Sushi Date Night

 DATE NIGHT!!!!!  My favorite thing!!!  There is nothing I love more than spending quality time with my Matty.  This was especially fun because we were celebrating that Matt had just gotten a new job at a  children's clinic in Rankin.  All throughout our relationship, we have loved sushi, and it has been one of our favorite date foods.  As you may be able to guess, I love to challenge my cooking abilities with different cultures cuisine, but after trying to make some of this sushi I realized how easy it can be.  It is the perfect date night food because it is fun, unique, and you get to get your hands dirty.

I always thought that the ingredients for sushi were so inaccessible or too expensive, but I made both of these rolls with leftover vegetables that were in my fridge and shrimp from my freezer.  You could make a vegetable roll with carrots, asparagus, and avocado or a cucumber roll with cucumber and cream cheese.  Just let your creativity kick in while you dig around through your crisper drawer.  But what about the seaweed wrap?  It can now be found in your local Kroger in the Asian food department.  Kroger really has come a long way in just a few short years thanks to all of us Foodies out there.

I am going to show you the two different rolls I tried out for date night.  I think you definitely need something spicy for a date night to heat things up, so I made a spicy shrimp roll with sweet carrots to mellow out the heat.  The second roll is a mimic of my favorite roll: crunchy shrimp roll.  It is so simple!  Just shrimp with panko breadcrumbs and steamed asparagus to bring it to the next crunch level.  Now, down here in the South in the summer time, we always seem to have an excess of crawfish from our numerous crawfish boils.  Oh, and we are not complaining one little bit.  This could be a creative way to use up some of those leftover tails!

Spicy Shrimp Roll

 Crunchy Shrimp Roll

First of all, start cooking some short grain white rice.  Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add 1 cup of short to medium white grain rice.  Stir the rice, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cover.  Do not peek.  Do not stir. Just let it be.  When the rice is cooked, you will add some seasame seeds and 1 tsp of rice wine vinegar (optional).  While the rice is cooking, move on to your sushi fillings.

Peel and devein 12-15 Jumbo shrimp

Take half of your shrimp and chop it up as finely as you are able to...eww...yuck!  It looks so unappetizing!  Stay with me.

Leave the other half whole

Boil your whole shrimp for approximately 4 minutes or until they are fully cooked.  I don't trust myself with raw fish.  I will leave that up to the professionals.

Put 1 TBSP of canola oil in a pan and saute the minced shrimp with salt 

Add about 1/2 a cup of panko breadcrumbs to the shrimp and mix them together until they are crunchy and crispy bits of deliciousness

While the shrimp are cooking, wash your cutting board.  This step is very important.  Getting sick on date night is not allowed!

These are the stars of our spicy shrimp rolls.  Siracha is an Asian hot sauce that can be found in any grocery store in the International food department.  We also will use some mayo and a squeeze of lemon juice to add a brightness to the shrimp.

Chop up your whole shrimp that you boiled

To the shrimp, add 1/2 TBSP of Siracha, 2-3 TBSP of mayo, and 1/2 of a lemon's juice

Mix it all together.  It is creamy and looks absolutely delicious!

By this time, your crunchy shrimp with be ready to escape the pan.  Transfer it to a bowl and set aside.

 Cut one small carrot into matchsticks or buy carrot matchsticks from the grocery store to save yourself a step.

Bamboo sushi mat.  These can be found at most Kroger's or at a local Asian marketplace.  They are really cheap and make the sushi process a lot easier.  I cover my mat with saran wrap to keep the rice from sticking to the bamboo.

Place your seaweed paper over your mat with the shiny side up.

Put a few spoonfuls of rice on your wrap

Spread your rice out and leave a 1 inch gap at the one end

Now, this step adds a level of difficulty: the seaweed flip.  I like the rice on the outside of the sushi, so at this point, I slip my hand under the paper and flip it really fast so the rice does not fall off.  This part is way easier with two people.  If you like the rice on the inside of the roll, do not even worry about flipping it!

