Pasta with Shrimp and Cilantro-Lime Pesto

I'm on a pasta kick. Good for my tastebuds, bad for my physique. Also, bad for the butcher because I haven't seen a need to eat meat for dinner all week. We're talking about ME here... this must be some kind of record. Anyway, the pasta...

First, I'd like to give myself props for actually using my foodie magazine this month and also for not abandoning it when I realized I had no jalepenos last night. I grabbed the car keys and dashed to Reasors. I felt so freakin cool. And, it was worth it. Having never had any pesto other than basil pesto, I was hesitant but quite relieved to find this meal refreshing and completely repeatable. Plus, it introduced me to COTIJA cheese, a mexican hard cheese that crumbles beautifully much like Feta, though more mild in flavor. I'm already looking for another recipe in which to use it.

Pasta With Shrimp And Clilantro-Lime Pesto

Bon Apetit, July 2010 (Adapted from Tejas Texas Grill and Saloon)

Serves 4

1 1/4 cups (packed) fresh cliantro leaves plus 1/4 chopped

1/4 cup (scant) chopped green onions ---I did the full 1/4 because, why bother?

3 Tbsp fresh lime juice

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 Tbsp chopped, seeded jalepeno ( do take care to seed it with a utensil, not your finger... especially if you wear contacts.)

1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp olive oil

1 lb linguine

1 lb uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

3 Tbsps tequila ( Ole!)

1/4 cup crumbled Cotija cheese ( or good feta will work fine. Bad feta, will not.)

Blend 1 1/4 cups cilantro and next 4 ingredients in a food processor until a coarse puree forms. With machine running, gradually add 1/2 cup olive oil. Season generously with salt. It will taste too salty but this will be fine as it will flavor the rest of the dish well.

Do ahead- this can be done the day before. Just cover and chill.

Cook linguine in large pot of boiling watter until al dente. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat remaining Tbsp of olive oil in a heavy, large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and cook until almost opaque (about  minutes.) Remove from heat and add tequila. Return to heat and cook an additional 30 sec- 1 minute until liquids are syrupy.

Add pesto, stir to coat and remove from heat. Toss with drained pasta to coat and season with salt and pepper to taste ( I didn't add any seasonings other than the pesto!) Serve sprinkled with crumbled Cotija and chopped cilantro ( if you remembered it.)

Firecracker Shrimp

I made P-Dub's Ginger Steak Salad for dinner tonight and had some last minute inspiration to make Firecracker Shrimp in the style of Jaden at Steamy Kitchen. They practically have the same ingredients as the salad dressing so I thought, why the heck not?

"How many shrimp appetizer things do you think would be enough?" I yelled from the kitchen. Response: "Uhhhh.... " --- In Aubrey-speak, that means, "How long have you known me ? You call yourself my wife?" So, I made 14. He ate 10 of them. For perspective, these are JUMBO shrimpys. As in, not small. I can't blame him, though. They were super tasty and fairly easy to make. Probably even easier if I had read all of Jaden's tips beforehand.

Pioneer Woman has a recipe for firecracker shrimp which calls for SIRACHA sauce. Steamy Kitchen's version calls for sweet chili sauce of which I had none. So, I did a hybrid and replaced the sweet chili with the hot chili and it came out amazing.

Here's my adaptation though I highly recommend checking out the original recipe for some great tips that I missed ( which resulted in curly shrimp and less than uniform frying)....

Firecracker Shrimp (in the joint styles of Steamy Kitchen and Pioneer Woman)

14 large tail-on shrimp, deveined and nicked (basically cut three little nicks in the curve of the shrimp to make it lie flat- I read this tip halfway through.)

7 eggroll/springroll wrappers, cut in half diagonally (2 triangles)

oil for frying

Marinade ( this quantity is enough for 20-25 shrimp)

1 tsp. grated garlic
1/2 tsp. grated ginger
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp. SIRACHA!
1 tsp cornstarch

Cornstarch Paste- mix well to combine

1 Tb cornstarch
1/4 cup water

1. Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl and marinate shrimp for 20 minutes.

2. Pat dry each shrimp with a paper towel. Wrap each shrimp in a wrapper half. Seal with cornstarch paste. You can see detailed pics of how all this is done and why here.

3. Fry in hot oil for 3 minutes, until golden brown and shrimp is cooked through. Transfer to papertowel lined plate to sop up oil.

Serve with SIRACHA! for dipping ( also, if you're making the Ginger Steak Salad, the dressing is a fab dip, too.)

Spicy Orange Garlic Shrimpys

Mmmm, spicy orange garlicy goodness….

Want to know how cool this meal is? So much so that I made it for Christmas Eve 2008, that’s how cool. I mean, it’s no Braums ( Flashback Christmas Eve 2007- sorry, husby…I’ll never do it again) but it’ll do. Also, so cool that it warranted getting a new plate just to enhance its awesomeness (stay with me, you'll see it in the photo...a bit.)

