Published by mel on June 18, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
While I was away on a girls’ weekend in Maine, Tom was attending the annual Asparagus Festival in Western Michigan. Every year, Michiganders celebrate the harvest with a parade, plenty of beer-battered fried asparagus and the crowning of Miss Asparagus. Good times were had by all from what I hear, and I got a spanking new “I <3 Asparagus” T-shirt. Because I do in fact heart asparagus, Tom brought a couple pounds home. Even after 14 hours of travel, they arrived fresh and crisp.
So what to do with them? I decided on a risotto, and in my quest to try out risottos with all varieties of grains, I used steel cut oats. Yes, oatmeal. Savory oatmeal for dinner. I was a little weary at first, but it turned out pretty and delicious. Creamy, but not mushy. Tangy and decadent as its traditional counterpart, I love that I’ve added a new grain to the risotto roster.
Continue reading ‘oat risotto with shrimp, asparagus & pecorino’
Published by mel on May 23, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
I think this is my new favorite salad. Actually, I’m pretty sure it is. It’s spicy and smoky, crunchy and refreshing, which is good because it’s been over 90° here this week with 10,000% humidity. It would also be the perfect bring-to-cook-out dish (and Monday is Memorial Day!).
It all starts with a giant jicama. This one was the last one in the store and was buried under a pile of celery root. I dug it out though. And it was huge. I mean, huge. At least 2 pounds. When I shredded it, it filled my entire food processor container, and that thing is big.
Next came the black beans. Those were simple — I used canned. Then I cooked a few slices of sweet, center-cut bacon. It has less fat than regular bacon and gives the salad that smoky, meaty flavor. Then I quickly sauteed the shrimp in the bacon fat until they were just done. (If you’re not into the whole bacon thing, you can always use steamed shrimp and add a tablespoon of smoked paprika for flavor.)
A lot of lime zest, lime juice, scallions, cilantro and a couple of serrano peppers went in as well and everything was tossed together in a big blue bowl. A refreshing and satisfying salad for a cook out or a quiet summer evening.
Continue reading ’shrimp, jicama & black bean salad w/lime serrano dressing’
Published by mel on March 19, 2008 in entree and recipe.
I love plantains. They can be prepared both green (startchy) or over-ripe (sweet). They’re rich in fiber and potassium which makes them a nutritious vegetable, but the sweet ones taste like an indulgent carb.
For dinner last night, I simply peeled and halved a few over-ripe plantains and baked them. I also made a quick sautee of shrimp, lime juice, Thai red curry paste and basil. The spicy and tangy shrimp were a nice contrast to the sweet basil and plantains and the whole meal came together in under 25 minutes.
Continue reading ‘basil lime shrimp with plantains’
Published by mel on February 29, 2008 in entree and recipe.
I finally got to cook last night. Not just throw a quick soup or salad together, but really cook. It felt great to make something I was excited about, something I’ve never made before, something pretty darn tasty.
I seem to have a stock-pile of hot, Spanish chorizo in my fridge and it’s been finding its way into so many of my meals recently. I love how it infuses a dish with color and flavor. For this recipe, I sauteed it with chickpeas and added chicken stock and the thin Spanish noodles known as fideos. Something really interesting happened that I hadn’t intended — the broth became super thick and almost creamy and I couldn’t figure out how it had gotten that way without flour or cream. After thinking about it, I concluded that the little bit of water from the chickpeas thickened up as I sauteed them and the fideos released a good amount of starch as they simmered in the stock. The result was a thick orange sauce that I used to poach my shrimp.
I think I’ve found my new favorite meal in this dish. It has a really short prep and cook time and is impressive enough for guests. Oh yeah, and it’s a one-pot meal so the hub likes it too.
Continue reading ‘fideos with shrimp & chickpeas’
Published by mel on January 11, 2008 in entree and recipe.
Not that I’m making any resolutions or anything, but this year I’m going to try to use more and different whole grains in my cooking. I’ve pretty much cut out any pasta that isn’t whole wheat. I just think it tastes heartier than its pale counterpart, and it’s definitely more satisfying. I’m going the same way with rice. I’ve used red, green and black rice. They have a more unique flavor and add beautifully deep colors to a dish. So, out with the white, bleached stuff and in with the multi-colored grains.
That said, I’ve been hearing about farro forever, but have never been able to find it at any of my local stores. Farro is an ancient Italian grain, somewhat like barley, that can be used in soups, salads, or in place of rice. I’ve wanted to make a more nutritious risotto for awhile, but was hesitant to use barley in place of arborio rice. I thought it would be too—for lack of a better word—gloopy. I was delighted when I found a pearled farro at Whole Foods this weekend, and immediately snatched it up for some farroto (that would be risotto made with farro).
I had some extra shrimp, so I decided on cornmeal and cayenne crusted shrimp. To keep with the slightly Creole theme, I stirred some Cheddar and Kale into the farro risotto. The farro risotto was as rich and creamy as traditional risotto; I don’t think I’ll be using arborio again anytime soon. It was a very warm, satiating dish and we ate every last grain of the farro (which probably negated all the health benefits).
Recipe below.
Continue reading ‘cornmeal & cayenne shrimp w/cheddar farro risotto’
Published by mel on March 28, 2007 in entree and recipe.
My bridal shower was this past Saturday, and one of the (many) delicious things my mom made was shrimp cocktail. Even though there were only 23 guests, she bought about 100 lbs. of shrimp. Needless to say, there were leftovers. Leftovers which turned into delicious Thai curry noodles with shrimp!
Recipe after jump…
Continue reading ’spice’
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