Lemony Shrimp and Orzo

Adapted loosely from Giada and absolutely delicious...

Ingredients

Kosher salt
1 pound orzo pasta

Vinaigrette:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Zest of 2 large lemons
1/3 - 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, to taste
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large shallots, chopped
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup dry white wine
10 cloves of roasted garlic, coarsely chopped
10 ounces (2 boxes) fresh baby spinach or baby arugula, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 bunch fresh chives, chopped
Directions

For the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper until smooth. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

While the water is coming to a boil and the orzo is cooking, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Fry the prosciutto slices until crisp. Remove the prosciutto slices, leaving the oil in the pan. Drain the prosciutto on paper towels and let cool. Crumble the prosciutto and set aside.

Add the shallots to the oil and cook until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the shrimp, salt and pepper. Cook until the shrimp turn pink and are just barely cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the skillet. Increase the heat to high. Add the wine and spinach. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes until some of the liquid has evaporated and the spinach has wilted. Turn off the flame under the skillet.

Add the roasted garlic, cooked pasta, cooked shrimp, crumbled prosciutto, vinaigrette and butter to the skillet. Toss until all the ingredients are coated, adding a little of the reserve pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Taste for seasoning.

Transfer to a platter and serve, garnished with chopped chives.

Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Cauliflower Alfredo

I roasted the cauliflower and garlic, and added about a cup of chicken stock, and a quarter cup of microplaned parmesan to the sauce. I tossed a few handfuls of frozen peas in with the pasta just before draining it, and more parm on top to serve. Next time, I will crisp up a little pancetta and sear some butterflied shrimp in the pancetta drippings. Nothing like pork, seafood and cheese to improve on a vegan pasta sauce...

Asopao de Camarones

I added achiote oil, pimentos, peas and three times the amount of sofrito (oh, and left out the chopped tomato and swapped chicken stock for clam juice) but otherwise (ahem!) made no major changes to this recipe. This was fantastic. Asopao MUST be served with buttered garlic toasts. I now officially make the best asopao in the world. Anywhere.

Lowcountry Breakfast Shrimp

Crispy Herbed Shrimp with Chive Aioli/Asparagus and Tomatoes

This dish caused a major sensation at my mother-in-law's book club luncheon. The asparagus/tomato side is a simple and delicious accompaniment.

Restaurant-ish Pasta

More pasta. Its not all we're eating...really! I just can't find time to blog lately. I'll get around to writing up the fragrant keema mattar, velvety chocolate bread pudding, pickled beets, pineapple zucchini cake with cream cheese frosting and fabulous lemon chicken sometime soon, but for right now, with my preliminary literature review due at 9am and a long night of blurry-eyed proofreading ahead, I will just note that tonight's pasta was spectacular, if I do say so myself. Layers of flavor, good balance and pretty to look at. Bill ate himself into a food coma and passed out on the couch, indicating that perhaps this dish is a little too "restaurant-ish" for every day usage.

3 cloves garlic
1 scallion
6 sun dried tomatoes
hefty glug of white wine
juice of one lemon
olive oil
spoonful of chicken fat
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 T pesto
large handful of shrimp, sheeled and deveined
red pepper flakes
handful frozen peas
2 T pesto
copious amount of chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
linguini
pesto bread crumbs

Seafood Chowder

Chowdah! Just the sound of the word (combined with the sight of our beach) makes my heart race. I am so ready for summer.

5 slices of bacon, diced small
1 yellow onion, diced medium
1 Yukon Gold potato, peeled and diced medium
12 littleneck clams, scrubbed well
1/2 - 3/4 lb basa or cod filets, diced large
12 large shrimp, shelled and deveined
chicken or fish stock
cream
salt and pepper, to taste

Saute the bacon over medium heat in a large pan with a lid. After about two minutes, add the potatoes and onions to the pan, and saute everything together for a few minutes until the onions have begun to soften. Add the clams and just enough stock to barely cover the potatoes and onions, and come about 1/4 up the sides of the clams. This was about 2 cups last night, but could be a little more or less, depending on the size of the pan. Cook, covered for two minutes. Add the shrimp and fish and cream (I didn't measure the cream -- I would say it was about 1 1/4 cups) and cover and cook for four to five minutes longer. The clams should be open at this point. They may need up to a minute longer. At that point, discard any clams that have not opened.

Lemony Shrimp with White Beans and Couscous

Adapted from Real Simple
Photo by Kan Kanbayashi

1 10-ounce box couscous (1 1/2 cups)
2 cups chicken broth
Kosher salt, cayenne pepper and pimenton to taste
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
4 scallions, chopped
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 15.5-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed
3/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
Juice of 2 lemons

30 minutes before cooking, marinate the shrimp in half the lemon juice and the spices.

