7 posts tagged “shrimp”

So, remember last week, when I was telling you how badly I wanted to try ZenChef’s (over at Chefs Gone Wild) Clam Risotto?  Well, I did it.  I made his absolutely remarkable risotto and I’m sort of half wondering if I have died and gone to heaven?  Did I?  Somebody let me know if you read this post…to let me know if I died or not.  I mean seriously…it’s *that* good.  I even screwed it up a little–I forgot the lemon juice until after we finished eating it.  Did I mention there was not a single grain of rice left over?  We even licked the cockle shells clean.   I was going to make some really inappropriate joke about sucking cockle shells, but I’d better not.  But we did. lol  ;)  If you know me, you know that I cannot follow a recipe exactly.  It really is some sort of impossibility for me.  I do not feel complete if I don’t change things up at least just a little.  After all, a recipe really should just be a springboard for our own creativity, right?  So, I will note my (minimal) changes, even though I did stick pretty close to Zen’s original post. 

So, would you look at this?  Don’t you just want to dive into that plate of creamy risotto bliss?  Trust me, it’ll be the best dive you’ve ever performed.

zens risotto

So, as most of you already know, yesterday was Chinese New Year.  While I’m not Chinese, I must admit I’ll look for any excuse to celebrate! LOL  So, I made some Asian treats in honor of this special day.  Chuck over at Sunday Night Dinner posted his mom’s top secret recipes for Nuoc Cham (dipping sauce) and Cha Gio (Spring Rolls) recently, and I just couldn’t go another day without making some of my own…my Gawd that stuff is good!  It’s also been a while since I’ve made fried rice, and my dear hubs really loves a chicken curry version that I do, so it was set…spring rolls and fried rice would be our menu for the day.  I realize that my menu doesn’t have all of he traditional elements of a Chinese New Year menu, but heck, it’s the sentiment that counts, right? lol  I decided to do a step by step for the spring rolls, like Chuck (sheesh I’m such a total copycat!), for those of you who might not have rolled them before…I know that before I tried to make them the first time I was a little intimidated by the idea.  But, it’s really very simple, as you’ll soon see. Go and check out my site for the step by steps and recipes: http://canarygirl.com/?p=147

First of all, the Curry Chicken Fried Rice:

curry chicken fried rice

And now the Spring Rolls (Cha Gio)….I was much inspired by Chuck’s recipe, though I just had to make some changes (you know me!)…I sort of morphed his mom’s recipe with mine, and the resulting roll was just fab.

What?  I totally speak Spanish.  I’m serious!  haha  Sorry, I’m just in a cheeky mood(not *those* cheeks), I guess–must be the heat.  LOL  This recipe has a bit of a history….WAY  (Ok, maybe not WAY…just *way*) back when, I lived in Minneapolis, right near Loring Park and the Walker Art Museum…I loved my neighborhood.  I loved that it was close to Uptown, and close to Downtown…and one of the restaurants I used to *Really* love was the Green Mill Too on Hennepin Avenue in Uptown.  I swear, you have not lived until you’ve tried their pizza, or had drinks at the Oyster Bar!  :D  If you are interested in their story, you can find more info here: The Green Mill Too.  Anyway, back to the food!  One of my absolute favorite things to order was their extremely deep dish shrimp and pesto pizza…SO freaking good.  I mean, even better than SO freaking good!  So, I had to start making my own here, since the last time I checked, we still don’t have a Green Mill ’round these parts.  Sigh.  Maybe one day. 

For the recipe, please visit:  http://canarygirl.com/?p=97

shrimp and pesto pizza

The hubs is still on vacation this week, but we’re spending it just chillin’ and doing things that need to be done around the house.   I miss the crystaline turquoise waters of Fuerteventura already…*sigh*  There are roughly a gazillion photos of our trip on my flickr, so if you’re at all interested, feel free to click the flickr link on my sidebar. :)  Now that we’re back home, though…the need to continue the relaxing has me at a loss in the kitchen—well, not really…I still do all my prep there, but our patio and grill have become the new gathering place for us…let me share with you a simple, yet delicious meal we made yesterday:

