Cardamom bites; a really quick and easy shortbread
I love the aromatic scent of these simple to make, but festive, holiday cookies. They've become a family favorite, and are easy to prepare aboard, as they have simple and easy to find ingredients.
Ingredients:
1 cup butter softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 egg white beaten
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
Browned buttercream frosting ( recipe follows)
Directions: Beat butter and sugars until fluffy; mix in egg yolk, vanilla, flour, salt and cardamom. Spread dough in greased jelly roll pan. Brush with egg white; sprinkle with nuts. Bake at 275 for 1 hour.
Make frosting; drizzle on warm cookies. Cut cookies before they cool completely into diagonals, and then cut diagonally once again to form triangular shaped "bite" sized cookies
Browned Buttercream Frosting
1 1/2 tbsp of butter
1 cup of powdered sugar
1/2 tsp real vanilla
Milk
Directions: Heat butter in small saucepan just until it begins to slightly brown. Remove from heat.
Stir in sugar, vanilla, and enough milk to make a "spatter-able" consistency. Spatter over warm
cookies.
Ingredients:
1 cup butter softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 egg white beaten
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
Browned buttercream frosting ( recipe follows)
Directions: Beat butter and sugars until fluffy; mix in egg yolk, vanilla, flour, salt and cardamom. Spread dough in greased jelly roll pan. Brush with egg white; sprinkle with nuts. Bake at 275 for 1 hour.
Make frosting; drizzle on warm cookies. Cut cookies before they cool completely into diagonals, and then cut diagonally once again to form triangular shaped "bite" sized cookies
Browned Buttercream Frosting
1 1/2 tbsp of butter
1 cup of powdered sugar
1/2 tsp real vanilla
Milk
Directions: Heat butter in small saucepan just until it begins to slightly brown. Remove from heat.
Stir in sugar, vanilla, and enough milk to make a "spatter-able" consistency. Spatter over warm
cookies.
What's been cookin' aboard "Simply Grand" this summer?
The Simply Grand crew spent the summer based in the Florida Keys, arriving just in time for lobster mini-season.! We we on the go pretty much all of the time, and had lots of visitors...so we enjoyed mostly fish and seafood meals aboard with lots of appetizers in between fishing, diving, sight seeing and just plain loafing around.
Simply Grand Appetizers
Grilled Eggplant and Red Peppers with Smoked Provalone |
Joe's Sashimi Tatami Appetizer with Green Onions |
Simply Grand Lobster Bisque
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Indian Dinner Aboard the Simply Grand
Good quality Basmati rice makes all of the difference ..... fragrant elongated grains, should never be overcooked......
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Able crew member, Bubba inspects the progress of dinner preparations!
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Tandoori Shrimp and Aloo Matar Ghobi with Cucumber Raita
Many of our guests aboard Simply Grand are vegetarians ..while Captain and crew are totally omnivorous! Okay, well...Bubba and Bindi admit to favoring the "paleo" approach to diet and nutrition :-)
We think that Indian food is healthful, flavorful and festive.
Guests, Erin Joe and Sydney Franko graced us with some gorgeous fresh keys shrimp and home-made cucumber raita.
I've always made my own masala spice and stored it in airtight glass containers on the boat. However, I've found that Penzey's Garam Masala spice is actually better than my own. Their Tandouri spice is also excellent, so both have become staples in our galley pantry. We enjoy naan made fresh in a hot iron skillet when there is time. Store bought naan can be quite good, however, and we have found that we can "zotz" it with garlic, other spices, or make Peshwari naan...wonderful for breakfast or dessert with fresh raisins, coconut and sweet spices. naan keeps very well in the galley freezer for "bread emergencies"!
...but I digress.....
Truly a fabulous, spicy dinner. 1. Shrimp grilled in Tandoori spice, lightly brushed with olive oil and garlic 2. The spicy curry temptation Aloo ( potatoes), Matar Ghobi ( Cauliflower and green peas) with the cool tartness of the cucumber raita made with greek yogurt.
Please, oh, please don't overcook the red pepper or the green peas. Leave in the crunch and the color.
And let's not forget the steamed basmati rice. Served with a spicy Gewurtstraminer or a beefy red wine.... either will do nicely! Bubba approves!!!!
We think that Indian food is healthful, flavorful and festive.
Guests, Erin Joe and Sydney Franko graced us with some gorgeous fresh keys shrimp and home-made cucumber raita.
I've always made my own masala spice and stored it in airtight glass containers on the boat. However, I've found that Penzey's Garam Masala spice is actually better than my own. Their Tandouri spice is also excellent, so both have become staples in our galley pantry. We enjoy naan made fresh in a hot iron skillet when there is time. Store bought naan can be quite good, however, and we have found that we can "zotz" it with garlic, other spices, or make Peshwari naan...wonderful for breakfast or dessert with fresh raisins, coconut and sweet spices. naan keeps very well in the galley freezer for "bread emergencies"!
...but I digress.....
Truly a fabulous, spicy dinner. 1. Shrimp grilled in Tandoori spice, lightly brushed with olive oil and garlic 2. The spicy curry temptation Aloo ( potatoes), Matar Ghobi ( Cauliflower and green peas) with the cool tartness of the cucumber raita made with greek yogurt.
Please, oh, please don't overcook the red pepper or the green peas. Leave in the crunch and the color.
And let's not forget the steamed basmati rice. Served with a spicy Gewurtstraminer or a beefy red wine.... either will do nicely! Bubba approves!!!!
Keys Lobster with Grilled Pineapple
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There's nothing that satisfies your craving for rich seafood more than fresh Florida Keys lobster snatched from the briny bay waters of Islamorada.
We were fortunate to have (soon to be famous) lobster wrangler Sarah West aboard our flats boat for our very first attempt ever at bully-netting spiny lobster. Simply Grand's captain and grill-master, Lenny, believes that lobster should be gently cooked over a low flame. Our recipe? Split the tail of the lobster in half. Marinate for 30 mins in: Juice of one whole fresh lime 1/2 cup of olive oil ( may substitute butter) crushed garlic to taste ( Bubba says you can't have too much garlic!) Coarsely ground black peppercorns Coursely ground sea salt to taste ( use very sparingly) 1 teaspoon of tupelo honey |
