Fish and Shellfish

Chipotle Shrimp Jicama Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

October 11, 2016

Let’s talk politics.

Just kidding!! Ugh. I don’t even want to think about the next month leading up to the election. Maybe that is why I am so focused on house stuff now.

I recently placed an order at West Elm for curtains for our bonus room. They are a fun with a blue graffiti pattern. Kinda like crazy brush strokes. They were on sale and I used my designer discount so I got them for a steal ($12 for each panel!).

I also ordered a white porcelain hurricane and a beautiful mirror. I don’t know where the mirror will go just yet but it was too beautiful to pass up. Oh man, it has this gorgeous blue inlay pattern. Plus, it was half off with the sale and my discount. It was like fate.

Then while I was in Target this past weekend I got sucked into the Pillowfort section as I looked for stuff for Autumn. I was expecting her to pick out a girly pattern or the pink or purple they had, but she went for the navy curtains with anchors. So my whole ‘look’ for her that I’ve had in my head for the past few months is all wacky. I am still trying to figure out if her selection is serious or not. We’ll go back and I’ll ask her again to check on things.

So yeah, my life is revolving around curtains and tacos. But that’s cool since curtains are really important in bring a room together and tacos rock.

These tacos rock because they are delicious, plus they are Paleo and are Whole30 compliant.

Have you ever had a taco made with a jicama shell? They are so good! The jicama doesn’t have too much flavor that competes with the taco filling, but gives the taco great crunch. They are thin so they are pliable but the texture of the jicama still gives it some crunch.

The one thing to note is that they are pretty small tacos, all dependent on the size of the jicama. So I’d budget like 3-4 per person for a good serving.

Once you give these jicama tacos a try you will be hooked!!

Chipotle Shrimp Jicama Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

Makes about 15 tacos

Ingredients

For the Pineapple Salsa

1 Cup finely diced pineapple
1/4 Cup finely diced red onion
1/4 Cup finely chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno, stem and seeds removed, finely minced
1 Tablespoon of lime juice
salt, to taste

For the Tacos

1 large jicama
1 pound of peeled, de-veined shrimp, tails removed (smaller shrimp is better!)
1 can of chipotles in adobo
2 Tablespoons pineapple juice
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 avocado, diced
chopped cilantro for garnish

Process

To make the salsa, combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Cover and place in the refrigerator and
To make the jicama taco shells, peel the jicama to remove the outer layer. Using a mandolin, thinly slice the jicama into rounds. Set aside. (If you don’t have a mandolin then carefully use a knife.)
In a blender or food processor, combine the chipotles in adobo, pineapple juice, lime juice, cumin, salt, and pepper. Using 2 Tablespoons of the sauce, marinate the shrimp for 30 minutes. (Freeze or use the remaining sauce to marinate chicken or steak)
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp to saute. Cook for 2 minutes and then flip the shrimp over and cook for another 1-2 minutes, or until pink and just curling.
Assemble your tacos with 3-5 shrimp (depending on size of shrimp), pineapple salsa, avocado, and cilantro.

Pasta with Shrimp, Corn, Tomatoes, and Zucchini

September 15, 2016

Okay, I lied.

So this will be my last summery recipe.

…

Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia

August 8, 2016

I am learning the weather here in Tampa Bay is cray cray.

I swear you never know if it’s going to be sunny, rainy, or whatever. The weather changes on a dime. I’m used to that with Boston, to some degree, since the weather there did the same, but it’s a whole different beast down here.

…

15 minute Fish Tacos with Chimichurri Sauce

July 19, 2016

I don’t know if I rocked or utterly failed at being a parent this morning.

I am going with the ROCKED IT approach.

So it’s Summer Session Picture Day!

I picked out Autumn’s outfit last night- super cute floral capris with a patterned yellow top and clear glitter jelly sandals. The outfit was nice and the shoes were pretty nuetral, compared to sneakers or her new favorite minnie sandals that are covered in polka dots and are topped off with a bow. Good, great, we had a plan!

This morning went well. She woke up in a good mood and I quickly got her I even managed to do her hair this morning without an argument. Yes! She watched some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse this morning and then we were on our way to daycare. On the way out the door she grabbed one of my chubby lip tints, like usual to play with in the car. No big.

