The stories you want. The opinions that matter.
No, thanks
Test Kitchen Recipe: This Weekend, Try Easy, Crowd-Pleasing Barbecued Shrimp

Test Kitchen Recipe: This Weekend, Try Easy, Crowd-Pleasing Barbecued Shrimp

By Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press (TNS)

Shrimp is terrific grilled as a main dish or an appetizer. The challenge with shrimp on the grill is it’s fragile and cooks quickly. If you overcook shrimp, it becomes tough and chewy. The key is marinating or brining the shrimp and using no more than a medium heat.

You can also brush the shrimp with a sauce while they are on the grill to keep them from drying out. And, once you put them on the grill, don’t even think of walking away. Shrimp cooks quickly and you need to pay attention.

Whenever I cook shrimp (grill, roast, or steam), I brine them first, which plumps them up and keeps them moist during cooking. For about 2 pounds of shrimp, in a large pot, dissolve 1/2 cup of kosher salt and 1/2 cup of sugar in 1 gallon of water. Add the shrimp and refrigerate.

Let them soak 1 1/2 to 2 hours, no longer or you risk them becoming too salty. Remove them from the brine and give them a quick rinse under cold water. This removes any possible surface salt.

The best way to grill shrimp is to thread them on two wooden skewers or position two shrimp together.

Using the two skewers helps you turn them all at once and cook evenly.

If grilling shrimp without skewers, leave on the shells to protect them on the grill but de-vein them.

To devein shrimp, cut a slit on the backside to the tail with small scissors and remove the vein. That slit also makes it easier to peel them once they are done.

Serve these shrimp as an appetizer or main dish, served over a mixed greens salad or with grilled vegetables.

SHRIMP ON THE BARBIE

Makes: 6 / Preparation time: 20 minutes / Total time: 30 minutes

It’s important to cut the bell pepper and onion in small pieces so that they are even with the shrimp. If the pieces are too big, the shrimp won’t touch the grill grates.
Ingredients

6 wooden skewers, soaked in warm water

1 pound large shrimp, shelled, de-veined

2 bell peppers (any color), seeded, cut into even 1-inch pieces

6 slices of lime

6 small pieces of onion, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup favorite smoky-flavored barbecue sauce

1 to 2 tablespoons red hot pepper sauce, such as Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 clove of garlic, peeled, minced

Preheat or prepare the grill for medium-high heat. Once the grill is hot, oil the grates. Alternately, evenly divide and thread the shrimp, bell pepper, lime slices and onion pieces on the skewers. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the barbecue, hot pepper and Worcestershire sauces, and garlic.

Brush some of the sauce mixture over both sides of the shrimp skewers. Place the skewers on the grill, and grill about 3 to 4 minutes on each side (depending on how big the shrimp are) or until they turn pink. Brush them with the remaining sauce mixture while grilling. Remove them from the grill and serve warm.

Adapted from “The Grilling Bible” by Marilyn Pocius (Publications International, $29.95).

Analysis per 1 shrimp skewer.
124 calories (6 percent from fat), 1 g fat (0 g saturated fat), 16 g carbohydrates, 13 g protein, 578 mg sodium, 112 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber.

Photo by Mike McCune via Flickr

Cosby Steps Down From Temple’s Board Of Trustees

Cosby Steps Down From Temple’s Board Of Trustees

By Susan Snyder, The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)

PHILADELPHIA — Under fire from at least 20 women who have accused him of sexual assault, Bill Cosby on Monday resigned from Temple University’s board of trustees, a seat he has held for 32 years.

The decision came amid mounting pressure from some corners for the Philadelphia university to cut ties with its beloved benefactor and longtime public face, including a change.org petition with more than 1,000 signatures.

“I have always been proud of my association with Temple University,” Cosby said in a statement, released by the university. “I have always wanted to do what would be in the best interests of the university and its students. As a result, I have tendered my resignation from the Temple University Board of Trustees.”

The board of trustees said it has accepted the resignation and “thanks him for his service to the university.”

The decision followed high-level discussion by university leaders over the last couple days. Over the last couple weeks, several members of the board of trustees had spoken in support of the 77-year-old comedian and actor, who graduated from Temple.

