Inviting Knorr to dinner

This month has been amazing! I am once again working with Knorr, and this time it's not creating a recipe, but I am using their product to make dinner, and let me say they have some delicious dinners!

Beautiful Bouillabaisse

Have you ever had Bouillabaisse?  Most people get scared off by the name, thinking if they can't pronounce it they won't be able to make it.  Read on and I'll show you how easy it is to make it, even if you can't say it!

Sunday lunch

Today as I looked in the pantry I spotted a box of orzo pasta.  As frugal as I am when it comes to grocery shopping, sometimes I'll pick up an ingredient for a one time dish.  This was the case with the orzo pasta.  I did a bit more rummaging around in the fridge, and spotted a red bell pepper that I needed to use.  Then I saw a container of pesto...you know that green mixture of basil, pignolia (aka pine nuts), Parmesan cheese, and olive oil  

I wasn't sure what else would go into my lunch, until I spotted a recipe for Shrimp Orzo Pesto on Allrecipes.com

Perfect!  I had the orzo, shrimp, bell pepper, pesto, and all the seasonings.  I left out all but 1 teaspoon of the olive oil, as the pesto has more than enough olive oil for this dish.  So go ahead and skip the rest of it (trust me your mouth & stomach won't know the difference). 
The directions say that the pesto needs to be divided, yet the second use isn't mentioned.  Let me help solve that problem.  Take the remaining pesto and sauté the shrimp in it.  Bada bing, bada boom...sizzling pesto shrimp!  Careful on the red pepper flakes.  If you want a mild amount of heat I suggest using 1/8 tsp PER serving

Simple Stir fry

For the longest time I've always made Thursday my international meal night. This may not qualify as authentic Asian food but it has great appeal in both taste and preparation.  Spicy cashew shrimp stir fry is fast to make, and may just become a repeat offender - it is that good!

Cajun Cuisine

Have you ever been to an authentic Cajun cafe?  During my time on the east coast I traveled to various states and was able to go to the deep South and talk with some of the chefs.  My shrimp creole recipe is a traditional Cajun recipe that is not only delicious but is also healthy! 

Party for the mouth

Last night I *FINALLY* got around to making the Shrimp, corn and coconut soup w/ roasted poblanos !!!

• 3 poblano peppers
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup fresh corn
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 cups coconut milk
• 1/2 cup Coco Lopez cream of coconut
• 2 pounds 91-110 count shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 ounce brie cheese, cubed
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preparation method

Prep: 30 mins | Cook: 40 mins

1.

Place poblanos on a skewer and blacken them over the stove top burner. Put them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to steam a little. When cool, rub off the skin with a paper towel or peel the skin off with your fingers. Mince the poblanos.

 

~~~See my personal notes if you don't have a gas stove~~~

 

2.

Heat olive oil and butter in a four- to five-quart pot over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Then sauté onions and celery and fresh corn about four minutes*. Add flour, cilantro and garlic and cook for three minutes stirring occasionally. Add wine and prepared diced poblanos stirring frequently. Add coconut milk, coco Lopez and the rest of the ingredients and simmer for fifteen minutes. Ladle soup into bowls to serve.

I first sampled this recipe at the Chefs of the Coast stockpot cookoff in Biloxi, MS. Chef Chris has effectively created a "party for the mouth" with this soup!!  The first thing that I notice taste wise is that the flavours meld together perfectly, while still keeping their own uniqueness.  As I sampled the soup I could detect the sweetness from the coconut, the heat from the poblanos, the burst of cilantro, and the creaminess from the brie cheese & cream.  The flavours seemed to dance in my mouth!

It has a bit of a kick combined w/ a perfectly balanced sweetness. I made some slight changes in the method of preparation.

Notes:
I'm not lucky enough to have a gas stove, so I cranked up my oven, placed the poblanos on a cookie sheet and allowed them to roast in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. While the poblanos were roasting, I sauteed the onion, celery and 1/2 cup of corn.
*Once sauteed I took this mixture and blended it up for added creaminess. Afterwards I transferred the blended mixture back to my stockpot, and added the remaining 1/2 cup of corn and finished cooking per instructions. Thank you to Chef Eric for sharing this recipe!!!!

Move over butter

Dinner from 8 Aug 2011: Grant's Special Mardi Gras Pasta

I'm not quite sure who Grant is, but I'm thinking he's related to Paula Deen.  This recipe called for...wait for it...

1 CUP of butter - eek!  That's a whole lotta butta! If that doesn't make your mouth fall open it also calls for 1 cup of heavy cream - egads!   Now I didn't use that much butter, OR cream - as I didn't really care to ingest heart attack on a plate!!! 

Immediate thoughts:  This recipe is in need of herbs/spices AND a lighter based sauce. 

Suggestions: 
-Unless you want wilted green onions, DO NOT saute them w/ the mushrooms, and andouille sausage.         -Replace the 1/2 cup of butter w/ 2 Tbsp grapeseed oil OR Extra Virgin Olive oil.  The mushrooms and andouille sausage will be fine TRUST me!
-Don't bother chopping up a tomato, just use cherry or grape tomatoes, and slice them in half
-Instead of chopping the bell pepper, just cut into strips, it makes for a prettier presentation.
-Do NOT chop up the shrimp (see next suggestion)
-Take 1 Tbsp of Creole seasoning (I used Emeril's Bayou blast) and place in a ziploc bag add the peeled, deveined shrimp, and give it a few good shakes to thoroughly coat the shrimp.  Saute the shrimp in a seperate pan w/ 1 Tbsp butter and the chopped garlic -there's a reason for this, both garlic & shrimp cook relatively fast, and the longer they cook the more bitter the garlic will become, and the more tough the shrimp will become.

Okay now we come to the major overhaul w/ the sauce (aka artery clogger) The initial sauce would've had 1/2 cup butter AND 1 cup of heavy cream...I'm going to suggest the following, and trust me you'll love it :)

Healthier Cajun Alfredo Sauce

3 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1 cup evaporated milk (it's fine to use the reduced fat versions)

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup grated provolone cheese

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp creole seasoning (or to taste your choice)

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat; stir in flour. Gradually add evaporated milk and broth. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Stir in Parmesan cheese, provolone cheese, cayenne pepper and creole seasoning until cheese is melted. 
Now if you use my sauce above you will NOT need to add the lemon juice or white wine (it loses the flavour anyways)

Overall the initial recipe was a good jumping off point...if you wanna land in a morgue.  I think my changes made it tastier and healthier.