January 2010

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Grilled Shrimp Tacos

January 25, 2010 in Entrees, Seafood | 10 comments

Hi all! It has been awhile since my last post, because things have been a bit frenzied for me. My dad lost his 18 month battle with cancer on January 15th. He was a wonderful dad and teacher who always had an incredible zest for life. He never gave up his fight against cancer and was the most positive person I have ever met. Even though I only spent 29 years with him, I consider myself the luckiest girl in world to have had him as a father. I will miss him so much.

Here I am with him:

Both of my brothers (Travis and Ryan) came home last week along with CJ (Sister-in-Law) and Cooper (Travis’s son). The service and reception was wonderful and unbelievably special. I am positive my dad was there lighting up the room. The day after the service we all went back to my mom’s house and had a Shrimp Taco night while helping my mom clean out some of the closets and fix some stuff around the house.

Here is Travis trying on his old letterman’s jacket:

The boys also tried their luck with my mom’s hula hoop:

Cooper pretended to like the tacos.

Not sure why he has a carrot in his hand?

Trav and CJ made some guacamole:

I have made these tacos for years. It is a copycat recipe of the Anthony’s restaurant in Seattle fish tacos. I use shrimp, but you can substitute with Mahi Mahi, Cod, Halibut or any other whitefish. With the exception of Tilapia. Tilapia is disgusting. See my about me page.

 Grilled Shrimp Tacos

2 lbs Shrimp Peeled and Deveined
8-10 Taco Sized Flour Tortillas
Shredded Lettuce

Marinade

1.5 Cups White Wine
½ Cup Lime Juice
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
3 Cloves Garlic Minced
3 Tablespoons Chopped Herbs (basil, oregano, whatever you wish)
1 Teaspoon Salt Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and marinate shrimp for 1 hour.

 Do not marinate longer or you will have ceviche. :) The lime juice will cook your little shrimpies. Prepare sauces below while shrimp is marinating. Grill shrimp over low-medium for 5 minutes or until pink.

 Grill each tortilla for 1-2 minutes. Assemble taco by adding shrimp, Pico de Gallo, shredded lettuce, guacamole and Pico de Gallo mayo sauce.

 Add some cheese if you are feeling frisky. 

Pico de Gallo Mayo Sauce

1 Cup Pico de Gallo (Recipe Below)
3/4 Cup Mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth.

Guacamole

½ Cup Pico de Gallo (Recipe Below)
2 Whole Avocados Peeled and seeded
1 Garlic clove minced
3 Tablespoons lime juice
Tabasco to taste
Lots of salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients by smashing with a fork.

Season to taste

Pico de Gallo

6 Large Tomatoes Chopped
1.5 Red Onion Chopped
3-4 Jalapeños seeded, veined and minced
3/4 Cup Cilantro Chopped
2 Garlic cloves minced
¼ Cup Lime Juice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together.

Enjoy!

Love, Lindzee

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Shrimp Stuffed Shells with Tomato Basil Vodka Sauce

January 11, 2010 in Entrees, Pasta, Seafood | 1 comment

Sunday night, Katie and I had some friends over for din din – Michelle and Regan.  Aren’t they cute?

And Jav and Katie were there too…

After assessing my current food stock, I had some frozen shrimp, cheap vodka, leftover wine, cheese and pasta. Typical. 

 I decided to try a little experiment and make some shrimp stuffed pasta shells with tomato basil vodka sauce.  I love creamy basil vodka tomato goodness and paired with shrimp made it that much better.  They turned out really well!

Shrimp Stuffed Shells with Tomato Basil Vodka Sauce

Filling:

1 Box uncooked large pasta shells

2 Pounds of raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed

1 Shallot chopped

1 Garlic cloves chopped

1 Tablespoon olive oil

½ Cup Dry White Wine

Salt and Pepper

1.5 Cups Ricotta Cheese Part Skim

1 Tablespoon chopped basil

¼ Cup Shredded Parmesan

Boil pasta shells in salted water until partly tender but still a little firm.  About 7-8 minutes.  Drain and immediately separate shells to a greased baking sheet to prevent sticking together.  Set aside to cool.

Chop shrimp into bite size pieces. 

 Sauté shallot and garlic cloves in the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. 

 Add wine and shrimp. Cook until pink.  Don’t overcook though.

 Drain remaining liquid and combine shrimp, ricotta, basil, parmesan and salt and pepper. 

Set aside.  Make the sauce.

