Dinner at George’s Click Pic For Slideshow From Thom Falzarano

Click on photo for a few more views of the evening

Great food, a table full of friends, a few laughs and entertainment by Frankie G, what more could you ask for?  Dinner at George’s! 43 people filled the restaurant with Frankie G providing the entertainment, the menu started with Bruschetta, Crab Cakes on a bed of greens, the main course of Chicken sautéed in a wine sauce with vegetables over pasta and then dessert, a Chocolate and Peanut butter brownie topped with Ice Cream.  Yummmm!  The September dinner plans are in the makings, check in with Dean at George’s for the details.

Coconut Shrimp with Mango Dipping Sauce From Sista Felicia

Coconut shrimp is my daughter Amanda’s all time most favorite appetizer. Truthfully whenever she sees it on a menu, usually listed as an appetizer, she orders them as her meal! I have lost track of how many times she has asked me to prepare them for her at home. After a few attempts, and a little tweaking, I can honestly say, I have mastered Coconut shrimp! This recipe is supper easy to prepare and they are FANTASTIC melt in your mouth Delicious!

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Ingredients:

2 dozen large shrimp, deveined with shell removed (optional –keep tail shell on if serving as passed appetizer)

Marinade:

Juice of 1 lime

1 cup coconut milk

¼ cup chopped cilantro

Crunchy Crust:

1 ½ cups Panko breadcrumbs

7 oz. sweetened coconut flakes

Beer Batter:

1 bottle of beer

1 cup flour

Mango dipping sauce:

2 table spoon of Stonewall Kitchen Mango Chutney

* (I’m a huge fan of Stonewall Kitchen products and always have their products in my pantry, although you can use other brands of mango chutney)

1 ½ tablespoon chopped red onion

1 tablespoon fresh ginger

1 garlic clove

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Juice of a ½ lime

2 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 ½ fresh mango peeled & chopped

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Step 1: Place shrimp, coconut milk, lime juice and cilantro in a zip lock bag and marinate in refrigerator for 24 hours

Step 2: Sneak into your husband’s beer frig and borrow 1 bottle of beer. Don’t worry he will only be upset for a few minutes. If he is anything like my husband, he will be happily in beer batter heaven with his first bite!

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Step 3: In a medium bowl combine beer and flour

Step 4: Using a wire whisk, whisk until you have a batter resembling a pancake consistency

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Step 5: Mix Panko and coconut in a pie plate

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Step 6: Place all Mango dipping sauce ingredients into a mini chopper and pulse 10 times

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Step 7: Transfer to a serving bowl

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Step 8: Remove 1 shrimp from marinate bag dip into batter

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Step 9: place battered shrimp in panko/coconut mixture pressing shrimp gently into coating

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Step 10: Carefully flip shrimp to coat other side

Step 11: Place coconut shrimp onto a waxed paper lined cookie sheet and repeat process with remaining shrimp

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Step 12: Chill coconut shrimp in freezer for at least 30 min (or overnight)

Step 13: Heat 1 ½ inches of La Spagnola oil in a med. fry pan over high heat

Step 14: Remove shrimp from refrigerator

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Step 15: Test oil temp by placing a few coconut flaks into hot oil, once it sizzles you know you oil is ready.

Step 16: Carefully place 6-8 coconut shrimp into hot oil using long cooking tongs

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Step 17: Fry 3-4 min or until golden brown and gently turn over each shrimp continue cooking 3-4 min until golden brown.

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Step 18: Remove from oil and cool on wire rack , repeating process until all shrimp are fried

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Step 19: Arrange, Golden, Crispy Succulent Beer Batter Coconut Shrimp on a serving platter with Mango dipping sauce.

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Step 20: Serve warm, and watch them quickly disappear!

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As you can see … a few didn’t make it to the serving platter. I simply couldn’t resist!

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Enjoy!

What’s New in Jenna’s Garden? Week Seven

What’s New in Jenna’s Garden?

