Healthy and Delicious!

Here's a recipe that's quick, easy, and healthy- and unexpectedly delicious!  Miss Ginger has been seeing a lot of different avocado/pasta recipes on Pinterest, so she decided to copy steal concoct one of her own!  It's avocado season, and she has read that they are good for lowering her cholesterol, so, hey- a delicious food with good PR that's not real expensive? What's not to love?

This dish has just a few simple ingredients, and comes together in a snap!

1 bag of Trader Joe's pasta- any shape (they only have one size! Love that place for it's simplicity!!) Of course, any pasta will work- but you gotta figure out how much!

9 Campari tomatoes, or an equivalent amount of another kind of tomato (if you use big tomatoes you will want to peel them and dice them. Camparis are too small to peel, so Miss Ginger just kinda sliced them. You could also you cherry or grape tomatoes.)

1 can Artichoke hearts, packed in water (not the kind packed in oil)

2 Avocados, sliced

Olive Oil (or I guess you could just use the artichokes with oil in them!)

1 lb Louisiana Gulf Shrimp- the only shrimp worth eating! 

garlic, old bay seasoning- to taste

Boil the pasta.  While it's boiling:

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat; add olive oil to cover the bottom. (Lesson from Momma G:  "Hot pan, cold oil- food won't stick. Always heat your pan first!") Add the tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and seasoning, and cook until the tomatoes release their water and it boils down by about half. Add the avocado slices and stir them in well; they will begin to break up and make the sauce creamy.  Add the shrimp and cook until done, about 5 minutes.  

Drain the pasta and combine with the sauce. 

That's it!  You just cooked dinner in about 15 minutes! It makes about 6 servings!

Enjoy!

Someone's in the Kitchen with Ginger!!!

And as usual, that someone is Momma G!!  Check out this great recipe and the stories that go with it on The Low Salt Cajun Queen!

Someone's in the Kitchen with Ginger!!!

It's been a while since Miss Ginger shared one of her favorite childhood recipes from Momma G's repertoire, so she's going to show you how Momma G made stuffed artichokes!  These were a favorite of Baby Ginger, and he didn't get them very often for a couple of reasons.  First, Momma G would only make them when artichokes were in season. Even though you can find them year round, they often have been sitting and drying out for a long time, and Momma G said she wasn't going to go to the trouble to make them if they weren't going to be good!  There's the second reason we didn't get them very often- it takes a long time time to stuff all of that stuffing into each artichoke leaf!  Really, it's not a complicated process, but since Momma G was usually cooking for a least 5 hungry boys, plus a hungry husband and often some hungry old ladies,  stuffing a whole bunch of these could become quite an ordeal.  Momma had an old enamelware roaster that she used only for cooking artichokes, her "artichoke pot".  There wasn't anything special about it except that it was too shallow to cook a turkey, but it was big and flat and could hold a lot of artichokes.  You don't need a special pot, and if you're not cooking for an army, they aren't hard to make!

To find nice, fresh 'chokes at your grocer or farmer's market, look at the flesh inside the outer leaves, near the stem.  It should be bright green, and tender enough to yield to pressure from your fingernail.  If the insides of the leaves don't seem "meaty", skip them and wait for a fresher crop!  If the artichokes are too dry, you might as well make stuffed pine cones!

Once you get them home, slice off the stems near the base, creating a flat surface on which the 'choke will balance.  Next, lay each artichoke on it's side, and slice off the top third. Rub the cut areas with half a lemon to prevent browning, and trim the tips of the remaining leaves if they are sharp.

To prepare the stuffing, use fresh white bread crumbs- Momma G usually used leftover hamburger or hot dog buns, which have a perfect "brown" to "white" ratio.  You can use dried bread crumbs from the store, but your stuffing will be dryer.  Create enough mixture of half bread crumbs and half grated parmesan to fill the amount of artichokes you're making, and season the crumb mixture with italian herb seasoning and garlic- lots of garlic!! Use fresh garlic, garlic powder, or garlic juice, depending on you taste and comfort level.  Momma G loved her some garlic powder (she said it didn't leave an aftertaste), but Miss G uses fresh garlic, and LOTS of it!


To stuff the artichokes, place it in a large bowl and work from the outside in, pulling out each leaf and stuffing in the garlicky goodness with your fingers.  It's kind of like glittering: you spill as much as you use, so using a big bowl allows you to keep "recycling" until the chokes are all stuffed! Stuff them as full as you can get them!!

Once they are stuffed, you can cook them however you like!  As I said, Momma G used a big roaster pan, but any pot with a tight fitting lid will do.  Miss Ginger likes to use a pressure cooker when she does just a few.  Place the artichokes, bottom down, in about an inch of water, cover, and steam for about 45 minutes.  Toward the end, check for doneness by tugging an outer leaf... if it comes loose, it's ready!


