Shrimp and Grits

I've had a hankerin' for some good shrimp and grits - I found a few recipes and modified them into this.  Note:  THIS IS NOT DIETARY.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I gained weight as soon as one bite hit my mouth.  It's pretty rich too - probably can be stretched to four servings, especially with a nice salad dressed lightly (vinaigrette style dressing) and maybe a little warm bread.  Yum!!!

Shrimp & Grits

Serves 3-4

Grits

My favorite grits are Byrd Mill white grits.  They’re a local company out of Ashland, VA.  I find them at Martins, but you can order them online:  http://byrdmill.com/

• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 cup ½ and ½
• 2 T butter
• ½ cup White grits
• 1 C (or to taste) cheese (cheddar is very good)

In saucepan, heat up milk, ½ and ½, and butter.  Right when it’s starting to boil, stir in the grits, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 25-30 minutes.  When the grits are at a good consistency, remove from heat and stir in the cheese.

Shrimp Ingredients

1 lb. shrimp, cleaned and deveined, tails removed too

½ red pepper sliced super fine

½ sweet onion, sliced super fine

4 slices of bacon

1/4 cup chardonnay

BBQ Butter

1 stick unsalted butter

1/2 t black pepper

1/2 t paprika

1/2 t kosher salt

Few shakes of dried basil leaves

4 cloves fresh or frozen garlic

3 t Worcestershire

1 T hot sauce, such as Sriracha, Kim Kim, or even Tabasco (or to taste)

Method

1. Melt butter in microwave safe bowl. Add all the ingredients for the “butter” to the melted butter and whisk thoroughly. Put in the fridge to firm back up (or freezer if you’re short on time.
2. Pan fry four slices of bacon until crisp. Remove onto a paper towel to drain access fat.  Drain fat from skillet.
3. Add vegetables to skillet and sauté until soft – 3-5 minutes.
4. Add shrimp and sauté for a few minutes.  Add wine to the skillet and cover for a few minutes.  Uncover pan, stir, and cook for a few minutes more.
5. Remove from heat.  Add the cold BBQ butter you made before to the shrimp and stir to melt. 
6. Plate the grits and serve the shrimp and “gravy” on top of the grits.  Crumble bacon on top. 

Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Butter and Sausage

Rob and I went to one of our favorite italian restaurants last night, and I ordered a butternut squash ravioli special.  Oh. My. GOODNESS good!  So good, in fact, I decided I'd try to recreate it tonight with a bit of a twist.

First, we start with 1/2 pound of your favorite sausage.  I really wanted a sausage that packed a little heat (and I'm totally aware of how inappropriate that sounds right now), but settled for a fresh Sage sausage and added red pepper flakes.  I sauteed it on medium heat - I didn't really want it to brown, but just cook thoroughly.  Once it was cooked, I drained it in a colander and then let it drain more on paper towels.  As yummy as sausage drippings are, that's not the flavor I was going with for this dish.

Next, find some FRESH pumpkin (or even butternut) ravioli.  In Richmond, we have some good fresh pasta shops, none that were open today.  Whole Foods does have a good selection, though, so I bought the pumpkin ravioli there.  The package for 12 was $5.99 - the package says two servings, but I could only eat 1/2 of mine. Fresh Sage is a must as well.  I used 10 leaves.

Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Butter and Sausage

1/2 pound of your favorite sausage

Ravioli (serving for two)

1 stick of unsalted butter

10 sage leaves

Pinch of Sea Salt

Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Cook the sausage on medium heat until done.  Remove from heat; drain off fat.
2. Cook Ravioli to package instructions.  Once they are done, drain in a colander but DO NOT rinse.  The starchiness left behind will attract the awesome sauce.
3. While the ravioli is cooking melt one stick of butter over medium heat.  Once the stick has melted, add the Sage leaves.  Add a pinch of sea salt. Stir butter over medium heat until it's a light to medium golden color.  Take off the heat.
4. Add the sausage back to the butter mixture.

To plate, place the ravioli on the plate.  Equally split the sausage butter sauce on top of the pasta. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and parmesan cheese to taste.  Serve immediately.

The combination of the infused butter with the sweet pumpkin pasta and the savory sausage is just divine.  

Best Cheesy Grits EVER

You would think growing up in Virginia that I would have mastered the whole perfect grits thing way before now.  Truth is, I must have been eating some very crappy grits.  My dad liked eating them at breakfast, but they just never tasted like anything to me.  Now I'm thinking that they must have been instant grits.  So I've adopted the philosophy so eloquently stated in that classic movie, My Cousin Vinny - "No self-respecting southerner uses instant grits.  I take pride in my grits!"  So, here you have them:

First, you need really good quality grits.  My favorite is Byrd Mill grits, which are made in Ashland, Virginia.  The problem is that I don't always have a fun time trying to find these grits, but Martins seems to carry them often (I have yet to find them at the local Kroger, and don't get me started on the Sh*tty Kitty).  I'm guessing, too, that Whole Foods probably sells them since they're a local product.  In fact, I'll have to update this after I do a full investigation as to where to find these grits.


