Roasted Shrimp Salad

I saw Ina Garten make her Roasted Shrimp Salad on her show Barefoot Contessa for a pack and go party, looked so good I had to make it. Its beautiful, fresh and delicious, and great to pack on picnics or to take to a good ol fashion BBQ or potluck. I've made this salad several times now and have since tweaked it a bit...but not too much because her original recipe is, as she would put it, "FAB-ulous".



Serves 6

2 1/2 pounds large or jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup good mayonnaise (Helmans or Best Foods)
zest of 1 orange
2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp fresh dill, minced
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, minced
3 tbsp red onion, small diced
2 tbsp capers, drained (optional)
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Kosher salt and pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place shrimp on a sheet pan with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and toss together. Spread shrimp on the pan and roast for 6-8 minutes, until pink and cooked through then let them cool for about 3 minutes.

In the meantime, make the sauce. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayo, orange zest, lemon and orange juice, salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 tsp each). Once shrimp have cooled, add them to the sauce along with dill, cilantro, capers, red pepper flakes, and red onion and toss well. Cover and chill for about 30 minutes.


Enjoy!

Habanero Mango Salsa

Nothing is more refreshing and more addicting during summer than a good mango salsa. My recipe is easy, but it requires you having a good sharp knife. You also want to make sure the mango and the Avacodo are on the firmer side so you get a nice clean chop. Dice the ingredients small, not only is it more appealing to the eye, but you get an equal amount of each ingredient when you take a bite! 

The secret to making this salsa pop, is using a good Habanero hot sauce such as El Yucateco. Habanero has a nice sweet heat when used sparingly and it goes well with fruit.

Serve this salsa as a dip with chips or along side any grilled fish, chicken or pork...or eat it alone! The perfect salsa for your next BBQ!

Serves 4

2 cups firm mango, diced 

1 cup avocado, diced
1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup cilantro, finely minced
Juice of 1 Orange 

Juice of 1 lime
1-2 tsp Habanero hot sauce
salt to taste


Mix all the ingredients above in a bowl. Salt to taste, cover and chill  for about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Green Eggs and Ham

"Green eggs and ham. I do not like them Sam-I-Am.
I do not like green eggs and ham." Dr Suess. 

Well in this case Sam-I-Am, I DO like green eggs and ham. This morning I thought of the Dr. Suess children's story, Green Eggs and Ham, and I started thinking. I wanted something green with eggs and ham, but instead of ham I wanted BACON. So my take on Green Eggs and ham is an egg cooked over medium with bacon crumbs, and set over grilled asparagus. It was delicious and really quick and easy to prepare. Hope you enjoy!

Serves 2

Ingredients

4 strips of bacon cooked until crisp
10 Asparagus, grilled
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large eggs
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp butter


Start by cooking bacon first until crisp. Place it on a plate lined with a napkin to cool. After its cooled, use a mortar and pestle to make it into fine crumbs and set aside.

Have your asparagus ready and trimmed for grilling. Have a grill pan ready on medium-high heat. Next, toss the asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper and grill until the asparagus are cooked to your liking (I prefer mine to be al dente) and set aside.

Have your bacon crumbs close and place 5 pieces of asparagus on each plate. In a small frying pan on medium-high heat with some butter (careful not to burn butter), crack your egg and wait for the egg whites to set, about 30-40 seconds for an over medium egg. During this time and without breaking the yolk, sprinkle a generous amount of bacon crumbs on top of the egg, then carefully flip it and cook for an additional 30-40 seconds. Once the other side of the egg whites have set, carefully flip the egg  on the asparagus so the bacon crumbs are facing up. Repeat with the next egg. Serve with a couple pieces of sour dough toast and enjoy!

For a different version of Green Eggs and Ham, try soft boiling an egg and sprinkle bacon crumbs on top!

Cajun Shrimp and Rice

I was in the mood for something light, fresh and with lots of flavor the other day, so I got online and started to search for a recipe that would catch my attention. I found a shrimp recipe from the Food Network site that looked beautiful from the picture and sounded delicious. Well folks, it was D-licious and very easy and quick to prepare. It also turned out beautiful! I'll surely be making this again and I bet it would be great for a potluck. Here is the recipe for you try!


Cooking time is about 20 minutes
Serves 4


Ingredients
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp Cajun seasoning (I added 1more tsp for more flavor)
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails intact
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 bunches scallions, chopped
3 cups cooked white rice ( I used Basmati brown rice, white is good too)
1/4 cup water
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Lemon wedges, for serving (optional but a must ;-)


Heat the butter, olive oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the Cajun seasoning and shrimp and cook, stirring until the shrimp begin to curl, about 1 minute.
Season with salt and pepper.

Add the tomatoes and scallions to the skillet and cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Add the rice and 1/4 cup water and continue to cook until the rice is warmed through and the shrimp are opaque, about 3 more minutes. Stir in the parsley and serve with lemon, if desired.


Go to Food Network to check nutrition facts.

Carnitas

I love pork and I think I can say that its my favorite meat of them all. Last weekend I made Pork Carnitas which is pork shoulder that has been slowly cooked until it is pull-apart tender. This Dish has been around for many years in Mexican cuisine. Traditionally the pork is slow cooked in its own fat (lard) which is similar to the technique of confit. Today, there are a few ways to cook them and usually very simple and inexpensive to prepare. I cook mine in the oven, season them well and do not use any fat. Its another favorite at home and with friends. Between 2 of us, we usually have leftovers for a few days but this recipe feeds 6-8 if you're making them for tacos.

I like my Carnitas with a lot of flavor and bark. So to get more of that nice crunchy bark straight out of the oven, I usually cut the pork shoulder to pieces the size of my fist.  Hope you enjoy!

Cooking time including prep is 3.5 hours.


1 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tbsp salt
1 tsp cumin, toasted then ground
1  tbsp chili powder ( preferably Chile Pasilla and Chile Guajillo powder which can be purchased at your local Mexican grocer)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
5 lbs of pork shoulder, bone in and cut in fist size pieces
5 bay leaves
5 -7 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees


In a small bowl mix first 5 ingredients together to make the marinade. Have pork ready and cut in a large bowl, including bone. Pour the marinade over the pork and make sure every piece has been coated. Transfer  the pork to a large dutch oven and throw in garlic and bay leaves. Without washing away the marinade on the meat, carefully pour water on side of dutch oven, cover and place in oven. Set timer for 3-1/2 hours. Don't touch it! Once its done, set on a cutting board and pull the meat apart.

I usually serve this with soft corn tortillas and my Tomatillo salsa or Chimichurri.


Suggested garnishes are: minced yellow onion, cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

Enjoy!