Menu of the Week #5

Harper says hi. This week I tried two new recipes, and both will make a return on our menu this year for sure. Cuban Shredded Beef with Rice and Beans, Salmon over Faux Risotto, Old Bay Shrimp Rolls, Chicken Picatta over Egg Noodles, and Pumpkin Pasta with Chicken Sausage.

Menu of the Week #2

This menu of the week is in line with every typical January meal plan, don't you think? You will find lots of veggies, exceptionally healthy leafy greens and lean proteins. If you are looking for healthy and delicious dinner ideas, here you go!

What I Cook on Repeat

I'm often asked what I like to cook the most, and frankly I do not have an answer because I do not like repeating recipes that much. In fact it used to drive Jim crazy that I always wanted to try something new instead of recreating a successful dinner that he loved.

I think it was partly due to the fact I FELL so hard and so fast IN LOVE with cooking. Like anything obsessive, you can imagine my craving for knowledge was so great that I was ravenously consuming recipe books and food blogs for new cooking techniques and new ingredients to try.

Lots of Seafood this Week

I neglected to renew my domain name. Ooops! It's gone and I doubt I will play $60 to get it back from the company who is holding it hostage. For the time being you can find my recipe archive at www.homewithmandy.blogspot.com and I may be doing a re-branding later this year. We will see what happens.

Let's get back into the swing of regular blog posts shall we? This was our menu from last week and I mostly appreciated how quickly everything came together each night. There are times when I relish the long list of ingredients I chop and tend to. This was not that week.

Italian Mussels: Mussels are one of our favorite meals to cook and eat on a weekend. I do my grocery shopping on the weekend and this is an item you really don't want sitting in your fridge, it is best to cook it the day you buy them. Mussels are also a fabulous dinner party food because I serve them family style in a big shallow bowl. I have changed up the recipe over the years to keep things interesting, but my standby is posted here. I now add 2-3 sausage links to the pot while I'm softening the vegetables. The way I do it is to squeeze 1/2 inch size balls of meat out of the casings right into the pot. I like how rustic it makes the finished dish in the end.

Menu of the Week

Here is another full Menu of the Week from our home. The top three favorites this week were the Spicy Tilapia with Olive, Zucchini and Tomato Relish, Sloppy GI Joes and the Roasted Shrimp with Feta. Keep reading for links and photos.

Menu of the Week + Salmon in Lemon Brodetto and Pea Puree

 

It was another great weekly menu at our house with some repeated favorites and a couple new recipes that will be making a comeback.

 

The Chicken Tacos are one of those easy meals good for several days of lunches.  I take frozen chicken breasts and put them in a crock pot with a jar of salsa and a package of taco seasoning. Set the slow cooker on low all day (5-8 hours) and then the chicken easily shreds with a fork inside the crockpot. I buy tortillas, a block of cheddar cheese to grate at home and we call that a great dinner. I serve with black beans and sometimes Mexican rice. Super easy, really yummy. I feel like this isn't even a recipe at all which is why I have not featured it on HWM. Maybe I should throw it up on here next time I make it so I at least have a picture to reference when it shows up on our weekly menu.

 

On Monday we had the usual Salmon but this time I decided to try a Giada recipe from Food Network. This Salmon in Lemon Brodetto and Pea Puree is a perfect dish for spring. I've got the full recipe with pictures below.

Lemon Gnocchi with Shrimp, Spinach and Peas

Gnocchi is one of my favorite Italian dishes. Like bruschetta, it's an Italian food word that people have some trouble with. Never fear, the Italian pronunciation police are here.

The "gno" makes a "nyo" sound with a silent "g".

The "cch" is pronounced as a hard "k".

The "i" is an "ee" sound as in "tree".

"nyo kee"

Gnocchi is the plural form of the word. The singular is "gnocco." So you might order a plate of gnocchi and savor each delicious gnocco on that plate.

Check your local grocery store and you just might find a package of fresh vacuum packed gnocchi near the pasta. These thick and soft dumplings can be made from a variety of ingredients. You will most commonly find Potato Gnocchi, but they are also made from semolina, ordinary wheat flour, bread crumbs, or similar ingredients. The smaller forms are called gnocchetti.

For this recipe, I used a pre-made vacuum pack of gnocchi but I very much want to try making gnocchi from scratch in the near future. Gourmet magazine featured this recipe for Lemon Gnocchi with Spinach and Peas in 2007. The recipe went on to win a blue ribbon award on epicurious where it has consistently received top marks with reviewers. I can tell you exactly why... The ingredient list is fairly short, the active cooking time is about 20 minutes and the flavor medley is freaking fantastic. You have the soft pillows of gnocchi covered in a flavorful cream sauce topped with the zing of fresh lemon and pop of bright peas. It’s truly a winner!

I altered the recipe slightly with the addition of raw shrimp that I purchased deveined and shelled. With a tablespoon of butter melted in my dutch oven, I threw in the shrimp and sauteed until no longer pink.