In a saucepan, bring 2 chicken stock to a boil. Stir in the couscous. Cover and let sit off heat for 5 minutes; fluff with a fork before serving.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and scallions and cook for 30 seconds. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, until they begin to turn pink, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the beans, parsley, lemon juice, the remaining butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Adjust for seasoning. Serve with the couscous.


Yield: Makes 4 servings

Shrimp and Broccoli Lo Mein with Cashews

A happy accident, this noodle dish. I went to re-create the shrimp and snow peas with cashews from a few weeks ago, but accidentally grabbed the oyster sauce instead of the hoisin when I reached into the fridge. The change resulted in a totally different dish, and, it turned out, a completely delicious quick dinner. Its light and full of good lean protein and vegetables without tasking "healthy." I ate it with shirataki noodles, and Bill had lo mein. Not a pretty dish per se, but totally satisfying and way better than Chinese take out.

2 T cooking oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 inch fresh ginger, minced or 1 t dried ground ginger
1/3 red onion, sliced into thin strips or 2 scallions, sliced into thin rings
1 cup raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 full head of broccoli, steamed briefly but not fully cooked
1 cup chicken stock
2-4 hefty glugs of oyster sauce, or to taste
1/4 cup soy sauce, or to taste
1/2 cup salted, roasted cashews
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 package shirataki noodles or lo mein noodles, cooked and heated through

Heat the oil in a saute pan or wok. Saute the garlic, ginger and onion or white scallion rings until they are fragrant. Add the shrimp and broccoli and toss to combine. Add 3/4 of the chicken stock and the hoisin sauce. Saute until the shrimp are cooked through. Add the cashews, green scallion rings and cook just until heated through. Add the cornstarch mixed with the remaining chicken stock and bring to a boil just until thickened. Serve hot over noodles. Garnish with green scallion rings.

Linguine Frutti di Mare

So every month when Saveur shows up, I hand the magazine to Bill and say "pick one thing you want me to cook out of this." And this month he went straight to the linguini with seafood. Its the kind of dish he's always happy to eat. I cut the amount of oil down to almost nothing, tossed in a couple of clams and a little crushed red pepper. I substituted whole wheat linguine for the white stuff too..

SERVES 2
Kosher salt, to taste
8 oz. dried whole wheat linguine
1⁄8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1⁄2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1⁄2 cup chopped red bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
pinch of red pepper flakes
1⁄3 cup white wine
1/3 cup chicken stock or clam juice, warmed up
8 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
8 littleneck clams, scrubbed
1⁄2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
8 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 leaves basil, torn, plus more for garnish
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1⁄2 cup grated asiago cheese
4 lemon wedges


1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add linguine; cook until al dente, 8–10 minutes. Drain pasta; reserve 1⁄4 cup pasta water.


2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add green and red peppers, garlic, and onion; cook until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add wine, stock, mussels and clams; cook, covered, until mussels open, about 2 minutes. Add reserved pasta water, tomatoes, butter, and shrimp and cook, stirring, until shrimp are just pink, about 1 minute. Add cooked linguine, toss to combine, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and clings to pasta. Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper. Divide pasta between bowls. Sprinkle with more basil, asiago, and garnish with lemon wedges.


This recipe was first published in Saveur in Issue #112
Photo by Andre Baranowsky

Chinese Stir-Fried Shrimp with Snow Peas and Cashews

Oh, yum...
This weeknight experiment -- an amalgam of two stir fries I often crave: Cantonese Shrimp with Snow Peas and Ginger Chicken with Cashews -- came out even better than I expected. Full of gingery heat and sweet shrimp; crunchy snow peas and velvet cashews. Oh - and quick! And healthy!
Keepin' it.

2 T cooking oil
5 cloves garlic, sliced
ginger, minced
2 scallions, sliced into thin rings. White and green parts separated.
2 cups shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 1/2 cups snow peas, blanched
1 cup chicken stock
1 hefty glug of hoisin sauce
1/2 cup salted, roasted cashews
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Heat the oil in a saute pan or wok. Saute the garlic, ginger and white scallion rings until they are fragrant. Add the shrimp and snow peas and toss to combine. Add 3/4 of the chicken stock and the hoisin sauce. Saute until the shrimp are cooked through. Add the cashews, green scallion rings and cook just until heated through. Add the cornstarch mixed with the remaining chicken stock and bring to a boil just until thickened.
Serve over rice.

