Good 41º clear sunny morning.
Wow, the sun and the warm temperatures are so nice! 73º by noon. Then 82º by 3pm.
We're supposed to stay in the 80ºs until Thursday night when there is a possibility of rain and also on Friday.
Lunch was deviled eggs made with Pomegranate Mayonnaise. OMGOOOD!! Walden Farms products are calorie free and everything I have ever tried was super good!
I also had some Greek Gods Honey Lemon Yogurt with some fresh strawberries.
Yesterday afternoon Mike Hannan came over. Just after he got here Dude went out and rolled around in the grass by the carport. OMG! His back was wet and STUNK! I don't know what it was but it was sickening. I got the hose and some Neutrogena Clean Shampoo, put his collar on and drug him to a spot where I wet him down, put on the shampoo, and scrubbed it in and then rinsed him. What a difference. Then I wiped him down with dryer sheets. Good thing it was warm out so he could dry!!! We don't know what it was he rolled in but Mike thought it could have been deer pee. Sigh............
Anyway, Mike was really busy weed-eating and mowing. More to do, so he may be back today or tomorrow....
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 one of mine and Jerry's favorite recipes!
Sue's Best 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.
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.
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
Historically this date.........
1967 – Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1 when its parachute fails to open. He is the first human to die during a space mission.
1970 – The first Chinese satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, is launched. (Oh my, that sounds funny!!)
1980 – Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end theIran hostage crisis.
2005 – Snuppy, the world's first cloned dog, is born in South Korea.
And births this date include....
1934 – Shirley MacLaine, American actor and author
All I know. Nuff said. Happy Tuesday. Ciao.
xo Sue Mom Bobo
On April 24, observe National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day with just a few ingredients.
Celebrated across the world, the term often refers to a variety of different dishes. In the United States, Pigs-in-a-Blanket are often hot dogs or sausages wrapped in biscuit or croissant dough and baked. Pigs-in-a-Blanket are generally served as an appetizer or as breakfast. However, it can be served any mealtime!
HOW TO OBSERVE
Share your version of Pigs-In-A-Blanket using #NationalPigBlanketDay on social media.
History...
And here's 19 different ways to make pigs in a blanket. Interesting!
Or go here for more:
Oh, and by the way.... this is a good one too! :o)
