Shrimp Salad

Posted on September 8, 2011 by

I’ve always wanted to try a lobster roll but finding lobster that doesn’t cost a fortune in Florida is just craziness. Besides, if I am buying and preparing lobster, do I really want to cover it in mayo and slap it on a bun? Probably not. Shrimp? Now that is a different story.
I received this recipe in a blog recipe swap and I am so glad I did. The shrimp had a nice snap to it and the dressing was really, really good! I cut the recipe in half and it made enough for 4 sandwich rolls, so consider doing that if you are trying to make this meal a little more affordable for 2-3 people.
You should give this recipe a try! Thanks to Simple Gourmet Cooking for a great recipe!
Enjoy!

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Shrimp Salad
*Adapted recipe below

1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1 1/2 pounds small shrimp (50-70 per pound), tails removed, peeled, and deveined
1/2 to 3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 hot dog buns

Bring 1 quart of water and the Old Bay Seasoning to a rapid boil. Add the shrimp and cook for about 90 seconds. Using slotted spoon, remove shrimp and put on paper towel lined plate. Wrap in additional paper towel and pat dry. If you are using larger shrimp, chop the shrimp into 2-3 pieces. Smaller shrimp, leave whole or cut in half.
In a medium bowl, combine the dry shrimp, mayonnaise, celery, peppers, lemon juice, garlic, salt, shallot, and pepper. Mix thoroughly and refrigerate until ready to serve.

If desired, butter the buns and place them on a grill or under a broiler until lightly toasted. Fill with cold shrimp salad, and serve.

Adapted from: The Lobster Roll cookbook

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Posted in Quick and Easy Recipes, Salads, Seafood Dishes | 5 Comments

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Posted on September 7, 2011 by

I love changing up the standard idea of dinner. Who doesn’t love the idea of eating a giant appetizer for dinner!? Even if you are a diehard fan of the meat, potato and vegetable dinner, I still think that you would love these wraps. They would be great for parties or for a heavy lunch.
The apples in the recipe really took me by surprise. The sweetness was perfect to balance the saltiness of the sauce. They also added a really nice crunch. Even though I looked at this recipe twice before shopping I somehow managed to miss that I was out of hoisin sauce. Thankfully, I found a recipe online for hoisin sauce and the ingredients were all things that I had in my pantry (and if you make Asian food at home, then you probably have it in yours too). Because I made the hoisin sauce at home, it does taste slightly different from the thicker, sweeter store-bought version. I increased the amount of hoisin sauce used because of this. If you are using store-bought hoisin sauce, start with the recommended amount first. I used the leftover sauce and spooned it over the lettuce wraps.
Enjoy!

Prep Time: 35-40 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Asian Lettuce Wraps
Thanks to Sunny side up in San Diego and Good Times and Good Food for the recipe!
*adapted recipe below

Hoisin Sauce

4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic chili paste
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
Simply mix together.
At first, it does not appear like it will mix but, keep at it just a bit longer and you have.

For the Lettuce Wraps:

Ingredients
Sauce
4 tsp hoisin sauce (I used about 6 teaspoons of hoisin, start with 4 and season to taste!)
4 tsp soy sauce (or low sodium soy sauce)
1 tsp sesame oil
3 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp cornstarch
Freshly ground black pepper

Filling
2 tsp canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 shallot, minced
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 lb. ground turkey, chicken, or pork (I did a combination of ground pork)
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup carrot, very finely diced
1/2 green apple, finely diced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce (like sriracha, this is optional)
Lettuce, for wrapping

Directions
In a measuring cup, whisk together all of the ingredients for the sauce, set aside.

Heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the canola oil to the pan along with the garlic, shallot, and ginger. Cook for 30-60 seconds or until fragrant.

Add the ground meat to the pan, breaking into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook until the meat is no longer pink then create a well in the center of the pan by pushing the meat to the outside edges. Add the onion, bell pepper, frozen peas, and carrot to pan and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally add the sauce, apples, sriracha and green onion. Stir to evenly coat and cook for 1 minute to allow the sauce to slightly thicken.

Serve with fresh lettuce

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Posted in Appetizers, Pork Dishes | 7 Comments

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

Posted on September 5, 2011 by

So here I sit trying to describe these lovely little bars. Are they really cheesecake? No. They aren’t even labor intensive, so you almost feel guilty when everyone is gobbling them up and asking how you made them. The cinnamony, sugary crust is crispy and delicious and the cream cheese center is sweet but not overly sweet. It really is a delicious combination. I am in my second year of baking class so I am almost ashamed of how easy this recipe is. I had heard about (and tasted) this recipe a couple of weeks ago and thought it was awesome. As easy as these were, I am also really looking forward to making an authentic sopapilla cheesecake. I found a great recipe over at Apple A Day so I think I will be making that one for Christmas Eve.
I brought these cheesecake bars to celebrate the first Florida Gator game of the season. As it turns out both the Gators and these cheesecake bars were winners!
Enjoy!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars
*slightly adapted

2 (8 oz.) can crescent rolls
2 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar, divided
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup melted butter
ground cinnamon

Spray a 13 x 9 baking pan with Pam or any other spray oil.
Open one can of crescent rolls and stretch on bottom of pan. Seal holes together to form a crust.
Blend together cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla with mixer until fluffy.
Spread over dough, do not go all way to the edges.
Stretch second can of dough over cream cheese filling, seal together with other crust.
Melt butter in a saucepan mixed with remaining sugar.
Brush or pour all of the butter mix over top crust, then sprinkle generously with cinnamon.
Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
Let cool, then refrigerate before cutting into squares.

