Dateline: September 30, 2020 Shrimp, Scallop, Sausage GUMBO

I had some shrimp and scallops coming from FD, and was going to do a seared thing, but found the okra in the freezer and bingo, GUMBO!

I used NYT recipe by David Tanis with a twist supplied by a review.  Made a dark roux to start.  There is something meditative about making and watching a roux come to color.  Starts out pale yellow ochre-ish and ends up a deep caramel color.  Once it hits the caramel stage, be very attentive, it can go to black in a nano-second.  

I used 1 lb of shrimp and 1/2 lb dry scallops.  Used chicken stock instead of shrimp stock as the shrimp were already peeled and deveined and frozen okra.  Added a glug of white wine as well.

On the left, mid way.  On the right, finished roux.  Probably took 20 minutes or so to get there, chop veggies during the early stage and stir occasionally, as it darkens, it needs your full attention.

Trinity plus garlic on right, and veggies softening in the roux on left.

Reducing and thickening before seafood and okra on left, on right, everybody into the pool

Dateline: September 10, 2020 Shrimp and Scallop Kebabs, Kinda

FreshDirect delivered lovely shrimp and scallops that I wanted to grill.  The weather, was not on the same page as I was.  So out came the cast iron grill pan, which I used on the griddle side, and I set about skewering all of the items.  Green peppers, red onions, scallions, shrimp, scallops with lovely cherry tomato tops.  I just didn't think it through thoroughly.  I threaded everything onto 2 skewers to keep the twirling down, and failed to take into account that the skewers would not lie flat on the griddle because things were different depths.  Sigh.  Halfway through the grilling, I took everything off of the skewer and just seared them on the griddle pan.  The shrimp and scallops got a lovely sear and the veggies did eventually as well.

Let me back up, I marinaded the kebabs in a lovely sauce gotten from NYT Cooking  by David Tanis.  The sauce was excellent, and that is the crux of the dish.

As usual, I took liberties with the recipe, I added into the basil and parsley some chives and scallion tops.  I think it was the scallion tops that made the sauce a little bit bitter.  I didn't taste it before so if I had, I would have added a couple of drops of agave syrup.  

After the shrimp and scallops were finished cooking, I loaded up the griddle with some asparagus.  I grilled them until they were a little charry on the outside and a bit wobbly.  

Ingredients for the sauce, basil, parsley, garlic, chives, and scallion tops.  Veggies for kebabs

Grilled up shrimp, scallops, and veggies removed from sticks.  Grilling asparagus.

  

Finished sauce, which is FABULOUS on EVERYTHING.  Crunchy salad.

Dateline: July 1, 2020 Pasta with Clams

I have been recycling recipes lately, that is why there has not been a new post in over a week.  There is only so many times you can look at, read, etc the same basic recipe.  So I choose to not bore you!

Tonight, I decided I wanted seafood, and I wanted pasta.  Perfect, pasta with clams.  I did a mash up of Nigella Lawson and Mark Bittman's recipes.  I put my own twist on it by adding some clam juice that I had in the freezer as well as vermouth and white wine.

Pasta with Clams

2 lbs fresh cockles or small clams

2 cloves of garlic, thinly slivered

1/2 t red chili flakes

1 T chopped garlic scapes

1/2 box whole grain thin spaghetti

2/3 c Noilly Prat dry vermouth

1.5 c clam juice

1 c dry white wine

olive oil

1 c fresh English Peas

1 T chopped parsley stems

2 T chopped parsley

Method

1.  Choose a pan with a tight fitting lid that can also hold the pasta lying down in it.  You will be cooking the pasta in the pan with the steaming liquid from the clams.

2.  Scrub clams and discard any that will not shut when tapped.  Hold the clams to the side until pan is ready.

3.  Film the bottom of the pan with a generous amount of olive oil to taste.  Add chili flakes, garlic slivers, garlic scapes and parsley stems.  When garlic is fragrant, but not brown, add clam juice, Noilly Prat, and bring to a boil.  

4.  Add clams  in a single layer and cover pan tightly.  Set timer for 2 minutes.  After 2 minutes the clams should all have opened.  Remove clams to a bowl and hold to the side.  Any clams that do not open, after another minute of cooking, discard.

after the clam steam bath

                                                    

5.  Remove clams from shells and reserve with any juices that have accumulated in the bowl.

6.  Into the pan that held the clams, add the white wine and bring to a boil.  Add the pasta and swish it around in the pan to get it all under the juices.  Cover the pan and set timer for 2 minutes.  Peek into the pan and add more wine if pasta is sticking to the bottom of the pan.

7.  Stir the pasta around and scrape up any of it that has stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Add back in the clams and also the peas.  Stir well and get any pasta unclumped that may be sticking together.  Cook for another minute to 90 seconds.

Add water or more wine, if necessary.  Add the parsley and mix well.  The pasta will give off quite a bit of starch which will thicken up the sauce nicely.  You should not need any salt or pepper in the dish, but this is where you would add it if you needed to.

