Vacation, All I Ever Wanted and Shrimp Too

While it is true that I have not been AWAY on vacation for the entire month of July, I have been on some form of vacation for just about a month. So, slowly getting back to cooking in my own kitchen has been a blessing!

Trying to get caught up with the daily things around here had me scouring for easy recipes this week. I found many versions of this very simple, one-dish shrimp recipe – all were pretty much the same so I ran with it.

Shrimp is a major staple in our home. Foodie Jr. is a shrimp fanatic and I can always count on it being gobbled up. I always keep it on hand for quick, easy and mostly healthy meals.

This recipe has only four ingredients – how much easier can it get? I was pleasantly surprised that for the little effort I put into it, we got a pretty good pay out – all of us liked it. It is almost reminiscent of a scampi with the lemon and butter flavors. I served it with rice and steamed broccoli and it all went really well together. I will most definitely keep this in the quick and easy meal rotation – especially with the school year starting. It’s definitely worth giving a try.

LEMON BUTTER SHRIMP

Ingredients:

-1 lb. of peeled and deveined shrimp (I left the tails on)
-1 stick of Butter
-2 medium sized Lemons, sliced thin
-1 packet of Italian Dressing dry seasoning (whatever brand you like)

Directions:

1. Preheat Oven 350 Degrees.

2. Melt stick of butter in 9×13 baking dish (I did this while the oven pre-heated.)

3. Place lemon sliced on melted butter in a single layer.

4. Place shrimp on lemon slices in a single layer.

5. Sprinkle dressing packet on top of shrimp evenly.

6. Bake for about 15 minutes. (I turned the shrimp once but I don’t think it’s necessary.)

Kiss My (Shrimp and Chorizo) Grits

I love good old, down home, comfort food.  For me, grits fits right into that category.  Grits, popular in the Southern part of our great nation, were actually a Native American food – basically, a coarsely ground corn.  Generally, I eat grits for breakfast – either with butter (and milk) or with eggs.  I believe shrimp and grits are popular in what they call the Low Country area of South Carolina.  While it seems to be a breakfast dish there, I prefer to eat it for dinner.  Being so plain makes grits very versatile.  In this recipe, I made white cheddar grits to go along with my shrimp and chorizo mixture.  I make a large portion of the grits so that I have leftovers for different meals and I find that they freeze pretty well.

CHEDDAR GRITS WITH SHRIMP & CHORIZO

For the Grits:

6 Cups Water

2 Cups Half-n-Half (you can also just use milk)

2-3 Tsp Salt (depending on your taste)

1/2 Tsp Pepper

2 Cups Quick Cooking Grits

1 – 1 1/2 Cups of White Cheddar Cheese, shredded

5 TBS Butter (you can use unsalted)

Directions:

1.  Bring first four ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan.

2.  Add the dry grits and whisk continuously.

3.  Reduce heat to low and continue to whisk until well blended and creamy.

4.  Add the cheese and whisk until melted and smooth.

5.  Remove from heat and let stand.  Once thickened but still hot, add butter and stir until smooth.

For the Shrimp & Chorizo Mixture:

1 lb. Shrimp (medium sized)

3 medium links of Chorizo (I prefer Marca El Rey Brand), diced small

2-3 Cloves of Garlic, minced

1 TBS Butter

Directions:

1.  Brown chorizo in a skillet over medium heat, about 3-4 minutes.  The chorizo will create quite a bit of orangish oil.

2.  Remove chorizo from pan and drain most of oil, leaving a good layer to coat your shrimp.  Add butter until melted and then add shrimp.  Cook shrimp until pink, about 3 minutes or so.

3.  Add chorizo back to pan.  Add fresh garlic and stir until fragrant.  At this point everything is cooked through, so only toss for less than a minute so as to avoid the garlic burning and turning bitter.

4.  Divide grits into serving bowls and top each helping with the shrimp and chorizo mixture.  Serve immediately.

 

 

Fusion ‘Tacos’, Two Ways

I love the concept of tacos. I use the term ‘taco’ loosely here, mostly because it is a mainstream way for me to describe a little carb (tortilla, bao, etc…) wrapped around yummy goodness (meat, veggies, etc…) and some type of topping or sauce.  We make tacos at our house out of anything and love to experiment with different flavors, which is how the following recipes came about.

Both of these tacos were wrapped in steamed buns – bao, generically – Momofuku style inspired.  Before you applaud my awesomeness, know that I purchased pre-made folded buns at my local Asian Market.  For the record, I do have the ingredients on hand to make these from scratch and will be attempting that soon.  However, the craving for these was immediate so pre-made was the way to go this time around.  I did steam the buns myself though!

