Shrimp with Sugar Snaps, Peppers, and Orzo

This is such an easy but yummy dish.  Just peel your shrimp, make a slice down the back to remove the vein, and then put them on paper towels to dry.  Season them with salt and pepper and put them in the fridge until you're ready to cook them.

The sugar snaps need to be blanched.  Just put them into a pot of boiling water for about 2-3 minutes and then into a bowl of ice water.  Leave them in the ice bath for a few minutes and then drain and let them dry on a kitchen towel. This will cook them just enough so they stay crispy and green.  Or, buy a bag of already washed sugar snaps (I use Mann's brand), poke a hole in the bag, and then nuke for about a minute.  Works great!

½ lb. pasta (I use whole wheat orzo)

½ lb. sugar snaps

5-6 T. olive oil, divided

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. peeled, deveined shrimp (21-25 count)

Salt/pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes

½ red pepper, cut into strips

½ yellow pepper, cut into strips

½ cup chopped fresh basil, reserve a little to use as garnish
Zest of one lemon

3 T. lemon juice (usually about 1-1/2 or 2 lemons)

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

Cook pasta while preparing the rest of the dish.  You want to make sure your dish is done when the pasta is ready.

In a small bowl, combine basil, lemon juice, zest and mustard.  Slowly whisk in about 3 T. oil until mixture thickens slightly.  Season with salt.

Heat 2-3 T. olive oil and sauté shrimp seasoned with salt and pepper.  Cook until shrimp are done, about 2 minutes per side.  Remove shrimp to a plate or bowl.  Add pepper strips to skillet and cook until soft.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté 1 minute.  Add sugar snaps and stir to heat them up.  Add cooked shrimp and remove from heat.

Combine shrimp mixture, pasta and vinaigrette.  Garnish with remaining basil.

Cobb Salad with Teriyaki Chicken

The other day I got organic green leaf lettuce at HEB for 97 cents!  Crazy price, so I knew I had to make Stuart's favorite salad...Cobb.  I also marinated some chicken and then coated it with Panko bread crumbs, sauteed on a pan, and then finished it in the oven.  I really don't like grilling boneless chicken cause it seems to dry out so easily.  It's much better in the skillet/oven, like my Panko Crusted Chicken recipe from May 25.  Not to mention, it's over 100 outside so I really didn't feel like firing up the grill!

Cobb Salad
Lettuce of your choice (I like green leaf, red leaf, or romaine)
Boiled eggs, cut in quarters
Tomatoes (I like to use as many different colors as I can find)
Crumbled Gorgonzola, or any other cheese you like
Avocado slices
Bacon

Teriyaki Chicken
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup white wine
1 T. pickled ginger (or fresh, whatever you have)
2 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled, and roughly chopped
1 t. Dijon mustard
1 lime, juiced

Mix all the ingredients and pour over flattened boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Marinade for a few hours.

Take chicken out of marinade and coat with Panko bread crumbs.  Brown both sides in olive oil and then put on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 12-15 minutes, depending on thickness of chicken.  Let rest for about 10 minutes and then slice for the salad.

To arrange the salad, chop the lettuce a little and put on a plate.  Arrange the ingredients in rows over the lettuce.  Top with the cheese.  Serve with dressing, or not (it really doesn't need dressing).

Note:  If you're going to grill the chicken, be sure and add about 1/4 cup oil to the marinade.  Keeps the chicken from sticking.  And, leave off the Panko!

Balsamic Cream Chicken Family Style

We were in Gulf Breeze recently and I made my Balsamic Cream Chicken (recipe from June 8 below) for the family.  Since I usually make this for just me and Stuart, I had to increase the recipe.  Colleen took a great picture for me of the end result.  I served it family style, with a pound of whole wheat capellini on the bottom.  I also roasted the tomatoes which was really good, even though Megan thought they were wierd!  Also, since I had so many chicken breasts, I just sauteed them on both sides and then put them in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes.  They turned out nice and juicy.

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, flattened to even thickness and cut in half
2 large shallots, minced (about 1/2 cup)
Flour
4 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup cream
Balsamic glaze to taste
2-3 T. butter
Salt and pepper
2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 lb. whole wheat capellini or angel hair pasta


Coat chicken with flour that has been seasoned with salt and pepper.  Shake off excess.  Saute breasts in olive oil until lightly browned and cooked through (or brown them and finish them in the oven). 

