Category Archives: General
Ocho de Mayo (Cinco de Mayo Postponed)
We usually make margaritas and have a Mexican dinner on May 5th to observe Cinco de Mayo, even though, according to Wikipedia, Cinco de Mayo is an insignificant Mexican holiday, observed by more Americans than Mexicans. This year, on the 5th, Howard was still on a business trip to Chicago, so our celebration was delayed until the weekend.
Today was rainy, pouring buckets at times, with some thunder and lightning thrown in for good measure. Howard lucked out on the timing of Bella’s walks. He managed to take her out when it was only sprinkling lightly or not at all.
We had a relatively lazy day. We had planned to go to Maine, but the weather didn’t look good. Instead, we combined a shopping errand in Beverly with lunch at Woodman’s in Essex, where the fried clam was invented. Of course, we had fried clams (with bellies), with fries and onion rings. It was greasy and salty and wonderfully decadent.
Dinner was our delayed Cinco de Mayo meal. To start, Howard made his mango guacamole. I made margaritas. We had rice baked with tomatillo sauce topped with shrimp and bacon. It was sort of like a paella, but not exactly. For one thing, the flavors were Mexican, not Spanish. For another, it was mostly baked, not cooked on the stovetop. And, finally, it was much easier to make. It went nicely with a salad of baby arugula with a dressing I made with more tomatillo sauce.
Tomatillo Rice with Shrimp and Bacon
Adapted from Salsas That Cook by Rick Bayless
Serves 6
4 slices of thick-cut bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
2 cups arborio rice
2 cups tomatillo sauce (from a jar, or using recipe here)
1 cup water
½ tsp salt
4 scallions, sliced
1 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined
Generous amount of chopped cilantro
Preheat the oven to 350F. In a small Dutch oven or another pot, over medium heat, sautee the bacon until the fat renders and the bacon crisps. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, and reserve.
You will need about 1 Tbsp fat for the next step. If the bacon wasn’t very fatty, as the bacon from that I used Chestnut Farms was not, add some vegetable oil. If there is a lot of fat, remove the extra from the pan.
Saute the rice for about 5 minutes, until it is lightly browned. Stir in the tomatilla sauce, and let it cook for about 1 minute. Add the water, salt, and scallions. Bring the mixture to a boil, stir again, cover, and turn off the heat.
Place the pot in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
Remove the pot from the oven (keep it on), and arrange the shrimp on top of the rice. Cover and return the pot to the oven for 8-10 minutes, until the shrimp cooks through.
Sprinkle bacon and cilantro over the shrimp, toss everything together with a fork, and serve.
Margaritas
Makes 2-4 (depending on the size of the glasses)
3 oz tequila (Jose Cuervo Gold)
1½ oz Triple Sec
1 6-oz can frozen limeade concentrate
3 cups crushed ice
In a blender, add all the ingredients in the order listed. Turn the blender on high, and puree until the margaritas are smooth and slushy.
If you want, rub the rim of the glasses with a cut lime, then dip the rims in a plate of kosher salt.
Fill glasses and enjoy.
Hooray for Super Saver
Every May, when we hear the results of the Kentucky Derby, we say, “we should have made Mint Juleps”. I was ahead of the game this year. I looked up when the Kentucky Derby falls (the first Saturday in May).
That was last weekend. I actually remembered, at least before the race was actually run. So, I looked up recipes for Mint Juleps on the internet and picked up Kentucky bourbon, which isn’t something we usualy have on hand.
We weren’t drinking any water due to the major water main break on Saturday. This effects the city of Boston and nearly 30 suburban communities, including Lexington. We’re currently following a “Boil Water” order from the MWRA. It’s more complicated that I ever would have imagined. It’s definitely a wake up call. I’ll never take tap water for granted again. On the positive side, at least we have access to water, it’s not unavailable. This is a headache and an inconvenience. No water at all would be a crisis.
Basically, the tap water is not currently considered safe to drink. It’s fine for flushing the toilet and showering. It’s also OK to boil (for at least 1 minute) to then consume or use for other purposes. Surprisingly, it’s not OK for handwashing. We now have Purell next to all the sinks. It’s also not OK for washing dishes, even in the dishwasher. I set up a bleach solution in the sink for the recommended 5 minute soak. What a pain! The information on laundry has been contradictory, so I’m just waiting on that.
As of Monday morning, the break is reported to be fixed. They are doing water tests to be sure they can certify the water supply for human (and pet) consumption. Best case scenario would be clean water in 24 to 48 hours (Tuesday or Wednesday). Then we can deal with the equally long list of instructions on flushing the “bad” water from the pipes, on the way back to “normal”.
On Saturday, I made Mint Juleps as “cocktails” before dinner. I didn’t have those cool metal mint julep cups, so I used straight-sided pub glasses instead. I loved using my own mint from my herb garden. Well, we finally made mint juleps in honor of the Kentucky Derby. They were quite pretty, but unfortunately, they were AWFUL. So strong and alcoholic. They are probably more appealing to the hard liquor crowd. Definitely not appealing to Howard or to me.
Now I have to figure out what to do with the rest of the bottle of bourbon. Any suggestions?
We didn’t watch the race, but while we were sipping our drinks, we listened to the piece on the race on Only a Game, the NPR sports show. And, later, while we were still sipping our drinks, we heard that Super Saver had won the Kentucky Derby. Way to go!!!
If you want to try this yourself, here’s the recipe.
Mint Julep
Serves 1
5 springs of fresh mint (about 3 inches long), 1 reserved for garnish
1 tsp powdered sugar
2 tsp water
Crushed ice (I have one of those machines with a crank handle and a little metal cup to catch the ice. It’s awesome for all kinds of drinks.)
2½ oz Kentucky bourbon (I used Marker’s Mark)
Club soda
Remove the leaves from 4 sprigs of mint. In the bottom of a 8-12 oz straight-sided glass, muddle the mint leaves, sugar and water until mint leaves give off their oils and are fragrant. Fill the glass with crushed ice. Pour the bourbon over the ice. Top off with club soda. Garnish with the remaining sprig of mint. Serve with a straw.
A Plateful of Happiness 