• Riane’s Mom is here! Let’s eat shrimp!

    by Vbar • April 30, 2009 • Jamaica Plain, cocktails, seafood • 1 Comment


    Major mowing last night in honor of Riane’s Mom’s arrival!

    After plans for the Lady Crows to fly downtown for the night fell through we decided to pull together some last minute snackbites to satisfy our (and the accompanying gentlemen’s) hunger.

    Because we started brainstorming so late we didn’t actually eat until almost ten, but this meal made for a fabulous but casual late-dinner nosh, with all of us standing around the table chatting with Riane’s fresh-off-the-plane Mama.

    The Menu included:


    -Cajun Lime Tiger Shrimp, skewered and grilled
    -Veggie pouch!
    -Fresh Bruchetta with Grilled baguette

    And to wash it all down:

    -A few well chosen wines, picked by Mr. Fresh

    -HollyCollins Cocktails: Holly’s take on the very seasonal TomCollins (which I will leave for her to explain, with pictures)

    We cleaned the shrimp ourselves and marinated it for about an hour in:

    -2 heaping tablespoons Cajun seasoning
    -Juice of 1 lime
    -Olive oil
    -salt and pepper

    The seasoning was bought by Riane at the Saturday (or Sunday?) Market in Portland, OR and brought the heat to the meal. I am personally an enormous fan of blow-your-face-off spicy and I was totally satisfied, and even Miss. Riane who often likes her spice on the milder side was lovin‘ it.

    After the shrimp was done marinading we put them on skewers with wedges of lime. Grilling lime really brings out the flavors and the juices and those grilled slices were absolutely wonderful to squeeze over the cooked shrimp before eating. Plus, the Cajun seasoning helped to perfectly blacken the shrimp and when combined with the outdoors flavor from the grill was total perfection.

    For the bruchetta we used chopped fresh tomatoes mixed with basil, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic. We served this on top of fresh iggy’s baguette, which we sliced in half, brushed with olive oil, salted and grilled before cutting up.


    After a long winter, tomatoes are starting to taste good again! The ones we got from harvest and Boston Organics were sweet and juicy.

    Sides of veggies pouches with zucchini, mushroom, onion and broccoli….

    A delicious meal, perfect for sharing and mowing with friends and family.

    If any of you kiddos are going to be around JP tonight, keep an eye out for the lady crows burin’ off these meals on the dance floor of the MilkyWay; we’re making our debut at the new location and plan on establishing our status as Queen Crows!

    About Vbar

    The Story of VBar

    Told by Riane

    Vanessa (VBar) Barton is a crow near and dear to my heart, although we often find her soaring the globe. Vanessa’s true passion is traveling; her most recent adventure brought her to India where she had been yearning to go for years. She will undoubtedly picks up a few tricks on her Indian adventure and always incorporates her cultural findings into her own culinary repertoire. I can’t help but draw the conclusion that this 'spice monster' developed her palette from her exotic adventures, I (and I know her boyfriend Mark has my back on this one) have definitely had to bring this heat crazed crow down a notch, after nearly catching my mouth on fire. But I have to say, I’ve gotten her back with another flavour; being a huge fan of mushrooms, I have forced VBar, on more than one occasion, to get past her inhibitions and eat whatever mushroom laden dish myself and the other crows have created. Well hats off to you Vanessa, who can now confidently say ‘I don’t mind mushrooms’ from her initial, ‘I hate mushrooms.’ On that same note, she’s the only vegetarian of the group but is slowly warming up to meats, given her sister crows’ influences. Proud’a you.

    Her second passion is cooking which emanates with her Italian heritage. Her Sicilian roots are evident in her flair in the kitchen, often cooking up Italian classics including, but definitely not limited to: Homemade marinara, not to mention PASTA like her Sicilian Grandma used to make (which has been borrowed on more than one occasion), pumpkin risotto, tiramisu and even homemade limoncello! She’s a crafty crow, jarring her own sauces, tackling homemade booze and even growing her own kitchen herb garden. Always ready with open arms and a delicious cocktail, VBar is the Italian flair in our flock.

    http://crowsinthekitchen.com

    One Response to Riane’s Mom is here! Let’s eat shrimp!

    1. emily
      May 1, 2009 at 11:55 pm

      I’m so jealous you are getting tomatoes already!
      I am waiting ;patiently for that day to come

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