The next thing you need to decide on is the cheese.  I'll admit - I'm not a cheese person.  I like my cheese like I like my beer - a little on the wimpy side.  I was afraid to go with just a sharp cheddar, but do like a little bite to the cheese.  I bought this Kraft three cheese blend, which has colby, jack, and cheddar, and a touch of cream cheese (according to the package).  All I know is that it was super creamy and super delicious!

BEST CHEESY GRITS EVER!

1/2 cup White Grits

2 cups Milk*

1 tbs Butter

1 tsp Salt

1/2 cup Cheese

Pepper to taste 

(Total Cook Time - 30 minutes)

*The more whole the milk, the creamer the grits will be. 

 In a saucepan, bring the two cups of milk, salt, and butter to a boil.  Reduce the heat to the lowest setting.  Stir in the grits.  Cover.  Cook for 15 minutes.  Stir the grits until they're not clumping.  Cook for another 15 minutes.  Take off the heat.  Add the cheese (you can always use more cheese if you want) and pepper to taste.  Stir for another minute or two.  Serve immediately.

Cheesy Jalapeño Popper Baked Stuffed Chicken

This recipe was so stolen from skinnytaste.com (http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/04/cheesy-jalapeno-popper-baked-stuffed.html).  I adapted it just a little bit to my personal taste, but it was QUITE yummy.  What's wonderful about this website is that it includes WW points too (for those of us who follow such things).  What I did to adjust my recipe was:

• I only used one jalapeno pepper - I'm a bit scared of those things
• I chopped two scallions and added it to mine
• I used Panko crumbs vs. bread crumbs
• I used three strips of pre-cooked bacon
• My pack of thin-sliced chicken breasts only had five in it, so I divided the filling into 5ths vs. 8ths

I gave this recipe two thumbs up, but it was a bit too oniony (is that a word?  Is that even possible?) for my husband.  My friend and neighbor Carla posted this recipe on her FB page (where I got it from - she posted it at just the right time.  I was browsing for dinner ideas).  She said next time she'd sautee the peppers a bit  before adding them - and I think that's a great idea.  To me, this tasted so much like a stuffed potato skin, except it was in yummy chicken.

I brought leftovers for lunch.  This is one way to keep people out of my office in the afternoons ... :-)

Shrimp Tortellini

Last spring, my step daughter came to visit.  After a long (and fun) day of tasting wine in the warm VA sun, we stopped at Whole Foods on our way home to pick up something for take out.  As it turned out, no one could make up their mind about what to eat - I was tired and grumpy, and my husband just looked at me and said "can you please just figure this out?"  I huffed away with my mighty hand basket and headed to the produce.  There I picked up a pint of grape tomatoes, a cucumber, an orange pepper - then I picked up a pound of frozen shrimp that was cooked, shelled, and deveined.  I then headed to the fresh pasta isle and picked up a 16oz pack of cheese tortellini (both Rob and Erin are happy, happy people if there is tortellini in their life).  And that's how this recipe came to be - and it's one of our very favorite summertime meals.


Shrimp Tortellini

• 1 16oz Cheese Tortellini (FRESH is best)
• 1 lb Shrimp
• 1 pint Cherry Tomatoes, cut in 1/2
• 1 Cucumber, chopped
• 1 Orange pepper, chopped
• Lemon Mustard dressing (recipe to follow)
• Old Bay seasoning to taste
• Fresh Basil to taste

Cook the tortellini according to the package.  Drain and let cool.

If you're using the frozen, precooked shrimp, place them in a colander to defrost.  Once they're defrosted, remove the tails and lay them on a paper to drain.  If you have fresh shrimp, cook, peel, devein, and cool (the frozen shrimp are MUCH easier.  Sometimes you can find fresh shrimp that's already cooked too - that's the ticket).

Chop the tomatoes, cucumber, and pepper and put in a large bowl.  Place the shrimp on top of the vegetables.  Sprinkle the shrimp with old bay seasoning to taste.

Pour about four tablespoons of the Lemon Mustard dressing on the shrimp and veggies (or to taste - you'll want the dish to be nicely coated with the dressing, but not have dressing "soup" at the bottom of the bowl).

Once the tortellini is cooled, add it to the shrimp and veggies.  Add about four or so more tablespoons of the dressing to the top.  Mix thoroughly.  When done, add the fresh basil to the top (I like to cut the basil into ribbons).  My husband loves to add fresh ground Romano cheese to this dish - I bet Parmesan cheese would be good, too.