Jenna Howard headshot

Pleasant Street resident Jenna Howard is providing updates on the chard, cauliflower and other vegetables growing in her plot at the new Burnham’s Field Community Garden. The reports and photos allow GoodMorningGloucester viewers to follow the garden’s progress with a weekly answer to the question, “What’s New in Jenna’s Garden?”

By Jenna Howard

Week Seven

Over the past few weeks I’ve been doing a lot of “housekeeping” in the garden. As you may have read in last week’s update, I had to re-stake the tomato plants and remove the squash from the garden. This left a lot of free space and possibilities for new additions.

On the right side of the garden you will see a small fence. This is simply three sticks (that I took from my yard) tied together with twine. This structure was made for the green beans with hopes that as they grow they will climb the fence. This should keep them from interfering with any of their neighbors!

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The newest additions to the garden are Bright Lights Swiss Chard, cauliflower, Romaine Lettuce and Wooly Thyme. While the far end of the garden is looking very mature with 6+ foot tall tomato plants, the middle of the garden is filled with young plants that are just starting to grow.

You may also notice the wild-looking vine growing at the foot of the plot. That is a pumpkin that I grew from a seed! (Yes, I’m very proud to have successfully grown something from a seed!) It has been doubling in size every week. And this week I was so excited to see that a small green pumpkin has appeared!

new stuffpumpkinWeek 7

Top Dog, Dog

I think Top Dog is becoming my favorite place for fried clams on Cape Ann. Their fried clams are very light, crispy and flavorful, the dogs are awesome too. It’s a great place for yummy summer food, people watching and taking a break from Bear Skin Neck shopping.

The Man’s Best Friend Hot Dog (chili & cheese) and Fried Clams at Top Dog in Rockport. 

 

Basic Chicken Salad From Sista Felicia

Basic Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

2 breast of chicken (skinless & boneless)

1 stalk of celery diced into bite size pieces

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoon mayo

3 cups water

Step 1: Place water, chicken breast, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt in medium size sauce pan over high heat cook until chicken is completely cooked through.

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Step 2: Remove chicken from pan and let rest in a bowl until cool enough to touch.

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Step 3: Slice celery lengthwise 3 times. Stack celery pieces together and chop into bite size pieces

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Step 4: Using your hands pull chicken apart into shredded pieces set aside

Step 5: Place the chicken into the bowl of Cuisinart chopper and add diced celery reaming ½ teaspoon salt and pepper.

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Step 6: Cover Cuisinart bowl and pulse 2-3 times

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Step 7: Open lid and add 2 tablespoon of mayo

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Step 8: cover and pulse chop 2-3 times or until chicken salad is the consistency you like

*Note, at this point add more or less Mayo to suit your taste buds! Try adding sliced almonds, sliced seedless grapes, or even try dried cranberries! As you can see my family enjoys a moist but not wet consistency

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Step 9: Place Chicken Salad into a air tight plastic container and keep refrigerated until ready to serve

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Enjoy!

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Last week hot and feeling way too lazy to cook, I decided to head off to the market early in the morning to buy deli sandwich meat and snacks for the beach. Immediately after taking a # at the deli counter, I realized there were 5 people ahead of me and quickly had to think of a plan “B”, knowing my kids wanted to get to the beach by noon! I walked over to the cold chest storing the pre sliced deli meat, to see what my options were and was disappointed to find there was no pre sliced “Buffalo Chicken” ,(the only Deli meat my son will eat). I noticed small containers of prepared chicken, ham and egg salad. I picked up a “Small” container of chicken salad and my finger tip nearly burned completely off. Yikes! The cost of a small 15 oz. container was selling for $6.99. Seriously? Not to be cheap, but one can buy a whole chicken for less than that. Even a rotisserie chicken cooked for half that price. I placed it back on the self along with my laziness to cook, and added a package of 6, fresh chicken breast to my shopping cart. When I arrived home my MTMM kicked in(Multi-Tasking Mother Mode) … unloading groceries, packing up the beach bag, switching loads of laundry, along with prepping dinner, all awhile whipping up a batch of ridiculously easy chicken salad I have made for years. Lunch and dinner for 4 for under $10

Terry Weber Reports- Dining at Duckworth Bistro

Enjoyed my first dinner at Duckworth’s Bistro this week, and it lived up to its reputation. In fact, after tasting one bite of the food, I completely forgot to take pictures of the appetizers before I completely devoured them (see picture of the remains of the mushroom soup). Believe me, I would have licked the plates if I didn’t think my dinner partner would be appalled :).

