Cooking for the Soul
I'm not sure where I got my love of cooking. My mother was a good enough cook, if it was southern. And since she spent her days cooking at an elementary school, she wasn't especially inspired to come home and spend a lot of time in the kitchen experimenting. And she didn't spend time teaching me how to cook either. My sister loves to cook as well, but she moved 3,000 miles away when I was seven so it wasn't her that instilled it in me. But somehow I managed to develop a love of cooking and am apparently good enough to have people "wrangle" invitations to dinner.
There is just something delightful in finding a new recipe to try or coming up with some new creation of my own. A friend from long ago made me swear an oath that I would never tell his Italian mother that my stuffed shells were better than hers. Something pleasing in the myriad of smells (okay--usually pleasing) from a busy kitchen. For me, it can be therapy (and a lot less expensive than a shrink!). It can be a little mad scientist at times and I'm a horribly messy cook, but as long as the results turn out right, who cares? After all, if I cook...someone else can clean!
Here is one of my favorite recipes that a Regional Manager cooked up at our annual manager's meeting (the good one at the Beach House before the company got cheap) with a little variation of my own:
Frogmoor Stew
3 medium/large baking potatoes (peeled and cubed)
16 oz Kielbasa cut into 1/4" to 1/2" pieces
12 oz Andouille cut into 1/4" pieces (this was not part of the original recipe, but I find it a tasty addition.)
8-12 frozen corn on the cob halves
16 oz shrimp (peeled and deveined...perfectly acceptable to cheat and buy the frozen that are already peeled and deveined)
1-2 packets crab boil (2 if you like it spicer)
In a large stock pot, place the crab boil packets along with potatoes and fill about 1/2 full of water. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce hit and cook until potatoes are 1/2 tender.
Add the kielbase and andouille and cook for 5 minutes at a slow boil
Add the corn and cook for 5 mintues at a slow boil.
Add the shrimp and cook 3-4 minutes or until shrimp are cooked through.
Remove the crab boil and spoon into big bowls and enjoy!!
There is just something delightful in finding a new recipe to try or coming up with some new creation of my own. A friend from long ago made me swear an oath that I would never tell his Italian mother that my stuffed shells were better than hers. Something pleasing in the myriad of smells (okay--usually pleasing) from a busy kitchen. For me, it can be therapy (and a lot less expensive than a shrink!). It can be a little mad scientist at times and I'm a horribly messy cook, but as long as the results turn out right, who cares? After all, if I cook...someone else can clean!
Here is one of my favorite recipes that a Regional Manager cooked up at our annual manager's meeting (the good one at the Beach House before the company got cheap) with a little variation of my own:
Frogmoor Stew
3 medium/large baking potatoes (peeled and cubed)
16 oz Kielbasa cut into 1/4" to 1/2" pieces
12 oz Andouille cut into 1/4" pieces (this was not part of the original recipe, but I find it a tasty addition.)
8-12 frozen corn on the cob halves
16 oz shrimp (peeled and deveined...perfectly acceptable to cheat and buy the frozen that are already peeled and deveined)
1-2 packets crab boil (2 if you like it spicer)
In a large stock pot, place the crab boil packets along with potatoes and fill about 1/2 full of water. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce hit and cook until potatoes are 1/2 tender.
Add the kielbase and andouille and cook for 5 minutes at a slow boil
Add the corn and cook for 5 mintues at a slow boil.
Add the shrimp and cook 3-4 minutes or until shrimp are cooked through.
Remove the crab boil and spoon into big bowls and enjoy!!
posted by Hope at 8:39 PM
6 Comments:
That must be nice for you and everyone that you treat to your food. I don't cook, but I am a great heater. I can open a can or a box with the best of them ;)
Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Don't worry--I've heated up my share of something from a can or a box!! Can't play the mad scientist chef every day!
Hi Hope!
I used to own a Bar/Restaurant and so I was called into service cooking many times when cooks called off. I bartended the day shift and there were quite a few times I had to run the lunch shift by myself. I don't know how good I am but I can be damn fast if I have to be. I did learn a few things from a chef that worked for us...
So...does this mean that we're going to start getting some handy cooking tips from you?
Hi Hope
Ok here's your tip...It's all in the sauce!...:)
Well, it is a tip...just not sure how handy it is!! :o)
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