8.  Serve immediately.

Dateline: Jume 18, 2020 Shrimp and Soft Shelled Crabs in a Chinese manner

I have a problem when I order from FreshDirect hungry, I order too much for any single meal.  I had in the order that arrived today, 1 lb of large shrimp and 4 soft shelled crabs.  What was I thinking?

So I had to really dig deep and figure out is there a way I can combine the two into a single dish?  The answer is, of course you can.  The remaining question will be does it taste good?  That will need to be decided.

I am going to stir fry this and top rice stick noodles with it.  Seems simple enough, but the issue is how to cook the crabs crispy without the shrimp getting over cooked.  The solution is to do them separately, and then combine them together with the savory, salty, umami rich sauce.

Ingredients

1 lb large (10-15) shrimp in shell

4 soft shelled crabs, cleaned

1/2 c cornstarch

salt and white pepper

4 garlic scapes, sliced thinly

1 large, or 2 smaller scallion, sliced thinly

1 shallot, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch ginger, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1 T rinsed, soaked, and drained fermented black beans

1 T shaoxing wine or sherry

1 t dark soy sauce

handful of green beans, cut into 1/2 in rounds

1/2 c shelled fresh peas

1/2 lb asparagus sliced into 1/2 in rounds, tips reserved

1 to 1.5 cups chicken stock

2 heaping tablespoons of Lao Gan Ma chili crisp

neutral oil for stir frying, divided

2 large handfuls of rice stick noodles

Method

1.  Rinse all seafood and dry thoroughly.

2.  Mix together cornstarch, salt and white pepper.

3.  Dredge crabs in cornstarch and shake off excess, hold to the side.

4.  Heat oil in large saute pan or wok.  Fry the crabs until crispy on both sides, adding more oil as necessary.  Remove to a plate lined with paper towels.  Clean out the pan to remove any burnt cornstarch.

5.  Heat new oil in the same pan.

6.  Add ginger and stir about for a bit until fragrant, then add garlic, scallions, jalapeno, shallot and garlic scapes.  Fry until softened.  Add black beans.  Add shaoxing and dark soy. 

7.  Add shrimp and fry without turning for 2 - 3 minutes, then add green beans and asparagus (but not peas or tips).  Turn shrimp over to the second side.  

8.  Add in chicken stock, and bring to a simmer.  Taste.  Add light soy if not salty enough, only a little bit to taste.  Add asparagus tips.

9.  Soak noodles in hot water for 5 minutes.  Then drain well and using a scissor, cut noodles in half or into smaller pieces depending on their size.  

10.  Add noodles to the pan along with the peas.  Taste again.  Mix thorough so that the noodles soak up the sauce and add in the Lao Gan Ma and mix again.

11.  Add crabs on top and serve immediately.

Aromatics and veggies

Dredged crabs

       

Frying crab

Cleaned pan

Frying aromatics

Frying first side of the shrimp

Flipped and stock added

Noodles, peas and chili crisp added in

Stir around to mix everything together

Place crabs on top and serve

Verdict:  

For a made up recipe, this turned out really well.  The star of the show were the crabs.  Sweet and succulent with a nice crunch.  Fabulous.  The chili crisp went very well with the crabs too!

I was lazy and didn't shell the shrimp.  The shells never got crispy enough to get that lovely crunch, so they needed to be peeled at the table.  All in all, this was a success!  the greens added color interest  and the chili crisp added a spicy dimension that I always crave.

Dateline: May 22, 2020 A shrimp walks into a bar and asks the snapper....

Cleaned and dusted with Flour and Cornmeal

First batch frying up

for the snapper, Chettinad Fish Fry

There was an error in the Shrimp recipe that I will tell you about.  After frying the garlic,  draining it, you add the white pepper, black pepper, lime zest, AND SALT.  Proceed as written after that.

Here is the fried garlic, peppers, salt, and lime zest

second batch frying along with celery, garlic and scallions

cilantro, scallions, and celery

Finished product

The tasting came while we were on a zoom phone call with two friends, (Hi Lizzie and Ben).  The flavor was very much spot on, the shrimp were crispy, but not shatteringly so.  I think this was because I was making the snapper and the shrimp had to hang out in the oven for about 20 minutes.

It turned out that the shrimp was plenty for dinner, we each had 6.  Neither of us reaching for the fish, rice or green beans!

I am never quite sure if FreshDirect will provide all the things that I have ordered.  Many times, I get a notice that something was not available.  Last week it was a whole red snapper.  So to cover my bases, I ordered a pound of shrimp in case the snapper went by the wayside.  

Both arrived this morning.  Now I had 2 items that needed to be cooked ASAP.

My friend Jennifer, when I asked her if she had any requests, suggested shrimp or fish.  This was the genesis for the whole fish and shrimp in the order.

