"There comes a time in every rightly constructed boy's life that he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure." These may be Mark Twain's words, but they are Steve Dunn's memories, and they are sweet like lobster. My summer series continues with this from Oui, Chef. GREG

My early childhood summers were fabulously routine, but never boring.  I grew up in a typical New England “beach” town, so for me, summer travel required no more than a 4 mile trek. 

Each summer vacation started the same, with Mom packing coolers of food and crates full of our summer duds (really nothing more than a few bathing suits and t-shirts), and loading them all into the Jeep.  A quick stop in town for a tide chart, and a brief stint in the barber’s chair for a short, summer crew-cut, and we were on our way to Saquish.

Saquish was, and still is, a little time-portal of a place.  A spit of sand jutting into the Atlantic, that while only a mere four miles from the town in which I lived, felt like a world away.  It was there that my folks rented a cottage for us each summer, a small 2 bedroom number with no electricity and a rather charming little out-house.  And it was from this little cottage that my sibs and I would dart each morning in search of whatever great adventure awaited us that day.

Paprika Grilled Shrimp with Olive Oil Poached Baby Purple Potatoes, Pickled Onions & Italian Style Salsa Verde. That's quite a mouthful for a small plate. And if that's not enough for you to digest I have an interesting wine pairing too. Terrebrune Bandol Rosé 2009.

This is the fourth recipe and wine pairing from this weeklong series of small plates. So I am going to be brief. Because there are a lot of ingredients and instructions for this dish. But don't let that intimidate you. It is essentially a salad. I know you can make a salad. Even a salad with a long complicated name...

That's because you can marinate the Shrimp, make the Salsa Verde, Poached Potatoes, and Pickled Onions way ahead and then simply grill the Shrimp, toss the Arugula in Lemon and Olive Oil and assemble the salad as you serve it.

I do want to say something about the potatoes because they are special. They are from Tasteful Selections and are called Purple Passion. Now I don't usually buy "branded" produce. The good stuff shouldn't need a marketing department. But despite the overly cute name, I found that a bag of them ended up in my hot little hands. I needed potatoes, my Farmers Market was a week off, so I thought, "is one plastic bag of produce gonna kill me?" But guess what? They were a joy to cook with and to eat. Slightly sweet, yet nutty with a plump texture and firm skin, they were all very uniform in size making them ideal for my poaching method too. But what makes these potatoes so special in my mind is their ability to hold their purple color. Have you ever noticed how purple potatoes sometimes end up looking like any other potato once cooked? These babies held their dark hue and really were an asset to the taste, texture and visual success of this luxurious little plateful.

The holidays. They are here and they are starting right now. To many of us that means holiday cooking, baking and celebrating! But that's not necessarily so with all of us.

Now I love cooking during the holidays. But I know for a fact not everyone does. And for those people who prefer not to cook during the holidays– I have catfish. Whenever I think about holiday foods (and not cooking) I always think of catfish! I am sure you do too. Right?

Hmmm... I can see quite a few of you wrinkling your brows in disbelief. Maybe you think Sup! sipped a little too much witches brew preparing for the advent of these holidays. Which may or may not be the case, but let me explain "anyhows", as they say south of the M-D line.

You may already realize that I spent a few years in the southern part of "these United States". Southerners have wacky food traditions (and I mean that with the greatest respect!) It seems these traditions always get started by someone's Great Aunt Delores and then somehow they get incorporated into the culinary lives of all kinds of unrelated folks. I mean think about that cake with the little plastic baby baked inside. And speaking of cake have you ever tried Coca-Cola cake? Now who do you think thought up those recipes? Why it was somebody's Great Aunt Delores of course!

Cowpeas, Field Peas, Stock Peas and Southern Peas are just a few names by which the legume Vigna unguiculata is known. Its humble origins seem to be in northern Africa where they are widely cultivated to this day. They are a food that sustains millions of people who live on the very edge of existence because it thrives in hot, dry conditions.

I found these red cowpeas at my local Latin market. I had never seen them before so naturally I picked up a couple of bags. But what to do with them. Most of the recipes I googled seemed rather, well... bland. Boiled beans and rice.

But they are very similar to black-eyed peas in both taste and texture. They have the same nuttiness and are very dense in nutrition. So I took my cues from my favorite recipes for black-eyed peas (which are usually spicy) and added an African touch and used Moroccan spices.

Brought across the Atlantic to the Caribbean in the holds of the same ships that carried slaves destined to eat them, cowpeas were introduced to America during this dark portion of our history. There are records of their cultivation in Jamaica as early as 1675. There is documented consumption of these beans in Florida in 1700 and North Carolina in 1714.