Seriously now, shrimp is one of those things that used to frighten me. I mean, it was up there in my list of scary things to cook like a whole chicken, ribs, a souffle, flan, or just about anything baked, in general. Anyway, shrimp has officially made a departure from that list. Not ready to open the world of seafood up in this kitchen beyond shrimp and salmon, but I’m making progress.

Something that makes a recipe decidedly NOT scary is pure simplicity. Give me a few ingredients and a skillet and I’m good to go.

Spicy Orange Garlic Shrimp (Adapted recipe from The Pioneer Woman contributor, Pastor Ryan…you rule, man.)

Ingredients

1 lb frozen, raw “shell on, tail on, deveined” shrimp 26-30 per pound size ( “” means…yeah, right. I bought them ready to go.)
¾ cup Orange juice
2-4 gloves of minced garlic ( psst, don’t tell…this became 2 tbsp. of jarred minced stuff.)
3 Tbsp. SALTED butter
½ tsp Ground Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning ( I had to buy a can just for this. I told you I don’t do seafood…)

1. Prep, thaw and dry your shrimp. If you’re cool like me, this shouldn’t take long. If you go the shell on stuff, guess what? You have to take it off. Sorry ‘bout that.
2. Thinly slice the garlic if you used whole cloves and add to orange juice. I actually think you should do what he says here... the minced stuff makes for awkward deglazing. 3. Add seasonings to garlic/juice. Stir and let it hang out for a bit.
4. Meanwhile, heat up 2 tbsp. of the butter on high heat in a frying pan until it’s melted but just before it starts burning.
5. Quickly add shrimp one at a time so they all have a full side down. Wait 30-60 seconds from the time you put the last one in to flip the first one you put in. Tongs are ideal for this. Pastor Ryan says so, too.
6. Once the last shrimpy is flipped, wait another 30-60 seconds and they should be cooked through with a nice caramelized exterior. Remove shrimp to a plate or bowl and LEAVE THOSE BROWNED BITS. Leave the heat on until it starts to smoke a bit. This is important. I don’t know why, but it is. Look at all that poorly lit naked shrimp...

For some reason, a doctors office comes to mind when I look at this... yeah, anyway...

7. Add garlic juice mix to the pan and deglaze. Scrape up all that browned goodness and let it boil. 8. Add the final Tbsp. of butter and simmer the sauce down until thickened. You can leave it more saucy if you like (which I do because I like to pour it over rice.)
9. Turn off heat, toss in the shrimp and coat. Serve all on their own or over rice. It’s yum. So, stop looking at pictures of shrimp and go eat some.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

I've pretty much been an anti-seafood girl all my life. I think it had something to do with the fact that my mom wouldn't cook any of the fish my dad and I caught on our frequent deep sea fishing trips because it's "smelly." Somehow, I adopted her aversion as my own without question. But, now..... I have seen the light. Okay, okay, that light only extends to salmon and shrimp but, man, that's coming a LONG way. Aubrey begs me for some form of seafood every week and I've been harshly turning him down flat for eight years. Now, it's time for a little redemption. ( And, NO, I'm not ready to make crawdads, darling...)


Behold, Scampi Fra Diavolo, adapted from Bon Appetit November 2008.

This dish combines the garlic of scampi with the spice of traditional Shrimp Fra Diavolo in absolute harmony. Oh, and it's super easy to make. Bonus! Serve over rice, orzo, or whatever compatable grain you may have. I used leftover Saffron Rice from French night and it was great.


Scampi Fra Diavolo- Serves 4

3 Tbsp. butter, separated

1/3 c. Panko ( japanese bread crumbs...now available at Wal-Mart, for those of us living in towns without grocery stores.)

1/2 c. chopped, flat leaf parsley

1 1/4 cup uncooked lrg, shrimp with tail on ( I used medium with tail off....I didn't want to put too much effort into this.)

2 Tbsp EVOO ( yeah, I totally forgot this part)

1 1/2 c. Thinly sliced red onion

5 minced garlic cloves

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper, dried. ( add more...wimps.)

2/3 c dry white wine

Lemon wedges

1. Melt 1 tbsp. butter and saute panko and parsley until lightly browned.
2. Remove, set aside. Clean out skillet.
3. Melt 2 tbsp butter and EVOO in same skillet and saute onion until almost soft.
4. Add garlic and crushed red pepper; saute 1 min.
5. Add shrimp and saute until just opaque.
6. Add wine and simmer until reduced and thickened... about 2-3 minutes.
7. Season with S/P to taste.

Serve over rice, or whatever, and top with panko mix and lemon wedges.

Enjoy!

Smothered Salmon

I'm not afraid to say it... I'm not a huge fan of fish. Salmon is tolerable I suppose, but usually when I make fish for my husband I end up with a bowl of cereal. Now, this little dish might make my Kix feel like nothing more than cheeseless cheetos. This, dear friends, is Smothered Salmon courtesy of Rachel Ray Everyday. I will write the recipe as she presents it but, as usual, I didn't follow it very closely. So, sue me.