Remove breasts, add butter and cook shallots over medium heat for about 2 minutes.  Sprinkle with about 1/4 cup of flour and whisk to a paste, cooking for about 1 minute.  Add chicken stock and stir until it thickens.  Add enough of the balsamic glaze until it tastes great.  I'm not sure how much I used, probably about 8-10 turns in the pan, if that makes sense.  The sauce will thicken but won't be as thick as gravy.  Remember that the pasta will soak a lot of it up.

Add the cream and return the breasts to the sauce.  Serve over the pasta.  Make sure your sauce is ready before the pasta is done so you can add the sauce immediately to the pasta.

Top with the tomatoes and about 3-4 T. tarragon.  You can use parsley if you're like Colleen and don't like tarragon.  Crazy children!

If you don't roast the tomatoes, be sure and still heat them up before putting over the chicken.  To roast them, put the tomatoes in a bowl and coat with olive oil.  Add salt and pepper.  Put the tomatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet and make sure each tomato is cut side up.  Roast at 225 degrees for about 2 hours.  You can also speed the process up by roasting them at 400 for about 20 minutes.  I did this the other day and I think I might prefer the hotter method.  Not to mention I don't want the oven on for that long when it's so hot outside!

Asian Grilled Salmon

I'm not a huge fan of salmon unless it's the wild caught salmon from Alaska.  I buy it at Costco so I always have it in the fridge.  This time I made a glaze and then grilled it.  My grill is on its last leg and is definitely not giving me good grill marks.  Oh well, the salmon was great and that's what matters.  I served it with Sesame Pasta Salad.

2 fillets salmon (I used wild caught Sockeye)
1 T. Dijon mustard
2 T. soy sauce (low sodium)
1 T. honey
3 T. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 t. ginger, minced (or 1/2 t. dried ginger)

Whisk the mustard and remaining ingredients until thick.  Pat the salmon dry with a paper towel.  Rub a little oil on the skin side of the fillets and put on a plate, skin side down.  Spoon some of the marinade on top of the salmon fillets (just the skinless side).  Allow to marinate at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes.

Grill the salmon on fairly high heat.  Start with the skin side down and grill about 4-5 minutes.  Carefully turn over and continue cooking about 4 minutes.  Remove from grill and let sit about 10 minutes before serving. 

You can spoon a little more of the remaining marinade on top if you want.  I didn't and just refrigerated it to use later.  The recipe for the marinade would probably be perfect for four pieces of salmon.

The cooking time really depends on the thickness of your salmon and your grill.  It should still be pink on the inside when you remove it from the grill.  It will keep cooking when you let it sit.

Sesame Pasta Salad

I know that tomatoes aren't usually found in an Asian style salad but I love the taste and color of them so I used them.  I really liked this salad cause it's different and has great sesame flavor.

9 oz. pasta (I used a package of fresh angel hair)
3 T. soy sauce (reduced sodium is best)
2 T. peanut or other oil
3 T. sesame oil (the dark toasted type)
1 T. rice vinegar
1 T. honey
2 T. toasted sesame seeds*
1 T. ginger, finely minced
Sliced red or yellow peppers, green onions, etc. (whatever you have and like)

Whisk together the soy sauce and remaining 6 ingredients.  Boil the pasta according to package instructions.  Drain pasta and transfer to a bowl.  Toss with the sauce.  Add sliced red and yellow peppers, cherry tomatoes cut in half, and a handful of sliced green onion.  Season with salt, if necessary.  Serve hot or cold.

You can use any combination of vegetables you like!

*You can buy sesame seeds already toasted or just heat them in a non-stick skillet until they just start to get fragrant and turn a light brown.  Never, ever turn your back on any seed or nut you are toasting cause the minute you do, they burn.  Just a fact.

Spinach Fontina Bruschetta

Our friend, Rob, came over for snacks and I made my Artichoke Pasta.  Instead of the usual garlic bread I made this and it was awesome.  Great way to get your spinach too.  You can use any type of bread but I used ciabatta cause it's so crunchy and so perfect for bruschetta.  Click on the picture to see these up close.

