It’s a happy anniversary, well, to me

Hilde G. Lee Daily Progress correspondent
Published: September 30, 2008

On the first Wednesday in October, 20 years ago, I wrote my first food column for The Daily Progress. Now 20 years later, I am still at it. I have written about local food happenings and have tried to give you a feel for the variations in traditional domestic and foreign foods that we have enjoyed throughout the world.

One of my fondest memories was a picture of a lion in full color on the front page of the food section when we had spent three weeks in Africa, both on safari and touring South Africa. One of my favorite restaurants in Nairobi was the Carnivore, a restaurant that specializes in grilled meats of Africa — zebra, ostrich, alligator and deer. At this restaurant chunks of meat on a huge skewer were placed on ones plate and carved. I almost feared of losing my head when the waiter, not too gently placed a skewer over my head onto my plate and started carving the meat.

China cruise

Then there was the river cruise on the Yangtze in China. The visit to the ship’s kitchen was like stepping onto a production line with various stations preparing vegetables, seafood and meats. Six huge woks were used for most of the cooking. There was a pasta station prepared the noodles for various dishes that were served at every meal, including breakfast.

That was quite a contrast from the kitchen on the Volga River boat, where we spent nine days traveling from Kazan (the old Tartar capital of Russia) to Moscow. I had asked to tour the ship’s kitchen, and found it to be quite primitive with five pounds of onion being chopped by hand. I also found that the food prepared for the crew was much better than the Western type that the ship’s cooks thought the passengers wanted. I objected and argued we should eat at least as good as the crew. From then on, we were served typical Russian foods, which were delicious.

Favorite recipes

I have gained many new recipes from the restaurants we visited in our travels and have shared them with you. Such items as Lobster with Brie (from Windows on the World in Kennebunkport, Maine) as an appetizer appeared in one of my first columns. It is a simple Lobster Salad placed on top of a small round of Brie and baked in the oven just long enough to warm the cheese. I have often substituted cooked shrimp for the lobster.

I tried to share with you many of our travels throughout Europe, Africa and Asia and hope you have come along as armchair travelers. Sometimes I have had to “doctor” some of the foreign recipes to make them easier to prepare.

Closer to home, I have watched the Virginia wine industry grow from the 28 establishments, when we

came in 1988, to more than 100. Today, the great variety of Virginia wines rivals any made in the United States, and even France.

The restaurant scene in Charlottesville has changed somewhat over the years, but there has been a consistency of high quality foods in both the old favorites and newcomers.

I think food shopping in Charlottesville has become more sophisticated over the years. When we first came to Charlottesville, Giant on Seminole had just opened. Other supermarkets have come and some have gone. Whole Foods has brought many gourmet items to the area and will soon be opening its much-expanded facility.

Cheese, which was of no consequence when we first came to the area, now has good shelf space in most supermarkets. There also are a number of excellent specialty stores that feature a great variety of cheeses.

In the past 20 years my food preferences have changed to lighter recipes with less time involved in the kitchen. I still love to cook and try new things. Pasta dishes consistently rank high on our list of dinner entrees. Many of you have emailed me about the recent delightful Penne with Italian Sausage recipe. It, too, has become one of our favorites.

Another pasta favorite is the Pasta with Shrimp, which I have altered somewhat over the years.

Pasta with Shrimp

and Tomato

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup sliced crimini (brown) mushrooms

¾ cup julienned shiitake mushrooms

½ cup chopped red pepper

2 cups peeled and diced ripe tomato,

¼ cup dry white wine

1/3 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons slivered fresh basil

4 ounces vermicelli

Salt and pepper, to taste

12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 teaspoon of dry Italian seasoning

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat and add the mushrooms and red pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes or until the mushrooms begin to get limp. Add the tomato and continue sauteing for a few minutes. Add the wine and cook over low heat until some of the wine starts to evaporate. Then add the cream and continue cooking on low heat until the sauce starts to thicken. Add the basil and keep warm on low heat.

In the meantime, boil the vermicelli in salted water until al dente. Just before the pasta is done, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in another skillet over medium heat and add the shrimp. Sprinkle with the dry Italian seasoning and sauté for about 2 minutes on each side or until the shrimp are just done.

Drain the pasta and place into a warm bowl. Add the sauce and toss to combine. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Divide the pasta between two warm plates. Top each serving with 6 shrimp. Serves 2.

I continue to enjoy writing this column and hope to keep doing so. I especially love hearing from you. I frequently get valuable ideas from both your critical as well as your positive comments.