 Next, I added a chopped shallot and a three chopped garlic cloves.

I added one cup of heavy cream and a 1/2 cup frozen peas.

Spicy Garlic Shrimp with Coconut Rice

I like SimplyRecipes because the meals here are usually really simple and full of flavor. This Spicy Garlic Shrimp recipe served over Coconut Rice is a perfect example of a quick and easy meal that is simple to prepare.

Directions are easy to follow and if you keep a well stocked pantry you may have everything on hand. If not, it's a short list that won't cost you much at the grocery store.

Gather a lime, a jalapeno, coconut milk, and some sort of red chili sauce. I happen to have this Garlic Chili Pepper Sauce made by A Taste of Thai, which turned out to be great in this recipe. You also need rice, shrimp and garlic.

Start cooking the rice to the package directions.

Also, marinade the shrimp for 10 minutes by combining six garlic cloves with 1.5 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. You can put the garlic cloves, water and salt in a cuisinart and pulse until you have a chunky mixture - or if you are using minced garlic from a jar (shortcut that I love to use) just combine the right amount with water and salt and add the shrimp and let marinade in a zip top bag in the fridge.

After 10 minutes strain the water from the shrimp and garlic mixture. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan and add the shrimp, add the juice of one lime, add 1 jalapeno pepper that is seeded and julienned along with 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Cook the shrimp for one minute, then add one can of coconut milk to the saute pan. Stir and cook for one minute longer.

Now squeeze in as much Chili Sauce as you can handle. I added about a tablespoon. You could sub chili powder for chili sauce if you needed to.

When rice is fully cooked, add the other can of coconut milk to the cooked rice. Serve shrimp over rice.

Jim and I really liked this. It was fast and simple to put together. In the future I would chop the jalapeno instead of cutting into strips so there was more bits of jalapeno in every bite. This was wonderful!

Looking for more shrimp dishes? Try these other favorites of mine:

• Shrimp and Grits - a classic New Orleans recipe.
• Shrimp Bisque - this is SO good, but it takes some time - although worth it on a cold Sunday!
• Firecracker Shrimp - a PW recipe, great for a crowd.

Spicy Garlic Shrimp with Coconut Rice

Adapted from Simply Recipes

Serves 4

1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
1 pound, about 20 large jumbo shrimp (peeled with tail on or unpeeled, but veins removed)
6 large garlic cloves
1 1/2 cup of water
Salt
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and cut into strips
Juice of one lime

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 small cans (5.6 ounces) coconut milk
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of red chili sauce, or to taste

Start cooking rice from package directions. Combine minced garlic, water and 1/2 teaspoon salt with shrimp and marinate for 10 minutes. Strain the water from the shrimp and garlic mixture. Add the lime juice, jalapeño, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the shrimp. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil on high heat in large sauté pan. Add shrimp. Cook one minute. Add 1 small can of coconut milk. Cook one minute. Mix in red chili sauce to taste. Put rice into a large bowl. Mix in the second 5.6 ounce can of coconut milk to the cooked rice. Serve shrimp on rice. Enjoy!

Shrimp and Grits

Rice may be the belle of the ball in some parts of the country, but corn—that other staple of southern pantries—has a few good moves, too. This dish mixes land and sea in a colorful, salty, bountiful way. Thick, creamy grits create a soft bed for smoked pork sausage, shrimp, slivers of country ham, scallion, and tomato: a complete meal in a bowl.



I found this recipe in Gourmet Magazine, you can hardly go wrong with something found in that publication.

Start by boiling four cups of water and add 1 tablespoon of butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt in a heavy saucepan.

Jim didn't believe me that Polenta and Grits are the same thing. I found a very interesting answer to that question here.

Stir in grits and reduce heat to low. Cook, covered, stirring frequently and adding more water as needed, until grits are thick and creamy, about 40 minutes.

While grits are cooking, lets prepare the topping. You will need 1/4 lb country ham, julienned.

I took out half the package (whole package was 1 lb) and then julienned half of that amount.

Meanwhile, keep checking on the grits and stirring.

Sausage! This is a local Elgin Sausage that is sooo good. I'm using 1/4 lb smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds.

One minced clove of garlic (pictured in small white ramekin) and 1/4 cup sliced scallions.

1/4 cup seeded and diced fresh tomato.

Here are all the prepped ingredients.

It comes together super fast. Start with 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter in a skillet over medium-high heat until you see foam.

Saute ham and sausage until sausage begins to brown, about 4 minutes.

Add about 20 medium shrimp and saute for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add one mined clove of garlic.

My spice blend consist of a pinch of cayenne pepper, a pinch of paprika, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder and 1/2 teaspoon Lawry's seasoned salt. You could alternatively use a pre-made cajun spice blend.

Stir and saute for 30 seconds.

Add scallions.

Add tomatoes.

Add 1 tablespoon of water and 1 tablespoon of butter, saute, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of skillet, until shrimp are cooked through, about one minute.

