WANT: NYE Champagne Punch Saucers

I love New Year's Eve. It is yet another excuse to eat fancy food and drink champagne (my two favorite things). For those Holiday Hostesses out there, I wanted to share my WANT for ringing in 2011. These fun, old fashioned 'saucers' add the perfect amount of class to your red bull and cheap champagne punch.

Kate Spade twirl larabee dot fete mini saucers, $75 for a set a four.


Obviously, these are the cream of the crop, but check your local party stores for cheap plastic versions.

Ask Whatever: Fresh Herb Preserve

"Dear Jen, I always have trouble keeping my herbs fresh (especially Cilantro)! Would you happen to know any 'tricks' or secrets that might help me keep them fresh a few days longer?"

This is a very common problem and one that can often deter you from buying fresh herbs (or worse, buying them and tossing in the trash/compost, what a waste!)

Here is my solution: Get a large glass jar, either something like a Ball Jar usually used for canning, or a re-purposed one from the recycling bin possibly from tomato sauce or pickles. Stay away from plastics if you can as they tend to get moldy quick.

Take three paper towels, stack them on top of each other and and fold them into a square (usually 2 times).

Run a thin stream of warm water in the sink and carefully dampen the towels so they're moist but not 'wet'. Ring if necessary, keeping the square shape intact.



Gently slide the towels into the jar, lining the sides.




Then stuff the herbs in, stems first. It's OK if you need to get a little rough with them and really push them in.

Then keep it in the fridge and your herbs should be super fresh for a week, a little dark but still usable after 11 days and just use your judgment after that.

To use the herbs, just pop the lid and cut a little off. No need to take the whole bunch out again until you get closer to being finished.

Lemongrass Shrimp

I love seafood, especially shellfish like clams, oysters (with champagne of course) and shrimp.

I wanted to share this easy shrimp recipe that I created on the spot at the Silver Lake Farmer's Market while visiting California.

It's easy but the presentation makes it look like you hired a little old Thai lady to cook for you. Seriously.

Ingredients:
1 lb of large shrimp
Small nub of ginger, about the size of a golf ball
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped very thin
1 lime
Olive oil
1 bunch of Lemongrass stalks, 2 tbs chopped small, the rest cleaned and reserved to the side



Prep:
Clean, de-shell and devein the shrimp, making sure the shrimps are left in their original form original. This is important, take your time and be detailed!

Cut up ginger into medium-thick slices

Take cilantro and roll into a ball then start to slice, then continue to chop the pieces until they are as small as you can get them

Place ginger and cilantro to a small bowl, squeeze lime juice over ingredients and toss with a spoon, then add enough olive oil to create a sauce just thin enough to cover all of the shrimp enough. Cilantro should float in the oil.

Now, here is where the fancy presentation comes in.



Clean the long lemongrass stalks and chop off the rough ends. Then cut it in half short ways then slice in half long ways as evenly as possible.

Slowly peel out the stalks inside, preserving the ones that feel very strong, be careful not to bend them.

Take a shrimp and a small pairing knife (steak knife will also do) and insert a small cut all the through at the top of the shrimp.

Slide a lemongrass stalk through the hole, piercing it.

Then insert another small cut at the bottom of the shrimp and insert the same lemongrass stick through the cut. Pull through so the shrimp is in the middle of the stalk.

Continue and repeat until all of the shrimp are pierced.

Pour a small amount of the marinade in the bottom of a shallow glass baking dish big enough to lay shrimps flat or to stack just one additional layer if necessary.

Place the cleaned shrimp in the dish and pour the marinade over, tossing the shrimp so that they are completely covered.

Marinade for at least an hour, up to 4.

Transfer shrimps to a foiled-covered baking pan and broil on each side for 3-4 minutes each (or until pink and solid looking).

Remove ginger slices. They are too bitter to eat since most of the flavor was extracted in the marinade and broil.

Once out and plated squeeze a little lime juice over them and enjoy!

I like to tie the left over lemon grass into little bundles as garnish.




Click on the image to enlarge so you can really get a good idea about how to pierce the shrimp. Once you do one or two you'll easily get the hang of it.

Jen's Quick Tips: Baking Bacon

Here is a really simple, fantastic trick on cooking bacon in the oven.

Take a shallow baking pan, like one you would use for cookies and take an over-sized sheet of tin foil(long enough to hang over both ends of the pan by at least 2 inches.

Start from one side and begin to pinch the foil into high, peaks rows.

Continue until the entire piece of foil is pinched and peaked.

Lay bacon over the peaked rows and voila! The fat will drip in between the cracks but still steam upwards to flavor the meat, persevering that natural gooey fatty taste of bacon without all of the actual fat.

I like to add fresh or dried rosemary leaves over the bacon before placing in the oven.

Back from LA

Hello friends,

After a short hiatus in the City of Angles visiting two of my most fabulous friends, I have returned with more tricks of the trade!

While I work on my next posts, enjoy these photos from a wonderful dinner party thrown in my honor in a downtown LA loft space co-occupied by Dave Foley.**











**Dave Foley was not actually at this party but he does reside down the hall from where the festivities took place.