I let her take this lip tint for the car rides since it’s pretty pale and she doesn’t do too much damage to it or herself. She mainly likes to just hold it.

Well, during the 5 minute ride to daycare, she decided her shoes were acceptable. How dare they not be the Minnie sandals?!?! And covering herself with lip tint would be a great idea.

By the time we reached daycare, I could just mange to get the shoes back on her and I gave up on the lip tint since prying it out of her hands was just not worth it. I did get a brief moment to talk to her teacher about not letting her look like a drag queen for the preschool pictures. Drag queens are awesome, but I don’t need my 2 year old looking like one for a class picture 🙂

Sometimes a 5 minute ride with your kid is just not so simple. But these fish tacos are. Promise!

They allow you to get a healthy, delicious meal on the table in 15 minutes. I’m not even kidding with that. The fish takes almost no time to cook and while they are cooking you can be charring the tortillas. and you just need to cut up the cabbage and the radishes. The chimichurri can be made in advance and stored in an air tight container for when you need it. Otherwise, that too is super quick.

We stuffed our faces with just these tacos (and margaritas!) but you can simply serve them with a side of rice or beans.

Enjoy Taco Tuesday with these quick fish tacos!

15 minute Fish Tacos with Chimichurri Sauce

Makes 4 tacos

Ingredients

2 flounder fillets (12-16 ounces total)
salt and pepper
8 corn tortillas
1/4 of a small red cabbage
4 radishes
1 lime cut in wedges
1/3 Cup Chimichurri Sauce

Process

Lightly salt and pepper the fish fillets.
In a lightly oiled skillet, over medium heat. Saute the fish. Gently flip after 3 minutes. Continue cooking, another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest.
While the fish is cooking, char the tortillas over an open flame. (alternatively, warm in a dry very hot tortilla.) I suggest you use tongs for this.
While the fish is cooling, finely chop the red cabbage and thinly slice the radishes.
Break up the fish into 1″ pieces.
Assemble the tacos by laying 2 tortilla down, adding some cabbage, 1/4 of the fish, a few slices of radishes, top with some chimichurri. Serve immediately with the lime wedges.

Shrimp Taco Bowls

May 10, 2016

How addicted to Pinterest are you?

I’m hooked. I love it like a fat kid loves cake. (sup 50 Cent!)

Sure, I love it for checking out Whole30 recipes or pie ones or cocktail ones, but I am currently hooked on house stuff.

I have been looking at everything from lights to garage storage set up and pantry organization to lanai decor. A lot of our house will come complete but there are things that just make more sense for us to do since we can do it more affordably than doing it through the builder. Plus, they have limited options for things, like butt ugly chandeliers for lighting options for the dining room. No thanks!

So pardon my overzealous house related pins, but looking at all this stuff is just too much fun! And it makes me wish I won the lottery. Dang.

Anyway, it’s Taco Tuesday and it’s also National Shrimp Day so I merged the 2 together for this weeks Taco Tuesday recipe post.

Since I’m still doing Whole30, it’s a Whole30 complaint recipe but I swear you would never feel deprived. (I just clarify that for those who think Whole30 is depriving/lame/crazy/whatever!) We made out bowls with cauliflower rice, but if you prefer you can make yours with white rice, brown rice, quiona, or whatever!

It took me about 10 minutes of prep and another 20 minutes for all of it to come together. It’s the perfect week night meal when you are craving some with some fun flavors and is fast to prepare.

Get your eats on with this Taco Shrimp Bowl. You’re gonna love it!!!!

Shrimp Taco Bowls

Makes 4

Ingredients

1 pound shrimp, tails removed
2 Tablepsoon olive oil, divided
1 Tablespoon taco seasoning
1/4 Cup raw pumpkin seeds/pepitas
1 each of green, red, and orange peppers, sliced into 1/2″ wide strips
1-2 yellow onions, cut into 1/2 wide strips (yeild approx 2 Cups)
4 Cups mixed greens
2 Cups cooked rice (I used cauliflower rice)
2 avocados, pitted and thinly sliced
2 Cups sliced grape tomatoes
1/4 Cup chopped cilantro
1 fresh jalapeno, sliced very thinly
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
your favorite salsa (I used a salsa verde from TJ’s)

