Homer Alaska - Cooking -

We've spent some wonderful hours sitting in their cabin sipping wine or coffee as Grouse Creek gurgles and flows outside their living room window, just a few feet away. This is a magical place; river otters, bears, salmon, moose and many different kinds of birds are all happy to visit and provide hours of entertainment.

This weekend found the Other Fisherman and me in Seward for the AVTEC Culinary Arts Guest Chef fund-raising scholarship dinner. It was an extravaganza of Mediterranean fare prepared by the AVTEC culinary students under the direction of guest chef Patrick Hoogelheid of Orso in Anchorage. He is a personable, talented chef and spent much of the evening visiting the tables of his diners. Each of five courses were expertly paired with wine and served professionally and warmly by students working hard toward their degrees. I was in my element enjoying the special attention and food. The word "diet" was not mentioned for this special occasion, and it was not difficult at all to relax and enjoy partaking of the food and wine for the first time since beginning my weight-loss journey.

The evening began with hors d'oeuvres comprised of a small round parmesan crisp topped with prosciutto rolled around sauted fennel paired with a Spanish sparkling pinot noir brut, Codorniu Cava.

First Course Inspiration: Spain. A gazpacho of grilled tomatoes and roasted peppers pureed with cucumbers, sherry vinegar and olive oil with avocado-king crab salad, this incredibly tasty seafood topped gazpacho served in martini glasses perfectly. There were tall glasses on each table with homemade breadsticks. They were made with milk for softness, rosemary infused olive oil and were thin and fun to eat. Wine pairing was a grapefruit, citrus, grassy sauvignon blanc from New Zealand.

Second Course Inspiration: Northern Italy. Insalata ai Ferri (Grilled) romaine heart, grilled radicchio, roasted peppers, scallions and hazelnuts tossed with truffle vinaigrette. If you have never tried grilled radicchio, you need to. It was an incredible salad of many flavors, textures and color.

Third Course Inspiration: France. Seared giant prawn, fontina risotto cake layered over a pool of roasted tomato-leek fondue. This was the favorite at our table. The prawn was cooked perfectly, and was tender and sweet. A pinot blanc from Trimbach, Alsace, France, was paired with this fabulous dish. It had a perfect balance of dry, sweet and light.

Fourth Course Inspiration: "Fertile Crescent" Turkey. Beef Kulbasti (pressed on the ashes) was medallions of beef tenderloin marinated with yogurt, onion and oregano grilled and paired with a ragu of tomatoes, eggplant, chilies, and parsley. The unique main course entre was paired with a beaujolais from France that was representative of the typical classic young fruity red.

Dessert Inspiration: France. Who could resist dark and milk chocolates paired in a decadent terrine, with fresh strawberries and espresso cream, served beautifully and paired with a luscious port from Heintz Wine Cellars in Napa Valley?

I haven't enjoyed a meal this special in many months and it was scary throwing caution to the cold winds of early spring on the Kenai. I am in Anchorage sitting in a caf writing this and looking forward to sharing this evening with you. Of course, the first place I shopped at was a bookstore and I picked up three new cookbooks. I just can't help myself. I found a book by one of my favorite cookbook authors, Sheila Lukins, entitled "All Around the World Cookbook." In it is a recipe that resembled the shrimp dish we all enjoyed over the weekend.

Shrimp are the perfect ingredient for both delicate and robust preparations. Once the chopping is done, this Mediterranean accented dish is quickly cooked to keep its fresh flavors. Serve with hot crusty bread for dipping.

Jumbo Shrimp Ragout

Serves 6

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

24 escarole leaves, rinsed well, cut crosswise into 1 inch strips.

1 cup stuffed Spanich manzanilla olives, rinsed

One-quarter cup chicken broth

1 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

18 of the biggest jumbo shrimp you can buy

8 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces

One-quarter cup thinly sliced green onions, for garnish

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over low heat. Add the garlic and cook to soften, 1 minute. Add the escarole and olives; cook, stirring constantly, until the escarole begins to wilt, about 1 minute.

Add the broth and basil and cook over low heat another 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Toss in the shrimp and tomatoes, cover the pot, and cook, stirring once, until the shrimp are cooked through, about 3-4 minutes. Do not overcook.

Divide the shrimp among the six shallow bowls and spoon the sauce and veggies over the top. Garnish with scallions and serve immediately.

Progress notes on my journey to better health: Week 16 and 40 pounds lost. The Other Fisherman and I have each lost 40 pounds. This didn't make an impact on me until I realized that this was as much as a bag of dog food that's a lot of weight. I cannot tell you how good I feel and how happy I am that we have done this. We are on a roll and determined to succeed and have lost about half of what we want to. I totally over-ate last weekend. It was fun and quite calorie laden, but we are back on track and not beating ourselves up for the indulgences. Life is too short to worry about doing this sort of thing occasionally. We are very conscious of what we eat and drink and know what it took to get this weight off and how to keep it off. We have worked so hard to get this far, and it has been so worth it. I can look at myself in a window reflection now and realize I look just fine. I can't imagine how I will look after I lose another 40 pounds, but I bet it will be much better than just fine.

So many good things to pass on to you all: the joints no longer hurt, the muscles don't ache and I feel 20 years younger, my energy level is off the charts and I feel like a new person. Like I have said in the past if I can do it, so can you.

To all the moms have a special, wonderful day with your family. Go take a walk or bike ride together and enjoy being alive. This is what I will be doing.

Until next time, have fun in the kitchen and enjoy the spring weather!