6 Pretty Hefty Frogs...

...2 pounds of shrimp, and a pound and a half of scallops should blend nicely with some other ingredients (like butter, salt, white pepper, sliced almonds, or sliced chestnuts, some shallots or green onions and whatever else I can come up with) for me to come up with one heck of a delicious appetizer for our Thanksgiving dinner. Then again, I may have to hold off on things because I have to travel to see my mom tomorrow, then head back home for our holiday meal; and you can bet my wife is not going to off a half dozen frogs then gut em and saute em . An outdoorsy catch em, skin em, cook em Sarah Palin type she is not; but she is one darned good cook. It's just she sure won't cook those frogs, I'd bet on it myself. But I digress. My day will be filled with running around and that will have time being very tight for me, so those frogs may yet make it until Friday - but you can bet they are not getting any sort of a presidential pardon around here from me. It's just been way too long since I have enjoyed frogs legs.

Oh, if you are wondering where I came up with 6 large live frogs in New York in November just let me tell you that you can buy just about anything in Chinatown when it comes to good eats. Thats where I picked up the shrimp, the sea scallops and the chestnuts too. I am getting hungry just thinking about it all. Mmmmmm gooood.

All the best,
Glenn B

Seafood/Pork/Beef Combo Whatzitcalled...

One nice chunk of pork belly, about 1 pound, cut into small pieces, about a pound of the meat from beef short ribs, also cut into small pieces (about 1/2x1/2"), one pound of baby octopus cleaned and cut into small mouth sized pieces, one pound of squid cleaned and cut like the octopus, one pound of cleaned shrimp (25-30 count per pound), one small can tomato paste, two 8 ounce cans of plain tomato sauce, garlic powder to taste, sea salt to taste, black pepper about 1/2 teaspoon, two large dollops of hot pepper sauce with garlic to taste (some stuff I picked up in Chinatown), a few sprinkles of cinnamon (maybe even a 1/8 teaspoon), a bit or oregano (only a few sprinkles), about 6 green onions diced at least from the bottom to halfway up the greens), about 1/2 pound of very small potatoes (this were about the size of walnuts) cut into halves or quarters.

I browned the pork to crispy on the outside, then the beef in the same pan in just a squirt of olive oil. Then added the octopus and squid to it and let it cook for a while in a deep pan. I did this as I got the other ingredients ready. I added all the other ingredients, except the shrimp, into a large pot, put the browned the beef, pork belly, octopus and squid into the pot with the sauce ingredients, and then brought it to a boil. As soon as brought to a boil, I lowered flame and let it simmer for one hour. Then I added the shrimp for about 5 minutes. All the while, as this was cooking I kept checking to make sure it did not boil over, and I stirred every 15 to 10 minutes for just a bit.

Whatzitcalled - who knows: but boy does it taste good right out of the pot. Tomorrow it will be for my lunch over a bit of white rice. My son thought it was good too, and especially liked the hot flavoring I added. Next time though, only the other spices, no really hot stuff, I want to enjoy the taste of the seafood more than the hot stuff. Next time, I think I'll use fresh tomatoes, maybe some fresh basil leaves, and no to very little sauce or paste.

All the best,
GB