The service was sweet–Colleen our waitress was genuinely friendly, gracious and made our meal even better. About our meal, we shared a couple of appetizers: Creamy Mushroom Soup, Caesar Salad and Zucchini Fritters. The mushroom soup was a deep grey which I was not accustomed to, but it was the best mushroom soup I’ve ever had with a rich, earthy flavor. Jackie said her steak was perfectly cooked and delicious. The leg of lamb I had for an entree was tender, cooked exactly as I requested, and came with the freshest tasting mix of Lima and green beans.

Speaking of the beans, Colleen explained their great taste by telling us the beans came from a local Gloucester farm. Duckworth’s buys many of their ingredients at local farms including the Beacon Street Farm in Gloucester; Green Meadows Farm in Hamilton, and of course their lobsters are from Captain Joe & Sons. It was a great first time dining experience! We would have had dessert but we were too stuffed!

chef ken duckworthChef Rich Mandelbaumlamb and local beansmushroom soupsirloin

Joey adds-
It should be noted that Terry took these photos in the very low light conditions of the kitchen at Duckworth’s with the camera I recommended- The Canon Powershot s95. No flash and very natural looking photos! Excellent Terry!

The Burnham’s Field Gardener Series- Kathy Hegarty of St. Ann School

The Burnham’s Field Gardener Series

Burnham’s Field is the largest green space in central Gloucester. There’s been a resurgence of pride in Burnham’s Field, including a new 20-plot garden. GoodMorningGloucester is running a series of video profiles of the Burnham’s Field Community Gardeners. Here are their stories.

By John McElhenny
Burnham’s Field Gardeners – Kathy Hegarty of St. Ann School

Kathy Hegarty is a 5th grade teacher at St. Ann School, across Pleasant Street from the Burnham’s Field Community Garden. St. Ann students have a plot in the garden, which they visit almost every day to see how their plants are doing and learn where the food they eat comes from. “A hundred children have had their hands in this dirt,” Hegarty says. “It’s really making quite an impression and developing some lifelong gardeners.”

St. Ann School students around their garden plot at the Burnham’s Field Community Garden.

Ed Collard Returns!!!! Blackburn Challenge 2011 A Video

 

Ed Collard Returns!!!!

Blackburn Challenge 2011

A Video

Brought to you by; GoodMorningGloucester.org

Filmed on Location by:

Paul F. “Paulie Walnuts” Frontiero Jr.

Graduate of the Ed Collard School of  Videography

George’s By Night Saturday August 6th!

Dean Salah Writes-

Our next George’s By Night event is Sat. Aug. 6th featuring the music of Frakie G.
w/ Mike Lindberg and Tony G. We will be serving a full course dinner featuring
grilled garlic chicken and summer veggies over penne. Seating is limited and tickets are
on sale at Georges. Festivities start at 6:30 and as always bring along your favorite spirits.
Tickets are $30 on a first come basis, and tables can be reserved for larger parties. If
interested reserve your seats at the shop.  978-281-1910,  thanks,  Dean

What’s New in Jenna’s Garden? Week 6

GMG Series: What’s New in Jenna’s Garden?

There’s been some drama this week in Pleasant Street resident Jenna Howard’s plot in the Burnham’s Field Community Garden. Read on for the photos and details.