Process

Marinate the shrimp by coating with 1 Tablespoon oil and then mixing in the taco seasoning, set aside.
In a dry skillet, add the pepitas. Toast the seeds over medium heat, moving frequently, until golden brown. Set aside.
In the same skillet, heat the remaining oil over high heat. Add the peppers and onion strips. Let sit for 1 minute prior to mixing. Mix to allow all strips to cook evenly, but not too often as you want them to char a bit as well. When compeltely softened, remove and set aside.
Add the shrimp to the skillet. Let cook on 1 side for 2 minutes prior to flipping, again you are aiming for some char, but not over cooking the shrimp. Cook until just opaque/white, approximately another 2 minutes. Do not over cook!
While the shrimp is cooking, begin to assemble the bowls by layering in the cooked rice, greens, and cooked veggies.
Add the shrimp to the bowls when cooked through. Finish topping off the bowls with the 1/2 an avocado, some tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeno slices, and 2 lime wedges per bowl. Enjoy with some of your favorite salsa as well.

Shrimp & Curried Coconut Risotto

October 26, 2015

Is your refrigerator running? Well, you better go get it! ha!

Okay, I have a point with starting with corny joke. I swear.

Our vacuum was acting up so I kept joking around that “Our vacuum sucks since it doesn’t suck” So Price dove into research mode, making me continually joke “But does that vacuum suck?” every time he would tell me about his findings. In the end we bought the Shark Rotator Pro Complete Lift-Away Vacuum (NV552), because we wanted a vacuum that had a hepafilter, had the ability to turn off the roller when on hardwoods, had a lot of attachments, and was relatively affordable (about 1/2 as much as a Dyson).

Since getting it we have been cleaning every inch of our house. It is amazing and horrifying at the same time as we are living in one of those corny infomercials when the people vacuum with their old one and then go over it with a new one to discover everything that was left behind. It’s amazing and horrifying. At the very least I am enjoying Price cleaning every surface in sight with every attachment the vacuum has. Win!!

Highly recommend this Shark vacuum #notsponsored!

Anyway, it’s Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day!!!!! YAY!!!! It’s my 4th year now!!

This month I had Sue’s blog Couscous and Consciousness. She is from New Zealand! So far away, but that is why I love blogging and Secret Recipe Club since it connects everyone from everywhere.

I had a lot of fun going through Sue’s Recipe Index since she had such a wide variety of recipes. We picked out several for considering, including her Salted Caramel Coconut Macaroons, Homemade Ricotta, and Pearl Barley Salad with Pistachios, Fava & Pomegranate (which I still have on my to-do list!). Ultimately, I selected her Shrimp & Curried Coconut Risotto.

I hadn’t made risotto in sooooo long so I was drawn to it. Plus, the combination of the flavors was so enticing. I couldn’t resist.

I’m glad I made this as it was a very satisfying lunch on a cool fall day. It made it really glad that I made a double batch since it made for great leftovers.

Sue’s tips about preparing this dish were spot on, like how you shouldn’t toast the coconut shavings. Sure, it will look pretty, but the contrasting texture from the crisp coconut to the soft risotto just wouldn’t work. I heeded her advice since it made a lot of sense.

So my 2 cents, if you like the flavor of curry then add a bit more. But, of course, this all depends on your curry blend, so just try it out as you go.

Hope everyone has a fantastic Monday! xox

Shrimp & Curried Coconut Risotto

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoons butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
grated zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon medium curry powder
3/4 Cups arborio rice
4 Cups chicken stock, hot
1/2 pound fresh shrimp, peeled & uncooked
1/3 cup cream de coconut
generous handful chopped cilantro
toasted shaved coconut and wedges of lime to serve

Process

In a large stock pot, heat the oil and 1 Tablespoon butter in a large frying pan, set over medium heat until te butter is melted and the oil is simmering.
Add the shallot and cook until softened, approximately 2-3 minutes.
Add the garlic and grated lemon zest, cook for another minute
Then add the curry powder, again cooking for another minute before adding the rice.
Add approximately 1/2 Cup of the hot stock, continue stirring until all the liquid is absorbed. Then continue in the same way, adding the stock in ladle full batches, and each time stirring until the liquid is absorbed before adding the next ladle. Continue doing this until the rice has begun to release its starches and becomes “creamy”, but still has a little bite left to it.
Add the shrimp when you have 1 last batch of stock to add. By the time the rice has absorbed the stock the shrimp will be almost done, and will finish off cooking in the final resting time.
Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the rest of the butter and the coconut cream, cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Stir the cilantro just prior to serving.
Garnish with the coconut shavings and wedges of lime when serving.

