seafood
Pasta Pesto and Grilled Shrimp
Today was one of those busy days when I really didn’t have the energy or the time to cook after work. On top of that, it’s been really, really hot here lately and I didn’t want to stand in my tiny kitchen in front of the stove. And since my grill died, the stove is really the only cooking device I have. So in an effort to avoid heating up the kitchen and wanting a really quick and tasty dinner, I made pasta pesto with grilled shrimp. Yup, the same shrimp I made for Independence Day, and I took a shortcut with the pesto – I bought it a while ago and it’s been in my pantry so I figured I should use it. Ingredients: 1/2 lb of pasta (any...
Read MoreIndependence Day cook-in
I usually try to have a cook-out of some sort for Independence Day. This year I actually managed to have people over and serve them food. The original plan was to cook out on my balcony, enjoy the lovely day, grill some food, have fun. But, things rarely go according to plan. When I was cleaning my little electric grill (we’re not allowed to have real grills on balconies where I live), the non-stick coating came off in huge chunks. Not wanting to take any risks, I decided to chuck it. Which was fine because it gave me a chance to really clean up my balcony (I was planting plants earlier and haven’t cleaned up all the stuff yet) and it looks pretty good...
Read MoreShrimp and Pasta
I bought this great shrimp (from Fabian Seafood Company) a while back and have been wanting to make something with it. But being perpetually busy, all I could do the first day was just clean it and freeze it. So the other day I finally had some time to think about what I wanted to do with it. Because this shrimp is so good I didn’t want to drown it in sauce, I wanted the shrimp to shine in the dish. It’s also great that this recipe comes together in about 15 minutes or so; perfect for a busy day. Here’s what I did. Ingredients: 10 or so pieces of shrimp 8-10 pieces of scallops 3 cloves of garlic Olive oil, smoked paprika, chipotle powder, chili...
Read MoreThanksgiving 2009
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I consider myself to be richly blessed and thank God for my blessings regularly. Having a nationally recognized holiday to do so is wonderful. In my family, I have taken over Thanksgiving responsibilities in the last few years and relish the opportunity to cook up a feast. And a feast it truly is. This year our menu was as follows: Appetizers: Baked Salmon Roasted Shrimp Cocktail Pickled tomatoes (store-bought) Hummus (store-bought) Smoked fish (store-bought) Goat cheese bruschetta Seafood Salad Roasted Red Pepper Salad Roasted Asparagus Main course: Vegetable Soup Mashed potatoes Turkey Dessert: Spice cake Puff Pastry...
Read MoreOven Roasted Shrimp
I have tried all sorts of ways of making shrimp in the few years that I’ve been making shrimp. But after watching Ina Garten, I decided to give her recipe a try. It’s absolutely the easiest and most delicious one I’ve tried. No fussing, just shrimp, olive oil, salt, pepper, oven. Of course, shrimp has to be fresh too. This is where Fabian Seafood of Galveston Texas comes in. You see, a friend of mine has been telling me about shrimp from the back of a truck for nearly a decade. It always sounds like someone is selling stolen goods or spoiled goods so I never tried it. But then I noticed the buzz about it in the local blogosphere with the...
Read MoreThanksgiving
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, in large part because I love all the cooking. Most people dread all the cooking, but I even take Wednesday off so I can make a few “spares”, just in case something doesn’t turn out and people still leave with overstuffed bellies. I still love the holiday, despite the mandatory family squabbling. But without further delay, here is the menu I’m planning (and yes, I take help where I can): Appetizers: Chicken wings (not a Thanksgiving staple, but I love them and they seem to go over pretty well with the family). See above Seafood puffs (puff pastry stuffed with seafood, store bought, and I hope...
Read MoreIndependence Day get-together
My family calls it Independence Day, not “4th of July” because it’s not just another calendar date. We do commemorate this holiday in our own way, which does not include flag-looking cakes and themed paper plates. We commemorate this holiday by remembering where we came from, what we had and what we left behind for a chance of a life in this country. There is at least 1 toast that celebrates our good fortune of being in this country, and at least 1 toast that celebrates our good fortune of being able to leave our old country. But as most celebrations, this one is on exception when it comes to food. So, without further ado, here is the menu for this...
