Author Blog

If it’s true that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, then Valentine’s Day has GOT to be a culinary celebration! The hard decision is whether it should be our own effort or that of the chef at a fabulous restaurant. I’m arguing for the former, since it presents stronger evidence of true love, and it doesn’t involve long waits at crowded restaurants while the maitre d tries to stab a peak-ed rose into a melting baked Alaska that you’ve ordered.

To my way of thinking, a Valentine menu should be centered around favorite ingredients; in this case artichokes with shrimp and rum cake. I’ve chosen two sinfully good recipes, but you need to be forewarned: DON’T COUNT THE CALORIES! Remember, Valentine’s Day comes only once a year.
The first recipe is Shrimp and Artichokes in Butter Sauce. I can’t remember where it came from, but the second recipe, Rum Cake, came from my friend Leslie Ariail some twenty-five years ago. It takes advantage of every shortcut in the book. People rave about it to such an extent that it’s embarrassing to tell them how simple it is to make. It can also be made with bourbon instead of rum.

SHRIMP AND ARTICHOKES IN BUTTER SAUCE

2 large artichokes

½ t salt

3 cloves garlic

¼ t dried oregano

1 T fresh lemon juice

1/8 t cayenne pepper

¾ t fresh ground pepper

¾ lb shrimp in the shell

2 t Worcestershire sauce

bunch minced scallions

½ t dried basil

1 stick cold unsalted butter

Cut off artichoke stems and and steam the artichokes 40 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Drop garlic into the cuisinart and mince it. Turn the motor off and add lemon juice, black pepper, Worcestershire, basil, salt, (if you are using regular salted butter then cut out the ½ t salt) oregano and cayenne. Pulse to combine.

Cut the butter into twelve slices, put it in the cuisinart and blend. Spread the shrimp in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with the scallions. Drop butter mixture evenly over the top and bake, stirring once, for six minutes. Put the artichokes in two bowls and surround them with the shrimp and the sauce. Scatter a few lemon wedges around and serve with hot, crusty bread.

LESLIE’S RUM CAKE

1 Duncan Hines Butter Recipe Golden Cake Mix
1 box instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1 cup rum
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup nuts

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Put all but the nuts in a bowl and mix with an electric beater 2 – 3 minutes. Stir in the nuts. Put in a greased bundt pan and bake 50 – 60 minutes. Cool the cake and then turn it out onto a plate. Prick it with a fork all over. Pour over it the following glaze, which will “well” up in the middle.

GLAZE: Boil for two minutes: ¾ cup rum, ¾ stick butter and ¾ cup sugar.

Nigella Lawson is one of my favorite cooks. She is English, writes well, and is also an innovative foodie. I particularly like her cookbook, “NIGELLA EXPRESS.” Here is her explanation of what she is trying to do.

“There are few things so likely to put a strain on the working day as knowing that you’ve got people coming over for supper a few minutes after you’ve walked in the front door, let alone taken your coat off. I don’t wish to sound negative. I do, it’s true, have a tendency toward slight hermit-like cocooning, especially in the winter, but I also love to be in a room full of friends in the evening. And if I think about it, most of the time when I do have people over for supper, it is during the week. Weekends can get so taken over by my children’s social life, there really isn’t any time for my own. But that suits me. One of the good things about a midweek supper party is that no one expects the grand treatment. And I always, always prefer the mood to be informal. ”

Notice that she doesn’t refer to “dinner,” the much more informal word, “supper,” is used instead. This is important, because in your own head you will be much more likely on the spur of the moment to invite friends over for a meal you call supper. DON’T call in February and set up a date for March; instead call today (it’s first Friday in C’ville!) and say “let’s hit all the openings downtown and then come back here and have supper.”

The recipe below from “NIGELLA EXPRESS” will fill the bill, although you will have to brave the Friday crowd at Whole Foods or Food of All Nations to get Halloumi cheese. You can substitute any sausage for the merguez sausage specified in the recipe below, but you can’t do without the Halloumi cheese, which does NOT melt when cooked.

MERGUEZ WITH HALLOUMI AND FLAME-ROASTED PEPPERS

• 12 oz. of merguez or any spicy sausage
• 1 8 oz. jar roasted peppers
• 1 8 oz. block of halloumi cheese
• 1 T. garlic-infused oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Put the sausages in a low-sided roasting pan, this makes the cooking time quicker. (I cut the merguez sausage into bite-size pieces). Slice the halloumi into 1/4 inch slices and lay them on and around the sausages. Take the peppers out of the jar and strew them around the sausage and cheese, cutting them into smaller pieces as you go. Cook for 15 – 20 minutes, by which time the sausages should have browned and the cheese colored in places. (Mine took all of 20 minutes). Serves 4.

Make a salad, serve with French bread and you’ve got SUPPER!