In my younger years, a bottle of tequila might not hang around my kitchen for very long. But I've had this bottle of Jose Cuervo Gold sitting my my cupboard for a couple years now (longer?) and I figured it was time to do something with it. I couldn't really picture me and the wife lining up the shot glasses, what with the kids needing to be fed and all, so I inebriated some shrimp instead.

Ingredients:

• 12-18 Jumbo Shrimp - get them with the shells still on and peel and de-vein them yourself.
• 1/2 Cup Tequila
• Juice from 1 Lime
• 1 Tbs Honey
• 1 Clove Garlic, chopped
• 2 Tbs Fresh Chopped Cilantro
• 1 Tsp Kosher Salt
• 1/2 Tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Combine the tequila, lime juice, honey, garlic, salt, pepper, and cilantro in a large mixing bowl. Whisk well to combine, then add the cleaned shrimp.

Marinate the shrimp for 15 minutes or so (not too long else the lime juice will start to cook the shrimp). Remove shrimp from the marinate and set aside. Transfer the liquid to a medium sauce pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

While the shrimp is soaking, get your coals HOT. Grill the shrimp 2 minutes per side over direct-high heat. Drizzle about 1 Tsp of the reduced marinade over each side of each shrimp while they're cooking.

Serve with fresh lime wedges.

The last time I wanted to make a Jicama Slaw, my grocery let me down and I ended up with a Mango Cabbage Slaw instead. It was good, but it wasn't what I was after. Well, it's a year later and I finally spotted some Jicama in the produce aisle.

Ingredients:

• 1 Medium Sized Jicama
• 3 Radishes
• 1 Carrot
• 2 Navel Oranges
• Juice from 1 1/2 limes
• 1 Tbs Fresh Ginger
• 2 Tbs Sesame Oil
• 1 Tsp Kosher Salt
• 1/4 Cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped

There's a fair amount of prep that goes into this dish. First, you need to peel the jicama and the carrot. Then you'll need to shred both of those, along with the radishes. The best tool for this job is a mandolin slicer, which will make quick work of all three.

Place the shredded carrot, jicama, and radish into a large mixing bowl. Now, remove the sections from your oranges and place into the bowl. Sectioning an orange is accomplished by running your chef's knife down the sides of the orange, removing all the pith, then carefully slicing the sections out. There's a handy video (courtesy of Cooking.com) posted on YouTube that gives a nice demonstration of how to do this.

Place the ginger, sesame oil, salt, and lime juice into a small food processor. Pulse until well combined. Pour over the ingredients in your mixing bowl, add the chopped cilantro, and mix well. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

I mentioned in an earlier post the Japanese style chicken wings I'd been having for lunch last summer. They're served out of a tiny store-front on west 19th street and if you're in the neighborhood, I highly recommend giving them a try. Back in August I tried out a sweet-soy glaze for some scallops and this weekend I marinated some chicken in a similar brew and was very happy with the results.

They're not quite what you'll get on 19th street, but still pretty good.

Ingredients:

• 9-10 chicken pieces (preferably legs and thighs)
• 1/4 Good Soy Sauce
• 3 Tbs Brown Sugar
• 2 Tbs Rice Wine Vinegar
• 3 Tbs Sesame Oil

Combine the soy, sugar, vinegar, and sesame oil in a large bowl. Add the chicken and marinate for at least one hour.

Prepare the coals in your grill for indirect cooking and bring the grill up to between 325 and 350 degrees. Begin grilling the chicken, skin side up, over indirect heat. While the chicken is starting to cook, transfer the excess marinade to a small sauce pan and place it over high heat on your stove top. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and continue to cook for 5-7 minutes.

Baste chicken with reduced marinade every 15 minutes or so and cook chicken for total of 1 hour (don't let the heat get above 350). If you want to crisp up the skin a bit, place the chicken skin-side-down directly over the coals for 1-2 minutes just before serving.

My older son has turned into a fairly adventurous eater. That is, at least he's willing to try new things even if the result is a resounding "bleccchh!" and a rush to get a glass of water. When we do find something he likes I try to work it into the regular rounds of home cooking and have had Crab Cakes on the list things to try at home for some time.

So these were my first attempt and I basically winged it. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out and the fact that there was just one of the nine crab cakes left makes me think the boy was pretty happy, too.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz of Lump Crab meat (liquid drained)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 Cup yellow onion, diced
• 1/4 Cup celery, diced
• 1/4 Cup red bell pepper, diced
• 1 Clove of Garlic, minced
• 1 Cup Frozen corn (about 1/2 a package)
• 1 Cup bread crumbs
• 1 Egg, beaten
• 1/4 Cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 Tsp ground coriander
• 1 Tsp Kosher Salt
• 1/2 Tsp fresh ground black pepper
• Lemons for garnish

Over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbs of olive oil in a heavy skillet (I used my lodge cast iron skillet). When the oil is hot, add the onion and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the celery and bell pepper to the pan and cook for 3 minutes longer, then add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Now add the frozen corn to the pan, stir well, and turn the heat up to high. Cook until the corn just barely starts to brown on the outside (about 5 minutes).