Adapted from Couscous & Consciousness

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Check out all the other great Secret Recipe Club posts this month!

And be sure to check out my 4 years of Secret Recipe Club posts!!!!

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Citrus Apple Butter Glazed Grilled Shrimp

June 14, 2014

Yesterday was my office’s bonus day. It’s a fun time to celebrate all the hard work that everyone does while getting some extra dough in the back pocket. There is a presentation to highlight the great things that happened to the firm, and our office specifically. As well, some fun awards are given out to different people and project teams. I received 2 awards but of course missed actually getting them as I had to slip away to pump. Figures!

Between having just recently hit my 5 year anniversary since starting this blog and taking a moment to reflect on my past year professionally and personally, I started to think about this blog and where is has come from and where I want it to go.

I’m so proud of all the recipes, photos, and stories that I have shared over the past 5 years. It’s been so much fun for me to document everything along the way. I’ve enjoyed making drink recipes, recipes for NASCAR races, and getting to rate my favorite breakfast food- eggs benedict! yum!!

While it has been fun I’ve noticed that over time I’ve been sharing more and more about food recipes and that was not my original intent with this blog. I love food. Oh boy I do, but I am more than that and the other sides of me is being left out in the blog recently.

So I’m going to, hopefully, start to blog more about what I have the urge to. Maybe I’ll just share my favorite summer shoes, some fun pictures, a house project, and some random craft that I’m so desperately trying to squeeze back into my crazy schedule. That will be more reflective of me.

I hope that you still come to check out my food posts, this year’s weekly pie posts, but also stop by to read about my way to do a garden planter or how to build a window cornice or my endless love for Sperry’s.

Well, I’m here sharing a great summer time grill recipe. I used Musselman’s Apple Butter in a fun, creative way to great a marinade and glaze for some yummy grilled shrimp. I never would have thought about using apples butter on shrimp but I have to say that the glaze I made for it was so dang good. I was pleasantly surprised!

I mean, I love Musselman’s Apple Butter, but there are just sometimes when you read a recipe and go ‘hmmm, is this really a good idea?!?!’. Let me tell you… in this case it’s a great idea!

I cooked the shrimp on my new grill pan that I placed on my grill. I could have even used the grill pan on my stove and in my oven to cook the shrimp but I couldn’t resist being outside. I used the fish grill pan that is part of the Wilton Armetale Gourmet™ Grillware line. Not only is it cute it is highly functional. It’s great for grilling and then directly serving your food in the same piece, making entertaining a breeze. As well, it keeps your food hot longer on the table. It’s easy to clean and it won’t. Even then it has a lifetime guarantee against breakage.

I could have out the shrimp on skewers but I find that they are pretty difficult to remove from the skewers later on. Using this Fish Griller made cooking a breeze as I was cooking with even heat and I didn’t have to worry about dropping my shrimp through the grill grates. I plan on using this grill pan a lot for batches of grilled vegetables, whole fish, and even inside when it’s crummy out and I still want to grill. Plus, they have one in the shape of a football. OMG! Perfect for tailgating!

Oh man, I just can’t get over how well the shrimp got grill marks from the grill pan. You can even cook the shrimp on a foil lined baking sheet by cooking in a 400 degree oven for 3-5 minutes, each side. But the saddest part about that is that you wouldn’t have these lovely grill marks.

I served my Citrus Apple Butter Glazed Grilled Shrimp with some freekah and grilled vegetables. I added a bit of parsley and red wine vinegar to the cooked freekah to give it some extra flavor. I think lemon juice would be a good alternative to the vinegar.

For the grilled vegetables I cut up some zucchini, red and yellow bell peppers, broccoli, red onion, mushrooms, and a bit of jalapeno. I mixed up some olive oil, water, salt and pepper, and crush garlic, which then poured over the vegetables. A quick mix and then I tossed them on my Vegetable Grill Basket, which was set upon a burner on high on the grill.

