Rotisserie chicken

Now that summer is here, I usually cook whole birds on our rotisserie attachment for our grill instead of heating up the whole house roasting a chicken. If you have a gas grill, you should really look into buying the attachment. They are pretty affordable...anywhere in the range of $50-$100. The flavor and juiciness is stupendous!

Earlier this year I bought a bottle of BBQ 3000 from Penzey's. This was my first time using it. I cannot say enough good things about this seasoning. It really penetrated the flavor of the meat, with very minimal effort. I diddn't even let it sit very long before I "rotisserized" the chicken, maybe 15 minutes. Needless to say, this mix will be on my spice list for a long time to come. I love trying new spices. And, with specialty spice retailers you get such a better bargain for your money, not to mention a better product. I've also heard really good things about The Spice House. Which, I believe, is run by Bill Penzey's sister. Either way, stop by one of those sites and browse around. Or, better yet, if you live in the "big city", chances are you have an actual store close-by. I haven't yet had the pleasure - but I'm looking forward to visiting the Manhatten location when we head up that way.

I'm not going to bother posting a "recipe". I seasoned the chicken (4.5 lbs) with the BBQ 3000 seasoning, as well as kosher salt and black pepper. Cooked over medium-high heat on the grill, for about 1 hour 20 minutes. I will be posting the chicken noodle soup I made with leftovers later on. Homeade soup is one of my favorites!

Strawberry Picking

We are very fortunate to have a wonderful orchard right around the corner from our home. Their season kicks off with strawberries, and this weekend we took a trip there for the first time. I cannot wait to go back later in the summer to reap more rewards! The peach and apple trees are just beautiful, and you can tell that they have been there for a very long time.

There aren't many places left on this Earth that are like Vessey's Orchard. We drove down a long driveway that ends at a beautiful, old colonial home. An ancient man came out, asked us how many quarts we'd be picking that day (at $1 per quart, we bought 10!), and told us where we'd find the strawberry fields. You could just tell that he'd done this many times before, and I don't know, it was just comforting.

Needless to say, we had a wonderful time picking these little red gems. We were a little late I think, next year I'd like to go back in the middle of May...when you don't have to work so hard looking for pristine berries. No strawberry bought in the produce section of any mega-mart could ever come close to the flavor! I wish I had taken more pictures. But, picking was alot of work. And, the baby was ready for lunch. So I just ended up snapping a few in a rush!

If you get an opportunity to go out and harvest your own of, well, just about anything...do it! Even though it's a little bit of work, the rewards you will reap are well worth the effort.

Steamed Shrimp

The essence of summer. Although, very hard to do right. Luckily, I have just the formula...and it's so simple! My mother learned this simple technique from a local fishmonger years ago, and it's not failed us yet.

2 quarts water
1/2 cup cider vinegar
black and white peppercorns
2 bay leaves
Old Bay (or any seafood seasoning)
Lemon wedges, for garnish

Combine water, vinegar, peppercorns, and bay leaves in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Once water comes to a boil, add shrimp. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the water comes back to a boil. Remove from heat and drain IMMEDIATELY once water returns to boil. Remove bay leaves and toss shrimp with seafood seasoning. Serve with cocktail sauce and lemon wedges.