7 Faves, the Jumpstart Edition

I've been neglecting this here blog.  I won't bother you with excuses.  It's been months since I've picked up one of my Nicholas Sparks books.  I've done one project from The Last Song, and that's it.   I've stalled, big time.  I'm determined not to abandon you all, though; I know there are many blogs out there that are pretty much dead in the water because their authors just up and quit and got on with their busy lives.  I'm sorry to say that I spent a good half hour just the other day going through and clicking the "Stop Following This Blog" option on my reading list, and many of those were blogs that hadn't been updated in months.  (Some of them I just quit reading.  Shame on me.)  I don't have many followers here to begin with, and I wouldn't want anyone to do that to me.

Anyway, since it's the end of the year and all, I'm determined to see this through.  Call it a New Year's resolution if you will.  I've had a lot of fun cooking all those Nicholas Sparks-inspired meals and sharing them with you, and do you know what?  It also has made me pay more attention to the food in other books as well (hence my deviation to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo; and have you ever read Dean Koontz' Odd Thomas series?  I've been practically drooling at the thought of trying some of the dishes in those books...)

So in a what I hope isn't a futile attempt to jump start Cooking Nick's Books, I'm choosing seven of my favorite posts from the last year and a half or so.  Here they are in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent (click on the titles to link to the posts):

--1--

The Choice:  Brazilian Chicken, A Delicious Do-over

I suppose I should have called this one "Brazilian Chicken with Raw Tropical Sauce," because that's what it is.  Anyway, it's inspired by Rachael Ray (I got to meet her recently; I'll tell you about that soon!  Let's just say I was giddy) and one of our favorite race car drivers.

--2--

The Lucky One:  Shrimp and Grits

Shrimp.  Grits.  The Lucky One.  Paula Deen.  And some family photos from like eight years ago.

--3--

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo:  Lamb Chops in Red Wine Sauce and Creamy Baby Potatoes

Delicious.  That is all.

--4--

Post-Christmas Update:  Adventures with Beef, Roasted Tomatoes, and My Oyster Stew

...or, "What I Cooked For Christmas Dinner 2011 and Narrowly Escaped Disaster."  The best Christmas dinner I ever made.  2012's was lame in comparison, I'm sorry to say.

--5--

The Choice:  Grilled Shrimp Kebabs with Watermelon-Pineapple Salad

We love shrimp and we love grilling, and the watermelon-pineapple salad is one of our favorite summer sides.  I posted this in November 2011, but I remember the day we made this:  October 16, the day Dan Wheldon died.  Thankfully during dinner we were blissfully unaware that he had been killed that day. We wouldn't find out until later.

--6--

Dear John:  Spaghetti with Meatballs and Sausage, and Grandma B's Amazing Sauce

My mother-in-law taught me to make this.  You won't get a better gravy (that's Italian for "pasta sauce") anywhere.

--7--

Bonus:  An Amazing Corn Chowder

I have no idea why I've only made this once.  It's fantastic.

So that's it.  I resisted the temptation to post more than seven, so I guess if you want more where these came from, you'll just have to poke around here some more.  In fact, I would LOVE for you to do that.  And I WILL keep posting here, I promise; I hope you'll put me on your reading list!

(And while you're at it, you can check out my other blog, Musings of a Catholic Mom, where just the other day I shared my ten favorite posts from 2012.)

And for more Quick Takes, be sure to visit Jenn at Conversion Diary!

Happy New Year!

The Lucky One: Shrimp and Grits

Now that the film version of Nicholas Sparks' The Lucky One is out, it's time to have a go at the food in the book! Reviews for the movie are mixed, and nobody is saying it's great; I keep reading things like "predictable," "syrupy," "lazy," (ouch), "dull;" but I've also seen "sweet," "sentimental," "solid," and "beautifully shot." This is the best review I've seen so far, and even that one isn't all that great. Ah, well, we Nicholas Sparks fans will see the movie anyway. Nick writes his stories for a specific audience, and we eat them up. And there are lots of us. Those Nick-haters, well, they just don't get it. (That said, I will admit that there are one or two Nicholas Sparks books that I've found a little too bland and predictable, and I didn't care for them much; but do you think I'm going to tell you what they are? Not a chance.)

