SPICY SOUTHERN SHRIMP

My good friends from Dallas insist on these spicy barbecued skewered shrimp every time they visit. These are on the spicy side, but by simply adjusting the amounts of the spicy ingredients you can control the HEAT!!!!!!

There are a lot of ingredients but worth all the work. I like to serve these with other skewered marinated meat and chicken. A skewer party - finger food - easy to eat..and my husband is the grill guy so I only have the prep work to do.

When shopping for the shrimp buy shrimp that

are at least a 21-25 count which means there are 21-25 shrimp per pound. I prefer buying fresh shrimp, but you can use frozen, thawed and deveined. This recipe would serve 8 people as a main course or about 12 people as an appetizer.

Ingredients

4 lbs fresh shrimp (no smaller than 21-25 count), deveined.

3 shallots finely chopped

6 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 lemon sliced, reserving 3 tbl juice

2 sticks of butter

1 cup ketchup

1 cup olive oil

1 cup worcestershire

5 tbl light brown sugar

5 tbl chili powder

3 bay leaves

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp cayenne

2 tsp dried thyme

1 tbl, plus 2 tsp salt

Tabasco to taste

After you have taken the shell off the shrimp and cleaned and deveined them, put them in a 13 x 9 pan. Combine 3 tbl chili powder and 1 tbl salt in a bowl. Rub this mixture over all the shrimp, cover the pan and put it in the refrigerator while you make the marinade.

In a saucepan over medium high heat melt all the butter. Add the shallots and garlic and cook about 5minutes. Don't let the garlic burn. Add ketchup, oil, brown sugar, worcestershire, lemon with juice, bay leaves, oregano, thyme, cayenne, 2 tbl chili powder and 1 tsp salt. Cook covered for 20 minutes until it starts to thicken. Remove form the heat, uncover and let cool to room temperature. Take out the lemon slices and bay leaves. Taste and add Tabasco to your desired spiciness.

Take the shrimp out of the refrigerator and pour about 1-1/2 cups of the marinade over the shrimp. Stir so all the shrimp is soaking up the marinade. Cover the pan and refrigerate the shrimp for at least 1-1/2 hours. Cover the rest of the marinade so you can use it for a dip when the shrimp is done.

Skewer the shrimp about 3-4 on each skewer. Toss the marinade that was on the shrimp. Cook skewered shrimp on a grill for about 2-3 minutes a side until shrimp curl up and are pink all the way through. Heat the rest of the marinade that was saved.

Serve on a platter with a bowl of the marinade....a SUPERBOWL favorite!! So great to munch on.

ENJOY!

CAULIFLOWER MAC & CHEESE

Who doesn't LOVE mac & cheese. This is so tasty with the wonderful flavors of fontina and gruyere cheeses. If you have different favorite cheeses try them. I feel better making it with cauliflower and pasta..... seems healthier...right!!!!!

Ingredients (can serve about 10 people)

1-1/2 lbs of cauliflower cut in about 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups shredded fontina cheese
2 cups shredded gruyere cheese
1 box penne pasta cooked til just about done
8 oz pancetta, cut in small cubes
1/2 cup heavy cream
3-1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup flour
2 tbl white wine
1 stick unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups italian breadcrumbs
1-1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Combine breadcrumbs, 2 tbl melted butter, parsley, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper set aside. In a large ovenproof pot cook pancetta over medium heat. Remove it and let it drain on paper towel. In the same pan add cauliflower and cook in pancetta fat for about 10 minutes. Add tbls of butter as needed, up to about 3 tbl to cook the cauliflower. Transfer cooked cauliflower to a bowl and pour the pancetta fat and butter on top. Put a couple tbl of water in the pan and get all the good bits off the bottom and pour this over the cauliflower.

In the same pan melt 3 tbl butter and add flour to make a paste. Make sure all the flour is combined so there are no lumps. Add the wine and milk and cook about 10 minutes until it starts to thicken. Add cheeses...yyyyuuuuummmmmmm..., cayenne, nutmeg, cream, pasta salt and pepper to taste. Add pancetta and cauliflower back to pot and mix. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture on top and cook in the oven for 30 minutes. Then turn the oven to broil and broil a few minutes until the breadcrumbs become golden brown...

My mouth is watering..this is so creamy and delicious.
ENJOY!

SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN

Sweet and sour chicken...who doesn't love it...this is very simple and since the chicken is not breaded or deep fried it is far more figure friendly...in case you were caring about that..... I serve this with brown rice which again is a better health choice....trust me the flavors grab at you and as Dave would say it is a meal that is a sweet treat but healthy too....


Ingredients
2 tbl canola oil
2 boneless chicken breasts cut in strips
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup chopped green peppers
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1 cup canned pineapple chunks reserve juice
3 tbl light brown sugar
3 tbl rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup chicken stock
4 tsp cornstarch with 4 tsp water
salt
pepper

In a saute pan with canola oil heat over medium high heat. Salt and pepper the chicken and add to pan. When chicken is golden brown on all sides remove from pan and drain oil on paper towels. In the same pan add peppers and cook for 3 minutes. Add pineapple chunks, juice, water chestnuts, sugar, vinegar and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Simmer and add the combination of cornstarch and water until thickened. Add chicken to pan and heat until cooked through. serve over rice.
It is a very light dish. You could add some soy sauce if you want as well.
ENJOY!

