Bacon Wrapped Apricot Shrimp

I have often said that bacon makes everything better. Combine it with shrimp and how can't go wrong. But could it get even better? While going through the pantry I came across a jar of apricot jam and the idea to pair with bacon and shrimp  popped into my head. It turned out to be a pretty deliciously inspiration and a great appetizer or entrée.

I used large shrimp U-15 so I needed one whole strip of bacon per shrimp if you use smaller shrimp half a piece will do.

Bacon Wrapped Apricot Shrimp

Shrimp - as many per person as you wish – raw, peeled, deveined, tail on 

Bacon - enough to wrap each shrimp – see note above

Apricot jam - approximately 2 to 4 teaspoons per shrimp

Preheat oven to 400°

Par bake the bacon – about halfway through

Take each shrimp and spoon apricot jam along the spine, and then wrap bacon around shrimp

Lay the shrimp on seam of bacon, side down on a jelly roll sheet

Cook in the pre-heated oven for approximately 12 minutes

Serve warm or at room temperature

You can pre-assemble a day or two in advance and bake off when needed. Just wrap them well and keep refrigerated until needed.

Meet your food's "dirty dozen"

When you’re trying to eat healthier, there are many things to consider including choosing organic foods.  However, sometimes going organic is not particularly economical or convenient.  If you have to decide when to choose organic, there is a list out there called the “dirty dozen” on organic.com. I found it very interesting and thought I would share it with you.

Organic foods are defined as those produced without modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, that do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.

This list of the most and least contaminated foods can help you make healthy decisions when circumstance won’t enable you to go all organic.

12 most contaminated                          

- peaches                                                      

- apples                                                      

- sweet bell peppers                             

- celery                                                           

- nectarines                                                     

- strawberries                                      

- cherries                                                         

- pears                                        

- grapes (imported)                             

- spinach                                                         

- lettuce                                                            

- potatoes                                                        

12 least contaminated

- onions

- avocado

- sweet corn (frozen)

- pineapples

- mango

- asparagus

- sweet peas (frozen)

- kiwi fruit

- bananas

- cabbage

- broccoli

- papaya

White Bread Versus Whole Wheat Bread

When I learned this information I made a pledge to cut white bread out and to use whole wheat flour in my cooking whenever possible. Read on and you will see why. Thanks to the fabulous staff at Trader Joe’s for sharing this with me.

What is the difference between white and whole wheat bread?

The biggest differences between white bread and whole wheat are the processing and nutritional value.

Flour is made from wheat berries. The wheat berry is made up of the bran, the germ and the endosperm. All parts are filled with nutrients and are used in whole wheat flour.

White bread on the other hand, uses only the endosperm – the starchy inner layer. There are a total of 30 nutrients missing in white bread. The nutritional difference is immense and has measurable impact on our health.

Not only is white flour drastically less nutritious than whole wheat flour, but it is also chemically bleached. The bleaching process was invented due to, not surprisingly, money. Factories figured out they could speed up the normal aging process of flour (months) into literally days to make it ready to sell.

Flour mills add chemicals in the bleaching process such as nitrogen oxide, chlorine, chloride, benzoyl peroxide, and even potassium bromate. Many European countries ban the bleaching process entirely. Except for an off-white tint, unbleached flour is identical to bleached flour in terms of cooking; many professional chefs will not use bleached flour due to the slight chemical taste in the final product many can detect.

What is the impact of switching from white bread to whole wheat?

The fiber content of whole wheat bread has several health benefits.

Fiber helps the digestive system. It also creates a “full” sensation and thus can help with weight control. Research has been conducted by Harvard and other organizations that shows men and women who eat high-fiber foods have fewer heart attacks and strokes than those who don’t.

There is also an increased risk of diabetes in children who eat refined white flour – a risk that has been proven by the increase in cases of childhood diabetes.

What to look for on the label?

Beware of words like “wheat flour” or “enriched wheat flour” as they can be mostly made from white flour with just a small amount of whole wheat added in.

Look for “whole wheat” or other whole grains, like oat. And don’t be misled by the name of the product. Names like wheat, whole bran, stoned wheat, 12 grain and others are still mostly white flour.  The only way to know for sure is to read the label.   

Embracing the Squash Blossom (without killing its flavor)

A trip to the farmers market recently yielded a wonderful delight. Some of the most beautiful squash blossoms.  Whenever I see a squash blossom I always think of a beautiful delicate flower, yet so many of the dishes for squash blossom call for them to be stuffed or deep-fried. With all the wonderful fresh vegetables out there right now, we (my sister and I) decided to embrace our local produce haul for the week and make a vegetable pasta dish with a little bit of bacon thrown in for my nephew, because everything is better with bacon. Below is the recipe we threw together, but feel free to follow your own bliss.  Just remember, the squash blossom is a delicately flavored flower, so this one time hold back a little on the spice.