You can cook them on top of the stove or in the oven, as long as they are in a constant steam bath for the 45 minute cooking time. Miss G sets her pressure cooker for 30 minutes, and uses a natural release which gives about 45 minutes total.  


They are also good cold, and you can reheat them in the microwave, so make plenty!  You can serve them as a heavy appetizer, or just eat one as a light meal!!

Seasonings Greetings!

By now you all know that Miss Ginger fancies herself quite the cook,  and the holidays always put her into the kitchen spirit!  She's not repeating her big Thanksgiving shindig of last year, however;  she just doesn't have it in her! This year, she and Brother B are going out for a quiet Thanksgiving!  Maybe Christmas, if the entertaining bug strikes!  Meanwhile,  she has been fixing herself some pretty delish meals,  and she has decided to share a couple of her "secret weapons".

Miss G has blogged before about Tony Cachere's Creole Seasoning-  a staple of Cajun and Creole cooking throughout Louisiana and the South! Most Cajun Momma's and Grandmomma's have a green box of Tony's right by the stove, ready to shake on anything that the rest of the world would season with plain salt. Tony's adds a red pepper, authentic Cajun spicy flavor to anything you put it on- and you can put it on just about anything! It's particularly good on chicken and seafood, and Miss G has even been known to shake it onto a big bowl of stove-popped popcorn!  The great thing about Tony's is that you use it just like salt- when it's salty enough, it's seasoned just right for most people.  Like it a little spicier?  They have recently come out with an "extra spicy" version that Miss G looks forward to trying!! (PS:  it's pronounced "sass- sha- ree!"


But even Miss G knows that Cajun Spice isn't appropriate for every food,  all the time!  So when she's not in the mood for red pepper spicy, she has another flavor cannon in her arsenal!

Weber Canadian Steak Seasoning may be the best thing even to come from our neighbors to the north since SCTV! Actually, it's made by a company in Memphis, so she's not sure why it's called "Canadian", but it's so delicious she's not going to pick knits! Miss Ginger buys it in a 28 oz. shaker at Sam's Club,  because she puts it on everything that doesn't get Tony's, but she's pretty sure you could find it at your local supermarket as well.  As you may have guessed,  it's perfect on steaks, and really all kinds of beef:  burgers, brisket, and Miss Ginger's newest obsession: short ribs! It's the perfect mix of salt, black pepper, garlic, and spices that make beef come to life.  There's a distinct hint of dill seed, which Miss G loves on beef!  But it's really good on other foods, too! Miss G finds that it's perfect on grilled lobster, and she also likes to use it in place of salt and pepper on eggs.  But perhaps it's best non-beef use is just to shake it onto salad in place of salt and pepper!


Take it from Miss G- if you are looking for a way to spice up your holidays,  these two products are lipstick smacking good!

More Southern Goodies with Miss G!

After we got to NOLA yesterday, Bubba G and I found out that Harrah's and Budweiser sponsor an even every Thursday during crawfish season call Bugs, Buds, and Bands, out on the street near the casino. What a deal! with a Total Rewards card, crawfish were $1.00 a pound, and Budweiser products were $3 each! We even got our picture taken for free by a chick from the BreweKrewe! What a great time we had!

Today, it poured a gullywasher here in NOLA! Such a storm that there was NO WAY Bubba and I were going out to the Fairgrounds for JazzFest! What a muddy mess that would be!! So, we stayed close to the hotel at first, and went to Felix's on Iberville Street for lunch. Felix's is cattycorner across the street from the famed Acme Oyster Company, where there is always a line. Miss G is constantly amazed as to why! Acme is delicious, don't get me wrong, but Felix's is just as good, if not better, and NEVER has a line!!

While many parts of the country serve these lucious bivalves as "raw oysters", here in NOLA they are more commonly known as "royerstyas" and they are served in a very special way! Do you see the little cup in the middle of the plate? It comes to the table with only a couple of lemon slices in it. On the table upon arrival there is a big jar of ground horseradish, a bottle or Tabasco, and a squeeze bottle of ketchup. Since everyone has there own tolerance for heat, one is allowed the chance to create their own cocktail sauce with just the right amount of "kick". Miss G always starts with a big glob of horseradish, and works her way from there.

After lunch, we needed to find a place to hole up and shelter from the rain, so Miss G took Bubba to the Bourbon Pub, figuring we could at least grab a brew and run if it wasn't fun or if Bubba wasn't comfortable there.

Well, wuncha know that Lisa and Tim were working, so it was like old home week for all at the back bar! Lisa has worked at the Pub as long as Miss G can remember, and Miss G and Bubba went to college with Tim, so there was lots to talk about and catch up on, plus lots of fun sharing stories about the "glory days" of old! We drank and carried on until almost dark, when Miss G realized she better get some food into Bubba pronto!

