We continue to prepare for our next Fantasy Foodie event – scheduled for Valentine’s Day. With our dog drink names in hand, we began planning our menu (see previous blog). Tessa’s drink and dish were easy – the cocktail and shrimp with mango salsa must inspire a feeling of sitting under a cabana on a warm, breezy beach somewhere in Mexico. And as the local weatherman predicted 2” of snow, we were inspired to feel some of that warmth.
So we set out to the store to buy our ingredients – the snow had just begun to fall, just a few flakes really. We jumped onto the expressway to Costco, which is typically a 25-minute drive. We hadn’t even made it to the next exit, when we saw the dreaded back-up, cars in both lanes at a stand still as far as we could see. Here in northwest Ohio, something always happens with the first snowfall – people forget that they have lived their whole lives here and yes, they know how to drive in snow. Mind you – it can be mere flakes falling, but you would think it was blizzard conditions to local drivers. “Great,” B says, “we need to get off at the next exit.” It was about a half a mile away. B decides to drive on the paved side of the road (is it the “emergency lane”?) – in C’s Lexus mind you. Now – we are polite people and we are not the type in a merging situation to drive up the clear lane and then stick it to everyone and sneak into the front. But we had no intention to actually merge back in – we were just trying to get to the exit. This did not sit well with some of the drivers who attempted to block our way – we also had a caravan following us thinking we were on to something. We made it to the exit but C was already unnerved, (she HATES driving on bad roads).
Everywhere – there was traffic and snow and slow, stupid drivers – C has really bad traffic karma and it was evident during this trip. What was normally a quick drive was going to take an hour. Why did we get this stupid idea? Oh yeah – that inspiration of the Mexican Beach. With stealth thoughts and knowledge of the back streets in the area (C grew up in the area), we managed to get around the traffic jam and take the little back roads to Costco. Except, the main city where we live had failed to actually use SALT and the road had become icy. But luckily, B’s ability to drive in harrowing weather got us to our destination unscathed.
Costco – we love Costco. How could you not? Well except its shear size frightens the bejeebers out of our own friend John – where many people fear enclosed spaces, John has a phobia of story-high isles of goods that could potentially come crashing down. We promised we would take him there sometime to shop for the food banks (he generously donates to local food banks) in some attempt to desensitize his fears and instill our sense of fun adventure.
We picked up a bag of jumbo shrimp (and a tenderloin just for us), mangos and lime. We already had the red peppers, parsley, and cilantro (yuck-C, YUM-B). We still had to pick up green onions and jalapeños. Our Mexican beach awaited us. As we neared the checkout lane, B recommended that I run to Fresh Market and get the remaining items while she checked out. I ran – practically slid on Fresh Market’s unsalted parking lots (tsk – tsk) and picked up the items. Originally, C had intended to have B fry wantons for the plate. Feeling guilty of the state in which C left the kitchen (not really), C decided to pick up some shi-shi tortilla chips in lieu of wantons – their marketing sucked her right in (Food Should Taste Good).
C ran out to the car (the snow was now steadily falling) – B was still in Costco (strange since she was checking out when C ran to Whole Foods – was she lost?). So C decided to be sweet and drive up to the entrance so B didn’t have to walk through the cold. Waiting – Waiting – Waiting. “Weird,” C thought, “Where is she?” More waiting. Suddenly in her rear-view mirror, she sees B pushing the cart with 480 pounds of dog food, giving C an exasperated look. “Are you trying to give me an Alzheimer’s moment?” B belted out? “Sorry – I was trying to be helpful.” Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal but C has this bad habit of disappearing in stores. B will be looking around and swoosh – C is nowhere to be found and B looks lost. So it really threw her when the car disappeared.
Next stop – Joseph’s Beverage Center, which carries about every liquor under the sun (no sun here, still looking for the Mexican one!). C ran in alone (at this point – we wanted to get home as the weather turned something fierce). “Do you have pineapple vodka?” “There’s no such thing,” the college aged clerk replied. “Yes, there is.” (well – there is!). “We don’t have it.” Skinny blond girl speaks up “We have pineapple rum.” “But I don’t want pineapple rum – I want pineapple
vodka.” C settled on citrus vodka and pineapple juice, ran out of the store and hopped into the car.
Despite cars off the road (one even with its tail-end hoisted in the air above a large bush) and slippery roads, we made it home. Seriously, C thought about skipping the dish and booking flights to Mexico. We set out to prepare the meal (actually C did) and B ate half the bag of the fabulous Olive tortilla chips (they ARE really good).
C chopped up all the ingredients and mixed them together and started marinating the shrimp. The salsa was indicative of Tessa – a melding of sweetness, topped off with a spicy after-burn – that’s our girl. Next – C skewered the shrimp and grilled them. Then she set forth making the cocktails. The result – mostly good but it needs some tweaking.
The salsa was perfect – and it was perfectly stacked onto the tortilla chips. This is definitely a keeper for a Fantasy Foodie offering. The shrimp was a tad chewy, however, and while quite fitting of Tessa’s personality, we are looking for perfection. C had originally conceptualized a slow marinade, resulting in VERY tender shrimp, and that is the goal. And the cocktail – close but not perfected. The pineapple was too strong – we decided that an additional tropical juice was necessary to balance out the flavor. But the sweetness of the drink was a great balance to the heat of the dish. Were those waves we were hearing or just the cold harsh wind? Doesn’t really matter, we are warm and happy with or without the beach. Let’s work on that cocktail recipe!