 Vodka Sauce:                              

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Shallot chopped

2 Garlic cloves chopped

½ Cup Vodka (you can use the cheap here. No Grey Goose allowed)

16 oz Whole peeled tomatoes in juice (blended up in blender)

½ Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

4 Tablespoons basil chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

¼ Shredded Parmesan

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Melt butter and olive oil over medium heat in a medium sauté pan.

Add shallots and garlic and cook about 2 minutes.  Add vodka and cook 1 minute more.

Then add tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes.  Add whipping cream and basil and cook for 1 minute more.  Season to taste.

Cover the bottom of a large baking dish with a thin layer of sauce. 

Stuff each shell with about 2 Teaspoons of shrimp filling until full.  Stack in baking dish in a single layer and cover with remaining sauce and sprinkle with parmesan.


Bake for 25-30 minutes until warm and bubbly.  Sprinkle with any remaining basil.

Love,

Lindzee

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Roasted Root Vegetable and Sautéed Beet Greens Panzanella Salad

January 10, 2010 in Salad, Sides, Vegetarian | 3 comments

Hi all!  I decided to get a little frisky today and try something that I totally made up.  I didn’t even look on the internets for advice. I love Panzanella salad and every time I go to Bardenay in Boise I order their version of the Panzanella.  Since, tomatoes (typically in Panzanella) are not exactly in season ‘round these parts I thought I would try to make it with root veggies and some sourdough bread I bought at local bakery Zeppole.

Root vegetables are amazing and great in the winter when you don’t have other summertime fresh fruits and veggies available. I included some parsnips, beets, carrots and onion in my panzanella.   My roommate Katie said “I think beets taste like dirt, but I really kind of like it”. 

 I totally agree! Except, they are messy!!  I forgot to wear gloves while chopping and this happenened. 

 

Doesn’t  this look like rat tail carnage?

 

 Everyone seemed to really enjoy this little concoction and said they felt healthier after eating it.  Apparently, root veggies are packed full of precious vitamins and minerals.  Even Jav (Mr. Meat and Potatoes) gave it a really strange look at first but went back for more.  Potatoes (also a root veggie) would be good in this too though!

 

Roasted Root Vegetable with Sautéed Beet Greens Panzanella Salad

4 Beets with Beet Greens

2 Parsnips

5 Carrots

1 Red Onion

1 Small Loaf of Sourdough Bread Day Old ( 3 Cups in Cubes)

2 Cloves Garlic

½  Lemon

2 Tablespoons Rosemary Chopped

1/2 Cup Olive Oil + 4 Tablespoons

2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar

¼ Cup Parmesan freshly grated

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven

Peel and chop the beets into chunks reserving the beet greens for later.  I used a normal peeler for all the veggies in the recipe

 

Peel Parsnips

 

 – See that lighter center? It is woody and icky.  Chop around it into chunks.

Peel and chop carrots and onion.

 

Add all veggies  into large baking dish

 

Grate part of lemon peel for about 1 teaspoon of peel without the white pith.  The microplane is one of my favorite kitchen tools – Thanks Crissie! 

 Chop garlic and smash with lemon peel and about a teaspoon of salt to make a paste.  

Add to small mixing bowl with olive oil and a teaspoon of the lemon juice and the Rosemary.  Mix together well and pour ½ of the olive oil mixture over veggies. Reserve other half of oil mixture.  Mix well to coat.

 Bake for 45 minutes.

Take other half  of oil mixture and pour over the sour dough bread cut into cubes just a little larger than typical croutons. 

  Add cubes to baking dish and mix the olive oil mixture over the cubes to coat well.  Season with salt and pepper. 

 

Bake for 10 minutes on 400.  Remove from oven and let cool.

Meanwhile, take the beet greens and chop them into large pieces. 

Saute them in about a tablespoon of olive oil until just wilted over medium heat in a medium skillet.  Sorry! Forgot to take a picture of this.  Remove and set aside.

Mix 3 Tablespoons olive oil and red wine vinegar.  Set aside.

Remove veggies from oven after 45 minutes.  Mix veggies with bread cubes, sautéed beet greens and red wine vinegar and parmesan.  Season to taste.  Can be served warm or cold.

Enjoy!