Transfer all ingredients from the skillet to a large mixing bowl. Wipe the inside skillet with a dish towel and set aside.

To the mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mix well with your hands. Form the mixture into crab cakes using about 3/4 Cup for each cake.

Return the skillet to stove top, place over medium-high heat, and add 1/2 Cup of olive oil. When the oil is hot and begins to shimmer, start adding your crab cakes. Cook four cakes at a time till golden on both sides (5-7 minutes per side).

Serve with lemon wedges.

Chicken Piccata was always one of my mom's favorite dishes. I remember her ordering it regularly when we were kids and went to Lamanda's Restaurant (the place also had great clams oreganato - I wonder if it's still there...). So when her birthday rolled around this year, I decided to bring back this classic. It's a simple dish that comes together quickly and easily. It might be making regular appearances around our house from now on.

Ingredients:

• 5-6 Chicken Breasts
• 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 Tsp Kosher Salt
• 1/2 Tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• 4 Tbs Unsalted Butter
• 4 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Shallot, diced
• 1/2 Cup Chicken Stock
• Juice from 2 Lemons
• 15 (or so) Capers
• Fresh parsley for garnish

Place the chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap and, using the flat side of a meat tenderizer, pound out the chicken till it's about 1/2-inch thick.

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a pie plate. Mix well, then dredge each piece of chicken on all sides. Shake well to remove any excess.

Heat the 2 Tbs of olive oil and 2 Tbs of butter in a large skillet. When the butter starts to sizzle, start browning the chicken breasts. Brown each about two minutes per side, and work in batches if you need to.

When all the chicken is browned, remove from the pan. Add 2 more Tbs of olive oil to the pan, then toss in the shallots. Saute for about 1 minute, then add the chicken stock and the lemon juice. Raise the heat to high and as the liquid starts to boil, scrape up any brown bits that have formed on the bottom of the pan.

Reduce heat to medium, add the capers, and return the chicken to the pan. Cook for three minutes, flip over all the chicken pieces, then cook for another three minutes. Add the remaining 2 Tbs of butter and mix well. Pour the whole pan into a serving dish and top with fresh chopped parsley.

Lasagna really does require a lot of effort, which is probably why I don't make it that often. But The Drummer Boy was coming over with his family for dinner and he wasn't shy about submitting a menu request. Okay, so what if I asked him what he wanted? Couldn't he have made it easy on me and said "cheeseburgers" ?

Step One - The Gravy
Make your favorite homemade tomato sauce. Make it with meat, or without - but whatever you do DON'T USE JARRED sauce. In my mind, they're all second rate to a pot you've lovingly simmered for several hours. Your guests are worth the effort (and so are you).

Step Two - The Meat
Ingredients

• Two Lbs Ground Beef
• 2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Tbs Kosher Salt
• 1 Cup Homemade Tomato Sauce (see above)
• 1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs
• 1/4 Cup Fresh Tarragon, chopped

Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add the olive oil and just when it begins to shimmer, add the ground beef and salt. Brown the meat well, cooking it for about 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Add the sauce and bread crumbs and stir well. Reduce heat to medium and simmer another 5 minutes. Add the tarragon, mix well and remove from the heat. Set aside until you're ready to assemble the lasagna.

Step Three - The Cheese
Ingredients

• Two Lbs Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
• 1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 Cup Grated Mozzarella Cheese
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• 1 Tsp Kosher Salt

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set aside until you're ready to assemble the lasagna. If you're using fancy freshly made ricotta, you'll probably want to drain it really, really, well before using. Otherwise be prepared for lasagna soup.

Step Four - The Build
Ingredients

• All of the above
• About 32-35 Lasagna Noodles
• 1 1/2 Cups Grated Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 13"x9"x3" Lasagna Pan

Fill your favorite pasta pot with water and 3 Tbs of Salt. Bring to a boil and drop in 8 of the lasagna noodles. The method here is to cook the noodles until they're just pliable - no where near done. You only want them soft enough to bend in your pan. With each set of noodle, they'll only need about 2-3 minutes in the boiling water to reach this state.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Begin by coating the bottom of your pan with sauce. Layer the first batch of noodles on the bottom of the pan and bending them so they cover the sides. Be sure to overlap the noodles so all the ingredients stay inside. For the ends of the pan, stand noodles up along the sides. Don't worry about it looking perfect at this point, you mostly won't see much of this in the end.

Add six more noodles to the pot of water. While they're cooking, spread the meat mixture on top of the noodle base. Use a spoon to even it all out. When the noodles are done, press them on top of the meat mixture. Again, overlap the noodles slightly.

Add another six noodles to the water. While these are cooking, spread the cheese mixture on top of the second layer of noodles, and top with your newly cooked noodles. Now toss the last six lasagna noodles into the boiling water.

Cover the ricotta mixture with a last layer of noodles. If the tops of your bottom layer are still peeking through, fold them down to make a neat package. Spread some more of the sauce on top, then cover the whole lot with grated mozzarella cheese.

Cover with tin foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove foil, raise heat to 350, and bake for another 30 minutes - until the top is brown and bubbly. Let stand about 10 minutes before cutting into it. Serve with garlic bread whenever possible.