Shrimp

Shrimp a la plancha and Grits with Creole Chutney

Posted Sun, 02/27/2011 - 20:05 by Jon

This was inspired by the Jose Andres' Gambas a la Plancha recipe, and having some fresh shrimp from Arganica. I was feeling a craving for a more cajun-y shrimp-and-grits setup, however. So, I figured there's no reason not to just do both. I left the grits simple, and focused on the shrimp and the chutney-like goop.

A ton of salt
3 whole shrimp per person
grits, plus water and butter for their preparation.

For the creole chutney:

1/2 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 mild jalapeno
1/2 bell pepper (red preferred)
1 small tomato
1 tsp molasses

Udon Soup with Prawns and Poached Egg

Posted Sun, 04/25/2010 - 21:34 by Audrey

So, there's this Japanese movie, Tampopo, all about a woman's quest to serve the perfect noodle soup in her small roadside soup shop. If nothing else, its an interesting look at Japanese food culture.

Anyway, inspired by that and memories of walking by this (Japanese, I think) soup shop ever day we were in Paris last year, I decided we should try and make Japanese. soup. Our local bodega, P&C Market, sells Japanese noodles (both soba and udon), so we gave it a whirl. It actually turned out pretty good for the first shot.

Shrimp and Grits

Posted Fri, 02/26/2010 - 20:28 by Jon

For the shrimp:
8 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 T butter, melted
1 T cajun seasoning
dash Old Bay
dash Celery Salt

For the grits:
1/2 cup grits
2 1/4 cups water
2 T unsalted butter
1 t salt
1 t minced garlic
1/2 cup grated cheese (a 50/50 mix of cheddar and jarlsberg works great)
dash paprika

Gumbo

Posted Sun, 02/14/2010 - 15:28 by Jon

Based on this Epicurious recipe.

2/3 cup vegetable oil (add in other fats for extra flavor)
2/3 cup all purpose flour
2 large onions, chopped (about 4 cups)
2 red bell peppers, seeded, chopped (about 2.5 cups)
3 celery stalks, chopped (about 1.5 cups)
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cajun seasoning mix

Fried Rice

Posted Tue, 01/19/2010 - 22:00 by Audrey

This recipe is meant to mimic the fried rice of my favorite LA Chinese restaurant - Yang Chow (or Hunam, as it was called in my youth). The key feature is that it isn't loaded down with soy sauce. Your diners can always add it post-cooking.

Serves 4 as a side dish:

Ingredients
1 cup chinese/short-grain rice, cooked (Put 1 cup rice, 1.5 cups water in pot. Bring to boil. Reduce to simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.) and fluffed with spoon or fork
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Shrimp Saganaki

Posted Sat, 11/28/2009 - 19:16 by Audrey

Garides (Shrimp) Saganaki is one of Audrey's favorite dishes (though no longer on the menu) at Zaytinya, one of her favorite restaurants in DC. This recipe is a surprisingly easy replica of that dish. It's fast and can be made mostly with ingredients we already have in our kitchen.