1 loaf ciabatta, sliced
Olive oil for drizzling
1 peeled garlic clove, cut in half lengthwise

Topping:
12 oz. baby spinach, chopped (use the already washed spinach)
3 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
3 T. olive oil
Salt
About 1/2-3/4 cup grated fontina (or cheese of your choice)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place the bread slices on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and bake until slightly toasted, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet or pot, add the spinach, garlic, and red pepper flakes.  Cook for about 3 minutes until wilted.  Season with salt.  Transfer spinach to a collander to drain excess moisture.

When the bread comes out of the oven, let cool for a minute or two.  Take the garlic you sliced in half and rub the cut side on the bread.  This really gives the bread great garlic flavor.  Divide the spinach mixture on top of each piece of bread and finish with grated fontina.

Put back in the oven and bake until the cheese melts and begins to brown, about 5-8 minutes.

Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Slaw

I love shrimp tacos and I usually just use frozen shrimp since fresh shrimp in Austin can be pretty pricey.  I make a nice slaw (I either use the Mango Jicama Slaw below or my Apple Slaw, or I cheat and use Chinese Chicken salad dressing with a slaw mix), heat some corn tortillas, throw shrimp on the grill, and end it all with a squeeze of lime.  It's also really good with some avocado slices.

For the shrimp, I put peeled and deveined shrimp in a bowl, add some canola oil, and then any kind of spice.  For this recipe I bought BBQ spice.  I often use cumin and coriander, or really any blend of spices you like.  It's important to have the oil though so they don't burn.  Here are the shrimp skewered and ready to go on the grill.

Once skewered, I put the shrimp on a hot grill for about one minute per side.  It doesn't take long!  You could also cook them in a skillet.  Here are the shrimp after grilling:

Then I heat the tortillas in a dry non-stick skillet on medium heat.  Keep twirling them around in the pan, about 30 seconds on one side and about 15 seconds on the other side.  Wrap in a clean towel until you're ready to use them.  Serve with slaw, avocado, and fresh lime.  Great tacos!

Mango Jicama Slaw

Yes, it's mango again!  Kurtis was making this slaw at work and dressing it with a bottled Smokey Cumin Lime Vinaigrette that we sell.  I prefer not to buy too much bottled stuff so I decided to make the vinaigrette myself.  It turned out really well, if I say so myself.  I used jicama in the salad, which is a sweet root vegetable.  It really just adds great crunch to the slaw.  If you can't find it I would just add some apple.

2 ripe mangoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced or finely chopped
3 cups cabbage, shredded (I usually buy the prepared slaw mix)
1 cup peeled and chopped jicama
1/2 cup pecans, chopped and toasted*
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Cumin Lime Vinaigrette (mine wasn't smokey)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and add vinaigrette as needed to moisten.  Remember that cabbage tends to "sweat" so it will get more moist as it stands.

Cumin Lime Vinaigrette:

2 T. fresh lime juice
3 T. rice vinegar
1/2 t. cumin
Salt to taste
1/2 cup oil (canola, olive, whatever you have)

Combine all ingredients except oil.  Whisk the oil slowly into the ingredients until well combined.

*Toasting nuts, seeds, spices, etc. is really easy.  Just heat a non-stick skillet on medium heat, add the nuts and shake back and forth.  When you start to smell the nuts they are done.  Never ever walk away from them as they will burn the minute you do (experience talking!).

Pulled Chicken Sammies with Apple Slaw

Mangoes have been plentiful lately and really inexpensive so I've been using them a lot.  I made my Mango Chipotle Sauce and decided to put it on bone-in chicken breasts and bake them.  It turned out great and I decided to make pulled chicken sandwiches by adding more mango sauce instead of BBQ sauce.  Totally yummy!  I also made Apple Slaw to add crunch to the sandwiches.  Serve it on toasted buns!

After making the sauce http://henshammock.blogspot.com/2011/02/mango-chipotle-sauce.html I drizzled the breasts with olive oil, sprinkled with some salt and pepper, and then coated with some of the sauce.  I baked it for about 40-45 minutes at 400 degrees.  If you have time, you can let the breasts marinade for a few hours in the fridge.

