Review of last recipe Chicken with Peppers and Artichokes (photo above) - This was absolutely delicious!  All the ingredients married well to make a terrific sauce.

TODAY'S RECIPE - SHRIMP CHIPPEWA
Serves 6-8

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
56 (about 2 1/2 lbs) medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 1/2 cups mushrooms, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
7 cups chicken broth, boiling
1 1/4 cups chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped parsley
french bread

Melt 1/2 cup butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add shrimp, mushrooms and garlic and saute just until shrimp are pink; about 1 minute (do not overcook).  Stir in boiling broth, green onion and parsley. 

Remove from heat and add remaining butter, whisking until melted.  Ladle into heated bowls and serve with french bread.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - Well, this is a really delicious dessert!  I did make some changes when I saw that my springform pan was 10" and I had already bought the ingredients and couldn't/didn't want to increase the size of the dessert.  Instead, I put the crust into an 8-9" cake pan and made only half of the filling to pour on top.  I baked it for 45 minutes, and although I probably could have fit the full recipe of the filling into the pan, in retrospect, it's really a perfect dessert as it is.  It isn't overly sweet or cheese-y; the crust is the sweetest part of it and it marries well with the filling. 

TODAY'S RECIPE - CHICKEN WITH PEPPERS AND ARTICHOKES
This is actually a braise ... great with bread soaking up the sauce.  This dish reheats well!

Serves 4

1 3 lb chicken, cut into pieces
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp thyme, crumbled
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 small sweet red peppers, halved, seeded and cut into 1" pieces
2 tbsp seeded and finely chopped hot green peppers
1/2 cup dry white wine
2/3 cup chicken broth
1 pkg (9 oz) frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and patted dry
5 1/2 oz (about 23)  oil cured black olives, halved and pitted
1/2 tsp basil, crumbled
3 tbsp chopped parsley

Pat chicken dry with paper toweling.  Combine flour, salt, 1/4 tsp of the pepper and thyme in a plastic bag.  Add chicken, shake well until coated.  Reserve any extra flour mixture.

Saute chicken in oil in a large skillet, shaking skillet occasionally, until deep brown; about 12 minutes.  Turn chicken over and saute about 12 minutes more or until chicken feels nearly firm to the touch.  Cover and cook over low heat for 3 minutes.  Remove chicken to paper toweling to drain.

Pour off fat into a cup.  Measure and return 3 tbsp to skillet.  Add garlic and red and green peppers.  Saute, stirring often until peppers are slightly softened; about 5 minutes.  Remove peppers to toweling with chicken.

Add wine to skillet and bring to boiling; stirring to scrape up browned bits.  Cook 3 minutes or until wine is reduced to half its volume.  Stir in broth; cook 1 minute.  Return chicken to skillet skin side up.  Spoon peppers over and add artichokes.  Add more broth, if needed. so level comes halfway up chicken.  Bring to boiling, then lower heat.  Cover and simmer until dark meat is tender when pierced with a knife; about 10 minutes.

Add olives and basil and baste chicken.  Cover and simmer until heated through.  Add remaining 1/2 tsp pepper and the parsley.  Spoon juices over chicken.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Garnish with additional chopped parsley. 

Note:  To thicken gravy, blend 1 tbsp of the reserved seasoned flour mixture with 2 tbsp water in a cup.  Stir into cooking liquid and cook until bubbly-hot.
           

Review of last recipe (photo above) - Not the best pic as I noticed after I spooned out the dish that there's a chip on Nana Lucy's plate just from recent wear and tear (boo).  I will not be using these except for holiday/special meals as to save them from accidents (I want the set to be as intact as possible when I hand it down to my stepdaughters).  Back to the food ... it was tasty, but nothing utterly fantastic.

TODAY'S RECIPE - BUTTERNUT SQUASH CHEESECAKE
This was clipped from Bon Appetit September 1983 issue from their "ask for a restaurant's recipe" column.  I was living in Salem MA; the inquirer asked about a dessert offered from a restaurant in Newburyport MA, where I now work.  Unfortunately, the restaurant, Pottage, doesn't exist anymore.  I did google the former owners, who still live in the area and are now both realtors.  And the woman from Needham MA who asked for the recipe was a teacher at that time, but now practices law in the Syracuse NY area.  Oh, the power of Google...

Serves 10 - oven 350 degrees

1 1/2 lbs unpeeled butternut squash, cut into chunks (you need 1 cup mashed in the end)

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 20 crackers)
1/3 cup butter, melted
3 tbsp sugar

1 lb. cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp orange liqueur
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cloves

Steam squash until very tender; about 15 minutes.  Scrape out pulp and mash or puree enough to measure 1 cup.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Blend crumbs, melted butter and 3 tbsp sugar in large bowl.  Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom (and sides, if desired) of 8" springform pan and set aside.

Beat cheese in large bowl with electric mixer until fluffy.  At medium speed, gradually blend in squash, sugar, eggs, cream, flour, liqueur, cinnamon, ginger, salt and cloves.  Turn mixture into prepared pan. 