Lets assemble our spicy shrimp!  Lay down a few of your carrot sticks.

Spoon half of your spicy shrimp filling over your carrots.

Start rolling your roll.  Fold the end over your filling to secure it.

Keep rolling until you cannot roll anymore.  Make sure you are pulling the saran wrap back as you roll.  You do not want plastic sushi!

Twist the ends of your plastic wrap to tighten the roll and help it stick together better.

Firm up the roll with the bamboo mat, and you have made your first sushi!

My sushi roller!

Crunchy shrimp roll!  Take 1-2 steamed asparagus stalks.  Spoon half of your crunchy shrimp filling over the asparagus.  I apologize for my sad looking asparagus, but we had it for dinner the night before.  Like I said, this sushi is fabulous for leftovers.  Roll it up just like previously shown.  

These recipes I have given you will make two rolls of Spicy Shrimp and two rolls of Crunchy Shrimp.

It is time to cut your sushi rolls!  I cut off the ends because there is usually not much filling there.  Also, one tip I will give you; the seaweed is easier to cut with a serrated knife.  You can make the pieces as big or as small as you like them.

Arrange the sushi on a plate.  I put all of the sushi on one plate so Matt and me would be forced to sit close together so we could share.  I bought a bag of frozen edamame that I threw in the microwave to steam for five minutes.  By the time the edamame was done, I had completely finished the clean up!  Have I convinced you that this is a great date night meal??

Yummmm... dinner was so delicious and fun I just had to share it with you.  I hope you and your sweetie have as much fun as we did. 

P.S.  This is also a great girls night activity.  My college friends and I used to get together to make sushi and watch old Audrey Hepburn movies.  We had some wonderful times with making this sushi!

Spicy Shrimp Roll

2 sheets of nori seaweed

6-8 jumbo shrimp

1/2 TBSP siracha hot sauce

2-3 TBSP of mayonnaise

1 tsp of lemon juice

pinch of salt

1 small carrot

1/2 cup of white rice

dash of rice wine vinegar (optional)

dash of sesame seeds (optional)

Cook your rice according to the package instructions.  When the rice is cooked, add the vinegar and sesame seeds and stir.

Peel and devein the shrimp.  Boil the shrimp for 4-5 minutes until the shrimp is cooked all the way through.  Cut up the shrimp into small pieces.  

Put the shrimp in a bowl with the siracha, mayo, lemon juice, and salt.  Mix the ingredients together.

Lay out your seaweed on your bamboo mat and plastic wrap.  Put a few spoonfuls of rice on your seaweed and spread it out, leaving a 1 inch margin at one end.  Flip the seaweed, lay 1/2 of the carrot sticks across the seaweed paper, and spoon half of the shrimp mixture onto the seaweed.  Roll up your seaweed and cut with a serrated knife.

Crunchy Shrimp Roll

2 sheets of nori seaweed

6-8 jumbo shrimp

1/2 cup of panko

1 TBSP of canola oil

pinch of salt

2-4 asparagus spears (steamed)

1/2 cup of white rice 

dash of rice wine vinegar (optional)

dash of seasame seeds (optional)

Cook your rice according to the package instructions.  When the rice is cooked, add the vinegar and sesame seeds and stir.

Peel and devein your shrimp.  Mince the shrimp up as small as you can.  Put in a saute pan with oil and panko breadcrumbs.  Cook until shrimp is done and breadcrumbs are browning.  Transfer to a bowl.

Lay out your seaweed paper.  Put 1/2 of the rice on the seaweed and spread it out leaving a one inch margin on one end.  Flip your seaweed.  

Put 1-2 spears of steamed asparagus on nori and add 1/2 of the panko shrimp mixture.  Roll the sushi and cut with a serrated knife.  