After a pit stop at Clover Grill, we headed to Molly's at the Market to visit our favorite NOLA feline, Mr. Wu. As usually, Mr. Wu was holding court on the back bar, and was as happy to see us as we were to see him!

Southern Cooking with Miss Ginger!

Miss Ginger had some crab cakes from Sam's Club in the freezer that she wanted to fry up, and she needed something to go with them, so she made this.

Now, I know you folks in other parts of the country THINK you know what this is, but you would be wrong! I'll bet you think it's a big ole bowl of potato salad, right?

WRONG! That is a big, delicious bowl of pitatisalid, a delicacy only available in the South!

There are many Southern foods that have yankee cousins, but pitatisalid is probably the most common. While potato salad is commercially available in the South, it is typically shunned by true Southerners in favor of the local variety of pitatisalid. Every region in the South has its own way of making pitatisalad, adding everything from peppers and spices to bacon and ham!

And, while most cooks in the South can make a good pitatisalad, no one can make the BEST pitatisalid. Only ones' mother can make the BEST pitatisalid in the South!

Momma Ginger DEFINITELY made the best pitatisalid Miss Ginger ever ate, and Miss G misses it woefully, especially at certain times of year!

Momma G had an old Tupperware ham keeper that was like a big rectangular bowl that was pointed at one end, making it shaped like an extended home plate. It was the only think she ever used to make pitatisalid, and it held a ton! She would usually make a big batch on Fridays if Miss G's brothers were coming home from college for the weekend, because it "sits good" and we never knew exactly what time they would get home. Even though she owned a food processor, she chopped everything by hand, and Baby G would sit across the breakfast bar and chatter away while Momma chopped, and chopped, and chopped! As Miss G got older, Momma would let Miss G help by peeling the potatoes and eggs. I watched her make it a thousand times, and I do everything just the way she did, but it's just NEVER as good as Momma G's was! We typically had it several times in the spring, with Easter ham, boiled shrimp, or boiled crawfish. And in the fall, we had pitatisalid during gumbo season. Even though rice is the typical "add in" for gumbo, a lot of people in Louisiana, including some of Miss G's brothers, put pitatisalid in their gumbo! If you get a really spicy gumbo, the creamy pitatisalid kind of balances out the heat.

The other reason Miss G loves pitatisalid is that it's like 2 foods in one! The night that it is made, it is served warm, and it's fresh, and aromatic, and one can taste the flavors of the potatoes and the vegetables. Then, the next day, after it's been refrigerated, it becomes a creamy, unified forkful of yum!

Miss G's pitatisalid tonight was good.... but not as good as Momma G's!

Big Girl with a Big Grill!

And it's getting a major workout today!

Boy Ginger's boss, knowing that he lives with such a charitable soul, put him in charge of the District's March of Dimes campaign! So, Boy G volunteered that charitable soul to make her famous brisket and ribs Bar B Que to sell for $10 a plate. As you can see, there's hardly an inch of space in the ole grill, with ribs braising in their sauce, sauages steaming in beer, a big beef brisket, and a big pot of "semi-homemade" sauce the slather on all of it!

Miss Ginger would rather be sewing, but it IS for a worthy cause, and she's such a sucker for those!

Christmas Has Come and Gone...

and so have the excitement, the guests, and the mess! It was a FABULOUS holiday a Chez Ginger, but now all is quiet and that's okay with Miss G and the kitties. For the moment, at least! She's one tired gurl after all this excitement!
On Christmas Eve, Miss G spent a lovely time with her brothers, her niece, and nephews with a low-key, family style seafood feast, a Louisiana Christmas Eve tradition. Brother made fried shrimp, boiled shrimp, and grilled shrimp, and all were delish!
Saturday morning Miss G got up to attend to her meat... it was really large and she wasn't sure how long it takes. You know those really big ones always take forever!

While the meat roasted, Miss G prepared the sides, and delegated the table set to Brother John... under her watchful eye, of course! She chose a blue and silver theme. Not randomly. You will be seeing those blue balls again in early February, although not in their current form! That's all the hints I'm giving!

The sides, by the way, were delish! Miss G did Blue Mac and Cheese, which was as rich and delicious as it sounds! She followed Made in Scotland's green bean technique, and everyone raved that they were so tender without being mushy! There was cauliflower, asparagus, roasted root vegetables, and Miss G's culinary experiment of the year- Yorkshire pudding!

The "yorkies" were delish, but there was only one slight debacle that I'm sure will become part of "the jokes of Christmas Past"....

Yasee, part of the delicious decadance of Yorkshire pudding is that you use pan drippings from the meat to prep the pans and keep the puddings from sticking. You have to get the pans and fat really hot, then ladle in the batter. Miss G miscalculated the capacity of the pans ever so slightly, but that was all it took to run the fat over onto the floor of the 400 degree oven! Good heavens, did it smoke! There was nothing to do but let it burn off while the puddings cooked, and luckily the weather was pretty enough for us to open the windows and let the smoke dissapate! However it went, they were delicious!

