School's out for Summer!

So naturally, I'm spending my first day of summer vacation in the kitchen and so far, I have made Crispy Muffaletta Wraps, homemade Chili Oil, and homemade Shrimp Stock.

I love a good Muffaletta. What's not to love about a sandwich with meat, cheese, and olive salad? Today I decided to put my own spin on it. I started with an assortment of meat and provolone cheese. I had a jar of olive salad in the refrigerator but you can certainly make your own.

I started with a flour tortilla, and then using a trick I learned from Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman), I made a slit from the center to the bottom.

I then loaded one quadrant with olive salad, and the other three with meat and cheese.

Then I folded the bottom left quadrant up....

...then over....

...and over one last time.

Finally, I placed the folded wraps into a non-stick skillet with melted butter until they were golden brown, crispy, and the cheese had melted. Perfect lunch!

I also decided to take advantage of the summer break to stock up on some kitchen staples such as homemade chili oil and shrimp stock. Both are very easy and have many functions. To make the chili oil I started with dried chili flakes, garlic, ginger, sesame seeds, salt, Accent, and Szechuan peppercorns. I mixed them until they were combined. Meanwhile, I heated some canola oil until it was almost smoking.

When the oil was hot, I slowly added it to the pepper mixture in batches, stirring to combine.

Once it cooled, I transferred it to a mason jar. I'll be using it tomorrow morning for a new brunch recipe (tomorrow's post).

I had three bags of frozen shrimp shells in the freezer so I also made a huge batch of shrimp stock.

I combined the shells with some onions, garlic, carrots, celery, Old Bay, bay leaves, and black pepper. You don't need to peel any of the vegetables because it all gets strained later.

Once it came to a boil, I let it simmer for a few hours. The house smelled AMAZING.

Then I poured it into a colander over a large bowl, and then through a fine mesh strainer into another bowl. It will keep in the refrigerator for about a week, or in the freezer for up to six months. I'm making homemade gumbo tonight so I already have plans for some of it. My next post will include the gumbo plus several other new recipes I'm testing tonight. Much more to come!