For the shrimp I chose to make Typhoon Shelter Shrimp and   

The fish was a bit more complicated.  First you had to create the masala paste, then score the fish and rub with a little bit of salt

The masala paste

Scored and smeared fish

After scoring the fish, smear the paste into all the slits and all over the skin of the fish.  Don't forget getting it into the cavity.  

Starting the fry

the flip 

Finished Product

I can't comment on the fish as we didn't even nibble on it!  I tasted the masala paste at the outset, and discovered that it was on the bitter side.  I added about 2 t agave syrup and 1/2 T of salt.  It tasted much better, still spicy, but more rounded and integrated.  These additions are for 4 times the amount of masala in the attached recipe.

Dateline: May 8, 2020 What to do with Fish Cubes?

I had ordered fish cubes, shrimp, and scallops from Fresh Direct.  Not really having an idea of how I was going to use them!  The assortment was salmon, tuna, and some kind of flaky white fish, probably snapper.  All nice looking pieces, nothing gnarly looking, all skinless.

I was craving good Indian food, sadly, take-out from the few Indian restaurants around here that are doing take-out, leaves me feeling unsatisfied and a bit duped.  Out came the Indian cookbooks, and the NYT Cooking app, and I was ready to research.

I settled on Meen Gassi.  It was worth the pounding and grinding in the mortar and pestle to get the ingredients into a smooth paste.  Once I got the hang of how to do it, it became easier to grind the chilis and seeds against the wall, rather than pounding at the bottom.

midway thru grinding process

with tamarind added

Scarily enough, I actually followed this recipe, the only substitution I made was chicken stock instead of water (as I had lots and lots of stock made).

Here are the fish cubes, sprinkled with tumeric and salt

Onion, garlic, jalapeno, and ginger sautee-ing

paste added along with chicken stoc

fish into the pool

         

finished product

To go with this, I was craving beans, much to Bill's annoyance, but I also had ordered some fresh spinach so I decided on chana saag.  

I cooked up 1 cup of green chickpeas instead of using the cans.  Green chickpeas are young beans.  They are a deep green color and take a long time to get soft.  Thank goodness for the instant pot.  I cooked on high pressure for 30 minutes.  Tested a bean, still had a starchy core and was not very tender.  Did another 20 minutes and the tester was still a tiny bit starchy, but was tender.  I drained and held aside while I made the spinach sauce.  

After the cooking time in the instant pot for the sauce, I got out the stick blender and blended everything into a dark green semi-soupy mess.  Threw in the chickpeas and tasted.  It needed a bit of salt and as I was really hungry and couldn't spend the time searching for the amchur powder, I threw in the juice of 1/2 a lemon.  All was right with the world.  

Finished sauce

chick peas in and some garnish!

We ate the meal with some naan.  I was so happy!

Note:  the fish was quite spicy and the chana saag quite bland in comparison.  I didn't want two things that might blow your head off on the spice scale.  So I was happy with the spice level in both.  The sauce for the fish was dynamite.  It would be great on any protein!  I think next time I would like it to be thicker so that I coated each piece of fish nicely.  But, it's a keeper!

Dateline: April 28, 2020 Indian food again! YEAH!

I do love Indian food, there are very few dishes that I don't like or wouldn't eat a second or third time.  Tonight's menu is Rasedar Jinga, or shrimp in dark sauce, from Madhur Jaffery's Indian Cooking.

I really like this recipe because it is tasty, first and foremost, but it is also easy and relatively quick to make.

To go with it, I am making jeera aloo, cauliflower with cabbage, and a relish/salad, with beets, yogurt and spices.  I had some frozen naan so that will stand in for some rice.

spices and ginger garlic paste browning

tomatoes and tumeric now in

finished with shrimp and cilantro

We had a zoom happy hour with some friends prior to dinner and in order to not over cook the shrimp, I let the sauce come to a boil, then added the shrimp and turned off the heat during the call. Worked great.  I just brought the pot up to a simmer before bringing to the table.

Little potatoes were steamed in the instant pot then spiced up in a cleaned inner pot and lightly fried.

finished taters

cauliflower cooking down

I cut the cauliflower up into tiny florets, sliced the cabbage into ribbons, and cut a jalapeno up into thin strips.  Into the pot went some ghee and cumin and mustard seeds and a pinch of asafetida.  When the seeds started popping, in when the veggies.  Stir around and then I added a cube of chicken stock and let them mingle until cooked

beets, ready to eat

The 2 beets were steamed in the instant pot as well and then after 25 min or so, the skins will slip right off when cool.  I cut into little cubes, added 1/4 c plain yogurt and a tsp of salt.  In a sauce pan, I heated up some ghee and added mustard seeds, cumin seeds and some asafetida and then poured it over beets. Mix and serve.

Note:  I think without the happy hour interruption, the sauce would have been thicker, but in the future, I would hold the shrimp for the duration of the hiatus while the sauce was left uncovered on simmer.  I'd add the shrimp and cook for an additional 5 minutes until cooked through.  I would have a clinging sauce and perfectly cooked shrimp