Bright Lights and Stars

One of the things I find the most joy in, are my sweet, beautiful friends.  I always tell them that even though there may be gaps between our visits, we will always be friends because they share a piece of my heart.  I love how they know so much about me and they still will be there for me no matter what.  They are all so special to me, but I am going to tell y'all about a recent event that took place in my life that really explains a lot about one of these friendships that I cherish so dearly.

Taylor is one of my oldest friends.  The thing about Taylor is, you know when you are going to hang out with her that you are going to have a blast!  She is just fun and spontaneous, and I so admire this about her.  She never leaves someone without them having a smile on their face.  I love how if I want to do something out of the ordinary, I know I can call her and she is up for absolutely anything.  That was the case this time...

This is Taylor and I standing in line to audition for James Franco's movie, As I Lay Dying.  My older brother gave me the idea, and I knew that the chances of me ever having time to audition for a Hollywood movie may never come around again.  I knew exactly who to call to do this with me!  

We dug out a photo, and headed over to New Stage Theater.  When we got there, we were cracking up over these pictures because we were pretty much the only ones without a serious Hollywood headshot.  We just knew that the casting directors were going to think, "Only in Mississippi will we have a bride or a girl hugging the tree.  What were they thinking??"

We rounded the corner!  We can see the door!  We had gotten to the theater at 5:00, which had put us somewhere in the middle of the line.  There were girls that had been there since 1:00 in the afternoon.  It was pretty serious. 

During this waiting period, they had three news stations show up to take interviews...two out of the three came directly up to Taylor and me to ask if they could interview us.  We looked at each other, laughed, and politely declined.  Nobody around us could believe that we would dare do that!  Everyone was jumping at the chance to be on T.V.  We just sat back and let the entertainment begin.  We were definitely around some pretty intense characters.

We saw several interesting things while we waited...

Taylor and I finally made it to the door around 9:00.  We are glowing like true southern women that had been out in the 90 degree heat for four hours.  The casting directors wanted girls between the age 16-25 that were well kept and attractive.  We decided that they figured if we could look decent after this waiting period then we might look okay anytime.  I think we fully achieved that :)

Once we got through the doors, we encountered another hurdle.  We filled out a few forms and had our pictures taken with our names, and we waited some more.  This is when the best part of this story occurs.  It was seriously the funniest thing that had happened all day.  Here is how the story went:

During this waiting period, a really special girl (who we nicknamed Kathy) that had been entertaining us all day, asked Taylor if she thought she had enough time to go to the bathroom.  Taylor said, "Um, yea probably."  Taylor was taken aback because she knew just as much as Kathy did.  She had no idea.  Kathy leaves and goes to the bathroom, and we go back to chatting.  A few minutes later, Kathy returns and taps Taylor on the shoulder again.  "I think I was ahead of you in line.  If I could just..."  And squeezes between Taylor and me.

Taylor's face was absolutely priceless.  We start cracking up and I say, "Aw, girl, I hate you are all the way back there.  I am going to join you."  Okay, silly story...but it doesn't end here.

We had been in line for 5 hours, it had been hours and hours since my last meal, and I wasn't thinking very clearly.  This is my lame attempt of an excuse.  While we are waiting inside, some of the girls decided to slightly move out of the line and take a seat on a nearby bench.  Kathy was one of these girls.  I lean over to Taylor and say, "Do you dare me?"  Of course she knew exactly what I was talking about.  I decide to step up in line and close the gap that her presence had left before she sat down.  Kathy started eyeing me, but she wasn't going to get up just yet.  The line wasn't moving.  We stood in this tense bubble for about five minutes.  When the women were called, I stood my ground.  I was standing about a hand's length from the girl in front of me, and Kathy proceeds to wedge herself between us.  I stood firm and she PUSHED me back in line.  She pushed me so hard that I bumped into Taylor.  We lose it!  We cannot contain ourselves!  We enter our audition laughing and completely at ease, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. 

I hope this paints a picture of Taylor and my friendship.  She is a special person to me and has been a sister to me for as long as I can remember.  

My awesome Maid of Honor bringing me hot tea to calm my wedding jitters.  I love you, Tay!