Thai Seafood Noodle Salad

Bill cooked this up for dinner last night, inspired by the cover recipe on this month's Food and Wine: "a delicious tangle of chewy rice noodles, shrimp, squid and cashews." Fiery hot and satisfyingly full of all the exciting sweet-salty-tangy-herbaceous flavors we crave in Thai food. Mr. Toles was very pleased with himself -- and even more so today -- after the leftovers turned into spicy summer rolls for lunch.
(Photo by Dana Gallagher)
Ingredients

6 ounces rice vermicelli
2 red Thai chiles, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/3 cup Asian fish sauce
2 tablespoons boiling water
1/2 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/2 pound bay scallops
1/2 pound small squid, bodies cut into 1/2-inch rings and tentacles halved
3 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup mint leaves
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup salted roasted cashews
6 lettuce leaves, for serving
Cilantro leaves, for garnish
*

directions

1. In a medium bowl, cover the vermicelli in cold water and soak for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a mortar, pound the red Thai chiles and garlic cloves to a paste with 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Add the lime juice, fish sauce, boiling water and the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar and pound until the sugar is dissolved. Let the dressing stand for 30 minutes.
3. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. Add the shrimp to the boiling water and cook until white throughout and curled, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to the ice water. Add the scallops to the boiling water and cook until white and firm, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the scallops to the ice water. Add the squid to the boiling water and cook just until firm, about 45 seconds. Transfer the squid to the ice water. Drain all of the seafood and pat dry.
4. Bring a fresh saucepan of water to a boil and refill the bowl with ice water. Drain the vermicelli, add to the boiling water and cook just until al dente, about 1 minute. Drain and transfer to the ice water. Drain again and pat dry. Cut the vermicelli into 3-inch lengths.
5. In a large bowl, toss the seafood with the vermicelli, tomatoes, bean sprouts, mint, red onion, cashews and chile dressing. Line a platter with the lettuce leaves and top with the seafood salad. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

MAKE AHEAD All of the components can be prepared up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated separately. Toss the salad just before serving.

Coconut Curry Noodle Soup

I made this for dinner tonight, along with a platter of Bo Luc Lac. The soup was right on the money. Its my own recipe, (although I have to admit that there's nothing very original about it.) True comfort food.

1/2 package rice noodles (any size), cooked, drained and oiled to keep them from sticking, set aside
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined OR sliced boneless skinless chicken
2 t thai red chili paste
2 t madras curry powder
1 can coconut milk
2 cups of chicken (or fish or shrimp stock if using shrimp)
1 T fish sauce, or more to taste
2 shallots, sliced into thin rings
2 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
1 knob ginger, cut into thick slices
1 or 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised and cut into thick slices
fish sauce, to taste
Lemon juice to taste
Chopped cilantro, basil chiffonade, lemon wedges and bean sprouts for garnish

In a pot over high heat combine 2 cups stock, fish sauce, chili paste, curry powder, ginger, lemongrass and shallots. Bring to a boil, turn heat down to low and simmer for twenty to thirty minutes. Add the coconut milk.

Remove the ginger and lemongrass. Add the shrimp, and cover, reducing the heat to low. Cook just until the shrimp are opaque throughout -- 3 minutes or so.
Add more fish sauce to your liking. Portion noodles and cilantro and/or basil into individual bowls. Pour soup over noodles, arranging shrimp on top of the noodles. Top with bean sprouts and a lemon wedge. Serve hot.
Serves 4

Wandering Chopsticks' Goi Cuon (Vietnamese salad rolls)

Another fresh and flavorful recipe from Wandering Chopsticks, with only minimal adjustments on my part. Check out her most excellent blog at www.wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com


1/2 to 1 lb pork, preferably with skin attached
1/2 - 1 lb jumbo shrimp, plan on two shrimp per roll
a mix of lettuce and herbs, preferably mint, cilantro, mung bean sprouts, etc.
package of rice paper
package of rice vermicelli noodles, not bean thread vermicelli noodles
crushed peanuts or cashews (optional)

Boil noodles and allow to drain in colander.
Fill 5-quart stock pot halfway with water and a dash of salt. When water boils, add pork and turn heat down to medium. Allow to simmer until meat is fully cooked. Take meat out and allow to rest for about 15 minutes, or until pork is cool enough to touch. Slice thinly.

While pork is resting, toss shrimp into pot. It should take only a few minutes for the shrimp to turn pink and be fully cooked. Scoop shrimp out and onto a plate.

At the table, assemble a plate of the sliced pork, shrimp, noodles, herbs, and rice paper, along with a bowl of warm water for soaking the rice paper.

