Shrimp Fritters with Chipotle Tzatziki

I can't even think about fried food right now. All I want is a big salad or a piece of poached fish. Simple, healthy, clean. Shrimp fritters are a no-go in my life. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy them. I'm sure at some point I'll recover from our trip to NOLA, but for the next few weeks, I'm keeping things light. That's what five days of shrimp and grits, fried oyster po' boys, beignets, and Sazeracs will do to a person. No regrets, though. None at all.

Our time in New Orleans was memorable and we left with a good feel for the city. When we travel, I like to do one activity each day and we managed to do that. On our first day, we took the trolley up to the sculpture garden, which is situated in City Park next to the New Orleans Museum of Art.  Entry to the garden is free, and one can easily spend an hour perusing the 63 sculptures.

Looking to get a bit more general history of the city, we signed up for a guided tour of St. Louis Cemetery 1. The hour and a half spent walking with our guide was packed with information (some of which I'm sure we missed since he spoke at a dizzying pace). Having now seen the above-ground vaults, I need to watch the infamous scene from Easy Rider again. Apparently (and not terribly surprising), part of the movie was filmed without permission from the city and, ever since 1969, no other films have been allowed to shoot inside the cemetery.

Our third day was a bit rainy, which made for the perfect museum day. The Ogden was down the street from where we were staying. A relatively compact museum, the exhibits gave us a great foundation on Southern art.

But the part I'll remember the most was what we did on our last day. A friend who lives locally offered to pick us up to drive around the Ninth Ward. While a few buildings have been constructed over the years since Hurricane Katrina (mainly those financed by Brad Pitt), not much has been developed in this area. There are huge gaps between the houses. Instead of a city, it resembles a more rural neighborhood. A number of these houses are in a state of complete disrepair and should have been demolished years ago. Yet they haven't been touched and just sit there. It's a sobering sight; one that anyone visiting New Orleans should see.

I'm not sure when Eric and I will have a chance to return for another visit, but we already have a list of eats, drinks and landmarks we missed on this trip. And speaking of dining, I'll be sure to share my recommendations later this week.

Back to these fritters! So, see that book down there? These fritters are a result of that beautiful book by Ashley Rodriguez (of Not Without Salt fame). I've read through Date Night In once already (a sign of a stellar cookbook is that you read it from cover to cover) and have already gone back through passages. I just love them so much. Now, shrimp fritters aren't in the book, but a tzatziki dressing is and I went off of that. Because a fried frittery thing, especially one with a bit of a kick, needs a yogurt dipping sauce to cool things down (I should note that I modified it a bit by adding some chipotle pepper to give it a little smokiness).

For other a multitude of wonderful recipes and deeply personal stories by Ashley, be sure to buy her book.Don't wait. Go. Now. 

Shrimp Fritters with Chipotle Tzatziki

Sources: Fritters adapted from Emeril Lagasse's recipe via Food Network; Tzatziki adapted from Date Night In by Ashley Rodriguez

Yields: approx. 2 dozen fritters

Ingredients

For the shrimp fritters 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1/4 cup chopped green onion 1/4 cup chopped fennel 1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 1 tsp dried oregano 3 eggs, beaten 1 1/2 cup milk 2 teaspoons baking powder Salt Cayenne 3 1/4 cups flour Corn oil, for frying

For the chipotle tzatziki 1 cup plain Greek yogurt 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar 1/2 cucumber, seeded and chopped into small cubes 1 garlic clove, minced 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint 2 teaspoons fresh dill, minced 1 tsp ground chipotle pepper

1. Prepare the chipotle tzatziki by mixing together all the ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt and let sit in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve the fritters.

2. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the green onion and fennel. Cook for about 3 minutes, until softened. Add the shrimp season with oregano and salt, and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Remove from heat.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of cayenne. Add the flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, to the egg mixture. Once it is fully incorporated, fold shrimp mixture into batter.

4. Pour corn oil in a large, deep saucepan so it comes up 3 inches. Heat the corn oil to 360 degrees F. Drop the batter, a heaping tablespoon at a time, into the hot oil. When the fritters pop to the surface, roll them around with a slotted spoon in the oil to brown them evenly. Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve with chipotle tzatziki.

