  And though I really, really look forward to being a fulltime employee again soon, I end this year a content individual who has had great year packed  with amazing memories.  It is my wish for you that, when life becomes overwhelming and routine, you force yourself to break up the everyday activities with something fun (with your spouse, partner, family and by yourself).  Because if you season your life with loving relationships, a sense of humor, and an adventurous spirit-you will never go hungry!   Happy New Year and best wishes for a spicy 2010!

Me & Iron Chef Michael Symon

Glenn & Cycling Legend Levi Leipheimer

Cindarella

Thomas The Train!

1. Continue to pour content into my blog (at least 2 posts per week)
2. Master pastry, custards, and sauces!
3. Meet at least 2 new well known, well respected chefs/cooks- And learn something from them!
4. Design, Produce and SELL a new series of “Plate & Palette” recipe note cards
5. Take at least 4 cooking classes
6. Host the 1^st 5:01 Dinner Club dinner party (recipes/demos, dinner & cocktails)
7. Interview at least 1 well known Atlanta based chef (for insight on cooking & getting dinner on the table quickly)
8. Come up with new ways to make healthy food exciting! (I have to have one traditional-ish resolution.)
9. Take at least 1 Culinary Destination Vacation (Cooking class in Aspen, Miami, France, Italy, Napa. . .)-Okay that’s more of a dream than a resolution- 
10. Finish compiling recipes for a real 5:01 cookbook-ebook or print

Comfort in a bowl!

What follows are actually new comments on what is actually a very old post:  Meatballs & Mushroom Gravy.  We had this for dinner tonight (Sunday) so I finally have a picture of this all time family favorite. I have reworked this recipe since first posted back in March though and I want all of you 5:01 fans to revisit this incredibly cheap and awesomely tasty, super comforting meal.  It’s one of those dinners that (no matter how full you are after the 1^st serving) you cannot stop yourself from getting seconds because even if your stomach screams “NO NO-Please no”, your taste buds say “Oh Yeah” and taste buds win! 

 Like I said, it’s been reworked:

• Instead of pan frying the meatballs, I now oven roast them for about 10-15 minutes-it makes the recipe easier (you can mix the “gravy” up while meatballs are in oven) and a little cleaner (no grease on stove top…)
• Also, at the suggestion of my clever husband, we now add a little sour cream to the “gravy”-tasty!
• Oh, and the parsley not only brightens the flavor, but gives the appearance a pick me up as well-which I think it needs…