Shrimp Scampi

Few months ago, my foodie buddy Heather from Heather is at home had a garage sale and was selling whole bunch of her cookbooks...She was kind enough to send me some. This recipe is from one of the books, I've gotten from Heather. "Stirring the Pot" by Tyler Florence. We love shrimp scampi and addition of tomatoes to the classic recipe, was absolutely the right way to go. It is a keeper for us!



* 1 pound linguini
* 4 tablespoons butter
* 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
* 1 large shallot, finely diced
* 5 cloves garlic, sliced
* Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
* 20 large shrimp, about 1 pound, peeled and deveined, tail on
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 1 28 oz can of San Marzano tomatoes
* 1 lemon, juiced
* 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley leaves

Directions

For the pasta, put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. When it has come to the boil, add a couple of tablespoons of salt and the linguini. Stir to make sure the pasta separates; cover. When the water returns to a boil, cook for about 6 to 8 minutes or until the pasta is not quite done. Drain the pasta reserving 1 cup of water.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes (if using) until the shallots are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper; add them to the pan and cook until they have turned pink, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan; set aside and keep warm. Add wine,tomatoes and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons oil. When the butter has melted, return the shrimp to the pan along with the parsley and cooked pasta and reserved pasta water. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over a bit more olive oil and serve immediately.

Daring Cooks Challenge-Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes

This month's Daring Cooks challenge hosted by Olga from Las Cosas de Olga and Olga’s Recipes is Rice with Mushrooms, Cuttlefish and Artichokes. I have to say I've been a little disappointed since I've joined Daring Cooks two months ago...Both my husband and daughter are allergic to fish and both recipes so far were centered around fish. I decided to skip last month's challenge due to fish allergies in my house, but this month I was lucky enough to have my mother in law, who is a fish enthusiast, visiting, so I decided to give this challenge a try... Overall it was a pretty straightforward process, but I did make some changes (see below) I also did not use saffron or tumeric, I did not have either in my spice cabinet... I don't know how this happend because I seem to have all spices known to men in my kitchen...LOL As a result, my paella was a bit pale. I've never had a paella before and did not expect to love it, but what a wonderful meal, so flavorful and delicious!!!

Rice with Mushrooms, Cuttlefish and Artichokes



Cooking time: 45 minutes

Equipment:
1 Chopping Board
1 knife
1 medium saucepan
1 Paella pan (30 cm/11” is enough for 4 people. If not available, you may use a simple pan that size)
1 Saucepan

Ingredients: (serves 4):

* 4 Artichokes- I used jarred
* 12 Mushrooms-Portobello
* 1 or 2 Bay leaves
* 1 glass of white wine
* 2 Cuttlefish
* 2 lb of shrimp
* “Sofregit” (see recipe below)
* 2 cups Short grain rice (Spanish types Calasparra or Montsant are preferred, but you can choose any other short grain. This kind of rice absorbs flavor very well) – ½ cup per person.
* Water or Fish Stock (use 1 ½ cup of liquid per ½ cup of rice)
* Saffron threads-skipped this step
* Allioli (olive oil and garlic sauce, similar to mayonnaise sauce) – optional

Directions:

1. Cut the cuttlefish in little strips.
2. Add 1 or 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and put the cuttlefish in the pan.
3. If you use fresh artichokes, clean them as shown in the video in tip #7. Cut artichokes in eights. Clean the mushrooms and cut them in fourths.
4. Add a bay leaf to the cuttlefish and add also the artichokes and the mushrooms.
5. Sauté until we get a golden color in the artichokes.
6. Put a touch of white wine so all the solids in the bottom of the get mixed, getting a more flavorful dish.
7. Add a couple or three tablespoons of sofregit and mix to make sure everything gets impregnated with the sofregit.
8. Add all the liquid and bring it to boil.
9. Add all the rice. Let boil for about 5 minutes in heavy heat.
10. Add some saffron thread to enrich the dish with its flavor and color. Stir a little bit so the rice and the other ingredients get the entire flavor. If you’re using turmeric or yellow coloring, use only 1/4 teaspoon.
11. Turn to low heat and boil for another 8 minutes (or until rice is a little softer than “al dente”)
12. Put the pan away from heat and let the rice stand a couple of minutes. Add the shrimp and let it steam, so they do not overcook.

Sofregit (a well cooked and fragrant sauce made of olive oil, tomatoes, garlic and onions, and may at times different vegetables such as peppers or mushrooms)

Cooking time: approximately 1 hour



Ingredients:

* 2 tablespoons of olive oil
* 5 big red ripe tomatoes, chopped
* 2 small onions, chopped
* 1 green pepper, chopped (optional)
* 4 or 5 garlic cloves, chopped
* 1 cup of button or Portobello mushrooms, chopped (optional)
* 1 Bay leaf
* Salt
* Touch of ground cumin
* Touch of dried oregano

Directions:

1. Put all the ingredients together in a frying pan and sauté slowly until all vegetables are soft.
2. Taste and salt if necessary (maybe it’s not!)