The best part of the evening, however, was Miss G's assortment of FABULOUS guests! There was family, extended family, and friends, and we ate, drank, and laughed! It was a great holiday and I'm so fortunate to have such lovely people to spend it with!

How did your holidays go?

How Was Your Turkey (Day)?!

Miss Ginger's was moist and delicious!

After spending 24 hours in the fetal position (thanks, Nutwood Beth!, for burning that image into my brain!) Miss Ginger's bird spent the next 5 hours basking in the infrared glow of the gas grill!

(Miss Ginger masked the wings with aluminum foil so it's little elbows wouldn't burn!!)

Miss G finished setting the table just as the first guests were arriving!

And, oh, what FABULOUS guests they were! Miss G is blessed with the most incredible family and "extended" family that anyone could dream of! Everyone seemed to have a great time, and there was never a lull in the lovely conversation!

Copius amounts of wine were flowing, and Miss G just did a quick "straw poll" in the wine cellar to answer the question many have asked. Yes, the red wine drinkers at the table DID polish off an entire case of pinot noir, and from the stories I've been hearing, many of them were feeling the affects of that today! The white wine drinkers, being the demure group that we are, only polished off about half a case, give or take a bottle. Okay, take.. there were only five left. And considering there were only about 4 of us drinking white, it's a miracle we weren't feeling worse this morning!

It might have been one of Miss G's best Thanksgivings ever!

What are your Thanksgiving Plans?

DD has checked in and reported that he is headed to PA for an Arby's fix. St8upwithatwist is hanging out with friend in Houston. And Kailyn is going to have some quite time alone. Sounds like the GingerSnaps are making some FABULOUS holiday plans!

Miss G has pulled out all the drag queen hostess stops again this holiday season! That smart gurl farmed out most of the menu, so all she has to make is the turkey and cranberry sauce, plus some dinner rolls. Brother John is going to be the resident sommelier, and everyone else is bringing sides, etc.

It takes a while to get the house ready for 16 guests, so Miss G has already started getting everything set for the big day. The regular table won't seat that many people, so she's rearranged the furniture and brought in banquet tables to accomodate the crowd. Jackson and Shelby seem to think that daddy has created a stage for them to put on an adorable show, but what they don't know is that if they don't straighten up real quick they are going to find themselves banished to the utility room until sometime in 2010!! As Miss G has been washing and rinsing all the things she'll need to set the table, she's been laying them out, and no one wants to eat off of a table that a cat has been crawling on, so now she's having to rewash what she's already done! Grrrrrr! I love my babies but they are taxing my patience!

Meanwhile, the turkey is soaking in it's brine bath so it can be moist and delicious! In it's 22 quart "poultry spa", it looks like a wicked, oversized science experiment! Luckily, Casa del Ginger has plenty of refrigeration, so the big lug could go out in one of the outdoor fridges and not take up valuable space in the house!

Oh, and to make it all worse... Celia's in Mexico for the Holidays, so Miss G has to clean the house herself! Ewe! How unthoughtful of the housekeeper to want to be with the family she hasn't seen in over a year, right when Miss G is starting the entertaining season!

So, what is everyone else doing for the holidays?

Perhaps One's Life is a Bit TOO Fabulous...

when one has to sand the glitter off of their banquet table in order to be able to use it for Thanksgiving Dinner!

I mean, hell, do normal people even HAVE banquet tables? Miss Ginger has 4, and when she pushes them all together in the dining room she can seat 24 comfortably! Of course, the dining table has to go in the kitchen, and the kitchen table goes in the study, but everything fits and Miss G can create a grand banquet for her guests! She used to be able to set 24 places with matching china, too, but that got split up in the divorce, so she's going to have to buy some banquet china before Thanksgiving!

Miss Ginger hasn't had this many people for Thanksgiving in a long time! As you can see, she's started preparing already!

The Big Day is Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the Kentucky Derby Party benefitting Legacy at Chances! Miss Ginger is co-hosting, and there is so much work to be done! She has to prepare one of her FABULOUS briskets, get her bonnets made, find all the drag horses for the drag horse races, make baked beans, decorate her jockey shorts, decide what to wear, and come up with 2 numbers! Oye, why does she procrastinate so? I'm sure she'll have the staff up all night cooking, gluing, and fetching! Let's just hope the bitch doesn't decide she wants to make a new dress! That would be just like her! If she goes all Martha Stewart on our ass there may be a walkout!

Anyho- hope all you locals can make it to the party! Wear a bonnet if you want to enter the contest, and there's also a contest for the "best jockey shorts", so get our your Ronco® Bedazzler and get going!