Good Morning.
We begin today with a beverage I call a Bog and Jack.
1 cup cranberry juice
1 cup Applejack
Simmer in a small pot on the stove for a few minutes, pour into a mug, and add a cinnamon stick and a slice of orange or pour over ice in a glass without the stick but with the orange. It is still below zero where I live so I will have mine warm. Should make a couple of servings; multiply as desired.
On we go to a Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing.
8 ounces baby spinach
2 eggs
8 pieces bacon
3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. mayonnaise
Dash of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 white button mushrooms
Cut off the stems from the spinach. Wash the spinach carefully, drain in a colander, and pat dry with a paper towel. Place in a salad bowl and set aside. Hard boil the eggs, peel when slightly cool, and set aside. Wipe the mushrooms with a bit of vegetable oil and set aside. Fry the bacon in a skillet, drain on paper towel, reserve the grease in the pan. To make the dressing, take about 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat and place in a small saucepan. On low heat, whisk in the vinegar, sugar, and mayonnaise. Season with just a titch of salt and pepper. Slice the mushrooms, slice the hard-boiled eggs, and snip the bacon with a scissors into small pieces. Add these items to the spinach, pour in the warm dressing and toss carefully. Scoop onto four salad plates and add a crank of freshly ground pepper to each.
This is one of my favorite salads because anything with bacon is one of my favorite whatever it is. Omit the mushrooms if you hate them, forget the eggs, and substitute shredded cheese if you prefer. If you've sworn off bacon, make a different
salad.
The entree is my husband's recipe for Lemon Shrimp. He was a seafood fanatic and had multiple recipes for every kind of
shellfish. I always joked that he married me for my dog and I certainly married him for his cooking. He also grew his own
herbs and I've always thought people who grow herbs are pleasant and well-adjusted. He was both.
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup snipped fresh chives
1/2 cup chopped fresh tarragon
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. olive oil
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 lemons
1 pound medium-sized raw shrimp
Olive oil
2 cups broccoli florets, cooked to al dente
8 ounces angel hair pasta, cooked according to package directions and drained
Peel the shrimp and dig out the ugly vein with a paring knife. In a little olive oil in a large skillet, quickly saute the shrimp until pink, maybe 4 minutes total, remove, and set aside. Place the yogurt, sour cream, chives, tarragon, garlic, mustard, olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper in a large sauce pan and stir to combine. Zest both lemons into this mixture and juice one lemon.
Whisk all of this until smooth and heat gently. Add the cooked shrimp and cooked florets, stir well, and serve over angel hair pasta to 4 people. Add a crusty loaf of garlic bread and a jug of your favorite white wine, nicely chilled.
Angel hair is the best pasta here because it compliments rather than overpowers the other shrimp and broccoli, but suit yourself and have fat farfalle if you wish. I would substitute asparagus when it's in season and this is where you definitely want fat things. Spindly old asparagus is dreadful. I tell myself that every time I look in the mirror.
And for dessert, Pots de Creme, easy peasy.
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
3 eggs separated
1/2 cup sugar
Whipped cream
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water. Separate the eggs. In a bowl, beat the whites until they have stiff peaks. In hopefully a different bowl, beat the yolks and sugar together until sort of a lemon color. Add the melted chocolate, slightly cool, to the yolk mixture and beat until smooth. Carefully fold in the egg whites and put into four small glasses or even demi-tasse cups - this probably means you're over the age of seventy but we could start a crusade to bring them back. Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours at least. Garnish with a dab of whipped cream.
Coffee would be good. Coffee under a warm throw or quilt would be better.
Best regards,
Elisabeth
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