Patti's Gazpacho

It's summertime and tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers are abundant at the local farmer's markets.  As it's been really hot & humid, what could be better than a cool, light, and refreshing gazpacho?  Gazpacho is a cold tomato based vegetable soup that originates in the Andalucian region of southern Spain.  Saveur Magazine calls it salad in a blender or summer in a bowl...and I agree totally!  Though I've been lucky enough to dine on authentic gazpacho in Andalucia, this version is quite tasty!  Keep it in a pitcher in the refrigerator and pour a cup when you need refreshment!

Servings - 8

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups V-8 juice

1 Vidalia onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 cucumber, chopped

2 cups chopped tomatoes

1 clove garlic, minced

3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

     (or sherry vinegar)

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon white sugar

Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in food processor (a blender would work too).  Puree until of the desired consistency; I like mine just a little chunky.  Chill several hours before serving.

Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh croutons.

Carolina Pickled Shrimp in a Jar

I've been having lots of fun playing around with canning jars of all shapes and sizes.  Pickled shrimp is one of my favorite appetizers and makes a beautiful presentation in a quart jar! This is a great tasting, light, and refreshing dish for a summer appetizer or to add atop a salad. 

½ Vidalia or other sweet onion, thinly sliced

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1 ½ pounds (41-50 count) medium shrimp, peeled & cooked

Marinade:

¾ cup apple cider vinegar

½ cup canola or safflower oil

¼ cup capers with juices

¾ teaspoon celery seeds

½ teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon whole pepper corns

1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

Whisk the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl.  In a 1 quart wide-mouth jar, place a layer of shrimp, then onion and lemon and repeat layers until the jar is almost full.  Pour the marinade over the shrimp and fill to cover the ingredients.  Seal the jar tightly.  (you can tilt the jar a couple of times to make sure all ingredients are covered with the marinade.) Refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.  Serve with crackers or toasted baguette as an appetizer or atop lettuces with tomato wedges as a salad.

Individual Mason Jar Fruit Crisps

It’s July and fresh fruit is in season!  What could be more fun than portable, individual, cute desserts in a jar?  Off to Wal-Mart I went to find the correct size canning jars… the short, wide-mouth jars would be perfect for these crisps.  I purchased the last 16 jars (sold in sets of 4) on the shelf and the lady behind me was quite distressed that there weren’t any left for her!  I served these after dinner at home, but they would be perfect to pack for a picnic or take to a pot luck gathering.  They would also be great to take to a neighbor as a get well or welcome to the neighborhood gift. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Spray the inside of 8-ounce jars with cooking spray. (I used the short, wide mouth jars) 

INGREDIENTS:
For the fruit part of the crisp:

• Fresh or frozen fruit — about 1 cup of fruit per jar
• 1 tablespoon of white or brown sugar per cup of fruit
• 1 tablespoon of flour per cup of fruit
• ½ teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

To make 4 crisps, you’ll need about 4 cups of chopped fruit.  Thus far, I’ve made blueberry and peach crisps but you can use most any fruit. Add the flour, sugar, and flavoring and stir until all the fruit is coated. 

Fill the jars up to the line just below the screw rings, leaving enough space for the topping.

Streusel Topping

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Mix together the dry ingredients.  Add cubed butter and mix with your hands or pastry blender until mixture is crumbly and well combined. 

This will make enough topping for 8 to 12 crisps, depending on how much topping you use for each one; I made 12.  If you’re only making a few jars of crisp, you can put the extra in a ziploc bag, refrigerate it, and save for another batch or you can halve the recipe.

Scoop about 1/3 to ½ cup of the topping and press it onto the fruit, filling almost to the top of the jar.

Bake at 375 degrees F for about 40 minutes.

Let cool and top with freshly whipped cream or ice cream!

Tip:  if you don’t plan to use them all at once, you can put the lids on the crisps and freeze them because canning jars can go from freezer to oven.

Summer Melon Fruit Basket

What's better than watermelon and cantaloupe on a hot summer day?  Perhaps the fun of making a basket from the watermelon rind is the icing on the cake!  Use small cookie cutters to cut out stars, butterflies, and hearts from the fruit.  Decorate your basket with decorative skewers (I got mine at the Dollar Tree!)... and you're all set!  Fun to make and fun to eat!  Enjoy!

Carolina Shrimp Mousse Mold

I love to put my Tupperware mold to good use and since I am to bring an appetizer to a bbq this evening, I decided to make a shrimp mousse mold.  Being in the upper 80's here in North Carolina, something light & cool will fit the bill & this recipe will feed a crowd.  There are a number of recipes for shrimp molds but I like the combination of shrimp and tomato so here's a recipe and adapted it to my own taste. 

Ingredients:

1 (10.75 ounce)can condensed tomato Soup 2 (.25 ounce) envelopes unflavored gelatin ¼  cup cold water ¼ cup white wine 8 ounces low fat cream cheese, softened 1 cup light mayonnaise 1 pound cooked shrimp, shelled &    deveined 1 cup minced celery ½ cup green onions, minced 1 teaspoon horseradish 1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

Directions:

1.	Heat soup in a small saucepan.
2.	In a medium bowl, stir gelatin into cold water & wine. Mix hot tomato soup into the gelatin liquid.
3.	In a medium size mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and mayonnaise together. Mix soup mixture into the mayonnaise and cream cheese mixture. Mix well. Add shrimp, celery, green onions, horseradish and Old Bay seasoning.
4.	Spoon the mixture into a 1 quart mold and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight. Unmold onto a serving plate before serving. Garnish with thinly sliced cucumbers or lemon. Serve with crusty bread, crackers, or veggies.