Here’s an original and delightful recipe for Deep Fried Squash Blossoms With Minced Shrimp from Wandering Chopsticks.
Ingredients:
As many squash blossoms as you want to eat
About 2 shrimp per squash blossom
A clove of garlic or two
A dash of fish sauce
A dash of salt
A dash of sugar
How to Make Deep Fried Squash Blossoms With Minced Shrimp
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Here’s a wonderful, delicious recipe for Chipotle Lime Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp from Simply Recipes.
Ingredients:
12 large, raw, peeled and deveined shrimp
2 Tbsp olive oil
Zest from 1 lime
Juice from one lime (about 2 Tbsp)
1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder (or more to taste)
6 strips thin bacon, cut in half (12 pieces)
Skewers (for grilling) or toothpicks (for oven)
How to Make Chipotle Lime Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp
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Green cabbage is the plain-jane librarian of the produce aisle. Nobody gives her a second glance - until she takes off her glasses and lets down her hair, then…wow! Suddenly, she’s hot! Try this dish and you’ll start looking at cabbage very differently…
The flavors of the savory pork & shrimp filling in these treats is echoed in the rice because you use the cooking stock to make the Zesty Lemon Rice. And the buttery, lobster-flavored shrimp sauce on top of it all is so good it should be classified as a controlled substance!
For the best results, buy the best quality lobster base you can find, one that contains lobster, butter, sea salt, and little else.
Here’s a photo of the Pork and Shrimp Cabbage Rolls With Butter Poached Shrimp below.
Ingredients:
For the Rolls:
1 head green cabbage
1 lb lean ground pork
1 lb uncooked shrimp, peeled and coarsely chopped (divided in half)
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 tsp seafood seasoning (such as Old Bay)
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 finely minced scallion
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 ½ cups water
1 ½ Tbsp lobster base
For the Shrimp Sauce:
4 Tbsp butter
1 tsp lobster base
For the Rice:
1 1/2 cups medium grain rice
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest
2 Tbsp finely minced parsley
PREPARATION:
Separate the cabbage into leaves (you’ll need about 15 or so; don’t worry if they tear) and steam them for about 10 minutes in a deep, lidded pot with just enough water to cover the bottom. You want them to be soft enough to bend easily.
While the cabbage is steaming, mix together the pork, half of the chopped shrimp, and the next 9 ingredients (from the beaten egg through the bread crumbs) and cook a small piece of the filling to test for salt & seasoning. Adjust if necessary.
Take about 1/3 of a cabbage leaf (approximately palm-sized) and roll up a generous tablespoon of filling (don’t worry sealing up the sides, etc.; think open-ended cigars rather than packets. You want the flavors to mingle in the pot.)
Layer the rolls in the pot. Combine the water and the lobster base, and pour over the rolls. Bring just to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 - 20 minutes. Remove the rolls (reserving the cooking stock) and keep warm.
Strain the cooking stock and add enough additional water to equal 3 cups. Add the rice, lemon juice, lemon zest, and parsley, and bring just to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.
Just before the rice is done, melt the butter and the lobster base in a small saucepan; gently poach the remaining chopped shrimp until just cooked. To serve, top the rice with the cabbage rolls, and spoon over some of the buttery shrimp.
Serves 4 (or two if you’re hungry/greedy like us!)
Enjoy!
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With the recent news that restaurant chains Bennigans and Steak and Ale are declaring bankruptcy, a possible silver lining is starting to emerge from the dark clouds of the American casual dining scene; the rise of the local restaurant.
One surprising indicator of this potential trend is that local neighborhood restaurants overshadowed their often flashier, more famous counterparts at this year’s James Beard Awards.
Of course, Steak and Ale and Bennigans aren’t the only restaurant chains feeling the economic pinch.
The Cheesecake Factory recently posted disappointing quarterly earnings. Old Country Buffet, Baker’s Square, and Village Inn are other chain casualties of the downturn.
One of the main reasons cited for the Bennigans bankruptcy was that many customers perceived the chain as being generic with outdated menu offerings.
Bill Marvin, author of Restaurant Basics which looks at restaurants from the diners’ point of view described the chain as being, “…just one more place to eat.” according to this Newsweek article.
As Marvin says, “The thing that’s been missing in the hospitality business is hospitality.” His prescriptive for restaurants in this economy is to “provide a heartfelt experience…it’s about being a real honest place for hospitality, where people really care and you feel well served.”
Luckily, with an emphasis on personal service and their non-cookie cutter menu items, many good local restaurants are uniquely poised to take advantage of this post-Bennigans opportunity.
