Featured On: Food is My Porn

One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Floor.
The rumors are true. Tequila makes your clothes fall off. Take it from the true lush that I am. The sheer mentioning of the word "tequila" has caused my bra to unhook itself and find it's way to the floor. Work it.

Cooking with alcohol is perfect if you are looking to bring big, distinctive flavor and aroma to both sweet and savory dishes. It conveys a rich, layered effect without the heaviness. For the Italians, it's wine. For the Germans, it's beer. For me, it's vodka in my morning OJ. (Yep, and like clockwork my pants have joined my bra on the floor)

Today I've gone the Mexican route. I grilled some Tequila Lime Shrimp Kabobs with an Avocado Cream Dipping Sauce. A night around the grill is a great way to entertain your guests during these sizzling summer months: the fresh meats and produce, the smoke wafting in the air, those tantalizing grill marks. Add in some tequila and you've got fun for the whole family. So grab your closest bottle of José and let's get started!

Ingredients (serves 4)
Kabobs
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 cp tequila
2 limes
1/4 cp olive oil
1 tb crushed red pepper
1/2 cp cilantro, chopped (sub parsley if you prefer)
1 tb salt
Mixed veggies for kabobs (jalapeño-HIGHLY recommended, onions, peppers, etc.)

Dipping Sauce
1/2 cp guacamole
1/2 cp sour cream

Directions
1. Ok, let's get rid of the elephant in the room. Just do a shot of tequila already. You deserve it.

2. Soak the kabob sticks in water for 2 hours. I soaked mine in tequila and lime juice instead. What can I say? I'm a good time.

3. Marinate shrimp with all kabob ingredients minus veggies for 30 minutes.

4. Mix guacamole with sour cream, set aside.

5. Get the shrimp and veggies on the sticks and grill the kabobs on medium-high heat for about 4 minutes on each side, depending on the size of the shrimp. Baste shrimp with remaining marinade every 2 minutes or so.

6. Convince your friends it's time to start doing shots with you so you aren't drinking alone (yet again). After all, it's a family affair.

7. Plate up the kabobs. Garnish with lots of fresh chopped cilantro and lime wedges. Serve with dipping sauce.

PHEW! Lights out, we're done. Put your clothes back on, drink plenty of Gatorade, and eat some empty carbs before bed. If you play your cards right, your hangover won't be too bad tomorrow and we can forget this ever happened. Cheers!

Featured On: Food is My Porn

This post was featured on Food is My Porn, a wonderful blog that documents one woman's passion for food, family, and friends. The editor, my longtime friend Gina, is a top-notch foodie. She comes from a long line of strong Italian women who welcome you into their home as if it was your own, and never let you leave on an empty stomach. Family first, manicotti second. It's a good thing.

Doin' a Little East Coast Swang
Food is great. Porn is great. Food AS porn? Sign me up. In fact, throw in a great glass of red wine to complete the trifecta. Hook, line, sinker.

I just moved back to the East Coast, and I recently had the pleasure of cooking dinner for three of my closest friends. Alright, so it was actually only ONE of my closest friends and two other people that I had just met that week. However, when your week includes a riverside Boyz II Men concert at the brink of sunset, you are bonded for life. “I’ll Make Love to You” has a way of bringing people together. So yes, the stage was set for a dinner with my close, albeit new, friends.

I opted for the classic “Surf n’ Turf”. This dish has all of the elements I look for when creating a meal: simple ingredients and preparation, open to interpretation and creativity, appeals to a wide audience, allows for a lot of people-to-people and people-to-food interaction, conjures up a little nostalgia, and is ultimately quite the showstopper once it hits the table.

In this case, I did a Cracked Black Pepper and Sea Salt-Crusted Filet Mignon served with Maine Lobster and a Vanilla-Scented Butter. Because there are so few ingredients, quality is key. If you’re going to cut corners here, just grill some burgers instead.

Disclaimer: The measurements listed below are for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. I am a strong advocate for throwing out the measuring tools and relying solely on your greatest kitchen asset- your palate. Breaking away from the “recipe-reader” mentality will unlock your inner chef. At that point you will be able to cook anything, and cook it damn well.

Ingredients:
Surf

4 live lobsters

2 quarts water

2 TB salt

Stuff to throw into the cooking water: onions, garlic, white wine, lemons, bay leaves, peppercorns, etc

Turf

4 filet mignons (aka beef tenderloin)

4 TB cracked black pepper

4 TB sea salt

1 stick unsalted butter

Vanilla Butter

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 vanilla beans or 2 tsp vanilla extract

salt to taste

Directions: (serves 4)

1. Melt 2 sticks of butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Cut the vanilla beans in half length-wise and use a knife to scrape out the meaty flesh inside. Add the flesh and the beans to the saucepan and let it simmer for the remainder of meal preparation.

2. Fill a large pot with water. Add enough salt to make it taste like the ocean. A rule of thumb is 1 TB salt per quart of water, but I prefer to taste it. I’ve gotten enough saltwater up my nose as a beach-loving child to know what it should be like. Add any combination of onions, garlic, white wine, lemons, bay leaves, peppercorns, etc. to flavor the water and bring it to a rolling boil.

3. While waiting for the boil, fill a shallow dish with the cracked black pepper and sea salt in a 1-to-1 ratio. Coat both sides of beef tenderloin with mixture and let sit at room temperature to take the chill off.

4. Tell the live lobsters that they are going to a better place now and put them into the boiling water claws first. Once the water comes to a boil again, cook them for 8-10 minutes (for 1 ¼ lb. lobsters). Remove from water.

5. Melt 4 TB butter in a medium-high skillet. For medium-rare (is there any other way to enjoy beef?) cook the steaks for 7 minutes on each side. When flipping the steaks to the second side, place 1 TB of butter on top of each filet and let it melt into the meat. Once done, let meat rest under an aluminum tent or equivalent for at least 5 minutes.

6. Salt the vanilla butter to taste and (gasp!) add a little vanilla extract to bring out the vanilla flavor IF NECCESSARY. I won’t tell.

7. Round out the meal with a veggie and a starch. I pan-fried some kale with crushed red pepper and shallots then hit it with a little lemon juice, salt, and pepper at the end. The cous-cous I served was lackluster at best, but in fear of upstaging all of the other great things on the plate I kept it simple.

That’s it! To quote some BoyzIIMen here, you’re at the “End of the Road”. And while I can’t promise that if you throw your clothes on the floor that I’m going to take my clothes off too, I can guarantee that you’ll love this dish. Bon Appetite!