The international stay at home cook!

She shops, she SCORES! With the exhilaration and thrill of being at a hockey game, I navigate the delights of my local markets. I get excited about glistening produce and delicate scaloppine the way my daughters swoon over shoes.

In possession of a list as a reminder to restock essentials like Locatelli cheese for grating, spontaneity rules the adventure. My weekly menus are inspired by what looks irresistible at the market. Often a clerk will ask " can I help you?" thinking I can't find what I want. Little does he know I am lost in fantasy about roasting those red peppers on the grill or baking them with feta and olives, garnished with snips of fresh basil.

This weekend I was in deep water! I found fresh mussels from the icy waters of the Pacific Northwest and giant tiger prawns caught off the coast of Vietnam. On Saturday, those succulent west coast mussels met my east coast meaty marinara. Back in Jersey City on Friday nights, we would send out for pizza with a side order of steaming mussels marinara. No forks allowed, they taste best slurped from the shell. This time though, I served them up spicy with crushed red pepper, and loaded with garlic marinara. A bunch of chopped fresh parsley, and a little coarse salt stirred into olive oil and drizzled over the whole platter balanced the copious amount of garlic. Warm, crusty Italian bread and a crisp Caesar salad to finish. Skip the napkins and use dish towels because this is one messy feast when enjoyed properly!
Lemon sorbet topped it off later that night as dessert.

Sunday dinner was fast and easy. I prepared the prawns scampi style. Fresh lemons are a staple in my kitchen. I remember my great grandmother would drink a cup of hot water with lemon in the morning. I'm glad Dr. Oz agrees with the benefit of the practice. One of my favorite kitchen gadgets is a microplane for zesting. The lemon zest is so fine that the flavor infuses completely. Another plus is it saves scraped knuckles. A few swipes and the entire lemon is zested, then I juice half of it. With butter melting in the pan, I add chopped garlic and the prawns. In about two minutes they turn pink and in goes the lemon zest, juice, chicken broth, a splash of white wine and a handful of fresh parsley. It simmers for just a few minutes while I drain the pasta, a nice imported gemelli which I toss with a little butter and grated Locatelli cheese. I serve the scampi over the pasta being sure to spoon on the broth. Campari tomatoes, quartered drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt and fresh basil, a loaf of garlic bread and voila, a fast Sunday supper. The colorful contrast between the tomatoes, shrimp and the parsley creates a presentation that is a feast for the eyes and the soul!

Never were more words true than " Bless us, Lord, for these thy gifts, which we are about to receive from thy bounty. ". Amen and Grazie!