This Side of Heaven... where angels love to tread!

2007 - Nashville, TN

My husband and I were in Nashville, Tennessee the week of April 15th - 20th. I did represent our office in a users forum and also I had a one day training for our office's software program. Nashville is known for its country music radio where you can find the "Grand Ole Opry"

It was an eye-opening experience for me since I am not a technical person and this was all about our program/system in my place of work. However, I guess that in order for one to learn and make the best of one's job, it is necessary to be able to keep up and try to learn to be able to contribute to the workplace. Being proactive ensures the worker that they have a place in their world of work and somehow helps them gain a certain security and stability needed to maintain a healthy relationship with their bosses and their co-workers.

I have posted some photos taken in the city of Nashville.

I am currently in Nashville, Tennessee attending a conference and training for my department. Will be posting more about it and photos when I get back to Massachusetts. Meantime, thanks to Tina, Sasha & Fionxe for the feedback on the dishes that my daughter made. Yes, rissoles is like an empanada. When I was able to talk to Karrol about it, she said that she did eat rissoles when she was in Portugal, only that it was chicken on the inside.

Another seafood dish that Karrol did together with the scallops that same night was "Shrimp Rissoles". She also got the recipe from the same cookbook. While searching Wikipedia what "rissole" meant, it gave me as one of the description:

In Portugal, rissoles are known as rissóis (single rissol) and are often filled with cod, chicken, minced meat or shrimp.

Now, I haven't talk to my daughter yet about this, since it is only now that I found out that this is a popular dish in Portugal. Hmmm! was it by chance that she found a recipe that she might have tried when she was in Portugal 2 weeks ago?

Well, anyway, this is a delicious appetizer or finger food for your next party. The only thing though is that, one should make it a little bit smaller like an empanaditas and not as big as a regular empanada.

Karrol also made the pastry from scratch. It came out really great; flaky, buttery and full of flavor(not doughy).


Shrimp Rissoles

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour + extra for dusting

2 1/4 sticks of butter

2/3 cup ice water

1 tsp lemon juice

1 cup milk

freshly grated nutmeg

1 bay leaf

1 lb cooked & shelled shrimp

1 hard-cooked egg, shelled and chopped

1 tbsp paprika

pinch of cayenne pepper

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

vegetable oil for deep-frying

salt and pepper

* Sift 1 1/2 cups of flour with a pinch of salt into a bowl. Add 1/2 stick of the butter and rub it in until the mixture resembles of bread crumbs. Stir in the water and lemon juice and mix to a dough. Knead lightly and shape into a ball, then cover and chill for 15 mins. Place 1 1/2 sticks of the remaining butter between 2 sheets of wax paper and beat out into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick.

* Roll out the dough on a lightly floured counter into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick. Place the butter rectangle in the center. Fold the top and bottom of the dough over it, then wrap in foil and let the package chill for 10 mins.

* Place the dough on a lightly floured counter with a folded edge facing you. Roll out to about 1/4 inch thick, then fold into 3 again. Wrap and let chill for 15 mins. Repeat rolling and folding twice more.

* Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a pan. Add the remaining flour and cook, stirring constantly for 2 mins.,or until golden. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the milk. Return to the heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thickened and smooth. Reduce the heat to low and season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and add the bay leaf. Remove from heat and let cool.

* Mix the egg and shrimp together in a bowl, then fold in the sauce, removing the bay leaf. Stir in the paprika, cayenne and parsley.

* Roll out the dough to a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick and cut into 3-inch squares. Place 1 tsp of the shrimp mixture on each square. Brush the edges with water and fold the dough over to make triangles, pressing the edges to seal.

* Heat the vegetable oil in a deep-fat fryer or a large pan. Deep fry the dough triangles, in batches, for 2 mins. or until golden and puffed up. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve hot.


Though the recipe might seem daunting, be not afraid cause if my daughter was able to make it the first time and it did come out so good, I'm sure that anybody can likewise do the same. This is surely going to be a big hit in your next soiree, I assure you.

When Karrol came home during the Lenten break we were able to cajole her to prepare dinner for the family. Since she hasn't really cooked for us in awhile, she willingly obliged and made us some dishes which she followed from a recipe book (Home Cooking - Party Food). You can see the finished product above and as for the recipe, here it is...

Baked Scallops

1 lb scallops, chopped

2 onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

pinch of ground clove

2 tbsp white bread crumbs

2 tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper to taste


* Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit. Mix the scallops, onions, garlic, about 2 tbsp of parsley, nutmeg and cloves together in a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.

* Divide the mixture into heatproof dishes. Sprinkle the bread crumbs and the remaining parsley on top and drizzle with olive oil.

* Bake the scallops in the pre-heated oven for 15 - 20 mins, or until lightly golden and piping hot. Serve immediately.

Last Friday, April 6th, my husband and I were at the South Station bus depot in Boston waiting for my daughter, Dominique, to arrive from Northampton. We park behind this SUV with a single sticker at the back which caught my eye. The logo looked like a VISA card logo only this time it was change to KARMA. Whereas VISA commercial says 'it's everywhere you want to be' the KARMA sign states that "it's everywhere you're going to be".

For people familiar with KARMA, this will give a smile on one's face because we knowingly are aware of how Karma works wherever you are... in the here, now and the beyond. It is the only way that the Universe can balance what may seemingly look and feel like a chaotic and unbalance world. So hold on and prepare yourself for a wild ride. You won't leave home without it... KARMA, that is!