Garlicky Shrimp Pasta

I'm sure some of you avid readers (haha) have noticed that I love pasta dishes. I know it's not the healthiest for all those low carb "lovers" out there, but I just can't resist a dish that makes a whole meal. I did serve this one with a salad, I believe. I'm so far behind on here that I'm just looking back at pics from a couple weeks ago, and reminded that I made this. The recipe is from Cooks Illustrated.

Serves 4. Published November 1, 2008. From Cook's Illustrated.

Marinate the shrimp while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Ingredients

5	medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 5 teaspoons), plus 4 medium cloves, smashed
1	pound large shrimp (21-25), peeled, deveined, each shrimp cut into 3 pieces
3	tablespoons olive oil
	Table salt
1	pound pasta in short, tubular shapes, such as fusilli, campanelle, or mezze rigatoni
1/4-1/2	teaspoon red pepper flakes
2	teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2	cup dry vermouth or white wine
3/4	cup clam juice
1/2	cup chopped fresh parsley
3	tablespoons unsalted butter
1	teaspoon lemon juice plus 1 lemon, cut into wedges
	Ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Toss 2 teaspoons minced garlic, shrimp, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Let shrimp marinate at room temperature 20 minutes.

2. Heat 4 smashed garlic cloves and remaining 2 tablespoons oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until garlic is light golden brown, 4 to 7 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and use slotted spoon to remove garlic from skillet; discard garlic. Set skillet aside.

3. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta. Cook until just al dente, then drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water, and transfer pasta back to Dutch oven.

4. While pasta cooks, return skillet with oil to medium heat; add shrimp with marinade to skillet in single layer. Cook shrimp, undisturbed, until oil starts to bubble gently, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir shrimp and continue to cook until almost cooked through, about 1 minute longer. Using slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to medium bowl. Add remaining 3 teaspoons minced garlic and pepper flakes to skillet and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute; stir in vermouth and cook for 1 minute. Add clam juice and parsley; cook until mixture starts to thicken, 1 to 2 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter and lemon juice. Add shrimp and sauce to pasta, adding reserved cooking water if sauce is too thick. Season with black pepper. Serve, passing lemon wedges separately.

I didn't have any clam juice, so I substituted chicken broth, and it seemed to work well. I do think the sauce would have been more flavorful with clam juice. My husband and I really enjoyed this, and to my surprise, so did my 3 year old!

More meals/recipes to come....maybe later tonight!

Tom Yum Goong and EASY fried rice

My husband asked to "guest blog" on our dinner from last night. We had Tom Yum Goong and fried rice. He'll be blogging on his "spicy soup".

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Tom Yum Goong
Thai Hot and Sour Soup with Shrimp

Ingredients:

6 cups water
1-1/2 tbsp soup base
1 package baby bella mushrooms
2 shallots
2 stalks lemon grass *
2 pieces galangal (thai ginger) *
6 thai chillies
6 kaffir lime leaves *
2-3 limes
1 lb tail on shrimp
3-4 tbsp fish sauce (to taste) *
chili paste (individual bowls to taste) *
cilantro


*these ingredients can be found in any asian grocer, I don’t recommend substitutions because they are provide the distinctive flavor of Tom Yum

Directions
1. Bring water to a boil, dissolving the soup base into the hot water. I recommend better than bouillon (http://www.superiortouch.com/btb.htm), the lobster and chicken bases both work well.
2. While the water is heating, prepare the vegetables. Rough chop the mushrooms and shallots. Remove the outer layer of the lemon grass, then chop into 2 inch chunks and smash with a mallet or the flat side of your knife. Slice the galangal lengthwise. Score the chillies and remove some of the seeds to adjust for the desired spiciness (I remove about half the seeds). Tear the center vein from the Kaffir lime leaves. Juice the limes and set aside for later. The cilantro is mainly for a garnish, but you can chop some stems to add to the water as well.
3. Once the water has reached a boil, add the vegetables EXCEPT for the lime juice. Regain your boil, then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, so that the mushrooms have cooked. The soup will be VERY aromatic.
4. Now add the shrimp and remove from heat, they cook up very fast. Add the lime juice and fish sauce. The soup should be spicy from the chillies, sour from the limes, and a little salty from the fish sauce. Balance these three flavors by adding more of these basic components a little at a time only if you need to. When you are satisfied, ladle into bowls and garnish with a fresh sprig of cilantro. If you want more heat, add a tbsp of chili paste to your bowl, but usually I don’t.
5. Don’t eat the galangal, lemon grass, or lime leaves, the fibers are all too tough to digest. Do leave them in your bowl, though, they make the dish attractive and continue to add aromatic flavor. Enjoy!

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Now for the fried rice. This was actually one of the first things I ever cooked when I still lived with my parents (as a teenager). Back then, I used a mix for seasoning (the kind in the yellow packet). It was really good, but I think this way is just as good, and easy to make with what you have on hand. I make it a little different each time, but this is the basic recipe.

Easy Fried Rice


Ingredients:
1 cup white rice, steamed and cooled in the refrigerator (it is VERY important to cool it)
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 shallot, thinly sliced, or 1/4 cup onion, diced
2 eggs
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Melt butter over medium heat in a large frying pan or wok. Add onion/shallot and saute until soft.
2. Add rice, soy sauce and sesame seeds.
3. Continue cooking, over medium heat, stirring every 2 mins, for about 10 mins.
4. Push the rice to the side, and add 2 eggs. Scramble in pan (with rice pushed to the side of pan).
5. Mix all ingredients together in pan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

This recipe can be made with meat also. I have also added zucchini, which is very good.

In case anyone was wondering what my 3 year old eats on spicy food days:

Fusilli with Shrimp and Arugala

My sister in-law, Jen shared this recipe with me. It came from foodnetwork.com. I'm really excited to eat it!!!

Fusilli with Shrimp and Arugala

Ingredients:
Pasta:
1 pound fusilli past
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons white wine

Vinaigrette:
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salad
2 large oranges
5 ounces arugula
15 (5 ounces) large pitted green olives, halved

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic. Cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper, Add the shrimp and white wine to the pan. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.

For the Vinaigrette:
Combine the lemon zest and lemon juice in a small bowl. Slowly add the oil, whisking constantly, until mixture is smooth, Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

For the Salad:
Using a paring knife, remove the peel and white pith from the oranges. Over a large serving bowl, cut between the membranes of the oranges to form segments. Allow the juice from the oranges to drip into the serving bowl. Add the arugula and olives to the serving bowl. Toss lightly to combine. Add the hot pasta and the vinaigrette to the serving bowl and toss until arugula is wilted and all the ingredients are combined.




The result: My whole family loved this- even my 3 year old! I didn't give him any arugala, but he gobbled up the shrimp, pasta, oranges and olives. Next time I think I'll add more salt to the dish, but it did say "salt to taste". I also think it would be good with some toasted pine nuts- maybe instead of the olives? I love olives, but I don't know if they add anything to this. Thanks Jen for sharing a YUMMY dish! The only subsititute I made was using a different type of pasta.