(For the recipes, please visit: http://canarygirl.com/?p=89 at http://canarygirl.com)

grilled lunch

First of all, sorry about the way I've formatted this recipe (in weight measurements rather than cups for some things), but that's how it is written in the Thermomix cookbook...when I have time, I'll get a weight/cup measurement for various items and make a chart to easily translate the recipes into the format I'm used to (who knows, perhaps some of you actually prefer the measurements to be in weights rather than cups?).  I've adapted the recipe to a stove-top preparation, which takes a bit longer, but in the Thermomix it took 34 minutes start to finish! :)   Anyway, on with the recipe:

Ingredients:

10 ounces clams (250 grams)

12 ounces fish fillet (300 grams)

10 ounces whole shrimp (250 grams)

2 eggs (hard boiled)

2 cups water (1/2 liter)

1/2 red pepper (100 grams, 4 ounces)

1/2 green pepper (100 grams, 4 ounces)

1 onion (150 grams, 6 ounces)

2 cloves garlic

8 ounces (200 grams) tomato puree

2 1/2 ounces (70 grams) extra virgin olive oil

2 more cups (1/2 liter) water

salt and pepper to taste

bay leaf

3 ounces (80 grams) short grained rice (not Uncle Bens or similar varieties)

chopped parsley to garnish

Preparation:

First you'll need to soak the clams in salt water for a good while so that they release the sand.

Meanwhile, prepare the fumet.

Shell shrimp, reserving meat for later.

Boil shrimp shells in 2 cups (1/2 liter) water for about 7 minutes.

Strain and reserve fumet.

Using a food processor, chop peppers, onion and garlic, then add tomato sauce.

Heat oil in a stock pot, and sautee the vegetable mixture for 7 more minutes.

Add remaining water, bay, fumet and season with salt and pepper.

Heat through, and allow to cook for 7-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, steam clams and fish fillet.

Add all opened clams (discarding any that haven't opened), fish (broken into pieces) and the rice to stew .

Cook stew until rice is tender (about 20 minutes).

Remove from heat and add deveined shrimp and minced eggs, and mix.

Allow to sit 2-3 minutes to allow shrimp to cook through.

Serve garnished with chopped parsley.

seafood stew

I'm so annoyed....I just typed out the entire recipe, and it disappeared. :X  So I'll type it out again later or tomorrow when I'm not so peeved.  Sorry! :(

Creamy pesto.  MMMMMM.  Creamy Pesto.  One of my family's favorite sauces for pasta.  Usually, I do chicken and penne, but today I decided to deviate from the norm.  You know?  It worked! :)  Fresh basil is best, but jarred will do in a pinch.  Freshly grated parmesan is a must--no substitutes for that...the stuff in the green can is not even the same food, in my opinion.  Another key ingredient is the shrimp/prawns--the best kind to buy is flash frozen whole shrimp (heads, shells etc still on...it's a little tedious to clean and devein, but OH so much better tasting!)...Here the fish monger normally has it, but in Minnesota (or other non-coastal areas I guess), the only place I could find it was at the Asian grocer, so maybe have a look there if you have difficulty finding it.

creamy pesto shrimp tortellini

Ingredients:

1 pound tortellini (I used dried this time, but fresh would be even better)

1 pound whole shrimp or prawns, shelled and deveined, then rinsed

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts (to toast pine nuts, just toss them in a dry skillet over medium heat until lightly browned and aromatic)

1 large bunch basil (by large, I mean about 2 cups leaves), stemmed

1 large bunch parsley, stemmed

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish

salt and cracked black pepper to taste

extra virgin olive oil to taste

2 cups cream

Preparation:

Prepare pasta according to package directions.

When pasta is just barely al dente, add shrimp and cook 2 minutes more.

Drain.

Meanwhile, make pesto.

Using a food processor, first process garlic, then add in pine nuts and pulse a bit.

Add basil and parsley and continue to process until finely chopped.

Now toss in the parmesan, salt and pepper and pulse until combined.

In a steady stream, add enough olive oil to bind the pesto (so it sticks together, but isn't liquid-y).

After you've drained the pasta, spoon the pesto into the same pot and lightly sautee over medium heat until aromatic.

Add cream and stir constantly until heated through and beginning to thicken, about 3 minutes.

Toss in drained pasta and shrimp and stir to coat through.

Serve with parmesan shavings.