COOKING

The party was a huge success and I have speant the last few days cleaning up and distributing left overs! Here are a few of the recipes and always remember that your taste buds complete a recipe and all of these have wiggle room depending on your likes or dislikes. A couple of these I got from THE GRILLING BIBLE which is one of my favorite summer time cookbooks. I added, subtracted, substituted and tweaked until it was perfect...you should do the same.

SPICY SHRIMP AND SAUSAGE BOIL

In a large pot boil 10 - 12 cups of water. Place two hot chiles(sliced down the center), 4 stalks of celery, quartered; 2 medium onions, quartered; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 3 TB of seafood seasoning; 4 ears of corn, quartered; cook for aprox 15 minutes. Add 1 pound of new potatoes, 1 pound of smoked andoullie sausage cut into 1-inch pieces, cook an additional 10 minutes until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat, add 1 pound (or more) of shell on shrimp, let stand until shrimp are opaque for about 2 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of liquid. Drain mixture and place in huge serving bowl. Add 4 TB of melted butter, hot peper sauce (to taste) and the reserved liquid. Serve with the seafood seasoning. Enjoy!!!

SWEET BASIL PESTO PASTA SALAD

In a small food processor, place 2 cloves of minced garlic, 10 oz of pine nuts, 1/4 c. of grated parmesan, 1/2 c. of fresh basil leaves (torn into pieces) and 3 TB of olive oil. Process until smooth. Now here is where you have to use your eyes, nose and tongue to determine if it is ready. You can really play around with a pesto using more cheese, less basil etc until it is to your liking. Prepare an interesting pasta, drain, add any veggies you like (tomato, olives, etc) or nothing at all. Stir in pesto and serve!

CORN AND BEAN SALSA (this is my sister's favorite!!!)

Whisk together 6 TB of Franks hot sauce, 6 TB red wine vinegar, 3-4 TB of minced fresh cilantro, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tspn of chili powder, and 1/3 cup of olive oil, until blended.

Pour over 1 -12 oz package of thawed and drained frozen corn, 2 cans of drained black beans, 1 can of diced tomatoes and chilies and 2 diced green onions. Cover and refrigerate. Serve with a variety of tortilla chips.