Home At Last! with Patty Gironda

       

  I was inspired today by a friend's photo of young mallard ducks feeding near a tranquil pond. (on Facebook) I found myself enjoying his pleasure in watching baby birds growing into adulthood. I miss living near water here in Georgia. Being landlocked in West Georgia you have to know someone to enjoy a serene pond or lake! Fortunately, I am enjoying a rare lucky streak and happened by my pool today with camera in hand. . . Amazed, I caught a rare glimpse of this migrant water fowl . . .luxuriating in our cool pond!

      Whew! Every once in a while, life and work, gets in the way of this blogging thing. With a little bit of extra time each day, I opted for sleep. . . rather than eating. . .and that didn't leave much time for cooking! My company, Paper Moon Productions, was chosen by the University of West Georgia, to produce a pretigious APPA Award video, as a result of their Campus Facilities being honored. With less than two weeks to deadline there have been many early mornings and quite a few late nights. Ok, it's probably sounding like I didn't eat very well at all . . that's not entirely true. I enjoyed two more of the most delicious soft-shell crabs this side of the Gulf Coast! My husband tried his hand at his first delicious meatloaf for meatloaf sandwiches! And, what else. . .my son made a skillet of lime-cilantro shrimp. We also stocked up on Vidalia onions and have slated Beer-Battered Onion Rings for the weekend. I am making a Vidalia Chow-Chow for a hamburger topp...

      Not for the faint of heart. . .one of my favorite Italian stinky cheeses. This is one of those cheeses that you love or hate. A delicate blend of sheep, cow and goat's milk this cheese offers a silken texture and a more pronounced tangy flavor. Still battling my loss of taste from a spring bout of flu I am eating little and choosing carefully! This La Tur cheese is a treat and I will simply soften it and spred it on my homemade rolls. Paired with a mix of black and green olives I am pretty much good to go!

    Fried Apalachicola Oyster Sandwiches. What else can you say! Crunchy,fresh fried in an easy coating of equal parts yellow and white cornmeal and a pastry flour. My spices included Tony Cacheries, paprika, and garlic powder. I served it up with a homemade tartar sauce and fresh lemon.

  Finally, I was able to get some soft shell crabs! They ended up the feature on Home At Last! this week! For the show I made a Soft Shell Crab Po-boy and delivered it to a friend who was craving a taste of New Orleans. I paid attention to every detail and complimented the crab with an easy remolade sauce. The bread was my own and we were estactic with the flavor and texture provided with a new Italian flour. Here's my easy recipe for Remoulade Sauce. 1 cup of mayonnaise (or 1/2 cup mayo and 1/2 cup English Salad Cream) 1 1/2 tbsp creole mustard 1 1/2 tbsp bread and butter pickles (chopped fine) 1 clove of finely chopped garlic 1 tsp creole seasoning 1/2 tsp of fresh cracked pepper 1 tsp of Louisiana Hot Sauce 1/2 tbsp of Worchestirshire Sauce 1 tsp olive oil 1/2 tbsp chopped green onion

    Last night we opted for appetizers for dinner. . . just like Will's dad. . . in one of my favorite Will and Grace episodes. I turned a couple of large, firm green tomatoes into one of our favorite appetizers of buttermilk-soaked green tomatoes with a fire-roasted red pepper sauce with goat cheese! It just doesn't get much better on a summer night. As a companion I made one of my favorite South African salads. Mixed field greens with fried chicken livers and an easy potato salad with wasabi oil. Loads of flavor and a great way to engage a loved one in the kitchen. I had Ron help me with prepping while I turned the charred pepper into a simple sauce with garlic olive oil and a little sour cream and fresh cracked pepper. The tomatoes were soaked in buttermilk before dredging them in a mixture of yellow and white corn meal and flour. The chicken livers were dredged in flour, salt and pepper. Not too many clashing flavors-I let the sauces do the heavy duty. I drizzle t...