What's New Since Terminal 4

Tonight, we explored a very local furniture shop called Ghassan's. We were directed there after complimenting a friend's hand-painted dining room table. She said she picked it up there, that they had wonderful things and the prices were reasonable. Let me tell you, this place was HARD to find! It is not on any main road, it looks like a run-down villa with a dilapidated tent covering the courtyard, and there is no sign indicating in any fashion that it is a shop. It only has a small name plaque like all other houses on that street. But what a find! It was amazing! Definitely the most interesting shop I have seen since we've been here! They had the most amazing variety of furnishings and decorative pieces, mostly from India. All handmade and quite decent quality. Packed to the gills with STUFF, stacked to the ceiling in every room! You definitely have to be willing to invest some time in looking at everything, but it was a real feast for the eyes! So much to see! Lots of fun! As you can tell, I'm happy we went. I'll be going back!

In typical Jennifer fashion, I have meant to put this recipe up for ages now...but today is the day! Tah-dah! I promise it was worth the wait! This salad is AWESOME! We enjoy the flavor of the shrimp so much that I keep making them this way, but then just tossing them into tacos rather than proceed with this (very time-consuming but well worth it) salad. By the way, if you decide to make them into tacos (we just use the shrimp, tomatoes, homemade guacamole, black beans and cheese in flour tortillas), the combo is really fabulous with frozen limeade pie for dessert. You know I must have dessert! The recipe follows...

Summer garden salad with chili-garlic shrimp
(recipe from Bon Appetit August 2005)
6 main course servings

1 tsp chili-garlic sauce
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
2 lbs uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 ears of corn, husked
3 small tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
1/3 English hothouse cucumbers, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise

4 tsp fresh lime juice
2 tsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 large avocado, halved, peeled, pitted, cut into thin slices
8 cups (loosely packed) mixed baby greens
2 Tbsp thinly sliced fresh mint leaves

Mix chili-garlic sauce, cumin, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper in a large bowl. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in heavy large nonstick skillet over high heat until hot. Add half of shrimp and sauté until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Using tongs, transfer shrimp to plate. Add remaining shrimp and sauté until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer shrimp to plate and cool.

Cook corn in a pot of boiling salted water until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and cool. Cut corn kernels off cobs. Mix corn, tomatoes, and cucumber into shrimp.

Whisk remaining 2 Tbsp oil, 1/8 tsp pepper, lime juice, soy sauce, and sesame oil in medium bowl.
(Shrimp mixture and dressing can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)

Combine shrimp mixture with any accumulated juices, avocado, greens and mint in large bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat.


Frozen Limeade Pie

small can frozen limeade, defrosted (6oz?)
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz?)
graham cracker crust (store bought is fast, but homemade tastes better!)

Mix the first four ingredients (minus the cans, of course). Pour into graham cracker crust. Bake for 25 mintues at 350 degrees F. Cool on wire rack. Place in freezer for at least 3 hours. Cut into big ol' slices and enjoy!

I'm sure you can tell this is my own recipe. I modified it from a different pie, so the amounts aren't exact. I'm not sure of the ounce measurements on the cans since the cans here aren't labeled that way, but these are pretty standard cans. Just go with the standard size of the condensed milk and the little size of the frozen limeade and you'll be fine.