Citrus Apple Butter Glazed Grilled Shrimp

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup apple butter
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 pound uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined (21-25 per pound)

Process

Combine the apple butter, orange juice concentrate, lime juice, and oil.
Add the shrimp to the glaze and let marinade for 30 minutes.
Preheat your grill and grill pan over medium-high heat.
Lay the shrimp onto your hot grill pan. Cook for 3-5 minutes, or until slightly opaque.
Flip and cook until opaque throughout, another 3-5 minutes.

Adapted from Musselman’s

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And now the GIVEAWAY!!!!

You can win a large jar of Musselman’s Apple Butter, some recipe cards, and a Grillware Fish Griller!!

To Enter:

*Leave a comment telling me what your favorite things to grill is.

Get extra entries by doing the following:

Tweet: “Perfect for summer grilling! Citrus Apple Butter Glazed Grilled Shrimp {& a BIG GIVEAWAY!!} http://wp.me/pzEAP-4sr #AppleButterSpin“
Follow @Musselmanapple’s on twitter to stay in touch with them.
Like the Musselman’s Facebook page and to stay connected.

Come back and leave a comment each time to get 3 extra entries. If you do everything you should comment 4 times total!

Contest Ends Sunday, June 22nd at Midnight EST.

Good luck but if you don’t win be sure to go to your jam/jelly aisle at your local grocery store and pick up a jar of Musselman’s Apple Butter!

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*This blog contains sponsored content. While I did receive complimentary products from Musselman’s and Armetale, these opinions are entirely my own.

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Crispy Asian Fish Sandwiches

March 31, 2014

Since having Autumn Price and I have really been making a point to have dinners together at the table. No more eating in front of the TV. She has no idea what is going on but it’s just nice to feel more settled at dinner with all 3 of us involved. When she was younger we would put her in her bouncy seat and put that on the table. Now that she is a whole 4 1/2 months (ha!) she sits in her high chair and ‘eats’ her hands.

I really try to plan out dinner for the week so that it’s quick prep time for us to make or finish assembling the meal. Some days it’s salad. Some days it’s soup. Some days it’s tacos. The best meals are quick to prepare and make enough food for leftovers. But leftovers get played out and boring. So then you have to turn to trying something new so that it makes dinner together so much fun.

These Crispy Asian Fish Sandwiches are just the perfect solution for changing things up for dinner.

And that is why I love participating in Secret Recipe Club so much since I get to learn about other people’s blogs and get to try new to me recipes. So much fun!

This month I had another Nicole’s blog called Hapa-Tite. She has such a fun blog with great recipes that highlight her diverse background that include Chinese, Cherokee, German, and American, all while being culturally Hawai’ian. Plus it was fun to get a blog from a fellow Nicole!!

We picked these sandwiches out because we realized that we hadn’t had fish in awhile so it would be good to try something new when incorporating more fish into our dinner routines. This sandwich has great flavors and textures so it really elevates things from your standard fish sandwich.

I made some minor changes to the recipe that Nicole shared because of what I could get at the grocery store and some preferences. I was on my 2nd trip to the grocery store and I couldn’t find chives so I grabbed some green onions instead to still have that onion-y flavor in the sandwich. Then instead of the wasabi mayo, I made a sauce with some mayonnaise, wasabi and a few other things I grabbed from the fridge since I knew we wouldn’t actually eat wasabi mayo so it wouldn’t get used so there was no sense in buying it.

We loved this recipe because of the flavors, textures, and ease of putting together. We’ve already been talking about when we would make this again. This would be a great dinner option for you if you are in the middle of lent as well!

This Crispy Asian Fish Sandwich is a real winner for lunch or dinner. I swear that you will be hooked. whomp whomp!

Crispy Asian Fish Sandwiches

Makes 2 sandwiches

Ingredients

2 white fish fillets, preferably tiliapia, 6-8 ounces total
1/2 Cup flour
1 eggs
¾ cup panko bread crumbs
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon garlic powder
canola oil
2 sesame seed buns
1 lemon, sliced into 4 long wedges
Toppings: thinly sliced English cucumbers, lettuce, cilantro

For the sauce

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon wasabi
1 teaspoon ponzo sauce or soy sauce
1/2 of a scallion thinly sliced

Process

Prepare the sauce by combining all of the ingredients. Set aside.
Liberally season both sides of the fish fillets with salt and pepper.
Place the flour in a medium dish; beat the eggs with a splash of water in a second medium dish; and combine the panko with the ginger and garlic powder in a third medium dish.
Coat the fish fillets evenly in the flour, then beaten egg, and then panko mixture.
In a large skillet, heat the oil, about 1/4 inch, over medium to medium-high heat. Fry the fish until golden, about 3 minutes on each side.
While the fish is cooking, lightly toast the buns.
Transfer the cooked fish to a paper towel-lined plate to drain off excess oil. Squeeze 2 wedges of lemon over the fish.
Serve on the sandwich buns with the sauce, toppings of your choice, and a wedge of lemon.

