Shrimp with Sriracha Sauce

I have been wanting to make Jenn from Peas and Crayons Sriracha deglazing sauce for some time now and I finally got around to it!

If you haven't checked out Jenn's blog yet you definitely should! She has wonderful and healthy recipes and she was my inspiration to try quinoa for the first time - which I did in this dish! It was garlic flavored and I found it in the rice aisle of my grocery store. 1 1/2 cups of water, add the quinoa mix, cover and cook on low for 15 minutes. Loved it :)

So here is my take Jenn's dish...Enjoy!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• 1lb of shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Olive oil
• White wine
• Sriracha sauce
• Dried parsley
• Salt and pepper

Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.

In a stainless steel skillet heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the shrimp cooking 2 minutes on each side or until the shrimp are pink throughout.

Remove the shrimp from the skillet and add another tablespoon of oil. 

Add a splash of white wine to the pan along with a 1/2 tablespoon of sriracha sauce. Whisk until all the small bits on the bottom of the pan have come up and you have a bubbling orange color sauce.

Pour the sauce over the shrimp and sprinkle with dried parsley.

I served mine over garlic flavored quinoa and some frozen broccoli I had in my freezer that I steamed. Not as good as fresh but in a pinch it did the trick. I would have loved to have this with asparagus as well!


Thanks for the great recipe Jenn!

Arugula Pesto with Walnuts and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

I've been on a pesto kick lately (you wouldn't know this because I have been slacking at cooking and posting but I swear it's true!).

I just finished up some Linabella's Traditional Pesto Sauce I had at home with another meal so I was ready to make some of my own pesto. 


**If you do want to use pre-made pesto it is worth checking out Linabella's. They grow their own garlic and basil and use it to create traditional "Pesto alla Genovese" (the true green pesto). They freeze the pesto right after making it and will ship with 2nd day delivery. When you want to use it just let it sit on the counter for 20-30 minutes until you can scoop some out. Put the rest back in the freezer. I have tried the Traditional and Garlic Lovers - the Traditional has a strong garlic flavor so I felt the Garlic Lovers was a little too much for me.


I found them this past fall set up with a stand in the small farmers market right outside of South Station.**

I pretty much made up this recipe on my own and I'm happy to say it came out really good! I used arugula which is a more peppery green so if you don't like that you can always use basil, cilantro or spinach. The recipe is also quite garlicky so feel free to cut down the garlic cloves as well.

This time I made just enough for this recipe but I bought a huge bag of arugula and walnuts so I plan on making more and keeping it in the freezer. It is great to throw into dips, use on panini's, or add it to marinades.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 

• 1 box whole wheat pasta  (I used farfalle)
• 4 cups of arugula
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup walnuts  (you could toast your walnuts before, I did not)
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup marinated sun-dried tomatoes
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Salt and add the whole wheat pasta. Cook until al dente then drain reserving a few ladles of the pasta cooking water aside.

While the pasta is cooking put the arugula, parmesan cheese, walnuts and garlic cloves in a food processor.

Pulse until everything is chopped into little bits.

Slowly stream in olive oil until you get the consistency you like. Add the lemon juice and pulse for a few more seconds.


 Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. Set aside.

After draining the pasta add the sun dried tomatoes to the pot over medium heat and saute for about a minute just to heat them. 

Add back in the cooked pasta. Top with the pesto and mix. Add a little of the pasta cooking water if you want to thin out the sauce a little. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Serve with a little more parmesan cheese! 

So easy!!

Guest Blog Post: Roasted Cauliflower & Aged White Cheddar Soup

Jaime, one of my very best friends, asked me to guest post on her blog La vie...J'aime today and I was super excited to cook something delicious up!

Jaime and I had just purchased these Cuisinart hand blenders so I knew I was going to make a soup.

So head over to Jaime's blog and check out my recipe :)

Cheesy Garlic Bread

I love when I make something amazing without even meaning to. This garlic bread. WOW. 

We were having an italian feast last weekend while skiing up in Vermont and staying at my friend's Joanna and Will's house. (Check out the post here). I wanted to make some garlic bread and decided to just throw something together with ingredients we had in the house. It came out gooood!

My go to secret ingredient for garlic bread is actually sugar. I sprinkle a little over the top right before putting it in the oven. A family friend taught me this trick a long time ago and boy does the sugar enhance all the other flavors of the bread. 

