Eid Your Heart Out!

To celebrate the end of Ramadan and expand our culinary and cultural horizons we have decided to have a feast to celebrate Eid ul-Fitr .

Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity," while Fitr means "breaking (the fast)". The holiday celebrates the conclusion of thirty days of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan. Eid is focused on gathering family and friends together to celebrate...and DCBK loves a good feast (without the fast).

Eid mubarak!

Gulf Coast - Pecan Pie

Pecan Pie
Preheat oven to 350°F.


Mix corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla using a spoon. Stir in pecans. Pour filling into pie crust.


Bake on center rack of oven for 60 to 70 minutes (see tips for doneness, below). Cool for 2 hours on wire rack before serving.


**To use prepared frozen pie crust: Place cookie sheet in oven and preheat oven as directed. Pour filling into frozen crust and bake on preheated cookie sheet.


Pie is done when center reaches 200°F. Tap center surface of pie lightly - it should spring back when done. For easy clean up, spray pie pan with cooking spray before placing pie crust in pan. If pie crust is overbrowning, cover edges with foil.

Gulf Coast: Grits with Gouda

Serves: 6-8

Recipe courtesy of Emy Lesofski

In a saucepan, bring to a boil:

2 Cups chicken broth

2 Cups heavy cream

1 Tsp. salt

Reduce heat to medium-low and add:

1 Cup yellow corn grits

Simmer until thick (about 5 minutes), whisking continuously to avoid lumps. The grits are done when they have the consistency of cream of wheat.

Stir in:

1/4-1/2 Cup butter (to taste)

When the butter is melted, remove from heat and serve with fresh gouda cheese as a side.

NOTE: If the grits get too thick from cooling for too long, re-heat and stir in extra cream.

Gulf Coast: The Dinner Table @ Laura's

Gulf Coast: Wine

White: Pacifico Sur Chardonnay 2009, Curico Valley Estate Grown, Chile (un-oaked)

Red: Saint-Amour Red Wine, Recolte 2007

Both purchased at A&M Wine Shop

Gulf Coast: Shrimp Boil with Mussels and Lemon

By Laura

• Water
• 2 lemons, halved, plus more for serving
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup crab boil seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)
• 1/2 bunch thyme, tied together(I only had dried thyme and I just sprinkled that in, worked just fine)
  
• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 2 serrano chiles, split in 1/2 lengthwise
• 1 head garlic, halved(i used a couple heads of garlic)
  
• 1 pound 5 ounces red new potatoes, medium to large, cut in 1/2 (i would suggest cutting these into 1/4s)
• 3 ears sweet corn, halved
• 3 pieces smoked sausage, such as andouille or kielbasa, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 pound 5 ounces)(spicy chicken sausage worked really well and was just a bit healthier!)
  
• 12 littleneck clams, scrubbed (about 1 pound 4 ounces)(i used mussels instead)
  
• 2 pounds jumbo shrimp with heads and tails
• Kosher salt

Directions

Fill a huge stockpot, preferably fitted with a basket insert, with about 4 quarts of water (add some chicken or vegetable stock for more flavor). Keep in mind that when you add the solid ingredients the water level will rise, so don't fill the pot up more than halfway. Squeeze the lemons into the water, tossing in the halves too. Add the bay leaves, salt, seasoning, thyme, onions, chiles and garlic; bring the broth to a boil over medium-high heat and simmer for 10 minutes. You want a very aromatic broth with plenty of salt and spices. Taste it; don't be afraid to make it strong so some of the flavor can penetrate and get absorbed by the potatoes and other ingredients. Adjust seasoning with salt.

Add the potatoes to the pot to give them a head start; simmer for 20 minutes. Now add the corn and sausage; cook another 5 minutes, making sure everything stays covered with the liquid. Add the clams and boil for 8 to 10 minutes until they open. Then toss in the shrimp and shut off the heat. Cover the pot and let the shrimp steep in the flavor for 15 minutes. Drain and spread the shrimp, sausage, clams, corn, potatoes, and onions out on a newspaper-covered table. Serve with lemons and plenty of napkins.

This is a Tyler Florence's recipe

Gulf Coast: Fried Green Tomatoes with Spicy Bacon Sauce

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES- (www.chow.com but changed a bit) by Lauren

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 2 cups panko
• 1 1/2 teaspoons loosely packed lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons dried tarragon
• 1/4 cup Old Bay Seasoning
• 4 cups vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 pounds green heirloom tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

What to do- slice tomatoes thick, dip in flour, shake off, dip in egg, dip in dry mixture of panko, tarragon, zest and Old Bay. Fry for one minute on each side in 1/4" of veg oil.

Spicy Bacon Dip (from abirdinthekitchen.com)

1/4 cup fat free plain yogurt

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 teaspoon sriracha hot sauce

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Serve with fried green tomatoes