(AN ASIDE:  This particular batch doesn't have the orange peppers in it - and it's good anyway)

Lemon Mustard Dressing (This dressing is EXCELLENT on salads and works well as a marinade as well)

·  3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
·  4 cloves of garlic (Trader Joe's Frozen Garlic works great with this recipe!)
·  2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (I like Rice vinegar)
·  Juice from one lemon
·  1 T Dijon mustard

To make the dressing, combine the  vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, and garlic in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk to blend. Gradually add the olive oil in a thin stream, whisking constantly until well blended and smooth.

 

Kim Chang's Lettuce Wraps

Nothing is better than a good lettuce wrap.  What I love about them (well, one of the things anyway) is that they're actually healthy.  My husband and I tend to eat a bit differently - I watch calorie intake (and depending on what's around, that could be a lot of intake) and he tries to eat low-carb.  This dish fits both of our dietary needs.  I made this recipe and had my adult son over for dinner - we still had enough left over for me to bring lunch the next day.  I've made this with both ground chicken and ground turkey, and the turkey tastes better IMHO.  But, either will work just fine.

Ingredients

·      Olive oil spray

·      2 lbs ground Turkey

·      1 8oz can of water chestnuts

·      1 8oz container of mushrooms

·      ½ chopped large sweet onion

·      Iceburg lettuce

·      Sriracha sauce to taste

Stir fry sauce

·      2.5 tablespoons of soy sauce

·      1 tablespoon of  brown sugar

·      1.5 tablespoon of rice vinegar

Spray Wok or large frying pan with olive oil spray.  Sautee the turkey, making sure the turkey doesn’t clump together, over medium/medium high heat.  Season to taste with salt.

In the meantime, chop the water chestnuts, mushrooms, and onion (I do this in the food processor – this dang thing has saved my LIFE.  If you don’t have one, GET YOU ONE). 

Once the turkey is cooked through, drain and add it back to the pan.   Add the vegetables to the turkey, continue to cook and stir occasionally for about five minutes (or until the veggies look cooked through, and the moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated).

Add the stir fry sauce and mix well.

Add a good squirt of the Sriracha sauce.  Stir well – give it a taste.  Add a little more if you want to kick it up a notch.

Serve with lettuce “cups.”  We like these with just a taste of a peanut sauce.

Because I got busy talking and then eating, I forgot to take a picture of the final plating  - but here's a picture of the leftovers I brought for lunch.  Bon Appetite!

Asparagus wraps with Spicy Ginger Sauce

Saturday night we ushered in my friend and neighbor Nichole into a new decade.  I decided to make asparagus wraps to take to the party with spicy ginger sauce - after all, Nichole IS a spicy ginger!

The first order of business is to find crescent seamless dough sheets - if you can't find them, regular crescent rolls will do (when you roll out the dough, just pinch the seams back together).  The seamless ones are just easier to work with.  Locally, I always find them at Kroger.

For the recipe, you'll need crescent seamless dough sheets and fresh asparagus (the larger ones - bigger in diameter do better with this recipe) for the wraps.  The sauce will be mayonnaise (I suggest the light mayo - I think it works better in this dish and you'll save yourself a calorie or two), sriracha sauce, and FRESH ginger root.

Cut the tough ends off of the asparagus - I cut them to be about three inches long.  Wash and dry on a paper towel.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425.

Roll the crescent dough out on a cutting board.  I find that if you stick the dough in the freezer for about 10 minutes before you want to work with it makes it easier (and less sticky) to work with.  Cut the dough into strips - I think I cut strips for about two dozen wraps.  I found a pizza cutter works great for this task.

 Wrap the dough around each asparagus stalk and place on a greased cookie sheet.  I like to use olive oil - and after you have arranged your asparagus, spritz with a little more olive oil.  Bake at 425 for 15 minutes or so - you'll want them to be a medium/golden brown (if you take them out too early, the dough is not cooked on the bottom - just like the crescent rolls that have tricked me a time or two).

While the asparagus' are in the oven, prepare the sauce.

The sauce isn't an exact science.  You can make it as spicy or not as you would like.  The more sriracha and ginger you add, the spicier it will be.

Start with about 1/4 or so cups of mayo.  Add some sriracha and mix.  If it's too spicy, add a little more mayo.  If you're a huge spicy mayo fan, back off of it just a bit here because you're going to be adding some more heat with the fresh ginger.

Peel the ginger root.  With a microplane, grade the ginger.  Fresh ginger will grade very fine and it has a lot of liquid.  Start with about a tablespoon of the ginger and stir it into the sauce.  Taste - make whatever adjustments you deem necessary.

Once the asparagus are done, let them sit about five minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet.  Serve with the sauce on the side.

Asparagus Wraps:

About two dozen asparagus stalks (1 bunch)
1 can of Crescent dough cut into 24 strips

Wrap dough around asparagus stalks and cook for 15 minutes at 425 - cooking time may vary.

Spicy Ginger Sauce:

Mayo
Sriracha
Fresh Ginger Root

Mix to taste