Spicy Shrimp Pasta

I've been making this dish for a while now and it has never let me down. I happened upon this recipe many years ago in a Southern Living Cookbook at my mother's house. It sounded so good that the book jumped in my car and insisted on going home with me, unbeknownst to my mother of course. The first time I made it was for my roommates at the time and they loved it. I've since made for countless others and of course my husband. It's always delicious and I can vary the spicyness (is that a word?) depending on who I'm making it for. And how can you go wrong with pasta and shrimp. I've never tried it with other seafood but I would love to make it one day with scallops. It's also great with whole wheat pasta. I'm typically not a fan of whole wheat pasta because of the consistency and I swear it has an odd taste but this recipes has such powerful flavors that even I can't taste whole wheatiness of whole wheat pasta.

Ingredients:
8 oz Fettuccine
1 lb Fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tbsp butter
1/4 C Chopped green onions
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
1/2 C Whipping cream
1/4 C Dry white wine
1/3 C Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 tsp Crushed red pepper flakes (I use much less)
1/3 C Fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to the package or if you're feeling really courageous cook fresh pasta.

Peel and devein shrimp and set aside

Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the green onions and garlic. Saute until tender and fragrant. Stir in the cajun seasoning and cook stirring occasionally for 1 minute.

Stir in the shrimp and whipping cream. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 3 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the wine and simmer for approximately 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the pasta, Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. Toss gently until thoroughly heated. Now sprinkle with the parsley and serve immediately.



Adapted from: Southern Living Cookbook

Gingery Glazed Asian Ribs

I stumbled upon this recipe almost a year ago but for some reason I waited until the summer to try it. Call me odd but I think ribs are a summer food so I rarely cook them in the winter. This certainly a recipe for year round cooking since you don't need to grill them. Not to mention these ribs are tender and tasty and melt in you mouth. I'm starting to think I must love all things ginger because I'm finding I tend to gravitate towards recipes with fresh ginger.

As you can tell from the picture, this is a very saucey rib. I'm not a big fan of ribs with rub and no sauce. There's something about licking your fingers and having sauce on your chin that just melts my butter. I feel the same way about BBQ chicken. What can I say...I'm a sauce girl.

Ingredients:

3 pounds Baby back ribs (about 2 racks)

Black pepper

1/2 cup Hoisin Sauce

1/4 cup Soy Sauce

2 tbsp Ginger, grated

2 Garlic cloves, minced

1 cup Sushi Rice

Kosher Salt

2 Scallions, thinly sliced

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic; spoon half of the glaze over the ribs. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake until the ribs are tender, 40 to 45 minutes.
After the ribs have been cooking for 20 minutes, combine the rice, 1 1/2 cups water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and bring to a boil. Stir once, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 18 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes then fluff with a fork before serving.

Heat the broiler. Spoon off and discard all but 1/2 cup of the rib pan drippings. Cut the racks of ribs into individual ribs, return to the roasting pan, and brush with the remaining glaze. Broil until just beginning to char, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve the ribs over the rice, drizzle with any cooking juices, and sprinkle with the scallions. Enjoy!

Smacznego!

Adapted from: Real Simple

Overnight French Toast

Ingredients:

French Toast:

1/2 stick butter, room temperature

12 3/4-inch-thick French bread slices

6 eggs

1 1/2 cup Milk

1/4 cup Sugar

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 tsp Salt

Powdered sugar

Maple Syrup:

2 cups Maple syrup

1 cup Chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions:

French Toast:

Spread the butter over the bottom of large baking pan. Place the bread in the pan in a single layer. Beat the eggs, milk, sugar, syrup, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Pour the mixture over the bread and turn each slice to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning or evening if you like breakfast for dinner, Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the french bread mixture for 10 minutes. Turn the bread over and continue baking until just golden, about 4 minutes longer. Now you can place a slice or two on a plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar or you can eat it directly out of the dish. This is called the Shanda method. Either way make sure you serve it immediately with the Maple-Walnut Syrup and if you're my friend Di you will literally lick your plate clean.

¡Buen apetito!

