Dish and Sip

Rabbit leg over rice with sweet carrots.   I love rabbits!   As a child I had three of them, and they all died very unfortunate deaths. The one rabbit I remember most was Petey; he kind of resembled the dog from the Little Rascals. Hence the name. Petey was so cute; he had a black patch around his eye and ate everything, even cake.   But that is neither here nor there. One evening, my nephew decided to give Petey a bath. It was so innocent of him, but that was the last time Petey was ever seen alive. And, although this is a food blog, I feel compelled to tell the story of how my beloved rabbit passed. That bath was more like a deep cleaning. Petey was bathe in Comet cleaner, bleach, toothpaste, and bath soap. Pretty much anything that could be found in the bathroom. And the look on his face when he got caught was so priceless. I wish I had a picture to share. That was Sept. 12, 1996. The next morning I woke up to find out that Tupac Shakur had passed. And my...

Oxtails are interesting for a few reasons. The most obvious reason is that it's literally OX tail. This is a meat that can be prepared so many ways, and the longer it cooks, the more tender and flavor filled the meat becomes. Although I've had oxtails before, it was not until recent years, that I knew what an oxtail looked like. My mother is partly to blame for this. She is the type of woman that likes her food fresh. So fresh that if an Ox could be found within 5 miles of D.C., she would lace up her boots, put on some fatigues and go hunting.  With that being said, we ate everything as kids from deer to rabbit and scrapple to souse meat. For those that do not know, souse meat is usually pig ears, feet and head.  For this reason alone, I do not consider myself a picky eater. However you cannot ask me to try monkey brains and expect me to place a handkerchief in my lap. It takes some deception and creativity to get me to eat certain foods. And boy, was I dec...

 pulled corned beef, shredded lettuce, onions, honey mustard, swiss cheese on ciabatta rolls Happy Mother’s Day It is said that home is where the heart is. If that is true, then my home is truly Washington, DC. Most of my love is there. The old neighborhood, the brown stoned lined streets, that loud neighbor that you can hear from a block over. My heart lies in the streets of DC, in the home of my mother, and with those that I call family. When my mom first told me that one of her favorite foods to eat was corned beef, my first thought was, “What is that?” I could not recall eating corned beef at ANY period in my life. I had no idea what it looked like. How it tasted, or smelled. Or what was the texture? I had a lot to learn pretty quickly if I was to prepare it. Initially, I can across a picture of corned beef in a can which reminded me of spam.  Truthfully, I was scared. I did not want to prepare a canned meal and disguise it as a tribute to my...

Simply delicious     The month of May holds a very special day to my heart: Mother’s day. And, since my mom is over 600 miles away, I have to be very creative in showing my love for her. That is why I have decided to cook all of my mom’s favorite foods this month. There was once a time when my mom banned me from the kitchen completely. It happened right after I burnt some breakfast bacon. Her very words were, “How the hell you burn bacon in the oven? This is the easiest way to make it. All I asked you to do was watch it, and you can’t even do that.” I share this with you because it’s funny. However, at the time it was not. But that is my mom, all wrapped in a hard outer shell, and overcome with emotion by the thoughtfulness of a Mother’s day card. We usually share greeting cards throughout the year and what I know most about my mom is that she is a woman who enjoys life simplicities. She finds happiness in speaking to me each day and our nightly prayers...

Same dish; New Preparation     When I first began to cook, my mom started me with the basics. Bacon, eggs, grits, and grilled cheese. I literally ate breakfast for lunch, dinner, and snacks too. But it wasn’t until I moved out on my own that I learned to cook other things. Tacos, pastas and desserts were my favorite. Not only were they easy to make, but they were also easy to change up. The varieties were endless. I made shrimp pasta, chicken pasta, shrimp and chicken pasta. Ground beef tacos and ground turkey tacos every week. Amazingly, I never grew tired of the same mundane meals. However, in looking back, I do feel bad for the people that I invited to dinner because every week, same dish; new preparation. The one thing that each of those meals had in common was the lack of inventiveness.   Thus, hundreds of boxed tacos later, I think it is only fitting that I redeem myself of those seasoning packets, lettuce, cheese, and sour cream days. ...

I’m a “Foodie” and I love it!   This shall be the first of many blog posts. When I thought about creating a blog, I asked myself, “What the heck would you blog about?” I mean, I like a bunch of stuff. Music, reality shows, videography, working out, but food I love.   A few friends have nicknamed me, the black hole and Big Shirley, but name is Sheena. As a matter of fact, one friend has said that I would drive to Africa for some good food. That’s not true because it’s impossible to drive from the US to Africa J . But, trust me, if Africa was close to South Georgia, I’d drive there! I am currently in the city of Atlanta, and though I have questioned if I should have gone to culinary school many of times, I think about the good cooks that I grew up with. The household cooks. The ones that cook to nourish their families and create memories at the same time. Who knows, maybe later in life, I will find myself in   someone’s culinary school, but for now I inv...