Chard + Roasted Garlic Pesto

What can be said in New Year rhymes, That’s not been said a thousand times?

The new years come, the old years go, We know we dream, we dream we know.

We rise up laughing with the light, We lie down weeping with the night.

We hug the world until it stings, We curse it then and sigh for wings.

We live, we love, we woo, we wed, We wreathe our brides, we sheet our dead.

We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear, And that’s the burden of the year.

The Year, Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Chard and Roasted Garlic Pesto

Yields: Approximately 1.5 cups pesto

Ingredients

1 head garlic 1 bunch chard (around 4 cups of packed leaves), rinsed, dried and deribbed 1 bunch fresh parsley, stems removed 1/2 cup slivered almonds Juice of one lemon 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated Olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare a piece of aluminum foil that's big enough to wrap around the garlic. Peel off the majority of the paper from the garlic and slice off the top to expose the tops of each clove. Place in the center of the aluminum foil and drizzle a little olive oil on top. Wrap with aluminum foil and place directly on oven rack. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

2. In a small sauté pan set over medium heat, cook the almond slivers, stirring often to make sure they don't burn, until they become lightly toasted.

3. Remove garlic from the oven, squeeze out each clove and transfer to a food processor, along with the toasted almonds. Pulse until the almonds are chopped and have turned into a coarse paste. Add the chard, parsley, and lemon juice, along with 2 tablespoons olive oil, and pulse until pureed.

4. Transfer mixture to a serving bowl. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Serve with bread or toss with pasta.

Marinated Mushrooms

Marinated Mushrooms

Marinated Mushrooms

Marinated Mushrooms

Down to the last few days in my twenties. Eric has been joking for the past month that I need to order my coffin. My gay death is quickly approaching, he tells me, at which point I remind him that, no matter how old I get, I’ll always be his younger man. Ever since he turned thirty, I’ve tried to envision what we’d do to celebrate my introduction to the next decade of my life. For his birthday, we ate at The French Laundry. I had it in my head that we should do something equally extravagant for mine. Maybe a trip to New York to eat at Eleven Madison or Le Bernadin. One of our bucket list restaurants. Then we moved into our house and everything changed. I had dreams of hosting friends and family, gathering in our backyard, eating food fresh off the grill. There'd be copious amounts of cheese and wine. And laughter.

That's all I really want and that's exactly what we have planned for this coming weekend. As always, Eric and I have made plans to do a more intimate dinner on my actual birthday on Monday (I also have a much needed massage scheduled for that morning). Overall, I think we have some nice activities in the works.

Everyone's been asking me if I'll be cooking for the party. We had talked briefly about having it catered, but that just didn't feel right. I get so much joy out of feeding people that it would be odd for me to present someone else's food. One of the dishes I've prepared are these marinated mushrooms. It's a very easy appetizer to create and one that can be multiplied for larger groups. I expect that they'll go well with the rest of our spread: cheeses, olives, roasted tomatoes, grilled fish and smoked brisket.

In other news, I am thrilled to share that I have a few of my photos being displayed at the Boston Center for Adult Education. Ok... maybe a few is an understatement, since it's actually 50. I was so honored when I was asked to create a show for the gallery space. It's titled The Mood of Food and it'll be up for the next month. On September 19th, the BCAE is hosting a reception that's open to the public. They've put together quite the event... with wine, beer, a cocktail (they're serving up my blackberry shrub) and some tasty bites. If you live in Boston, I'd love to see you there! (Click here for more details)

Marinated Mushrooms

Marinated Mushrooms

Source Very mildly adapted from the recipe by Tyler Florence

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil 2 pounds cremini or button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered 2 lemons, zested and juiced 3 garlic cloves, sliced 1 small bunch fresh thyme 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary 2 bay leaves Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Add 1/4 cup olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook them for about 3 minutes.

2. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and juice, garlic, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves.

3. Pour over the remaining olive oil and season the mixture with salt and pepper. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool. Serve at room temperature.