The Fabulous Host of My Very Own Cooking Show

So, it's finally happened! After years of mentally narrating my own every move in my little kitchen, I hosted my very own cooking show. And I think it went really well. I was poised, the audience was responsive, the recipes were smooth and complete and I effortlessly conducted demonstrations while cleverly producing finished products from the oven behind me on set. It was awesome.


Mind you, it wasn't televised and the audience was a my aunt's very captive garden club, but it sort of counts? Right? OK, so no, it's not a cooking "show" if there is no filming involved but it was fun and I think everybody had a good time. See, I was invited to give a cooking with herbs demonstration to the lovely Crofton Master Gardners' Club. And I did. And they are either the nicest group of people I have ever met or they confirmed for me once and for all what I have long suspected: I am charming, witty, skilled with a knife and just a plain old natural.

No? Well, I didn't accidentally curse or cut myself, and that's a victory I think. There have to be points for that. And Beth will attest that on my worst day I am WAY more charming that that smug Michael Chiarello. And I'm nowhere near as scary as that creepy Sandra Lee. OK, fine, I'm a different, less spine-tingling-ly-stepford kind of scary. Plus,I have a no-catch-phrase policy that I think gives me a (less annoying) edge over Rachel Ray. No, I don't like her. I get her appeal, but that is Beth that likes her, not me. Crap...that probably just got me black listed from having a show on Food Network for a few lifetimes. So, while my real television debut is probably a ways off (like, never) I'm pretty much ready should the opportunity knock. I mean, I already have my own chef's coat. That's half the battle, I think.


Here are the herby recipes I shared with my new fans. They are all really easy as I was afraid to attempt anything I couldn't finish in such a public forum. As I told my audience, in most cases, you can swap out an herb I have used for one that you prefer or have a plethora of on hand. But they're pretty good just as they are so this is a good place to start. Let me know what you think...it might be good for my ratings, even if they're only in my head.



Herbed Shrimp Cocktail with Bloody Mary Cocktail Sauce
An easy, interesting twist on the classic

Ingredients:
For shrimp:
2 lbs large (U-25) shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 large lemon, divided
about 12 - 18 whole peppercorns
salt & red pepper flake, to taste
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup fresh chopped herbs (I use 40% tarragon, 20% flat-leaf parsley & 40% chives)

Instructions:
In a steamer or stockpot, bring about 4 cups of water, seasoned with the juice of 1/2 the lemon, kosher salt & red pepper flake to taste and whole peppercorns to a gentle boil. Add shrimp to steamer basket or a fine mesh metal collander fitted to your pot and place over - NOT IN - simmering water. Cover and steam shrimp, uncovering only long enough to shake the the shrimp once or twice to allow for even cooking, until shrimp are just cooked. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Drizzle immediately with olive oil and toss to coat...shrimp should be coated, not sitting in oil. Add oil slowly...you can always add more, but it's tough to take it out! Immediately, while shrimp are still warm, add fresh herbs and the zest of 1/2 of that lemon. Toss completely to coat evenly with herbs. Salt lightly with kosher salt if you wish. Chill shrimp for at least 2 hours or overnight before serving with cocktail sauce (below).

For cocktail sauce:
1 1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. prepared horseradish
2 T. Wostershire sauce
1 - 2 T. Rose's Lime Juice (to your liking)
dash of Tabasco
fresh cracked black pepper (to taste)
2 T. vodka (optional)

Combine all ingredients and stir well. Chill at least 2 hours before serving with shrimp.



Grilled Skirt Steak with Not-particularly-authentic-but-entirely-delicious Chimichurri Sauce
Chimichurri is an Argentinian sauce similar in texture and method to a pesto. To me, it tastes like summer.

Ingredients:
2 - 3 lbs. beef skirt steak or hangar steak
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
kosher salt & fresh black pepper to taste

1 c. fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley leaves (heavy stems removed)
1 1/2 c. fresh cilantro leave (heavy stems removed)
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
zest of one large lemon
2 - 3 T. fresh lemon juice
1 or more cloves garlic
Red pepper flake, to taste
1 - 2 tsp. kosher salt, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
1/4 - 1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil

For the Chimichurri Sauce, place the nine ingredients from parsley through black pepper in a food processor or blender. Pulse quickly a few times to get things started. As ingredients begin to shift, slowly drizzle in olive oil until you acheive the consistency of a thick pesto. Taste and correct seasoning to your liking. Chill at least an hour before serving with steak (as below), pork, or maybe even a hearty steak-like fish, like swordfish. If stored in an airtight container, this will easily keep for a week, perhaps longer.

For the skirt steak, cut the steak into grill-able lengths (6" - 8") and, in a glass baking dish, season liberally with red wine vinegar, salt & pepper. Chill, uncovered, until you are ready to light the grill. Then, take it out of the fridge and allow it to sit at room temperature while the grill heats. Heat grill to the high end of medium-high (I dunno...I make it up as I go along, people). Place the skirt steak on the grill and turn down the heat a bit and grill for only about 3 - 5 minutes per side (turn it just once if you can) for medium rare. Remove from heat and allow to rest about 7 - 10 minutes before slicing into 1/2 strips. Serve with Chimichurri Sauce as above. Delicious.



Basil-Lemon Simple Syrup Three Ways
Use this simple syrup to make a granita, refreshing lemonade or as a base for a cocktail. This method is also lovely with mint. Try mixing different herb and citrus combinations!

4 c. water
2 c. turbinado sugar (aka Sugar in the Raw)
1 cup fresh whole basil leaves, divided
The zest (just the yellow part, not the pith) of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan and add the lemon zest (please note: you are going to want to remove the lemon zest from the syrup, so don't use your microplane this time. Using a sharp knife, slice 1" pieces of zest from lemon, taking care not to end up with the pithy white part of the rind). Gently bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Don't walk away from this...you do not want it boiling over onto your stove. Once sugar has dissolved completely, carefully transfer syrup to a stainless steel bowl sitting in an ice bath and add 1/2 cup of whole basil leaves to steep as syrup cools.

While syrup is cooling, place the remaining 1/2 cup of basil leaves in a blender with 1/2 cup lemon juice. Pulse to combine until the leaves are fully incorporated into lemon juice and the mixture is pourable. Feel free to use an extra squeeze of lemon or a few drops of water to get everything combined. Place a fine mesh seive over a compatibly sized bowl and pour pureed lemon-basil mixture through, pressing the solids left in the seive to release juices. Add the strained liquid to your cooled simple syrup.

To make a lemon-basil granita, perfect for accompanying fresh fruit as a dessert, pour the mixture carefully into a jelly roll pan (a flat, stainless pan with at least 1" sides) already placed safely in your freezer. Freeze for a minimum of 4-5 hours or overnight, scraping occasionally with a fork once freezing begins to create a flaky, "snowy" texture.

To make basil lemonade, fill a tall glass with ice and pour the cooled mixture to about 1/3 - 1/2 way up the glass, depending on desired sweetness and concentration of flavor. Fill the rest of the glass with sparkling water or club soda, stir gently and enjoy.

To make a perfect summer cocktail, pour 1 oz. simple syrup mixture into a cocktail shaker with 2 oz. of your favorite rum or vodka. Shake to combine and pour into an appropriate glass filled with ice. Top off with a splash (or more, to your liking) of club soda and enjoy.

Thanks to all of my new friends in Crofton for having me! I had a blast!