Good 55º cloudy mountains totally hidden morning.
Today is 10-2..... radio code for "receiving well".
Yesterday morning about 8am drizzle started. It didn't last long and not much got wet...
By afternoon we had a couple more raindrops. We heated to 67º.
Picture of the Day....
I'm taller than you. NO, I'm taller than you!
Capers..... something you do or something you eat? LOL. Thought this interesting.................
In American culinary arts, capers are primarily a condiment, and in the Mediterranean, they are simply an ingredient, prized for their special, earthy flavor.
In American culinary arts, capers are primarily a condiment, and in the Mediterranean, they are simply an ingredient, prized for their special, earthy flavor.
Capers are actually the immature, dark green flower buds of the caper bush (Capparis spinosa or Capparis inermis), an ancient perennial native to the Mediterranean and some parts of Asia. To preserve capers, cooks pickle them in a brine of vinegar, salt, or wine, or they salt cure them.
Cooking with capers is a matter of balancing their tangy, briny, pickle flavor against smooth, buttery, or velvety flavors and textures. Many recipes call for rinsing them before use to mitigate the vinegary top notes.
Their unique burst of flavor makes them a favorite ingredient in uncooked dishes like salads and smoked salmon. They're also widely used in sauces, as a condiment, or as a flavorful garnish. Capers complement lemons, and they often appear together.
In cooked dishes, it's best to add capers toward the end of cooking, which permits the buds to keep their shape, color, and taste. This also prevents them from becoming bitter if they're simmered too long.
How Do France, Italy, and Greece Use Them?
Along the Mediterranean, native wild capers have been part of local cuisines for millennia.
In the South of France, tiny capers the size of petits pois are essential to the iconic Niçoise salad, and the French add capers to skate meunière with browned butter, among other dishes.
Capers are in a number of delicious Italian dishes as well, from chicken piccata and veal piccata to pasta puttanesca. You'll also see capers as a traditional garnish of beef carpaccio.
In Greece, capers grow larger in the rocky crags of islands and mountains, and large peeled capers the size of tiny figs take center stage in a minimalist Santorini appetizer salad of pickled caper petals in vinaigrette and nothing more.
They are also in traditional Greek salads with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, peppers, feta, oregano, and a red wine vinaigrette, and pickled capers are worked into many a cooked tomato or fish dish.
Back in the United States, capers are an essential element of bagels with nova lox and cream cheese, and they're sometimes added to chicken salad, pasta salad, potato salad, and deviled eggs. They might also appear as a delicious pizza topping, along with, for instance, mozzarella, and sliced red onions.
U.S. chefs seem to go through periods when they rediscover capers. In the '90s, some chefs fried larger capers briefly in olive oil until the buds opened like crunchy flowers, then scattered them over meat and fish dishes—an innovation Julia Child admired.
Capers Substitute?
Because capers have a briny taste, you could try instead finely diced green olives
This was a Rachael Ray recipe I changed. She used more capers, which made it too salty. She also used vermouth and I like the lemon juice and the butter! Cut this recipe in half for 2 or if there is just 1 of you, then you'll have leftovers! This was a very favorite recipe of Jerry's and mine!
Sue's Best Sea Scallops
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
2 14oz cans quartered artichoke hearts in water, drained
salt and pepper
1/4 cup parsley leaves, chopped
1 T. capers, drained
16 sea scallops
1/2 cup lemon juice
3-4 pats of butter
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add two turns of olive oil, about 2 T. of chopped shallots. Cook shallots in oil a minute or so, add artichoke hearts and toss to heat through. Season with salt and pepper and combine with parsley and capers. Transfer the artichokes/shallots to a serving dish.
Wipe out the pan to heat, raising heat a bit. Season drained and trimmed scallops with salt and pepper. Add 1 turn of olive oil to a very hot pan and immediately place scallops in pan. Sear the scallops in a single layer, causing them to caramelize, 2 minutes on each side. Add the lemon juice and butter pats and allow it to reduce a bit, 1-2 minutes. Arrange the scallops over the top of the artichoke hearts and serve.
Two special birthdays today... Terri Prim (former station secretary/supervisor at Avalon Station) is celebrating today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TERRI! xo
And... Sally Mosley (granddaughter of Sally Harwell...LASD ret) is celebrating. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SALLY! xo
Historically this date......
1789 – George Washington sends the proposed Constitutional amendments (The United States Bill of Rights) to the States for ratification.
1919 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson suffers a massive stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed.
And births this date include...
1890 – Groucho Marx, American comedian and actor (d. 1977)
1895 – Bud Abbott, American comedian and actor (d. 1974)
.... and it seems he died broke and friendless. You can read a sad story written about him in 1960:
1928 – George "Spanky" McFarland, American actor (d. 1993)
Later it was shrimp scampi and peas for dinner. Then chair, wine, TV, and Bruiser napping in my lap! I watched the second 9-1-1 TV show and was totally disappointed. It was all about a devastating California earthquake and 99.9% of the show was filmed inside a fallen building. I don't get claustrophobic but this show made me feel that way.
All I know. Nuff said. Happy Tuesday. Ciao.
xo Sue Mom Bobo
National Fried Scallops Day is observed annually on October 2nd.
A scallop is a common name which is applied to many species of marine bivalve mollusks in the family Pectinidae. Scallops are a cosmopolitan family and are found in all of the world’s oceans.
Many scallops are highly prized as a food source, and the name scallop is also applied to the meat of the scallops when it is used as seafood.
HOW TO OBSERVE
Here are two very good recipes to ejoy these Fried Scallop in your home on National Fried Scallops Day:
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