Serves 4 ( I made it for 2)
1 pound plum tomatoes, quartered. ( I used 1/2 a container of grape tomatoes, halved)
1 onion, quarted lenthwise and sliced crosswise ( wtf? I used half and just took a knife to it)
1 jalepeno chile, seeded and sliced lengthwise ( yes, maam)
2 cloves of garlic thinly sliced ( or, a spoon of that minced stuff in the jar, eh?)
2 1/2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil ( EVOO)
Salt and Pepper
8 Green Olives, chopped ( I did this but then I forgot about them so I think my cat ate some)
4 8 oz Salmon fillets ( I used 2)
1 10 oz box of plain couscous, cooked ( I only made two servings)

OKAY!
1. Preheat oven to 450. I lined a baking sheet with parchment paper because I got a load of it at amazon for like 20 bucks. Score! Then, toss together the tomatoes, onion, jalepeno, garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Roast for 20-30 minutes or until lightly charred. I went for 20 minutes. Then toss with the olives if you remember them.
2. This is the step I skipped. Boiled salmon didn't sound like it would flip my wig so I went with grilling it with salt/pepper and a little olive oil ( yum.) BUT, if I were inclined to follow the rules, I would have done this: Fill a large skillet halfway with water and bring to boil. Add a tsp of salt and place the salmon skin side down in the pan. Place a lid on top and lower the heat to simmer until opaque. Transfer to plate and discard the skin. Blah.
3. Fluff couscous ( what is this stuff? It's great!) and serve with the salmon and throw the veggies on top!

That's it. It was easy and I will definitely make it again.

Tropical Themed Party-Pineapple Shrimp Skewers

Yes, mon! We had our tropical themed party dinner night thing on Saturday and it was off the hook! Okay, probably a mild exaggeration there but I associate the tropics with really cool people who can say crap like that without sounding like dweebs.

Anyway, we all had a really great time again and had some great food. We’re getting better and better! Featured dishes include, tropical chicken, fresh fruit salad, a special salad with a fruity vinaigrette, Caribbean black beans and rice with a mango salsa, and more. I made coconut jasmine rice (see the recipe on this site) and another P-Dub recipe…that’s Pioneer Woman for those of you who have yet to be initiated in the “I Stalk P-Dub” fan club. I made her “Yummy, Easy, Pineapple Skewered Shrimp.” I really liked them and got asked for the recipe so I guess that means they weren’t poisonous at the very least. You can view the complete assembly instructions here http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/page/9/ but here is what I did since I was cooking for a crowd:

60ish jumbo shrimp (headless, peeled, de-veined…yeah, buy them like this. Trust me, it is worth the extra $100 dollars unless you have no use for an hour and a half of your time.)
1 cupish of teriyaki sauce
3 finely chopped green onions
Roughly a ¼ cup of sugar
A heaping tablespoon of minced garlic (about three cloves)
2 cans pineapple chunks
Wooden skewers

Prepare shrimp; set aside.

Mix teriyaki, sugar, green onions, garlic, and pineapple JUICE (just one cans worth) into a shallow baking dish big enough to house all your shrimp; add shrimp.

Marinate for roughly 2 hours ( I bet less or more would be fine, though.)

Assemble on skewers in this order so the shrimp is hugging a pineapple chunk with a chunk between each shrimp embrace (look at the pic, it will make more sense.)

Grill until beautifully blackened. Serve hot ( I got one cold and one hot…the hot kicked the cold one’s butt.)

I was afraid the skewers might catch on fire but they didn’t. I wish one did though so I could run around screaming “ Fire! Fire ON THE GRILL!” Then, people would think I was crazy and pierce me with a skewer or 9 toothpicks just to see if I could feel pain. I can.

Thai it, You'll Like it!- Thai Salmon and Coconut Jasmine Rice

This is Aubrey's favorite meal of all time. I like to ration it out to him on special occasions but I was feeling giving today (okay, the salmon was on sale). Usually, I serve this with *gasp* Rice-a-Roni but decided to make some coconut jasmine rice that I learned how to make recently from Rachel Ray's "Everyday" magazine. It is so choice.

Thai Salmon ( I had some prepared like this and took a stab at the recipe...I'm awesome).

1-1 1/2 lbs fresh salmon ( I take off the skin stuff)

2 Tbsp. Sesame Oil

2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce

1/2 Tbsp. ground ginger or 1 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger (both ways are good)

Pinch of salt

Few shakes of black pepper

Brown sugar ( add until the mixture is a smooth paste)

Fresh cilantro ( about a palmful of it, snipped)

Mix all ingredients together. Marinate salmon in the good stuff for about 20-30 minutes. Grill ( I do about 6 minutes on each side).

Meanwhile...

Coconut Jasmine Rice

1 1/2 cups Jasmine Rice

1/2 coconut milk

1 cup cold water

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 cup thawed frozed peas

Segments of one pineapple slice ( or, more if you like more)

Combine rice, coconut milk, water, and butter in sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then put heat on low. Simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Add thawed peas. Fluff. Add pineapple.

I serve everything together with grilled orange slices ( just put some on with the fish).

This rice is easier to make than Rice-a-Roni so I'll use this from now on and feel all cool like that. What? Anyway, I have to go...it's Aubrey's favorite meal....