I did not serve either of these to Foodie Jr. fully constructed.  He did eat the filling and buns separately as his meal, but the sauces were a little too spicy for him.  Although he likes spicy food, Mr. Foodie and I like it really spicy so we opted to give him the milder version.  We were all able to eat the same meal, just had to modify for the little one.  I’m no short order cook so I have to do what I have to do to modify sometimes.

STEAMED BUN TACO #1

Korean Style Flank Steak with Cucumber topped with Sriracha BBQ Sauce

Ingredients:

Store bought folded buns, steamed per package directions

2 lb Flank Steak (you can also use skirt steak)

1/2 Cup Soy Sauce

2 TBS Black Sesame Seeds

4 TBS Sugar

2 TBS Sesame Oil

3-4 Small Shallots, minced

3 Cloves Garlic, minced

6 TBS Mirin

1/2 Large Cucumber, sliced thin on a mini-mandoline – becomes almost relish like

3-4 TBS Mirin

1 TBS Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

1/8 Cup of your favorite BBQ Sauce

1/8 Cup Sriracha (use less if you don’t like the heat)

Directions:

1.  Combine first 8 ingredients in a large freezer bag and refrigerate overnight, mixing and turning occasionally.

2.  Place cucumbers in a small bowl and cover with mirin, add red pepper flakes and mix.  Set in refrigerator for at least a half hour before serving.

3.  In a small bowl, mix BBQ sauce with Sriracha until well blended.

4.  Heat oil coated grill pan over medium heat.  Cook flank steak equally on both sides, about 8-10 minutes per side, depending on your desired doneness.

5.  Let the meat rest about 10 minutes and then slice thin against the grain.

6.  Assemble by placing a few slices of meat on the bun, top with cucumber and then BBQ sauce mixture.

STEAMED BUN TACO #2

Spicy Shrimp with Mango and Cilantro topped with Sriracha Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

Store bought folded buns, steamed per package directions

1 lb. Shrimp, peeled and deveined, boiled and cooled

Juice of 2 limes

3 TBS Patis (fish sauce) – you could probably use less if desired

Dash of Cayenne Pepper

1 Large Mango, peeled and chopped

1/2 Cup Mayonaise

1-2 TBS Sriracha, depending on taste

1/8 Cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped for garnish

Directions.

1.  Mix shrimp with lime juice, patis and cayenne pepper, refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes before serving.

2.  In a separate bowl, mix mayonnaise with Sriracha until well blended – it will have a light orange color.  (A little goes a long way but Mr. Foodie eats this on everything so I make a bigger batch at a time.)

3.  Assemble by placing a few shrimp on the folded bun, top with a bit of chopped mange, mayonnaise mixture and garnish with cilantro.

Lemon Pepper Butter Shrimp – Ode to the Hawaiian Shrimp Trucks

Food trucks seem to be all the rage in the food community – they even have  a show about them on the Food Network.  Unless you’ve been living under a Foodie rock, you are probably familiar with Nom Nom or Grill ‘Em All at the very least.

Shrimp trucks such as Giovanni’s or Macky’s have been really popular on Oahu’s North Shore for a long time.  On a recent family visit this summer, we visited Macky’s Shrimp Truck in Haleiwa for lunch.  If you’re looking for a wide variety of flavors, the shrimp trucks are not the place for you as their menus are generally pretty limited:  garlic, spicy, lemon…you get the idea.  We paid $12 per plate and were given a good size serving of lemon shrimp, two scoops of white rice, a green salad and some pineapple.  That’s pretty standard island food, if I do say so myself.  The shrimp was fresh and filling and the lemon butter sauce was really good, both on the shrimp and the rice.  Like we do on so many vacations, Mr. Foodie and I made a note that we had to try to re-create it at home.

Below is what we came up with and while it wasn’t exactly like the shrimp truck, it was good.  It was rich and filling, that’s for sure.  I’m sure that this could be served with more sophisticated accompaniments and dressed up for a fancy dinner, but we really liked it island style – over white rice.  I’m certain we didn’t bother with the salad…

LEMON PEPPER BUTTER SHRIMP

Ingredients:

1 Lb. Medium Shrimp, peeled and deveined

3/4 Cup Butter

Juice of 2 Large Lemons

1 Tsp Lemon Zest

1 Tsp Soy Sauce

1 Tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 TBS Fresh Parsley, chopped

1/2 TBS Coarse Black Pepper

2 -3 Cloves of garlic, minced

Directions:

1.  Melt butter in heavy skillet over medium heat.

2.  Add all other ingredients, except shrimp.

3.  Bring liquid mixture to a boil and then add shrimp.

4.  Continue to cook shrimp until pink, approximately 5 minutes or so.

5.  Serve immediately over white rice.