CAESAR DRESSING

I am so very sorry to my loyal followers that I did not have a new post yesterday. We had a big birthday bash at our house (pictured above) and I got distracted. I Love Love having parties and this one was great. At the party I made my famous Caesar salad dressing and here it is....

Ingredients:

serves about 6 people

6 small heads of romaine lettuce

croutons

4 tbl fresh shaved parmesan cheese

4 cloves garlic

4 egg yolks

2 anchovies

1 tbl dijon mustard

1 cup olive oil

salt

pepper

In a wooden bowl cut a garlic clove in half and season the bowl on the bottom and sides. Make sure every inch and a half is seasoned...the smell is divine anyway. In a blender combine all other ingredients except lettuce, croutons cheese, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Taste it...I always add some salt but the anchovies are very salty so be careful with that...but I love the pepper......so YOU choose your taste level....

Combine with romaine , shaved cheese and croutons.

If you do not have the wooden bowl to serve in, just blend all ingredients and it will still be wondefulish...

ENJOY!

MY ANTIPASTO SALAD

Well for starters, this is an actual picture of the dish I just made for a party tomorrow...YES I took this picture at my kitchen counter....if you didn't know, all the other pictures so far have been found elsewhere on the internet, but of course they always look a lot like my finished product....Rachel are you proud of me????



I am serving this to my family at a party tomorrow. Now most people would think of an antipasto platter as a platter with slices of meats and cheeses and maybe some olives, peppers, etc. While I do like this serving style too, I like my guests to be able to take a scoop of this antipasto, get all the great flavors in one bite with no need for silverware. I serve it with hot crostini so it becomes more like an unbelievably good antipasto bruschetta. The fact that it is also a "make it the day before" appetizer makes me have more time greeting and enjoying my guests when they arrive.


I don't like much heat in my food so if you like heat just add some pepperocinis, or hot giardiniera which is found near the roasted red peppers and italian artichokes in your market.



Ingredients


10 oz jar roasted red peppers chopped, reserve juice

12 oz jar marinated artichokes chopped, reserve juice

6 oz jar pitted kalamata olives chopped reserve juice

10 oz sopressata (salami) diced very small

10 oz genoa salami diced very small

12 oz smoked mozzarella diced very small
12 oz provolone diced very small
10 oz mild (or hot) giardiniera, reserve juice


This serves about 12-15 people as an appetizer, so vary the ingredients for your guest size. In a large bowl combine salamis and cheeses. Add red peppers, artichokes, kalamata olives and giardiniera. Combine all the reserved juices form the red peppers, artichokes, giadiniera and olives and stir. Add about 1/2 cup to the bowl. Stir and taste. Keep adding more juice until your desired flavor. You may want to add some additional olive oil, red wine vinegar or just more juices from the jars of the peppers, artichokes and olives. I find that the juices I reserve seem to be enough to compliment the other ingredients.
I usually plate this in a bowl with a nice red leaf or romaine on the bottom and just pile this on top so that some of the lettuce leaves surround the outside of the bowl, or you can simply serve it like the picture above. A true crowd pleaser and easy to eat while standing at a cocktail party.
ENJOY!

EASY CHICKEN MARSALA

I love chicken marsala. I love the sweet taste of the marsala wine.....well I guess I like all wine so that might not be saying much. But this recipe is so easy and you can make it for one, two or twenty people, easy no matter how many people you are serving.

One key is good mushrooms. I prefer crimini. These are baby portabellas and have more flavor than white button mushrooms. I don't like using shitake or others that may have to be rehydrated...I think they overpower the dish. These ingredients would serve about 4 people, so just adjust for the number you are serving.

Ingredients

4 boneless chicken breasts

1/2 cup olive oil

3 oz prosciutto (optional) chopped

8 oz crimini mushrooms cut in half

1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine

1/2 cup chicken broth, plus 1 tbl

2 tbl butter

1 tbl flour, plus 1/2 cup for dredging

Chicken breasts should be placed under plastic wrap and pounded with a mallet until they are between 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Put 1/2 cup flour on a plate and add a good amount of salt and pepper at least a tsp each.

Heat oil over medium high heat. Dredge chicken breasts in flour and add to oil and cook about 4-5 minutes a side until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towel.

At medium heat add prosciutto (if using) to the pan and cook for about a minute. Add the mushrooms and saute until most of the liquid of the mushrooms is evaporated about 5 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to the mushroom mixture. Add the Marsala wine and boil until reduced. Add the chicken broth and let cook down a bit more. Stir in the butter and add chicken back to pan and simmer for another 2-3 minutes. If you prefer the sauce to be thicker, mix the 1 tbl chicken broth and 1 tbl flour together and add to sauce. Remove pan from heat and continue to stir until thickened. This is great with pasta or vegetables, asparagus is best it just soaks up the marsala flavor so nicely.

ENJOY!

CALZONE OR SUBMARINE DRESSING

I have not perfected the calzone, but I work on it often to get the ratio of dough to ingredients to liquid. I will post my calzone when it is READY. In the process I came across this little beauty. It just seems to have the perfect balance of oil to vinegar and the spices are a great balance too.

A product of V. Formusa Co. based in Chicago under the brand Marconi, I found it at a grocery-size Italian market. Not sure how widespread it is marketed, but worth looking for or they do have a website. Just go to http://www.marconi-foods.com/. You will also find tons of great products on this site including some standard Italian salad dressings and vinaigrette's. Even when I don't quite achieve the perfection I want in my calzone, the flavor of this makes all the cold cuts I use taste great and all subs are fantastic.

ENJOY!