Allioli is the optional part of the recipe. You must choose one of the two recipes given, even though I highly recommend you to try traditional one. Allioli is served together with the rice and it gives a very nice taste

Allioli (Traditional recipe)



Cooking time: approximately 20 min

Ingredients:

* 4 garlic cloves, peeled
* Pinch of salt
* Fresh lemon juice (some drops)
* Extra-virgin olive oil (Spanish preferred but not essential)

Directions:

1. Place the garlic in a mortar along with the salt.
2. Using a pestle, smash the garlic cloves to a smooth paste. (The salt stops the garlic from slipping at the bottom of the mortar as you pound it down.)
3. Add the lemon juice to the garlic.
4. Drop by drop; pour the olive oil into the mortar slowly as you continue to crush the paste with your pestle.
5. Keep turning your pestle in a slow, continuous circular motion in the mortar. The drip needs to be slow and steady. Make sure the paste soaks up the olive oil as you go.
6. Keep adding the oil, drop by drop, until you have the consistency of a very thick mayonnaise. If your allioli gets too dense, add water to thin it out. This takes time—around 20 minutes of slow motion around the mortar—to create a dense, rich sauce.

José's tips for traditional recipe: It's hard to think that, when you start crushing the garlic, it will ever turn into something as dense and smooth as allioli. But don't give up. It's worth the extra time and effort to see the oil and garlic come together before your eyes. Just make sure you're adding the olive oil slowly, drop by drop. Keep moving the pestle around the mortar in a circular motion and keep dreaming of the thick, creamy sauce at the end of it all.

Grilled Shrimp with Fiery Lemongrass-Chile Sambal

I have a stack mile high of cooking magazines and cookbooks, so I've decided that at least twice a week I'll try something new. Today's inspiration was Gourmet magazine, July 2009 issue. George & I love shrimp, so it was an easy decision to try this recipe. It was pretty easy to put together and the end result was very yummy!!! Word of caution to those of you who do not care for spicy food. This truly is fiery! I've served it with sauteed spinach with some garlic and fried shallots.



Sambal:

* 2 (or more) serrano chiles (preferably red), seeded, coarsely chopped
* 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped shallots (about 8 ounces)
* 1/4 cup chopped peeled fresh ginger
* 3 tablespoons chopped lemongrass (from bottom 4 inches of 2 large stalks)
* 6 macadamia nuts
* 4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
* 2 teaspoons (packed) golden brown sugar
* 2 teaspoons turmeric
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1 bay leaf, crumbled
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 2 tablespoons (or more) vegetable oil
* 1 cup water

Marinade and shrimp:

For sambal :
Combine 6 Thai bird chiles (or 2 serrano or jalapeño chiles) and next 12 ingredients in processor. Using on/off turns, blend until finely chopped and paste forms. If spicier sambal is desired, add more chopped chiles to taste and blend again until paste forms. Transfer sambal to small bowl. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sambal and cook until fragrant and lightly browned, stirring constantly and adding more oil by tablespoonfuls if mixture is dry, about 7 minutes. Add 1 cup water; reduce heat to medium and simmer until most of water is absorbed but mixture is still creamy, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover sambal and chill.

For marinade and shrimp:
Whisk lime juice, 3 tablespoons oil, and 2 tablespoons sambal in small bowl.

If using unpeeled shrimp, use kitchen scissors to cut shrimp shell along rounded back of tail; scrape out vein with tip of bamboo skewer or tip of small knife. Place peeled or unpeeled shrimp in large glass baking dish. Brush shrimp all over with marinade. Allow shrimp to marinate at room temperature at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush grill rack with oil. Grill shrimp until just opaque in center, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer shrimp to platter. Rewarm remaining sambal and serve alongside for dipping or for spooning atop shrimp.



* 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 3 tablespoons (or more) vegetable oil
* 3 pounds uncooked unpeeled large shrimp, or 2 1/2 pounds uncooked peeled large shrimp, deveined, tails left intact

Garlicky Shrimp with Bread Crumbs

3 inch piece baguette , cut into small pieces
5 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 5 pieces
1 small shallot , minced (about 2 tablespoons)
Table salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
2 pounds extra-large shrimp (21-25), peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon sugar
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 4 teaspoons)
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup dry sherry
2/3 cup clam juice (bottled)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 lemon , cut into wedges

1. Pulse bread in food processor until coarsely ground; you should have about 1 cup crumbs. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add crumbs, shallot, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon parsley and transfer to plate to cool. Wipe out skillet with paper towels.

2. Thoroughly dry shrimp with paper towels; toss with sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in bowl. Return skillet to high heat, add 2 teaspoons oil, and heat until shimmering. Add half of shrimp in single layer and cook until spotty brown and edges turn pink, about 3 minutes (do not flip shrimp). Remove pan from heat and transfer shrimp to large plate. Wipe out skillet with paper towels. Repeat with remaining 2 teaspoons oil and shrimp; transfer shrimp to plate.

3. Return skillet to medium heat and add 1 tablespoon butter. When melted, add garlic and pepper flakes; cook, stirring frequently, until garlic just begins to color, about 1 minute. Add flour and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high and slowly whisk in sherry and clam juice. Bring to simmer and cook until mixture reduces to 3/4 cup, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in remaining 3 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Stir in lemon juice and remaining tablespoon parsley.

4. Reduce heat to medium-low, return shrimp to pan, and toss to combine. Cook, covered, until shrimp are pink and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with toasted bread crumbs. Serve with lemon wedges.