Temple’s decision follows that of several other universities, including the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, which have cut ties with Cosby in recent days, as more women go on the record about alleged sexual assault by Cosby.

AFP Photo/Timothy A. Clary

Students, Faculty Decry Penn Plan To Cut Math And Science Libraries

Students, Faculty Decry Penn Plan To Cut Math And Science Libraries

By Susan Snyder, The Philadelphia Inquirer

PHILADELPHIA — A plan by the University of Pennsylvania to cut back on two of its branch libraries — one for engineering and the other for math, physics, and astronomy — has yielded an outcry from students and professors who say the books are critical to their studies and research.

Both libraries are housed within the same campus buildings as their departments, and are heavily used by undergraduates and graduate students alike. Mathematics students, in particular, said many of the books and materials they need are not available electronically, and they must browse the library to find what they need.

“We think they’ve grossly underestimated how valuable of a resource this is,” said Brett Frankel, a graduate student in mathematics who signed a petition against the move. “Our subject has a very long memory, and that I think is a big part of why we are so heavily dependent on print sources. I have a book checked out right now that is more than 50 years old.”

The university, however, cites a pressing need for classroom space and, in the case of the engineering library, offices as well. Each library is about 5,000 square feet and houses between 35,000 and 40,000 volumes. The engineering library would be closed under the plan, though it would still have an office for its director, and the math, physics and astronomy library would be reduced by more than a third. The changes, the university said, would not result in layoffs.

“Those of us who grew up with a veneration for the printed word and who still collect and cherish books will be pained by this transition,” Eduardo D. Glandt, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, said last week in an email to faculty. “We all understand, however, that we are going through an irreversible sea change. The book or journal printed on cellulose is becoming a collector’s item, a wonderful artifact to be saved and preserved. Just not in the Towne Building.”

That refrain has become a familiar one at universities around the country as they move to digitize libraries and find space for other uses.

“It’s a trend, and it’s unfortunate, really,” said Steven Bell, past president of the Association of College and Research Libraries and associate librarian at Temple University. “They say the library is the heart of the university. They’re cutting a little piece of the heart out now.”

Temple in 2006 closed most of its branch libraries in areas such as education, social work, math, physics, chemistry and biology, he said. The sting hasn’t entirely faded.

“I still run into faculty who will say, ‘I really liked it when we had our own library in our building,'” Bell said.

At Penn on Monday, students turned in a petition with about 500 signatures to the provost’s office, opposing the change in the math, physics, and astronomy library. A second online petition against changes at both libraries has garnered more than 400 signatures to date, students said.

David Harbater, a professor of mathematics and chair of the graduate students, signed on.

“There’s a perception in the public and among administrators that people under 30 or 40 don’t believe in anything on paper, that they believe that books are obsolete,” Harbater said. “But in fact, it turns out that’s not true. People actually care about things that are print. They care about libraries.”

Under Penn’s plan, the library books would be stored in a New Jersey warehouse. Students could request them, but would have to wait several days to receive them, Frankel said.

“A lot of times you’re reading something and you realize you need something else,” said Neel Patel, a mathematics graduate student from South Brunswick, N.J. “If you’ve waited four or five days for that first book, now you realize you need another book, you have to wait another four or five days for that. It’s impossible to get any kind of research done that way. This is sort of sending the wrong message.”

Nisha Sosale, a graduate student in chemical engineering, said she was shocked to hear the engineering library was closing.

“It’s pretty much the only room in this building where you can study,” said Sosale, who was working on her thesis there on Monday.

Andrew Binns, Penn’s vice provost for education, said the university was still reviewing plans for the math library.

“We have lots of different priorities that we have to consider,” he said. “We’re trying to find the right mix of collections, study space and classrooms to meet the needs of the entire community.”

The university, he explained, is moving away from the traditional lecture structure in the engineering and science fields to more “active learning,” and needs flexible spaces where groups of students can sit and work together. Plans call for an “active learning” classroom in what is now the math library.

The university is exploring the possibility of storing the library books at a location closer than the warehouse, possibly in the main library, Binns said.

Access is critical, said Caitlin Beecham, a sophomore math major.

“At any one time, I have three books checked out that I’m reading,” she said. “It’s really important to have the library here.”

Photo via Wikimedia Commons