What's Up For Week 2?

Box two has arrived! I spent Wednesday afternoon sorting and cleaning, and discovered that this week's box yielded the following: two heads of romaine (I think one of them weighs as much as my toddler), rainbow chard, beets, carrots, onions, a bulb of fennel, a small head of broccoli, and some cornmeal. The mouse wheel started turning. What to do with it all? I have found I have the most trouble narrowing down my choices. Once I start looking up recipes, I want to try them all. Luckily I got some repeat produce. So last week it was beet and edamame salad, this week it's roasted beets with cumin and mint. The roasted beets, by the way, will be served with pomegranate-glazed carrots and harissa chicken for a little Moroccan flavor this week. Tonight was grilled shrimp with spicy bbq sauce and Cheese Grits (from last weeks' box) with sautéed rainbow chard.

Turns out I don't much like chard. While I thought the stalks were alright, I found the greens just a little too overwhelming. It could have been how I prepared them and I’m willing to give them one more shot. That being said, my husband didn't care for them very much either. And he likes almost everything. Did I mention that my husband is an awesome eater? Unlike my toddler, he is always willing to try anything and I love cooking for him. We decided that while we might like the stalks in some soup, we could pretty much do without the greens. But I figure one thing (or half a thing?) out of two boxes so far is pretty darn good. At least I know I’ll be chard-free for the next several days! The rest of the meal, thankfully, was very good.

I started out by making my own bbq sauce for the shrimp. This was good, but required time and effort that I don’t usually have. I’ll post the recipe, but if you have a sauce that you already love (especially one with a little kick), use it instead ;) I used 26-30 count shrimp, basically because they looked the best and were friendly enough on my wallet. The grits were the best part. Sharp and creamy, they were a perfect bed for the spicy shrimp. Waist-line Warning: These grits were not low-fat, but they were worth it. At least every once in a while. Although I have no plans to tell my trainer that I ate them. I made that mistake once about pie for breakfast… it wasn’t pretty. And now, since you’ve patiently read through up to here, I’ll reward you with some recipes:

Cheddar Cheese Grits (from foodandwine.com)
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock (or homemade if you have it)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup Riverview Farms grits
4 oz extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp half and half or heavy cream
salt and pepper
In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add the garlic and slowly stir in the grits (I found a whisk works well). Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until the grits are tender. *The recipe said this should take about 20 minutes, my grits took about 30.* Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in the cheese, butter, and cream. The grits will thicken significantly. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

BBQ Shrimp
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 1/4 cups ketchup
1/4 cup bourbon
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons Tabasco
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the ketchup, bourbon, cider vinegar, molasses, honey, Tabasco, thyme and cayenne. Simmer over low heat, until thickened, about 40 minutes. Transfer the barbecue sauce to a blender and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Pour 1/3 cup of the sauce into a small bowl and reserve the rest. Preheat a grill pan. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and brush on both sides with the 1/3 cup of barbecue sauce. Grease the grill pan with the oil. Grill the shrimp over moderate heat, turning once, until cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer to plates and serve with the cheese grits and the remaining barbecue sauce.

Swiss Chard with Garlic (from epicurious.com)
3 pounds Swiss Chard
1 large garlic clove
1 tablespoon olive oil
Tear Swiss chard leaves from thick white stalks and coarsely chop leaves, reserving stalks. In a large saucepan or kettle of boiling salted water simmer stalks until tender, 5 to 10 minutes, and drain in a colander. Chard may be prepared up to this point 1 day ahead, stalks cooled completely and leaves and stalks chilled separately in sealable plastic bags.
Mince garlic. In a large skillet heat oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking and cook garlic, stirring, 30 seconds. Add leaves in 2 batches, tossing to coat with oil and stirring after each addition, and cook until leaves are wilted. Add stalks and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Season chard with salt and pepper.

Tonight we will be having Fennel Rubbed Pork Tenderloin, Roasted Fennel and Broccoli with Parmesan, and a green salad. I look forward to sharing it with you.

Happy Eating!
Shar