Chicken Cacciatore

Cacciatore...hmm...sounds pretty fancy.  I don't know about this.  All cacciatore means is hunter or huntsman in Italian.  When I found this out, I knew I wanted to try and make it for my little hunter.  I am really not sure where I got this recipe, but I have been tweaking it over the years and somewhat made it my own.  It was one of the first things that I made for Matt, and he raved over it!  Every time I make it, he tells me how much he loves it.

I am also using this recipe to showcase one of my favorite herbs, Thyme.  It is so earthy and pairs perfectly with any type of chicken whether it be roasted, breaded, or grilled.  It is the type of plant that grows better when practically forgotten about.  It loves full sun, high heat, and little watering.  Basically, it is the perfect herb for our Mississippi summers.

Cut off a few sprigs of thyme

Season your chicken legs with salt and pepper.  Let me just say that you can use any kind of chicken you like!  I have also used the thighs and it has turned out just as delicious.  I have not tried this recipe with the breasts, but you will need to decrease the cooking time.  Come to think of it, you could definitely do this in a crockpot.  Just throw some frozen chicken breasts into the crockpot with the other ingredients on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6 hours.  

Here are the players: 2 small onions or 1 medium onion, one clove of garlic, and a few sprigs of thyme.  Also, not pictured are two cans of crushed tomatoes and 1/4 cup of white wine.

Take out your heavy duty cast iron.  I believe this cast iron has been passed down in my husband's family for who knows how long.  We inherited it, and the thing about cast iron is you never, ever, ever wash it with soap.  Nope... I know you are tempted to, but don't!  Just rinse and scrub with water and you are done.  I used 1 TBSP of butter and a circle around the pan of olive oil.  The butter has a lower heat tolerance than the olive oil, so I learned that you can combine the two and get the good qualities from both.  This also adds a depth of flavor which is always welcome!

Start out by searing the chicken  

Look at that fantastic color that is developing!

After the chicken has been seared on both sides, remove it from the pan and begin cooking your onions that have been roughly diced.

The onions really perfume your kitchen.  For some reason, the smell of onions cooking is one of the most comforting smells to me.  I love it!

When the onions begin turning translucent and have a slight brown crust to them, add 1/4 of a cup of white wine.

Chop up your thyme and save a little bit of it to garnish your finished product

Add your thyme and two cans of crushed tomatoes

Place your chicken back into the cast iron

Turn the heat down to medium low and let your chicken braise for about 45 minutes.  It is important to cover  the cast iron so you do not loose too much liquid.

Umm... how delicious does this look???  It is easy to see why it is my sweetie's favorite.  I usually make this recipe and pair it with some sort of grain.  I have used everything from white rice to brown rice to barley.  Believe it or not the barley is my all time favorite.  It has this chewy consistency that I think goes well with the non-texture of the tomatoes.  Grab you a hunk of crusty bread and you have a beautifully healthy, hearty, and rustic dinner that anyone would be proud of.

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients:

2 small or 1 medium onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 TBSP of butter

1 TBSP of olive oil

1/4 cup of white wine

3-4 sprigs of Thyme, minced

2 cans of crushed tomatoes

3-4 chicken legs

Directions:

Melt the butter and olive oil over medium high heat in a cast iron skillet.  Sear your chicken legs on each side for about 4 minutes until they turn brown.  Remove the chicken legs and put on a plate.  

Add the onions to the pan and cook until they become translucent.  Add the white wine and reduce by half.  Pour in the crushed tomato and sprinkle in 3/4 of the thyme.  Stir to combine and bring to a boil.  Arrange the chicken in the pan and cover the cast iron.  Lower the heat to medium low and let it simmer for 45 minutes.

While the chicken is braising, make your rice, barley, or couscous.  Spoon the grain onto a plate to make a bed for the chicken.  Remove the chicken from the pan and place it over the rice.  Cover the chicken and rice with the tomato mixture and garnish with the remaining thyme.