Gift of the Day: Southern Plate by Christy Jordan

There is a first time for everything, and today marks our first Gift of the Day which is something you can't buy on TheMonogramMerchant.com!  On Monday, my nephews and I made home-made doughnuts with Christy Jordan's recipe from her blog SouthernPlate.com.  They were delicious, easy to make and we were thrilled with the results.  Naturally, basking in the glow of the doughnut success, I ordered Christy's cookbook, Southern Plate: Classic Comfort Food That Makers Everyone Feel Like Family.
Christy's cookbook is one of the most personal I have ever seen.  She shares her family history and recipes along with intimate stories of the people and occasions who prepared and shared these Southern classics. Christy does such a good job of making it personal that I feel as though I was at one of her Alabama family reunions! This cookbook is full of recipes you'll want to add to your own collection and make a part of your family history.

http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Plate-Classic-Comfort-Everyone/dp/0061991015/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311947407&sr=8-1

Gift of the Day: Tervis Tumblers a Whole New Way

Tervis Tumblers with Butter Sauce for Sarasota Shrimp

Tervis Tumblers promise to keep hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold, and I'm so in love with the fact the tumblers keep the ice fresh in my diet coke that I rarely think to use them for anything hot.

Last night I was hosting a small birthday dinner and wanted to keep it simple with placemats, but I was serving Sarasota Shrimp (recipe below) which includes a delicious butter dipping sauce.  My butter warmers are great, but without fail you end up with a table full of butter drips which is a yucky mess to clean up. 

Divine inspiration or to quote Plato 'necessity, who is the mother of invention' directed me to give my 12 oz Tervis Tumblers a try as butter sauce cups.  They were perfect!  The butter sauce stayed perfectly warm while we were at the table and the 12 oz Tervis Tumblers were great for dunking the shrimp.

Other ideas for using the 'Cocktail Size' Tervis Tumblers  to keep sauces warm would be maple syrup for pancakes or french toast sticks, chocolate sauce, and maybe even an au jus or gravy.  Of course, the tumblers would work well to keep dips and sauces cold too!  Great for vegetable dip (our favorite is Spinach & Herb Dip Mix from Tastefully Simple, cocktail sauce, pimento cheese or salsa.

Here is the recipe for Sarasota Shrimp (adapted from Sunsational, Junior League of Greater Orlando)

For the boil:

• 1 lb of shrimp per person
• 1 box Zatarain's crawfish, shrimp and crab boil
• 1 large sweet onion sliced
• 2 lemons cut into quarters
• 4 stalks of celery with leaves (I like using the center of the bunch)

1. Mix the boil, onion, lemons and celery into about 1/2 gallon water
2. Allow to sit for 30 minutes or so
3. Simmer for at least 30 minutes before adding the shrimp; you can simmer longer if you wish
4. Once the boil is bubbling, add shrimp and boil for 3-5 minutes til done

For the butter sauce (this makes way more than you need for 4-5 lbs of shrimp):

• 3 sticks butter
• 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbs Soy Sauce
• 1 tbs Tarragon vinegar
• 3-4 tbs fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbs salt
• 8 dashes of Tabasco sauce

Mix all of the above and stir regularly over low heat. Sauce ends up a light brown/golden yellow color.  Pour into your 12 oz Tervis Tumblers and serve!