Gently slide the rice paper into the water until it is all covered. You want the rice paper to be just wet enough that it will turn pliable in a few minutes, but it should still be stiff when you take it out. When you're assembling your goi cuon, the stiffness will turn pliable. If you literally soak your rice paper, in a few minutes it'll turn to mush and fall apart.

Place two shrimp on upper portion of rice paper. Then add noodles, lettuce and herbs, and a slice or two of pork. Fold in the two sides. You want it to just touch the edges of the filling so that it will be tight enough to hold everything in.Then fold top edge down, gently pushing in filling as you go along.

Serve these with nuoc cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce), plum sauce or sweet chili sauce,

Weeknight Paella

Since Bill is enamored with all things Bittman these days, I took Bittman's "quick paella" recipe and tweaked it a bit in order to come up with this dish. It was verrrrrrry tasty and easy to make, taking less than 30 minutes to complete from start to finish.

Ingredients
2 cups shrimp shell stock or clam juice or chicken stock, or some combination of the above
pinch of saffron or 1 teaspoon of bijol or tumeric
1 link chorizo or andouille sausage, sliced into thick coins
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon pimenton
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup arborio rice
1 cup raw peeled shrimp
6-8 littleneck clams
1/2 cup frozen green peas, defrosted
1 pimento, julienned
Minced fresh cilantro, for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Warm the stock in the microwave along with the saffron. Place an ovenproof 10- or 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat and add the sausage until it browns slightly and renders some of its fat. Saute the garlic until golden. Add the olive oil. A minute later, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and soft, about 5 minutes. Add the paprika and cumin and cook 1 minute more.

2. Add the rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until glossy, just 1 or 2 minutes. Add the warm stock, taking care to avoid the rising steam. Arrange the shrimp, clams and peas in the skillet, nestled into the rice. Transfer the skillet to the oven.

3. Bake about 15 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is dry on top. If the rice is undercooked at all, add another 1/4 cup of liquid, cover the dish and let it sit for ten minutes. Taste for salt, then garnish with cilantro and serve immediately.
Serves 4

Thai Shrimp Curry

This is my take on a classic Thai yellow curry. So quick, so satisfying, sooooo fiery hot. This dish was half inspired by the curry soup at Mee Noodle in midtown. But this is much, much better.

1/2 cup basmati rice
1 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt to taste

1 small (4 oz) can yellow curry paste
1 can coconut milk
2 cups chicken stock
1 large potato, peeled and sliced into 1/8 inch slices
1 carrot, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
3/4 cup frozen baby peas
12 shrimp, shelled and deveined
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1/2 can baby corn, each corn sliced into 3 pieces
2 scallions, sliced into thin rings
large handful fresh cilantro and fresh basil, coarsely chopped
2 lemon wedges

Cook the rice in the chicken stock, oil and salt. While the rice is cooking, stir the curry paste, coconut milk and chicken stock together in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and add the potatoes and carrots. Let the liquid come back up to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 - 12 minutes, or until the potatoes are not quite cooked through. Add the peas, stir and let come back up to a low boil. Add the shrimp, garlic, baby corn and scallions and cook for an additional 3 - 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped herbs at the last minute. Serve over rice with a generous squeeze of lemon. Serves two.

Shrimp Salamanca

I brought several kinds of the Spanish smoked paprika called pimentón home with me from a trip to Salamanca. http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piment%C3%B3n
The pimentón adds incredible smoky depth of flavor to this dish, which would just be a straightforwardly lemony, briny shrimp piccata without it. Bill licked his fingers and groaned as he ate this, so it seems worth preserving.

Spice mixture:
Cornstarch
Spanish smoked paprika (mild or spicy)
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper

1 pound U-16 shrimp, shelled and deveined
Olive oil
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1/2 cup lemon juice (about 1 1/2 lemons)
about 1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup capers
1 T chopped lemon zest
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 T unsalted butter
3 cups cooked brown rice

Make a spice mixture out of the cornstarch, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Taste it and adjust for seasoning. It should be salty and full of flavor. There should be about 3/4 cup of it altogether.
Pat the shrimp dry and coat them liberally with the spice mixture. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium high heat. Brown the shrimp on one side, about 2 minutes, adding the sliced garlic 1 minute into the cooking time, and taking care that the garlic doesn't burn. Turn the shrimp over and add the capers, lemon juice and white wine. Bring to a boil and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Let cook until the shrimp are cooked through. Stir in the parsley and lemon zest. Adjust for seasoning. Add a little sugar if the sauce is too sour. Off the heat, swirl in the butter. Serve hot over rice, topping each serving with a final dusting of smoked paprika. Serves two.