Before serving, remove grits from heat and stir in 1/2 cup cream and one tablespoon butter.

Serve spicy cajun topping over the creamy grits. This dish has tons of wonderful flavor and I will definitely be making this again. In the future I would add a small can of tomato paste to the topping so that it is "saucier." I would also remove the tails from the shrimp simply because I don't like pulling them off while eating. It does however make a beautiful presentation, doesn't it?

With the leftover grits, I pressed them into a pie plate and placed in the fridge. The grits firmed up in the refrigerator and we sliced this like a pie and served with other dinners. It has the consistency of corn bread, very nice accompaniment with saucy meals like beef stew.

For Grits
4 cups water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 cup stone-ground grits
1/2 cup heavy cream

For Topping
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/4 lb country ham, julienned (1/4 cup)
1/4 lb smoked pork or andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
20 medium shrimp (9 oz), peeled, leaving tail fan attached if desired, and deveined
1/8 teaspoon minced garlic
Pinch of Cajun or Creole spice blend
1/4 cup sliced scallion
1/4 cup seeded and diced fresh tomato
1 tablespoon water

Make Grits:
Bring water, 1 Tbsp butter, and 1/2 tsp salt to a boil in a 3- to 4-qt heavy saucepan. Stir in grits and reduce heat to low. Cook, covered, stirring frequently and adding more water as needed, until grits are thick and creamy, about 40 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cream and remaining Tbsp butter. Keep warm.

Prepare topping while grits cook:
Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until foam subsides. Sauté ham and sausage until sausage begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Add shrimp and sauté until almost cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and spice blend and sauté 30 seconds. Stir in scallion, tomato, and water and sauté, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of skillet, until shrimp are cooked through, about 1 minute. Stir in remaining Tbsp butter and serve over grits.

Easy Entertaining: Shrimp with 3 Dipping Sauces

I love to entertain at my home, but the real pleasure is when I can set out yummy fair that I don't have to attend to all evening. A common appetizer is shrimp and cocktail sauce, but these homemade dipping sauces take this average hor d'oeuvres to new levels: Tangy Garlic Tartar Sauce, Smoky Remoulade Sauce, and Spicy Cocktail Sauce. These recipes were found in the Southern Living December 2008 holiday issue and I tested them all out at our 08 Holiday Party. Read to the bottom to find out which sauce was the best.

For the Tangy Garlic Tartar Sauce you will need: Mayo, Capers, Garlic and Dijon Mustard.

In a cuisinart mixer or blender combine 2 cups of mayo.

1 3.5-oz jar capers, drained.

3 cloves of minced garlic.

1/4 cup dijon mustard.

Blend until smooth, stopping once to scrape down sides. Cover and chill before serving. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 3 days.

The next dipping sauce for the shrimp is a Smoky Remoulade Sauce. The ingredients are: Mayo, Creole Mustard, Garlic, Parsley, Lemon Juice, Paprika and Red Pepper.

In a mixing bowl whisk together 2 cups mayonnaise.

1/4 cup creole mustard.

2 large cloves of minced garlic.

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley.

1 tablespoon lemon juice.

2 1/4 teaspoons smoked paprika (regular paprika may be substituted).

3/4 teaspoon ground red pepper. Here I used cayenne pepper.

Whisk together all ingredients until blended. Cover and chill 2 hours before serving. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 3 days.

Jim helped make the third dipping sauce - Spicy Cocktail Sauce. You will need: Chili Sauce, Ketchup, Horseradish, Lemon Juice, Worcestershire Sauce, Hot sauce, Salt and Pepper.

In a bowl Jim added 1/2 cup ketchup.

Next add 6 tablespoons horseradish.

1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce. Here Jim uses tobasco.

You also need to add 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 2 1/4 teaspoons worcestershire sauce, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

The winning ingredient is the bottled chili sauce. You need 3/4 cup and Jim used the chinese chili sauce we had in the fridge. SPICY! You could also use a chili sauce made my Heinz.

Whisk everything together.

Cover and chill 30 minutes before serving. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to five days.

For parties, set up a serving area for the shrimp and sauces on your kitchen island or breakfast table, and let everyone help themselves. To shortcut prep, ask your seafood monger to steam shrimp for you. Or you could do what I did and purchase shrimp that is already peeled, deveined and cooked ready to go. For a good laugh, read my blog post titled Firecracker Shrimp on handling raw shrimp. So you want to know which sauce was the best? The Smoky Remoulade Sauce was my favorite and the Tangy Garlic Tartar Sauce was a close second. In the future I would buy the cocktail sauce at the store and stir in a dash of worcestershire and some horseradish sauce to taste - just to spice it up a bit. No one would know the difference.

Peel, Eat and be Merry!

Here a few of my other shrimp recipes.
Shrimp Bisque

Kelie Shrimp

Firecracker Shrimp

Pan Fried Shrimp and Pork Potstickers

Ginger Marinated Shrimp