Summer Harvest Pasta with Squash Blossom

Two bunches of squash blossom – tear into 1–½ inch pieces – reserve one if you would like for a beautiful garnish

One medium size Japanese eggplant – medium dice (skin on)

Fresh tomatoes – medium diced

Zucchini – ¼ inch thin slices

Yellow squash – ¼ inch thin slices

Baby heirloom carrots – cut into ½ inch lengths

Roasted garlic – 4 cloves smashed

Apple wood smoked bacon (any will do, this is just one of my favorites) – 4 slices, reserve 1 tablespoon of grease – optional but it sure does make it taste good

6 cups cooked whole-wheat pasta – reserve 1/3 cup of pasta water

Cook the bacon in a large skillet till crisp, remove the bacon set aside

Drain the fat, all but one tablespoon – if you want to go more healthy or vegetarian you can leave out the bacon all-together or just the bacon grease

Sauté the carrots for 3 minutes on medium heat

Add the smashed garlic

Add the eggplant and sauté till it begins to soften

Add the tomatoes, zucchini and yellow squash

Cook to desired doneness – like mine a little al dente – if you need a little more liquid to cook it use some of the pasta water – salt and pepper to taste

Toss with the pasta making sure it is heated through then add the squash blossoms, toss one final time

Bowl up and enjoy

May be garnished with a good shaved Parmesan and a squash blossom

Home delivery meals week of 10/3

1)  Organic whole grain vegetable pasta with spinach and a turkey, heirloom tomato bolognaise

2)  Organic Whole-wheat pasta with a creamy mushroom and spinach topping

3)  Sautéed shrimp with peas and broccoli on yellow polenta

4)  Mixed bean salad with grilled chicken

5)  Mushroom risotto with chicken, tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella

6)  Oven baked wild red snapper with rosemary sea salt, brown rice and steamed broccoli

7)  Heirloom tomato and cucumber salad with a low fat dill dressing

8)  Mixed greens with tuna, cucumber and heirloom yellow tomato

9)  Romaine, grilled chicken, peppercini peppers, roasted corn and guacamole

10)Romaine, French sheep’s feta, cucumber, heirloom tomato and langoustines

Ready to get on our delivery route? Call Chef Brooke at 560-8090.

Home meal delivery week of Sept 26

• Mexican style shredded chicken, beans and tomatoes with brown rice
   
• Beef with broccoli and brown rice
   
• Onion and dill Atlantic salmon with broccoli and polenta
   
• Garlic chicken with roasted red peppers, honey glazed carrots and quinoa
   
• Chicken with feta topping, served with sautéed butternut squash and figs, green beans and carrots
   
• Quinoa salad with chicken, heirloom tomatoes, green beans and carrots
   
• Mixed green salad with chicken, cucumber, carrots and tomatoes
   
• Mixed green salad, beans, olives and chicken with a side of salsa
   
• Mixed green salad with heirloom tomatoes, salmon and feta
   
• Local harvest vegetable sauteé with garlic, quinoa and chicken 

Hurricane Irene wrecked a perfectly delicious dinner party

I returned to North Carolina again before Labor Day–just in time to welcome in Irene.  The  premise of my visit was to prepare a tapas-style dinner party, but I only got as far as shopping for all the food before Irene knocked out our power (for multiple days) and the party was cancelled. Below is the menu we were going to do, fortunately we were lucky enough to have a generator so I was able to salvage some of the food  for future use. I really like the chicken lollipops with a sweet chili dipping sauce.

Starters:

Eggplant Napoleon: lightly fried eggplant rounds topped with local grown tomatoes,  garden basil and finished in the oven with fresh mozzarella melted on top

Individual chorizo pizzas with sliced tomatoes, roasted peppers, and shaved Manchego

Warm blue cheese filled dates wrapped in bacon

Main course:

Cucumber dill salad: fresh dill, light sour cream, lemon juice and sea salt

Chicken lollipops on sugar cane skewers with a sweet chili sauce

Seared duck breast with a lingonberry sauce

Sea scallops on a pea puree

Spicy shrimp on a cornbread soufflé

Miniature Beef Wellingtons

Chicken Lollipops – makes approximately 12

Season two pounds ground chicken - I used a heavy hand while seasoning you may back off a little if you wish

1 T onion powder

1 T cumin

1 T (heaping) curry powder

1 T chili powder

6 cloves roasted garlic (mashed)

1 t sea salt

2 eggs

¾ cup bread crumbs (I like panko)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, wrap with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.

Making the sugar cane skewers – (some places do carry the skewers) sugar cane can usually be found in the refrigerated produce section (Melissa’s is a popular brand). It comes whole, approximately 8 inches long.

Using a sharp knife peel the outer layer away. This will leave the light colored inner pulp. Using your knife cut approximately ¼ inch wide strip all the way down then slice up the length to make the sticks. I then cut the sticks in half to make appetizer size lollipops, you could leave them whole and make larger size skewers.

Take the seasoned chicken out of the refrigerator. Using your hand, mold the chicken around skewer. Place the molded skewers in a baking dish (place plastic wrap between layers). When all made, cover with plastic wrap and place back in the refrigerator.  It's best when the skewers can sit overnight in the refrigerator thus allowing the flavors to marinate.

Cooking options:

-Grill on the BBQ on medium high

-Sear off in a pan on the stove with a little olive oil

-Bake in a 375º oven for 15 to 25 minutes on a jelly roll pan with a baking rack in it to keep the skewers elevated while they cook

Serve with a sweet chili sauce