By Jenna Howard

Week Six

Last week was a week full of lessons! If you read my week five update, you already know that I made the horrible mistake of cutting dry leaves off my squash. I’m sad to report that the squash did not make it! Unfortunately, in just a matter of a few days most of the squash’s big, beautiful leaves dried up and left the fruit completely exposed to the sun. I had to pull the squash from the garden because it was clear that there was no reviving it. Fortunately I did get five healthy Patty Pan squash from the plant.

I also had a great learning experience with my tomato plants this week. After a few days of high winds, I found all three of my tomato plants lying on their sides. I realized it was not only due to the strong winds but also the fact that my tomato cages were not tall enough. At this point it would be impossible to take the cages off the tomatoes, so I had to come up with another way to secure the tomatoes and keep them upright. I did that using giant stakes and then tying the stalk of the plants to the stakes. I also used gardeners’ Velcro and ties to keep all the stray branches in place.

It was a week of lessons learned! Luckily, the garden is looking much better but I can’t help but feel like there is something missing now that my giant squash is gone.

For Weeks 1-5 click here

dead squashfalling tomatoesstanding tomatoesweek6garden

Sista Felicia Iced Tea (with directions this time)

Ice Tea

Ingerdients:

10 cups cold water

3 ½ cups sugar

5 mint leaves (optional)

36 tea bags

10 cups ice

Juice of 1 lemon (optional)

Yields 6 quarts

Perfect for these hot summer days and nights. This Ice Tea is a delicious refreshing beverage, sure to complement any summer time meal.

Step 1:Combine water, sugar and mint in a large pot

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Step 2:Place pot over a high heat

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Step3: Bring to a rolling boil

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Step4: Select a flavor/verity of tea. I like to use tea pods simply to cut down on prep time, avoiding having to remove the paper

 

Step 5: Collect 36 tea pods or bags with paper tabs removed and set aside

Step6: Carefully remove pot from heat and add 36 tea pods to hot mint infused sugar water

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.Step7: Steep tea for 20 minutes.

Step 8: Using your hand or 2 large slotted spoons squeeze pods to extract tea

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Step9: Dispose used pods

Step10: Place 10 cups ice into a drink dispenser

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Step11: Cut 1 lemon in half

Step12: Squeeze the lemon into the drink dispenser directly over the ice and remove any seeds

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Step13: Carefully pour tea into dispenser and stir

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Step14: Fill a tall tumbler glass with ice and fill with yummy tea garnish with a sprig of mint or lemon or both!

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All photos Felicia and BJ Mohan

July 21, 2011 Seafood Throwdown Sugar Mag’s vs Classic Cooks Finale Filmed By Sandy Farrell

Video How To Fillet A Codfish Demonstration With Steve Parkes At July 21, 2011 Cape Ann Farmer’s Market

Video- July 21, 2011 Seafood Throwdown Sugar Mags vs Classic Cooks Part III

Good Ink- Gloucester Massachusetts: America’s Oldest Seaport Reconnects to its Roots

Chickity Check It!-Elayne Badrigian writes about our beloved city-

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Gloucester Massachusetts: America’s Oldest Seaport Reconnects to its Roots

By Elayne Badrigian
For anyone who has never visited Gloucester, Massachusetts, the image they often associate it with most is actor George Clooney’s handsome face. Indeed, the actor helped make the small fishing town on the Bay State’s rocky coast famous for both its long time fishing tradition and tragedy.
The Bass Rocks Ocean Inn has numerous copies of the Clooney movie, “The Perfect Storm,” available for its guests. “That’s always a popular one for our guests, so we keep plenty of those in the collection,” said Ellen, an innkeeper at the oceanfront hotel. But Gloucester is much more than just George Clooney’s pretty face.
Each June, the Italian-American fishing community in the town of 29,000 residents gathers to celebrate St. Peter, the patron saint of fishermen. On a dreary Friday night, the rain does little to deter the crowds from participating in the Fiesta’s opening ceremony.

For the rest of her Gloucester report click here

Video- July 21, 2011 Seafood Throwdown Sugar Mags vs Classic Cooks Part II