Love,

Lindzee

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Homemade Salad Dressings

January 4, 2010 in Salad, Salad Dressing | 5 comments

Surprisingly, I had quite a bit of champagne leftover from our New Years Eve celebration.  Hmmmm….what’s a girl to do with leftover champagne when I have sworn off drinking for at least two weeks after the liver damaging holidays?  Make my favorite Champagne Vanilla Scallop recipe? Nah too much work.    Shine my shoes?  Apparently, cobblers use flat champagne to shine shoes, but I don’t really have any shoes nice enough to shine.   I decided to keep it simple and make a champagne vinaigrette complete with cheesy photo of vinaigrette in a champagne glass. Yes, I said simple. 

 

Many people think that buying store bought salad dressings is the way to go.  But once you make your own you will never go back to store bought.  It is extremely easy and the flavor/quality does not compare to store bought.  Trust me.  Plus, you don’t have to worry about what is actually in the dressing because you made it your self.  In store bought, there are always fillers or preservatives or colorings because the average American consumer is not used to the way things naturally look.  This isn’t a Food Inc. type rant (I work for a large food company), merely a suggestion because you honestly can’t beat the taste of a homemade dressing.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Champagne Vinaigrette

 

As a general rule, I use the ratio one part vinegar to three parts oil for any vinaigrette.  Then just add in your extras.  I generally try to use a little bit of Dijon too because it makes it creamier and acts as an emulsifier which keeps the vinegar and oil from separating. 

3 Tablespoons Red wine vinegar

3 Tablespoons Champagne

1 Clove garlic minced

1 Tablespoon Mayo (optional for creaminess)

1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard

½ Teaspoon Sugar

Salt and Pepper to taste

½ Cup Olive Oil

Mix all ingredients except oil in blender.  I always blend my dressings – it seems to work. Drizzle in oil slowly and blend until creamy.  

Spicy Chipotle Vinaigrette

¼ Cup Balsamic Vinegar

1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard

1.5 Teaspoons Chipotle Chili powder or Adobo powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

½ Cup Olive Oil

Mix all ingredients except oil in blender. Drizzle in oil slowly and blend until creamy.  

Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

 

¾ Cup sour cream

½ Teaspoon dry mustard

½ Teaspoon salt

½ Garlic clove minced

1 Teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

½ Cup mayonnaise

3 Oz. crumbled blue cheese

Combine all ingredients with the exception of blue cheese in a large bowl.  Mix for 2 minutes on low speed.  Slowly add blue cheese and blend 4 more minutes.  Refrigerate 24 hours prior to serving.

Also, here are a few others I have posted in the past:

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

 

Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

 

I will post my Caesar recipe soon.  That is the first thing I learned to make in my dad’s restaurant.:)

Hope you enjoy!

Love,

Lindzee

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Sweet Turkey Chili

January 1, 2010 in Entrees, Slow Cooker, Soups | 7 comments

 

Happy 2010!!  Jav and I had a lot of fun ringing in 2010 at the Micky and the Motorcars concert.  Maybe too much fun… this morning was a tad rough.  We felt like it was the perfect day to watch football and make a big pot of chili.  Here is Jav enjoying the chili.

Not just any chili.  Our family friend Peggy makes the greatest chili ever!  It is sweet and acidic and absolutely wonderful.  Since, we have been indulging a smidgen too much this holiday season (see all previous posts from December), I thought I would adapt it to be a bit healthier by using ground turkey instead of beef.  This will most likely be unlike most chili’s you have had, but it always seems to be a crowd pleaser and I just love it!  We were too hungry to wait for the slow cooker, but this recipe certainly works in the slow cooker.   

I made my cheddar jalapeno cornbread muffins to accompany the chili. You can find the recipe here.


Sweet Turkey Chili

2 Pounds ground turkey

1 Green Pepper chopped

1 White onion chopped

2 Celery stalks chopped

2 Cloves garlic chopped

1 ¼ Cup Ketchup 

28oz Canned tomato juice

4 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 Teaspoon salt (more to taste)

3 Teaspoons chili powder

½ Teaspoon oregano

3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 Teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ Teaspoon White Vinegar

3 Teaspoons yellow mustard

2 Bay leaves

1 30oz  Can Chili Beans in Sauce

1 ½ Teaspoon Tabasco

Avocado (garnish)

Plain Yogurt (garnish)

Cheddar Cheese (garnish)

Brown turkey, pepper, onion, celery and garlic in a large saucepan on medium.


 Breakup turkey into small pieces.  Add all other ingredients into saucepan.  Simmer for 1 hour on medium low. 


Serve garnished with avocado, yogurt and cheese.  I like to crumble the cornbread muffins on top.


I hope 2010 is your best year yet!!  Adios 2009 – don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

Love,

Lindzee

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