Set pan on baking sheet.  Bake until firm; about 1 hour.  Turn off oven, open door 2", and let cake cool in the oven for 40 minutes.  Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.  Chill thoroughly before serving.

Review of last recipe (no photo above) - Actually, I forgot to take a picture ... it was an unremarkable looking dish; like a chicken stew.  It was really tasty, and although I initially thought I would like the garlic pulp spread on bread, I wasn't a big fan.

TODAY'S RECIPE - SHRIMP AND CRABMEAT SAUTE
From The Boston Globe, September 21, 1983

Serves 6

4 tbsp butter
1 tsp minced garlic
3/4 lb mushrooms, sliced thin
3/4 lb shrimp
3/4 lb crabmeat
3 tbsp sherry
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp minced chives
2 tbsp minced parsley
salt and pepper

Peel and devein shrimp.  Pick over crab to remove any cartilage.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over low heat.  Add the garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the mushrooms and increase the heat to medium-low, and saute for 10 minutes or until nearly all the juices have evaporated.

Increase heat to medium-high and add shrimp and saute for 2 minutes; stirring constantly.  Add crabmeat and cook another minute, still stirring.  Add the sherry and stir to blend, then add the cream. 

Holding the skillet by the handle, tip it to a 30 degree angle over the heat.  Push the crab and shrimp towards the handle, away from the the heat, leaving the cream almost directly over the flame or element.  Boil the cream about 5 minutes or until it is reduced by about half.  Set the skillet down flat, add the chives and parsley, and cook for just 1 minute longer.  Serve immediately.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - I like to make easy cookies .. these really are not.  They must be rolled out and cut out of the dough ... then the scraps rolled out and cut out again (which toughens the dough and adds more flour to the finished product). The pressure of the rolling pin made the dough stick to the counter, so had to free it before cutting the cookies out.  Just a pain ... The finished product is tasty enough, but will hold final judgment for when they cool and I have one with a cup of tea (the one bite for the "photo shoot" wasn't enough of a taste), and will have the husband weigh in. as well.

TODAY'S RECIPE - CHICKEN WITH 40 CLOVES OF GARLIC
Serves 8
oven 375 degrees

2/3 cup oil
16 chicken thighs or drumsticks (or a combination of the two)
4 ribs celery, cut in long strips
2 medium onion, chopped
6 sprigs parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon or 2 tsp dried
1/2 cup dry vermouth
2 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
dash of nutmeg
40 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
french bread

Pour oil into shallow dish; add chicken and turn to coat all sides evenly.  In a heavy 6-qt casserole, combine celery, onions, parsley and tarragon.  Lay chicken on top and add vermouth.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Tuck garlic cloves around and between chicken pieces.

Cover casserole tightly with foil, then lid.  Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours without removing cover. 

Serve chicken with pan juices, whole garlic cloves and slices of heated french bread.  Spread garlic out from root end of papery husk onto bread and spread like butter.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - It was good, but obviously, expensive to make, so don't know if I'd make it again.

TODAY'S RECIPE - BUTTER COOKIES
This recipe was on the back of a Land O Lakes butter box circa ?.

Makes 6 dozen - oven 400 degrees

1 cup each sweet butter, softened, and sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tsp vanilla

In a 3 qt mixer bowl, cream butter, sugar and egg until light and fluffy.  Beat in flour, baking powder, orange juice and vanilla until smooth and well combined.  Chill 2-3 hours or until firm enough to be rolled.

Roll out dough, 1/2 at a time, on well floured surface to 1/8" - 1/4" thickness.  Cut out with cookie cutters.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet, and bake in center of oven for 6-10 minutes or until golden brown on edges.  Cool on wire rack.

** For a crisper cookie, roll to 1/8", and for a softer cookie, roll to 1/4".

Review of last recipe (photo above) - A good easy technique for quick cooking of thighs (or breast), but unfortunately, I did not buy boneless thighs and had to do some butchering ... and I did kinda butcher the meat.  Still turned out tasty.

TODAY'S RECIPE - SEAFOOD A LA MEDITERRANEE

Serves 4-6

1/2 cup olive oil
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
12 cherrystone or littleneck clams, scrubbed
3 lobster tails (1 1/2 lbs), cut into 1" segments, shells intact, and patted dry
12 jumbo shrimp, deveined, shells intact, and patted dry
1 cup dry white wine (chablis), warmed
2 cups drained canned italian plum tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper
3 cups steamed white rice
2 tbsp chopped parsley for garnish

Heat oil in deep heavy skillet over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and saute 1 minute; do not brown.  Add clams and lobster and saute 1 minute.  Add shrimp and saute 1 minute.  Pour in wine and simmer until lobster and shrimp are just opaque; about 2-3 minutes.  Remove lobster and shrimp from broth using slotted spoon; set aside.  Add tomatoes, bay leaves and oregano with salt and pepper to taste. 

Simmer until clams open; 2-3 minutes and discard any that do not open.  Discard bay leaves. 

Return lobster and shrimp to stew.  Spoon bed of rice into heated rimmed bowls.  Ladle stew over rice, and sprinkle with parsley.