lellen, Thu, March 5th, 2009
Knowing they wanted to ship a VW bus to America, this family from Apulia (that's the province that includes the heel of the boot), they packed the bus with lots of goodies. These included a grape jam that is ridiculous in its richness and nature. It tasted a bit caramelized and the occasional ground seed is noticed and was thick and rich. It is nothing like Concord grape jelly that is produced in the United States. The other product he gave me was a container of cured olives from a tree in their yard in Italy. These are tiny olives that would remind one of Provencal olives in size, also savory, ripe and tasty.
So, here is what I did from the freezer and pantry this week with these added items:
Grilled chicken breasts ala grape served with roasted potatoes and grilled white onions. I also served a romaine, avocado and fennel salad on the side.
Sautéed Shrimp semi-scampi with artichokes served over paparadelle nest noodles accompanied by Choncha Y Toro Frontera Chardonnay - slight fruit and yummy - and I don't normally like South American wines. Although, I do like their prices.
So this is what I did:
I whisked together some extra virgin olive oil (Wegman's - my everyday), cider vinegar and the grape preserves with sea salt and white pepper. I dragged two pounded chicken breasts into this mixture and turned several times over a half and hour or so. Meanwhile, I cubed russet potatoes and placed these on a baking sheet with the virgin olive oil, fresh rosemary that I brought inside from last summer and large grain sea salt. I baked this in a 400-degree oven for almost one hour - until crisp and golden in nature.
During this time, I made the salad and grilled the chicken breast and white onion (the temperature outside was close to zero). The onion (btw) was one that was about to go to rot and ruin. I dipped it in olive oil before placing on to the hot gas grill with the chicken breasts. I gave the chicken and the onions both about 10 minutes or so, on each side.
Upon serving, I gilded the Lilly by adding a heaping tablespoon of the grape jam on the side of the chicken, a generous helping of potatoes, a half a grilled while onion and a sprig of sage (also wintering from my summer herb pots).
That chow was really good. I washed it down with a bit too much Irish Whiskey - Your basic Bushmills.
The next night, I also did not feel like stopping at the store:
So I again used provisions. U10 Shrimp from the freezer (that were pre-deveined) that I had bought two for one, a can of Muir Organic tomatoes, a can of quartered artichoke hearts and the noodles from the pantry, then three cloves of garlic and those olives from Italy that were in the fridge.
So here is what I did:
Opened the tomatoes, drained off most of the juice and reserved it. I heated the extra virgin olive oil in a pot, then added the tomatoes (hand crushed). Meanwhile, I sliced three cloves of garlic in my Williams and Sonoma kickass press, stirred in dried basil, grainy sea salt, a half a can of artichoke hearts and a couple handfuls of olives.
I cooked this down and at the end added the reserved juice, just for additional juiciness.
Meanwhile, I put a pot of hot water on to boil with plenty of sea salt. I cleaned the shrimp of its shells and tossed in salt, pepper and sugar. I sautéed these in more olive oil in a large uncrowded hot pan; turning once and making sure not to overcook.
When the parapadellanest noodles were done after seven minutes. I drained, tonged into a couple of bowls, placed sautéed shrimp over and then smothered in the sauce. Holy, it was devine. Just right in every way, which is often a magical feat for me when it comes to saucing pasta properly.
We did also have some of Peter Lord's Patisserie Stretch bread available from his bakery behind the Sherwood Inn, Skaneateles.
Both of these meals took about a half an hour to an hour (from start to finish) to prepare in total time and were ridiculously delicious. The ingredients Al provided made all the difference in the world.
Gracious tanto.