Adapted from: Epicurious

Honey Yeast Rolls

Ingredients:

2 1/4 tsp Instant yeast

1 cup Warm water (105-115 degrees)

1/4 cup Honey

3 tbsp Canola oil

1 1/4 tsp Salt

1 egg, slightly beaten

4 cups Bread flour

Vegetable cooking spray

2 tbsp Butter, melted

2 tbsp Honey

Directions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the yeast and warm water. Add the honey, oil, salt, and egg and mix well. Add 3 cups of flour and mix until the dough comes together in a sticky mass. Switch to the dough hook and with the mixer on low speed, incorporate the remaining 1 cup of flour. Continue kneading on low speed for about 8 minute, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in the warm area until doubled in bulk about 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 30 seconds. Cover with a towel and let rest for 10 minutes. Punch the dough down and divide into 10-12 equal size pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth ball and place into a round, lightly greased 9-inch round baking dish, spacing equally. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix together the melted butter and honey, and brush the tops of the rolls with the mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the rolls are baked through. Let them cool slightly before serving if you can wait that long. Enjoy!

L-ikla t-tajba

Adapted from: Annie's Eats

Hot Crab Dip

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) pkg cream cheese, softened

1 cup Mayonnaise

2 tsp Old Bay seasoning

1/2 tsp Ground mustard

1 pound Lump crab meat

1/4 cup Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cream, mayo, old bay and ground mustard in a medium bowl. Add crab meat and toss. Make sure you toss gently so as not to break apart the beautiful lump meat.

Spread the mixture in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle a little old bay on top but be careful not to add too much as the dip will become very salty.

Smaaklike ete! Lekker eet!

Adapted from: Old Bay

Heath Bar Cookies

I made these cookies for my friend Liz and her husband and baby when they moved to a nearby town. We have been very good friends for many years but for the last 3 years she lived over an hour away. When she told me they were moving closer and would now be only 15 minutes away, I did a little happy dance then started to plan what I was going to put in their welcome to Maryland basket.

I was hoping to have a Maryland themed basket with all types of crab do-dads but when I ran across this recipe I knew these would be perfect. I first tried Heath Bar cookies several years ago at a local bakery and they were so rich and yummy that I was a little worried that these wouldn't live up to that. Boy was I wrong! These cookies are just the right balance of buttery toffee goodness.

My friend and her husband still rave about these cookies so I figured these were a must for the blog. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking soda
1 cup Butter, softened
3/4 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Brown sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
2 cups Toffee bites



Directions:


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside. In a stand mixer cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Slowly mix the flour into the butter mixture until well combined. Now fold in the toffee bites. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes up to overnight.

Spoon about 2 tablespoon of cookie dough into the palm of your hand and gently form a ball. Place each ball on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes, checking after 8 minutes for browned edges. Once the edges start to brown remove them from the oven and allow to rest for 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet. Then allow them to finish cooling on a wire rack.

Verði þér að góðu

Adapted from: The Novice Chef

Ginger Steak Salad

I think I've said before that my husband is an extremely picky eater so when I saw this recipe I was a little nervous about making it. Then I remembered how much he likes the salad dressing at a local Japanese restaurant which also has a ginger base. I figure if he likes that, he may like this too and what really sealed the deal is that I already had all of the ingredients. Score!

I was so surprised when my husband ate this he fell in love with the dressing. He has even asked me to make this dressing to have in the fridge for whenever we have salad. Double score! I'm finally getting him to eat salad without his old stand by Italian dressing.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

Ingredients:
Marinade:

2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp. Sherry
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 whole Rib-eye steak
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Salad Dressing:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp white sugar
1 Tbsp lime juice
2-3 garlic cloves, finely diced
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced (optional)

Salad:
2 green onions, sliced
8 ounces salad green

Directions:

Combine the marinade ingredients in a ziploc bag and place steak in the bag. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. I usually put it in the fridge before I leave for work so it's nice and tasty when I get home.

Combine the salad dressing ingredients and green onions. Whisk it to within an inch of its life.

When the steak has finished marinating, heat a skillet until it's nice and hot. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook the steak about 1 1/2-2 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove from the skillet and allow to rest and cool slightly.

Toss the salad greens with 3/4 of the dressing. Thinly slice the steak and place on top of the salad greens. Pour the remaining dressing over the top and enjoy.

Καλή όρεξη! (Kalí óreksi!)

Adapted from: The Pioneer Woman