Inspired by Hapa-tite

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Check out all the other great Secret Recipe Club posts this month!

Check out my 2 years of Secret Recipe Club posts!!!!

____________________

Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Bang Bang Shrimp

February 22, 2013

I am so ready for this weekend!!! Why?? Well, the Daytona 500 is this weekend!!! I’ve missed watching NASCAR Sprint Cup racing during the off season and this is the race that is kicking off the new season. So, like people who love to cheer on their favorite baseball, football, basketball, etc team I cheer on a driver in hopes that he drives furiously through the field of cars to win the race.

Since we love to watch each race we really like to make an afternoon, or occasional evening, out of it so we’ve decided to pair our snacks with each race. I was inspired by Pam of The Meltaways since she created a series of recipes called NASCAR Nibbles that paired a recipe with each track in the season. I decided to give this a try with our own spin on recipes for each race of the season based upon the regional favorites of each track. Please follow along every Friday for a new Sprint Cup Snacks recipe for the upcoming race that weekend.

To celebrate the start of the season with the Daytona 500, we decided to make a fun seafood dish called Bang Bang Shrimp. It would be a great way enjoy fresh seafood, which is a seaside and boardwalk favorite. Racing on Daytona Beach is what really kicked off racing that we know today since NASCAR formed at a hotel at Daytona Beach in 1948. I wanted to pay homage to the beach and fresh seafood with this Bonefish Grill restaurant favorite. If you go to Daytona you can even visit their Ormond Beach location and have some Bang Bang Shrimp there.

We’ve enjoyed Amanda’s Bang Bang Shrimp several times before. It does take some time to make as you have to coat the shrimp and then let is chill for 20 minutes and then it is best to fry in small batches so the oil does not cool too much with the edition of the chilled shrimp. It is worth it since these are just so fantastic.

The Bang Bang Shrimp has a spicy sauce is perfect with the crunchy fried shrimp. The original recipe calls for the sauce to coat the shrimp but I prefer it to just be drizzled over the shrimp or served beside it for dipping as I like to control the amount of sauce is on the shrimp. No matter how you like to dress the shrimp I think you will love Bang Bang Shrimp.

Bang Bang Shrimp

Ingredients

1 lb. medium shrimp*, peeled and deveined

For the sauce:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
4-5 teaspoons chili garlic sauce, such as Sriracha sauce
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon rice vinegar

For the egg mixture:

1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
pinch each of salt and pepper

For the breading mixture:

½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon dried basil

For the sauce:

½ cup mayonnaise
4-5 teaspoons chili garlic sauce, such as Sriracha sauce
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon rice vinegar

For frying:

8 to 12 cups vegetable oil

Process

Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl; cover and set aside.
Combine beaten egg with milk in shallow bowl; set aside.
Combine flour, panko, salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and basil in another shallow bowl; set aside.
Bread the shrimp by first coating each with the breading mixture. Dip breaded shrimp into the egg and milk mixture, and then back into the breading. Arrange the coated shrimp on a plate and pop them into the fridge for at least 20 minutes. This step will help the breading to stick on the shrimp when they are frying.
Heat oil in deep fryer to 325 degrees F. Use amount of oil required by your fryer.
When oil is hot, fry shrimp 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on rack or paper towels.
When all shrimp has been fried, drop the shrimp into a large bowl. Spoon about ¼ cup of sauce over shrimp and stir gently to coat.

*For larger shrimp, reduce the oil heat just a bit more and cook longer. For example, when I used large shrimp (U-15 shrimp), as pictured, I reduced the temperature of the oil to 320 so that the shrimp could cook longer to thoroughly cook throughout in 3-4 minutes without burning the exterior breading.

