Favorite Summer Food

Take fresh ears of corn.
Remove husks and silk.
Smear corn in butter, sprinkle generously with Tony's.
Wrap in foil.
Grill 30 minutes.

Eat as many ears as you can stand.

This Weekend in Food - My Trip to Shreveport

J and I headed down to Shreveport on Friday after work to visit his parents and see a few friends. Every time we go, we end up having massive debates about what we should eat. I don't have tons of great things to say about Shreveport. It's not a BAD place, just a bit boring. I will say this - there are so many wonderful places to eat that I would move back to that million degree hellhole just for the food.

Saturday afternoon we had lunch with J's mom at a new place called Newk's on Youree Drive. I had the black and blue salad, J had a shrimp po-boy and potato soup. My salad was good, but HUGE. There was enough left over for at least another meal and a half. J's sandwich was yummy. I didn't really care for the soup. Something about it just didn't taste right to me. The restaurant was extremely crowded, but our food still arrived quickly, which I appreciate. I'm sure we'll go back on a return visit, but I don't know that it will make it onto the list of places that we HAVE to eat at when we go home.

Later that night, we ventured to The Real Pickle on Line Avenue for dinner for sandwiches, beer, and of course pickles. I think I've finally made it halfway to my 20 Beer t-shirt, and I've only been working on my card for a year, haha. I had the Chicks in the Mail sandwich for dinner (a BLT with chicken salad). I'm not sure if the cook is different or what, but it was much better than usual. The bread was toasted more, and it tasted like it had been salted. The bacon was also extra crispy, just the way I like it.

We can't make a trip to Shreveport without going to Tacomania, so the whole family plus Steph went to lunch together on Sunday for Father's Day. Now, I could write an entire blog dedicated to the wonders of The Mania, but I won't so I'll just say this: If you are ever in Shreveport, go eat there. Ask to sit in Rodrigo's section. He's not only the best waiter, he has the best hair. Everything on the menu is good. I have never been disappointed in my food. Never not ever. Come back and tell me I was right.

In three weeks, we'll be heading to Asheville, North Carolina for a REAL vacation. If you have eating suggestions, please pass them along. I've been there before, but am always looking for new places to try.

Balsamic and Herb Flank Steak

Mix together the following in a large plastic zip-top bag:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
4 cloves garlic, minced

Add a 1 - 1 1/2 pound flank steak to the marinade. Refrigerate, massaging and turning occasionally, 8 hours.

Preheat a large non-stick pan over medium high heat. Remove steak from marinade, and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Cook for 6 - 7 minutes on each side for medium rare. Let steak rest for 5 minutes after cooking. Cut against the grain into thin slices.


Notes: This is a modified Bobby Flay recipe. Bobby wants you to grill the steak, which is all well and good, but it's been raining here for like a million days so that was a no go. I also added the mint, which was not in the original recipe. My mint plant has been growing like crazy, and I really needed to use some of it. J said the steak pieces were good in the green salad with tomatoes and honey mustard dressing, but I didn't try that myself. I served this with the salad and some oven-roasted potatoes.

Crawfish Monica

Ingredients

• One pound crawfish (pre-cooked tail meat)
• One bunch green onions, chopped
• Four cloves garlic, minced
  
• One pint half and half
• One stick butter
• Cajun seasoning
• One pound rotini pasta
  

Steps

• In a large pot, boil pasta for 8 - 9 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again.
  
• In a separate large saucepan, melt the stick of butter.
• Saute the onions and garlic in the melted butter for approximately 2 - 3 minutes or until softened and aromatic.
• Add crawfish tails to pan and cook an additional 3 - 4 minutes.
• Add half and half to pan. Stir in a few large pinches of Cajun seasoning. Taste, and add more if desired. Simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add drained rotini to sauce, simmer an additional 10 minutes.

Notes: If your sauce seems a little thick, add 1/4 cup milk at a time to achieve desired consistency. I also like to add a little parmesan cheese right at the end. I know it's not traditional, but I think it's super yum. I got this recipe from a friend over at Jambase. Thanks, "Foghorn."

Things I Didn't Actually Eat

The panda says, "Nom nom nom."

CRAWFISH

Oh my God, please don't eat me!!!


RECIPE:
Many pounds of crawfish
Boil until done
Eat until mouth burns, fingers hurt, face sweats. Repeat.

New Favorite Thing #1

This week's new feature: My New Favorite Thing. This will probably be one of those things that doesn't happen very often, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

My New Favorite Thing #1: Edy's All-Fruit Bars. At least, I think that's what they're called. They're fantastic popsicles made from fruit with no added sugar. Yes, I am aware this doesn't make them particularly healthy. It's a damn popsicle. What do you want it to be?

At any rate, they're super delicious. The strawberry one definitely at some point contained real live strawberries, because there are strawberry seeds in it. They come in raspberry, strawberry, and tangerine. Or least the box that I got came with those.

If you like popsicles, buy some of these the next time you go to the store. They're no Otter Pops, but still good.