Recipe: Emeril Lagasse's Shrimp Creole

Shrimp Creole
Food & Wine Magazine, Sept 2018, p.30
4.5 stars

This Emeril Lagasse recipe was named one of Food & Wine Magazine's 40 best recipes (ever) in 2018.  The ONLY reason why I didn't rate this 5 stars is because of the level of heat.  When I think something is hot, it is HOT!!!!  Perhaps I didn't measure the spices correctly because I made one-sixteenth of the creole seafood seasoning and was trying to do the calculations in my head.  Our mouths were burning while eating this delicious dish.  We'll be more careful to measure out the spices next time!

Tips

• Substituted the shrimp with andouille sausage (sauteed it separately with no seasoning)
• Remember to remove the bay leaves!
• Served with rice

Recipe: White Quinoa Grits with Shrimp and Mexican Grilled Corn

White Quinoa Grits with Shrimp and Mexican Grilled Corn
Food and Wine Magazine, July 2015
4 stars

Lovely summertime dish that is a nice take on traditional 'shrimp and grits.'  The white quinoa was interesting . . .  with the garlic, chicken stock and leeks adding nice flavor to it.  I'll make the quinoa that way any day!

Quinoa Grits Ingredients:  white quinoa, leeks, garlic, chicken stock, unsalted butter, Kosher salt, pepper

Shrimp and Corn Ingredients:  shrimp, corn, pumpkin seeds, basil, cilantro, scallions, butter, chile powder, cotija cheese, extra-virgin olive oil, Kosher salt, pepper, lime

Recipe: Lemon Tarragon Shrimp and Orzo

Lemon Tarragon Shrimp and Orzo

Edible Dallas & Fort Worth, Spring 2016, p.19

5 stars

Great weekday meal!  Didn't take much time at all to make this very healthy and satisfying dish.  We had lots of leftovers.

Ingredients:  shallot, shrimp, salt, pepper, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, orzo

Vinaigrette Ingredients:  lemon juice, lemon zest, Dijon mustard, tarragon, fine sea salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil

Tips

• Used green beans instead of asparagus
• Added Andouille sausage
• Added red pepper
• Shaved fresh Parmesan on top

Recipe: Salt-and-Pepper Shrimp

Salt-and-Pepper Shrimp
Bon Appetit, p. 50, Dec 2014
5 stars

This dish reminded me of my childhood -- going to the authentic Chinese restaurants in Chinatown and ordering the shrimp that was so flavorful but wishing that they didn't have shells (I didn't like having to suck the flavor out of the shells and peel the shrimp at the table).

This recipe calls for shell-on shrimp, but we unshelled (de-shelled?) them.

Ingredients include:  shrimp, Sichuan peppercorns (ground), cilantro, Fresno chile, cornstarch, vegetable oil, Kosher salt, pepper

This is a FAST recipe to make and again, has so much flavor.

Tips:

• We used a jalapeno since we couldn't find a Fresno chile.
• Even though this was a spicy dish because of the Sichuan peppercorns, it needed another red spice like paprika or chile powder to give it another dimension.
• Serve this with garlicky green beans and steamed rice.
• Beware of the heat.  The spice from cooking the shrimp got into the air that I started sneezing!

Recipe: Shrimp Cotija Cheese with Hatch Chiles

Shrimp and Cotija Cheese Stuffed Hatch Chiles
Central Market Recipe by Chef Dean Liesenfelt

As you can see from the photo, we didn't stuff the Hatch chiles.  (How the heck do people stuff them when this type of chile is so thin and delicate?  They're not like chile rellenos or poblanos that are larger.)

We took the recipe and modified it to create a casserole-like dish.  This had amazing flavor, is healthy(!) and would go very well with rice.

Ingredients include:  Hatch chiles, fresh spinach, shrimp, Cotija cheese, olive oil, garlic, ancho chile powder, lemon juice & zest, crushed red pepper, salt, Mexican crema

Few notes:

• In the pan, don't cook the shrimp until they're completely done.  Since the dish is baked, the shrimp will finish cooking in the oven.
• Added guajillo chile powder in addition to ancho chile
• Go light on the salt -- cotija is a salty cheese
• Bake it for 25 min (instead of 30)

Recipe: Shrimp, Chorizo and Corn Salad

This Shrimp, Chorizo and Corn Salad recipe from Cooking Light (July 2013, p.134) is a keeper.  We don't receive the Cooking Light Magazine, and I'm usually not a huge fan because their recipes often don't have enough flavor, but this one is GREAT, and we'll definitely be making it again as a quick weeknight meal.  Instead of having this as a salad, we had this for dinner as our main entrée over rice.

Few tips:

• We love garlic and so added extra
• We doubled the amount of red and yellow tomatoes
• Instead of Spanish chorizo, we used Andouille sausage
• Next time, we're not going to add as much lemon juice -- didn't think it was needed
• Added the basil at the very end

Recipe: Fresh Corn Grits with Shrimp

Fresh Corn Grits with Shrimp

I really liked this dish by Top Chef Season 5 contestant Jeff McInnis.  It was featured in the Top Chef Challenge section (it's the market basket challenge) in the Aug 2012 issue of Food and Wine Magazine (p. 111-112).  I think the pecan butter makes the dish ~ it gives it a nice nutty subtle flavor.

Healthy and really easy.

Here are some tips:

• Because we made this during a weeknight and wanted to speed up the process, we didn't make the grits from scratch but used instant grits.
• I also didn't want to wear out our mini food-processor, so didn't actually didn't process the pecans and canola oil for 2 minutes until smooth.  Instead, I used a small handful of pecans and a tiny splash of canola oil and processed it for 20 seconds.
• For the shrimp saute, I used 2 tablespoons of butter instead of 6.
• We added red pepper flakes for a little heat.
• I used about 3/4 cup of lager.  I didn't want it soupy like it looks in the photo on p. 112.

Recipe: Chipotle Shrimp Tostadas

Tonight, we made a yummy and most importantly, easy, weeknight meal.  With 2 of us working in the kitchen, it took about 15 minutes to make, not the 40 minutes noted below.

Our tweaks to the recipe:

• Used fresh tortillas and basically made soft tacos instead of frying the tortillas to make tostadas.
• Melted Monterey Jack cheese on the tortillas.
• Used half the amount of coleslaw mix.
• Added extra radishes

Chipotle Shrimp Tostadas
Contributed by Melissa Rubel Jacobson
TOTAL TIME: 40 MIN
SERVINGS: 4
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chipotle-shrimp-tostadas/print

To create this Southwestern-inspired dish, Melissa Rubel Jacobson tosses shrimp with chipotle chile powder (made from dried, smoked jalapeños), grills them, then layers them on top of crunchy fried corn tortillas and crisp, citrusy slaw.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon vegetable oil, plus more for frying
4 corn tortillas
Kosher salt
24 large shelled and deveined shrimp (about 1 pound)
1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
4 cups shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix
1 medium tomato, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 Hass avocado, thinly sliced
2 medium radishes, thinly sliced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
Lime wedges, for servingDirections

Directions

1. In a medium, deep skillet, heat 1/4 inch of vegetable oil until hot. Fry one tortilla at a time over moderately high heat until lightly golden on both sides, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
2. Preheat a grill pan. In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp with the 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil and the chipotle chile powder. Season the shrimp with salt. Grill the shrimp over moderately high heat, turning once, until they are browned in spots and cooked through, about 4 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, toss the cabbage with the tomato, scallions, sour cream and lime juice and season with salt. Set the tortillas on plates and top with the cabbage slaw, chipotle shrimp, avocado, radishes and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.