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{Sprint Cup Snacks Track Facts}

The Daytona 500 race is the race that really kicks off the new season of NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing. This is the equivalency of the Super Bowl for racing. There is a week of duels prior to the race where drivers are getting back into the grove of things since the season ended in November. This year there is a new car called the Gen 6, which looks more like a stock car compared to the cars in the past recent years.

Racing at Daytona started on the beach back in the early 1900’s and was vital in the development NASCAR. Racers would come near and far to race the road coarse, but as years went on drivers were getting frustrated in the lack of organization in the racing, promotion, and securing sponsors. William France Sr, worked hard in creating and organizing the races in the 30’s and 40’s, which ultimately resulted in the development in NASCAR on February 21, 1948. Racing on the beach came to an end in 1958 because the new raceway was opening in 1959.

Track: 2.5 miles

Shape: tri oval

Banking: 32 degree banking in the oval turns;18 degree banking at the tri-oval

Surface: Asphalt

Race: 200 laps for 500 miles

Restrictor Plate Race

2012 winner: Matt Kenseth

Driver with the most Daytona 500 Wins: Richard Petty won 7 times

Garlic Lemon Shrimp

May 3, 2012

When Price and I first met ages ago he did not like seafood. At all. Well, with the exception of the fried fish dinner from Doug’s Fish Fry from back home. And I think that was only because they have the best cole slaw there. Over the years he has been more adventitious and has expanded his pallet so every now and then we had seafood for dinner. Shrimp was on sale one day so whipped up this super simple, flavorful dinner for us on a whim.

This was so easy to prepare. The prep time was so fast as most of the work was done for me has the shrimp had been de-veined and de-shelled. I only needed to remove the tails before tossing together the rest of the mixture. This could be served with rice or pasta but I decided to not dirty another pot and just enjoy it with french bread. Normally, I would drizzle the bread with extra virgin olive oil but the rest of the dish was so indulgent with butter, oil, and wine so I keep it basic. Besides, the bread would just be dipped into the ‘broth’ anyway. This is very garlicky so this is not a first date kind of meal, enjoy it with someone you love and some wine!

Garlic Lemon Shrimp

Serves 2 as an entree, 4 as an appetizer

Ingredients

1 pound shrimp, medium sized (31-35)
4-6 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons of butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 1/2 large lemons
salt and pepper
1 loaf of french bread

Process

Preheat oven to 425. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Rinse and remove the shell and tails from the shrimp.
In a bowl, mix together the shrimp, garlic, butter, olive oil, wine, oregano, red pepper flake, and the juice of 1 lemon. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Lay out the shrimp mixture on half of the lined baking sheet. Cut the remaining 1/2 lemon into thin slices and lay onto the shrimp.
Slice the french bread into 1/2 thick pieces and lay out on the other half of the baking sheet.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, it is done when the shrimp have all turned pink.
First remove the toasted bread, then carefully pick up the aluminium foil to transfer the shrimp and it’s cooking liquid to a serving dish.

Shrimp Sriracha Stir Fry

December 26, 2011

This month has just flown by! I can’t believe it is already the end of December, and reveal day for Secret Recipe Club!!! For this month I was given Sarah’s blog, A Taste of Home Cooking. Price is always active in enjoying what I make but more often than not I just cook and he goes with the flow. This time, I decided that he should be able to pick the recipe off of Sarah’s blog. So he scrolled through the several years of posting to find something that we could make together. In the end the Chicken Sriracha Stir Fry recipe won out.

We are both big fans of stir fry’s so this was a great pick for us from Sarah’s blog. Plus it’s very affordable since the majority of the recipe is vegetables. We could have gone with chicken or even tofu, which is so super inexpensive, but we treated ourselves with the shrimp since it was on sale. The marinade and sauce were so flavorful from the Sriracha. I love the spice it provides to a dish, so it being used heavily in this recipe was great for me. In fact, I increased the original amount used since we like it so much, but you can scale it back for what ever you prefer. Just like the fact that I love fish sauce so I used that instead of the oyster sauce in the original recipe- just use what is prefect for you and make this your special stir fry.

The key with any cooking endeavor is to be prepared, but it’s so much more important with something like a stir fry. The longest part of any stir fry meal is the prep. The cooking time is so fast that you can’t try to juggle cutting things as you go. Take your time in the beginning and set up you mise en place for a successful, and fun, cooking experience.