Often, smaller restaurants are much more open to using fresh, local ingredients that showcase regionally inspired flavors than their big chain counterparts. As a result, they are more likely to attract the kind of skilled chefs who have the talent to make the most of the advantages that come with being small but flexible.
Also, since they’re usually owned and managed by people from the areas they serve, local restaurants can more accurately gauge and predict their diners’ evolving tastes.
Local restaurants also increase the demand for area jobs and services that keep revenue circulating within the communities they serve, unlike revenues from many national restaurant chains, where much of the money often ends up going out of state to their distant corporate headquarters and bulk suppliers.
Best of all, every time diners eat such regional dishes as Charleston, SC’s shrimp and grits, Pennsylvania Dutch shoofly pie, and New Orleans crawfish etouffee they are in effect both celebrating and casting a vote for the vibrancy of regional American cuisine and the local restaurants that serve it.
This is a truly beautiful and tasty appetizer. If you’ve ever had Shrimp Saganaki in a Greek restaurant you’ll know what I mean. Here’s a recipe for Shrimp Saganaki from the folks at Kalofagas: Greek Food and Beyond.
Ingredients:
6 large whole shrimp
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 small red onion, sliced
1/4 green bell pepper, sliced
1/4 yellow bell pepper, sliced
Diced hot banana pepper (amount depends on how spicy you like your dish)
1 medium ripe tomato, diced
1/2 cup button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup Greek feta, coarsely crumbled
1 tsp. dried Greek oregano
Splash of Ouzo
Grated Mozzarella (or other white cheese)
Salt to taste
How to Make Shrimp Saganaki
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Here’s a simple but delightful recipe for Shrimp Deviled Eggs from Mark Bittman’s NY Times Food Blog, Bitten.
Ingredients:
1/4 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 eggs
2 or 3 tablespoons chopped good olives
1 tablespoon minced onion
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves, more for garnish
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
How to Make Shrimp Deviled Eggs
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Warning: The warm, rich, multi-layered flavors of these visually appealing appetizers will tempt you very strongly to eat all 24 of them by yourself in the kitchen and tell your guests that you, uh…dropped the whole tray on the floor! Yeah, that’s it! They’ll believe that! Just make sure you’re not still chewing when you give them the bad news.
Here’s a photo of the Shrimp & Blue Cheese Blossoms with Vidalia Cranberry Marmalade below.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp butter
3 cups diced Vidalia onions
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 tsp anise seed
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp white pepper
Pinch of salt
4 oz cream cheese, softened
Cooking oil spray
2 oz blue cheese (I use Maytag Blue)
24 wonton wrappers (or 6 egg roll wrappers cut into quarters)
24 medium (41-50 count) cooked shrimp
Minced fresh chives (optional)
PREPARATION:
Melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Add the onions and the cranberries and cook, stirring regularly, until the onions have softened and colored (about 20 minutes.) Stir in the anise seed, brown sugar, lemon juice, water, pepper, and salt. Cook for 10-15 minutes more, stirring regularly.
While the onions are cooking, crumble the blue cheese in a medium bowl. Add the cream cheese and mix thoroughly.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray mini muffin pans with cooking spray. Press a wonton wrapper into each cup, folding the corners out like petals. Put about half a teaspoon of cheese mixture into each, add about 1 teaspoon of onion marmalade, and top with a shrimp.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. Sprinkle with minced fresh chives, if desired.
Makes 24 appetizers.
Enjoy!
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Quick, easy, simple, nutritious, and won’t heat up your kitchen…here’s a recipe for Shrimp Stuffed Avocados from the folks at About.Com: Home Cooking.
Ingredients:
3 avocados
1/2 green onion
2 tsp. mayonnaise
1 lemon
1/4 lb. cooked bay shrimp
salt and pepper
This recipe also has a helpful video to go with its text which you can see below (or here):
How to Make Shrimp Stuffed Avocados
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Enjoy the Holiday!
Join us tomorrow to enjoy an interesting series of historical 4th of July photos taken across the United States, courtesy of the Library of Congress.
The moment I saw this recipe I knew I had to share it with you because of its perfect combination of elegance and simplicity. Here’s a recipe for King Prawn Pancetta Fried Rice from the folks at The Sugar Bar.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup long grain white rice/basmati rice
1/2 cup water, for cooking the rice
1/3 cup lettuce, sliced
1/3 cup king prawns, shelled and deveined
2 slices smoked pancetta
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp fish sauce
sprinkling of dried oregano
pepper, for seasoning
mild tasting vegetable oil, for frying
How to Make King Prawn Pancetta Fried Rice
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The winners of the 2008 James Beard Awards have been announced. (You can see a full list of all the winners here.)