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Posted in Desserts, Quick and Easy Recipes | 5 Comments

Menu: 9/4-9/10

Posted on September 3, 2011 by

Last week was a terrible week for a menu plan! Our air conditioning went out and we had several last-minute change of plans. Thankfully we relied on some old standbys to get us through the week. I’m looking forward to finally getting around to trying a few dishes I didn’t get to make last week. Especially since I bought the ingredients for them. Helps keep me honest ya know. 😉

Sunday: Finally getting around to making shrimp and grits!

Monday: Class

Tuesday: Mexican chicken lime soup. (http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/mucho-gusto-latin-recipes/mexican-chicken-lime-soup)

Wednesday: I’m participating in my first blog recipe swap- I received shrimp salad so shrimp salad rolls and oven fries is on the menu. (http://simplegourmetcooking.blogspot.com/2011/07/shrimp-salad.html)

Thursday: Chicken burgers with garlic rosemary mayo, grilled potatoes. (http://tasteofhomecooking.blogspot.com/2011/07/chicken-burgers-with-garlic-rosemary.html)

Friday: Going out for oysters at a local dive with friends.

Saturday: Chicago deep dish pizza.

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

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Fun in the kitchen: Catering a Baby Shower.

Posted on August 30, 2011 by

I had the pleasure of catering an absolutely lovely baby shower this weekend. I was really looking forward to the shower because I knew the hostess loved good food and she was really open to a diverse menu. She chose a great location, accessorized with precious decorations and created such a neat candy and beauty bar. So naturally, getting to serve the food was icing on the cake.
Michelle- you hosted a wonderful party!
A big thanks to Ashley Gussler for all of the photography. 🙂

Here’s what I served.

Goat cheese tarts

Fire roasted tomato bruschetta

Chicken Picatta skewers with a lemon butter caper sauce

Polenta tartlets with pesto chicken and dried cranberries
(http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/polenta-and-chicken-tartlets-recipe/index.html)

Mexican shrimp cakes

Brown sugar and walnut brie
(http://kitchenklique.blogspot.com/2008/09/brown-sugar-walnut-brie-wheel.html)

Assorted salad sandwiches: Roasted chicken salad with dill, tuna salad and egg salad

Sparkling punch with fruit ice (kiwi, grapes and strawberries)

Such a beautiful party!

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Posted in General Announcements | 20 Comments

Menu: 8/28-9/3

Posted on August 28, 2011 by

What an INCREDIBLE week! I catered a lovely baby shower on Saturday and was blessed enough to cater a youth luncheon for my church on Sunday. I am so tired after back to back events but I don’t even care. It was so much fun! I can’t wait to share photos and details from the baby shower. None of that has to do with menu planning though….
School starts back up this week so we have some adjusting to do with our schedule but I am looking forward to the challenge!

Sunday: Youth Luncheon and after cooking all weekend I was quite content on munching and grazing on leftovers from both events.

Monday: Class

Tuesday: Mexican chicken lime soup (http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/mucho-gusto-latin-recipes/mexican-chicken-lime-soup).

Wednesday: Linguine with garlic mussels and salad.

Thursday: Chicago deep dish pizza (can’t wait to try this!!!) http://www.preventionrd.com/chicago-style-deep-dish-pizza/ :).

Friday: Lemon Ginger Noodles.

Saturday: Spaghetti with a creamy marinara sauce (just might make it spicy while I’m at it).

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Double Lemon Chicken with Tomato Basil Salsa

Posted on August 24, 2011 by

I knew when I saw this recipe that it would be delicious. I love the bright flavor of lemon and the tomato basil salsa is essentially a topping I make all the time for tomato bruschetta. The dish screams summer. I changed out the flour for the breading of the chicken to panko breadcrumbs. I like the crispy crunch of panko and thought it would go perfectly over the pasta I served this with. I mixed linguine with baby spinach, a little butter, parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. It was light tasting and perfect for the chicken.
Time is a wasting people, make this dish while tomatoes are still ridiculously cheap and ripe. 🙂

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Double lemon chicken with tomato basil salsa
source: Anne Getty’s Easy Green Organic
*edited to reflect our changes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

Tomato Basil Salsa
2 large tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
5 large fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper

Lemon Chicken
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
Salt and pepper to taste
4 skinless boneless chicken breast fillets, pounded until 1/2 inch thick
olive oil for cooking
1-2 lemons, halved

Preparation
To make the salsa, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
To prepare the chicken, combine the bread crumbs and lemon zest on a flat dinner plate. Using a fork, mix together until thoroughly combined.
Pat chicken breasts dry. Season well with salt and pepper on both sides. Dredge each fillet in the bread crumb mixture, making sure to coat both sides. I patted the crumbs on to the chicken a couple of times to make sure the coat was even. Put the breaded chicken in the fridge for about 5 minutes on a baking sheet. I found this helps keep the breading from coming off.
Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the olive oil, using just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken fillets in batches and fry until golden brown and cooked through. I fried two pieces at a time, then after each set of chicken I cleaned out the old oil and added new oil to coat the pan. I kept the cooked chicken in a warm oven while finishing the last two pieces. Squeeze generous amounts of lemon juice over each piece. Serve topped with the tomto basil salsa.

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Posted in Chicken Dishes, General Announcements, Quick and Easy Recipes | 2 Comments