I let the chicken cool and then shredded it.  Added a little more Mango Chipotle Sauce and ended up with this:

Time to make the Apple Slaw:

3 cups thinly sliced cabbage (I buy Fresh Express pre-packaged angel hair cole slaw)

1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced (about ½ cup)

1 granny smith apple, julienned (match stick cut), about 1-1/2 cups

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 teaspoon or more chopped pickled jalapeno

1/4 cup golden raisins, chopped

1/4 cup toasted* slivered almonds, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint + more for garnish

1 tablespoon honey

Salt and pepper

Put the cabbage in a large bowl.  Add apple and squeeze the lemon over the apple matchsticks.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.  It won’t look like enough mayo but keep mixing as the cabbage with release some moisture.  Garnish with a little more chopped mint.

Refrigerate and serve cold.

*Toast the nuts in a dry (no oil) non-stick skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan back and forth.  Do not walk away!  Nuts will turn golden brown quickly.

Crispy Baked Chicken

Marinating this chicken for 4 or 5 hours really makes it turn out moist.  You have to cook it on a rack so it gets crispy.  A cooling rack that fits over a baking sheet is perfect.  Don't forget to line your pan with foil for easy cleanup.

I only cooked two bone-in, skin-off chicken breasts so increase the amount of crumbs if you're cooking more chicken pieces.  This would be good with thighs and legs too, or just a whole cut-up chicken.

For the marinade:
2 cups buttermilk or kefir (that's what I use)
Juice of one lemon
1/2 T. hot sauce, like Tabasco
1/2 onion, sliced and cut into 1-2" pieces
5-6 sprigs fresh thyme or whatever fresh herb you have, like rosemary or tarragon
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
Salt and pepper

Pick out a baking dish where the chicken pieces will fit without any extra room.  Mix the ingredients in the dish and then add what chicken pieces you are using.  Coat the chicken completely with the marinade.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4-6 hours, turning once.

For the coating:
1 cup cornflakes, crushed
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan
1-2 t. fresh chopped thyme, or 3 t. Herbs de Provence

Mix everything together.  I used my food processor but made sure not to completely pulverize the cornflakes.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and allow any excess to drip off.  Press both sides of the breasts into the coating.  Coat the rack with cooking spray and place it on the foil-lined baking sheet.  Put the chicken on the coated rack and then spray the top of the breasts with the cooking spray as well.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 40-45 minutes, or until a thermometer registers around 160 degrees. 

I served this with fresh beans and roasted carrots.  I just put olive oil, salt and pepper on the carrots and baked them until tender, about 15 minutes.

Crab Cakes

This is my first attempt at making crab cakes and it turned out great!  I've never been a big fan of crab cakes because I've always thought that they don't taste crabby enough.  Usually it's too much mayonnaise and bread crumbs.  It makes sense since crab is pretty pricey, but if I'm going to splurge on crab, I'm going to taste crab. 

The sauce was my attempt at food art...I think I need to go back to school!  The sauce was a piquillo pepper sauce and while I liked it, I prefer remoulade or tartar with my crab cakes, or nothing.  Here's the recipe for the cakes:

1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over to remove any shell fragments
1 egg white, beaten until foamy
1 T. flour
2 T. finely chopped fresh chives
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
2 T. unsalted butter
3 T. peanut or other cooking oil
Lemon wedges
Put the cleaned crabmeat in a medium-sized bowl.  Slowly pour the egg white over the crabmeat, stopping to gently mix it together.  Let the crab and egg white sit for a few minutes.  Then, using a fine sieve, sprinkle the flour over the crabmeat.  Sprinkle with chives, cayenne, salt and pepper (about 1 t. salt/1 t. pepper).  Gently mix together.

Line a baking pan or dish with parchment paper.  Form six balls out of the crabmeat mixture, making sure not to overmix.  Place on parchment paper and gently press down to form the cake shape.  Sprinkle with salt.  Refrigerate at least one hour.

Heat oil and butter in a large heavy skillet over medium high heat.  If you don't have a large skillet, cook the cakes in two separate batches.  Cook the cakes for about 2 minutes on each side until nicely browned.  Drain the cakes on a paper towel-lined pan.

Serve with lemon wedges and your choice of sauce.

The recipe I followed was from Pat Conroy, the author of Prince of Tides and other great books.  I figured a Carolina boy would know how to make good crab cakes.