Because of the area’s bumper crop of great chefs, fine dining, and fresh ingredients, local congratulations go to Robert Stehling of Hominy Grill in Charleston, SC who has won in the Best Chef: Southeast category.
(You can see our list of all the JBA nominees here.)
Here’s eight of Stehling’s recipes in case you want to experience a taste of Lowcountry inspired goodness in your home kitchen:
If you’d like to learn more about Charleston’s Hominy Grill and see the chef in action, click here to watch a brief clip from the Food Network.
Ever wonder where top chefs like Anthony Bourdain, Thomas Keller, and Tom Colicchio like to go on vacation, area restaurants they can’t resist, what their guilty culinary pleasures are on the road, and more?
Then you’ll enjoy this series of interesting pieces from Fodors which features 14 top chefs including Alice Waters, Anthony Bourdain, Thomas Keller, Tom, Colicchio, Ming Tsai, Suvir Saran, Lidia Bastianich, Govind Armstrong, Michelle Bernstein, Gavin Kaysen, Bobby Flay, and Suzanne Goin, sharing their favorite foodie meccas (excerpts below):
Anthony Bourdain on New York:
“What do we do in New York better than anyone else in the world?’ The answer to that question is deli…It’s the food that I miss when I’m away, no matter how well I’m eating. Even in places with fantastic food — Singapore, Hong Kong — the food that I miss first is deli.”
(You can read more from Anthony Bourdain on the subject here.)
Thomas Keller on the Napa Valley:
“When I think of lunch in Napa, I think of something quick that’s kind of comforting. And one of the places I like is Taylor’s Refresher. They have great hamburgers and fish tacos and you can sit outside in the beautiful weather because they have a big lawn right behind it. One of the things about Napa Valley, which is so unique, is that all of our restaurants are really good…People come to Napa Valley primarily to eat and drink, so we have great wine and great restaurants.”
(You can read more from Thomas Keller on the subject here.)
Tom Colicchio on Charleston, SC:
“What’s great about the South is that the idea of hospitality is second-nature. One of my favorites in Charleston is Hominy Grill. It is just the epitome of Southern casual dining. Breakfast, lunch, dinner — every single meal is just wonderful. Usually when I go to Charleston, I go right from the plane to Hominy Grill. I try to get there for breakfast — they do shrimp and grits and different egg dishes. Whatever they serve is usually seasonal, wonderful, delicious. Last time I was there I had shad roe and scrambled eggs for breakfast…
For me, going to South Carolina, it’s not so much about the beaches, it’s about the marshes. It’s just wonderful to get a kayak and go through the marshes. You see everything from redfish to alligators to dolphins. It’s amazing — the amount of birds and wildlife…
There are so many little fish shacks around Charleston. There’s a little place called Bowen’s Island, an oyster grill where you sit at a picnic table, and the guy comes by with a shovel full of oysters that come off the grill and just puts [them] on the table on top of newspaper and they’re kind of steamed open from the grill — and that’s it. You dip them in butter and that’s all they serve…”
(You can read more from Tom Colicchio on the subject here.)
Also, you can see photos of Bowen’s Island on our FlickR Photoset here as well as read the full series of top chef interviews here.
Looking for a a truly wonderful recipe that’s also fun for gatherings and parties? (Best of all, the whole family can help!) Try making this recipe for Steamed Seafood Dumplings from the folks at Cooking.Com.
Ingredients:
For the Dumplings:
1/2 pound center-cut cod fillet
1 large egg
1/4 pound medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/3 cup minced water chestnuts
2 scallions, white and green parts, finely minced
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
35 wonton wrappers (about 3 inches in diameter)
3 to 4 large Chinese cabbage or lettuce leaves
For the Sauce:
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon dry sherry
2 tablespoons minced fresh coriander leaves
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
How to Make Steamed Seafood Dumplings
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1. Chow.Com’s Wonderful Herb Primer Videos
How to select, cut, and use many popular herbs.
2. How to Peel and De-vein Shrimp Easily
3. How to Grow Your Own Bean Sprouts in Less Than a Week For Salads, Soups, and More!
From the British newspaper, The Independent:
“For decades it was merely a slightly exotic option for holidaymakers in Spain, Italy and Greece, but a growing number of cooks experimenting with recipes involving tentacles and black ink have turned squid into a fashionable dish in British kitchens.
Although still less popular than other seafood such as prawns, the amount of squid sold in the UK has risen by 49 per cent
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