The Story:  Logan Thibault (pronounced "Tebow," like the football player. I think. But I haven't seen the movie yet...) is an Iraq war veteran who shows up in Hampton, North Carolina--which doesn't really exist, although according to Nick's official website, it's somewhere in the Blue Ridge mountains. (The site says "Blue Mountain Region," but that must be a typo. They mean "Blue Ridge," surely.) Have you ever been to the mountains in North Carolina? Beautiful. I spent two summers during college as a camp counselor near Brevard, about an hour's drive from Asheville, and I still have dreams at night about going back to Camp Gwynn Valley. Truly a piece of Heaven.

(Please pardon the interruption; I will now share some photos from our 2005 summer vacation in the North Carolina mountains.)

(And now, back to our regularly scheduled blog post.) 

 Anyhow, Logan has walked to Hampton with his German Shepherd, Zeus, all the way from his home in Colorado.  He's carrying a picture that he found in Iraq, of a beautiful young woman.  He carries this photo because it seems to have kept him safe from harm when his buddies were getting killed in war and accidents and such.  He's decided to track this woman down because a friend convinced him that she must be his good-luck charm.  He finds Beth, who lives with her ten-year-old son, Ben, and her grandmother, "Nana."    Beth is a teacher; Nana owns a kennel.  Logan gets a job at the kennel, and befriends Beth, Nana, and Ben; and eventually develops a romance with Beth.

One evening during dinner, Nana announces that she's going to visit her sister in Greensboro.  Logan is going to drive her there and oversee things at the kennel while she's gone.  Nana had a stroke a few years back, and naturally Beth is concerned.  Once Nana makes up her mind about something, though, that's it.  The conversation takes place over a meal of shrimp and grits.

I found several recipes on the Internet, and here's the one I picked.

SHRIMP AND GRITS by Paula Deen


Ingredients


1 cup stone ground grits
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup butter
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, left whole if small and roughly chopped if medium or large
6 slices bacon, chopped into tiny pieces
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 cup thinly sliced green onions, white and green parts
1 large garlic clove, minced


1.  To make shrimp and grits recipe, bring 4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Add the grits and salt and pepper to taste.  stir well with a whisk.  Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cook the grits until all the water is absorbed, about 10 to 15 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and cheese.  Keep covered until ready to serve.

I thought it needed a little cayenne pepper, too.

2.  Rinse the shrimp and pat dry.  Fry the bacon in a large skillet until browned and crisp, then drain on a paper towel.  Add the shrimp to the bacon grease in the skillet and saute over medium heat just until they turn pink, about 3 minutes.  Do not overcook!  Immediately add the lemon juice, parsley, green onions, and garlic.  Remove the skillet from the heat.

I think I might have forgotten the lemon juice...

3.  Pour the grits into a serving bowl.  Pour the shrimp mixture over the grits.  Garnish with the bacon bits.
(Source:  Leite's Culinaria)

I doubled the recipe; I was lazy and bought two pounds of frozen shrimp, already peeled and deveined.  The boys wrinkled their noses at the thought of shrimp on top of grits.   They'd never heard of such a thing.  But guess what?  They loved it.  It was delicious, and next time maybe I'll get fresh shrimp, and remember the lemon juice.

Logan drives Nana to Greensboro, fixes the brakes on Nana's truck, and spends more and more of his free time with Beth and Ben.  Still, he doesn't tell anyone about the photo of Beth.  He wants to, but is struggling to find the right timing and the right words.  Will the truth finally come out?  Will Beth be pleased that he has come so far to meet her?  I'm not telling.  You'll have to read the book.  Or watch the movie; although I suspect the book is better.

My camera is in the shop.  It suddenly developed this annoying black shadow across the top of every photo I take, no matter what lens or what setting I use.  Worse, when I try to take indoor photos, they're way too dark even though the flash seems to work.  It will be two weeks at least before I get it back.  Fortunately I have two more food projects I did over spring break; one from The Lucky One, and one from the first Lemony Snicket book.  I hope I get my camera back soon, because I don't want to rely on my phone to take food photos for this blog.  (I suppose I could use my old point-and-shoot camera, the one I used for my 2005 vacation photos, but that one isn't working properly either.  Probably because I let the boys use it.  *sigh*)  I'm praying for a speedy recovery for my trusty Canon EOS Rebel.

Next Up:  Taco Night!