Shrimp Sriracha Stir Fry

*Serves 4-6*

Ingredients

1/2 pound of raw, peeled, deveined shrimp 31-35
1 large onion, sliced
1 green pepper, cut into thin strips
10 oz of sliced mushrooms
1/2 pound of green beans, trim ends off
4 tablespoons cooking oil, I prefer House of Tsang’s Wok Oil
2 tablespoons ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
rice or noodles, angel hair pasta works just fine

Marinade for shrimp:

1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons Sriracha

Sauce for Stir Fry

1 tablespoon cornstarch
2tablespoons water
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup fish sauce

Process

Prepare the marinade for the shrimp in a medium sized bowl. Coat the shrimp for at least 30 minutes prior to cooking.
In a separate bowl, prepare the sauce for the stir fry by mixing together the cornstarch, water, Sriracha, soy sauce, fish sauce, and ginger.
In a large wok heat 1 tablespoon of wok oil over high heat, add the onions and green pepper strips. Stir-fry for 5 minutes or until the onuions are translucent and the pepper is tender. Remove to a large bowl.
Let the wok get back up to temperature, then add another 1 tablespoon of wok oil. Add the green beans. After 3 minutes, add 1/4 cup of water and cover for another 3-5 minutes. Once the green beans are tender add them to the bowl of vegetables.
Again, heat the wok back up and add 1 tablespoon of wok oil, then add the mushrooms. Stir fry until they are cooked and soft.
Wipe wok out with wet paper towels. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon wok oil over high heat. Once hot, add the ginger and garlic; after a few seconds, add marinated shrimp. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until shrimp is fully cooked.
Add the rice or noodles to the wok and then pour the sauce in. Mix to prevent sticking and to fully incorporate the sauce into the rice or noodles. Add the vegetables back to the wok just to mix together.

Shrimp Sriracha Stir Fry PDF

Check out my previous Secret Recipe Club Posts:

November: Vegetable Enchiladas

October: Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Check out the rest of the reveal day posts!

A Simple Mussels Dinner

September 25, 2011

I feel that a plate a steaming hot mussels that have been cooked with wine, butter, garlic, maybe even some onions, makes for a great appetizer to share with friends. Or to enjoy for dinner all by yourself. This is a great meal to make because it comes together so easily. All the while you are sipping some white wine. A splash for the mussels, a sip for yourself. Remember that.

I always just strolled into my local grocery store and picked up a bag of mussels to bring back home. But when I was in Maine over the summer we did things a little bit differently. We actually went out to pluck mussels right out of the waters around an island at low tide.

I had no idea how easy it would be. Just a few fun steps and we were then feasting on fresh food. It was so satisfying to know that the mussels were fresh from the waters, no more than 30 minutes out of the water from when they were in the pot. Plus I think all our ‘hard’ work made them taste better.

1- Go to a place where you can get some fresh mussels. In this case E took us to a spot she calls The Hub off off Deer Isle, ME.

2- Meet a skiddish green crab along the way.

3- Spot some mussels. Target acquired. We came across a lot of mussels under the seaweed. Take a peek and maybe you will find a lot that way.

4- Pluck the mussels off their rocks. Pick a bit more than you think you will eat. Trust me.

5- Throughly clean the mussels. E removed some of the barnacles off as well prior to cooking them.

6) Enjoy with some wine, melted butter, and bread. We also had some corn that I removed from the ears and sauteed.

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Whether you get the mussels fresh from the waters yourself or you go to a grocery store, you should make mussels any time you can. A few ingredients and you have a great dinner that works for any time of year.

Steamed Mussels

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 pounds of mussels, cleaned and rinsed
1 cup water
1 cup white wine
3 cloves of garlic
1 small white onion, sliced (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the bread
1/2 stick of butter
1 loaf of bread
paprika
salt and pepper

Process

Starting with the bread, half the loaf lengthwise. Pour olive oil over the bread, sprinkle with paprika. Lightly toast in a 225 oven.
In a large pot, combine the water, wine, 2 cloves of garlic, onion, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Upon bringing to a light boil, add the mussels to the pot. Cover and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until the mussels have opened.
While the mussels are cooking, in a separate small saucepan, add the garlic and butter. Melt on low.
Serve the mussels with the toasted bread, seasoned melted butter, and a cup of the cooking liquid from the mussels. Enjoy with a big glass of white wine.

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