So we set out to the store to buy our ingredients – the snow had just begun to fall, just a few flakes really. We jumped onto the expressway to Costco, which is typically a 25-minute drive. We hadn’t even made it to the next exit, when we saw the dreaded back-up, cars in both lanes at a stand still as far as we could see. Here in northwest Ohio, something always happens with the first snowfall – people forget that they have lived their whole lives here and yes, they know how to drive in snow. Mind you – it can be mere flakes falling, but you would think it was blizzard conditions to local drivers. “Great,” B says, “we need to get off at the next exit.” It was about a half a mile away. B decides to drive on the paved side of the road (is it the “emergency lane”?) – in C’s Lexus mind you. Now – we are polite people and we are not the type in a merging situation to drive up the clear lane and then stick it to everyone and sneak into the front. But we had no intention to actually merge back in – we were just trying to get to the exit. This did not sit well with some of the drivers who attempted to block our way – we also had a caravan following us thinking we were on to something. We made it to the exit but C was already unnerved, (she HATES driving on bad roads).
Everywhere – there was traffic and snow and slow, stupid drivers – C has really bad traffic karma and it was evident during this trip. What was normally a quick drive was going to take an hour. Why did we get this stupid idea? Oh yeah – that inspiration of the Mexican Beach. With stealth thoughts and knowledge of the back streets in the area (C grew up in the area), we managed to get around the traffic jam and take the little back roads to Costco. Except, the main city where we live had failed to actually use SALT and the road had become icy. But luckily, B’s ability to drive in harrowing weather got us to our destination unscathed.
Costco – we love Costco. How could you not? Well except its shear size frightens the bejeebers out of our own friend John – where many people fear enclosed spaces, John has a phobia of story-high isles of goods that could potentially come crashing down. We promised we would take him there sometime to shop for the food banks (he generously donates to local food banks) in some attempt to desensitize his fears and instill our sense of fun adventure.
We picked up a bag of jumbo shrimp (and a tenderloin just for us), mangos and lime. We already had the red peppers, parsley, and cilantro (yuck-C, YUM-B). We still had to pick up green onions and jalapeños. Our Mexican beach awaited us. As we neared the checkout lane, B recommended that I run to Fresh Market and get the remaining items while she checked out. I ran – practically slid on Fresh Market’s unsalted parking lots (tsk – tsk) and picked up the items. Originally, C had intended to have B fry wantons for the plate. Feeling guilty of the state in which C left the kitchen (not really), C decided to pick up some shi-shi tortilla chips in lieu of wantons – their marketing sucked her right in (Food Should Taste Good).
C ran out to the car (the snow was now steadily falling) – B was still in Costco (strange since she was checking out when C ran to Whole Foods – was she lost?). So C decided to be sweet and drive up to the entrance so B didn’t have to walk through the cold. Waiting – Waiting – Waiting. “Weird,” C thought, “Where is she?” More waiting. Suddenly in her rear-view mirror, she sees B pushing the cart with 480 pounds of dog food, giving C an exasperated look. “Are you trying to give me an Alzheimer’s moment?” B belted out? “Sorry – I was trying to be helpful.” Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal but C has this bad habit of disappearing in stores. B will be looking around and swoosh – C is nowhere to be found and B looks lost. So it really threw her when the car disappeared.
Next stop – Joseph’s Beverage Center, which carries about every liquor under the sun (no sun here, still looking for the Mexican one!). C ran in alone (at this point – we wanted to get home as the weather turned something fierce). “Do you have pineapple vodka?” “There’s no such thing,” the college aged clerk replied. “Yes, there is.” (well – there is!). “We don’t have it.” Skinny blond girl speaks up “We have pineapple rum.” “But I don’t want pineapple rum – I want pineapple
vodka.” C settled on citrus vodka and pineapple juice, ran out of the store and hopped into the car.Despite cars off the road (one even with its tail-end hoisted in the air above a large bush) and slippery roads, we made it home. Seriously, C thought about skipping the dish and booking flights to Mexico. We set out to prepare the meal (actually C did) and B ate half the bag of the fabulous Olive tortilla chips (they ARE really good).
C chopped up all the ingredients and mixed them together and started marinating the shrimp. The salsa was indicative of Tessa – a melding of sweetness, topped off with a spicy after-burn – that’s our girl. Next – C skewered the shrimp and grilled them. Then she set forth making the cocktails. The result – mostly good but it needs some tweaking.
The salsa was perfect – and it was perfectly stacked onto the tortilla chips. This is definitely a keeper for a Fantasy Foodie offering. The shrimp was a tad chewy, however, and while quite fitting of Tessa’s personality, we are looking for perfection. C had originally conceptualized a slow marinade, resulting in VERY tender shrimp, and that is the goal. And the cocktail – close but not perfected. The pineapple was too strong – we decided that an additional tropical juice was necessary to balance out the flavor. But the sweetness of the drink was a great balance to the heat of the dish. Were those waves we were hearing or just the cold harsh wind? Doesn’t really matter, we are warm and happy with or without the beach. Let’s work on that cocktail recipe!
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