Try it out and I bet you will love it! 

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• 1 baguette
• 1 stick of butter, softened
• 4 to 6 garlic cloves, minced
• Parmesan cheese
• Shredded white cheddar cheese - I used a block with chives in it because we had it at the house
• Fresh parsley
• Olive oil
• Sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.

Cut the baguette in half.

If your butter has not softened enough place it in the microwave for a few seconds at a time until it is soft enough to whip with a fork.

Mince the garlic and mix it in with the softened butter. Spread on the baguette.

Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the butter.

Shred the cheddar cheese and cover the baguette with it. 

Rough chop the parsley and sprinkle over the cheddar. Drizzle olive oil over the top.

Last, sprinkle sugar over the bread. Bake covered on 350 for 10 to 15 minutes until warmed through. Once warmed, turn the broiler on high. Uncover the bread and broil until the cheese is melty and slightly browned.

Before

After :)

President's Day Weekend - SkiEsta 2012!

I know. I have been slacking at getting posts up here. It's been a busy few weeks for sure!

Last weekend we took our annual trip (we call it SkiEsta) to our friends Joanna and Will's house in Vermont. They have the most beautiful house and are just a short ride to Okemo mountain. This time there was a group of 12 of us and we had a great weekend full of skiing, eating and drinking. 

Here are a few snapshots from the weekend and I will follow up with a recipe for BOMB garlic bread shortly. Enjoy!

Picture of the house courtesy of my friend Andrea :)

One of our amazing hosts getting ready to carve the turkey

Thanksgiving dinner in February :)

Just being silly

Morning bloody mary's before skiing!

Hitting the slopes!

Everyone MUST eat at least 1 waffle from Waffle Cabin in their lifetime.
OH. MY. GOD.

Joanna and Will...our amazing hosts for the 2nd year in a row :)

Back home making an italian feast...yum yum yum!

Checking on the marinara sauce...Secret ingredient - Cinnamon!
Trust me. You won't be sorry you did.

Turkey meatballs grilling away

Cheesy garlic bread

The spread

Almond Encrusted Salmon with Beurre Blanc Sauce

Move over Legal Seafoods. 

You got some competition in the Almond Encrusted Salmon with Beurre Blanc sauce category.

This is one of my favorite meals on the menu at Legal. Luckily it is so easy to make at home I don't need to go out to a restaurant every time I want to have it for dinner!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• 3/4lb to 1 lb of salmon
• 1 egg
• Sliced almonds
• 1 tablespoon of minced shallot
• 1/4 cup of white wine
• 5 tablespoons of butter (keep this butter in the fridge until you need it - it has to be cold)
• Olive oil
• Salt

Pre heat the oven to 375 F.

I cut my salmon in half because it is easier to work with. Season with salt.

Crack an egg into a bowl and add a few tablespoons of water to make an egg wash. Dip the salmon in the wash.

Next press the salmon in the almonds so they stick to the egg wash.

Heat an oven proof skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. Place the salmon in almond side down.

Cook almond side down for 2 to 3 minutes until the almonds are browned. Mine were cooked too long and burned. Typical.

Place the salmon in the oven for 7 to 9 minutes until it is cooked though.


Now time to make the Beurre Blanc (butter) sauce.


Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of minced shallot.

Add 1/4 cup of white wine. Let it reduce by half.

Stir in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into the sauce 1 tablespoon at a time. I just swirled mine in with a fork until melted. You need to constantly swirl so the sauce thickens.

     **The butter must be really cold in order for the sauce to come out right. Keep it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.**

Pour the sauce over the cooked salmon. I served mine over rice pilaf with a side of asparagus. 

Oh, and a big glass of white wine. I mean it was already out from using it to cook...

Perfectly Cooked Asparagus

I love asparagus and I love how easy it is to make.

 

That's pretty much it :)

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• 1 bunch of fresh asparagus
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
• Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Pre-heat your oven to 400 F.

Drizzle a little olive oil (approx. 1/4 teaspoon),  a squeeze of lemon juice, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper over the asparagus. Use your hands and toss the asparagus around to coat.

Roast in the oven for 7 to 10 minutes until they are bright green in color and still slightly crunchy.

Voila!