Shrimp and Zucchini Couscous

A while back, I saw this delicious looking recipe that Kendra posted on her blog. Immediately, I bookmarked it in anticipation of zucchini season. So, now that we have zucchini coming out of our eyes, ears, and noses, it was one of the first meals I made. I was kind of afraid that the Dude would not love it but I was pleasantly surprised. He even cracked open the leftovers later in the evening to take a few bites and exclaimed that it was "so freakin' good". The meal is vibrant, colourful and oh so summery!

Shrimp and Zucchini Couscous -modified from Kendra
1 cup of couscous
1 1/2 cups water or broth
1 lb. of shrimp, peeled and tails removed
1 large** zucchini, diced
1 small red onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large tomato, diced
A few leaves of basil, chopped**
Salt
Pepper
EVOO

*Please note: large is a relative term - the zucchini I used was large in comparison to what you might find in the grocery store but small in comparison to what I found in my garden upon returning from a week's holidays.

**Please, please, please, please, please, please, PLEASE use fresh basil.

Begin cooking couscous according to package instructions. For mine, I brought 1 1/2 cups of broth to a boil and then added a bit of salt and the couscous. I stirred, put a lid on, removed the pot from the heat and timed it for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, fluff with a fork and you're good to go.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat a small amount of olive oil over medium heat.

Add shrimp to the pan, spreading out as much as possible. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook for 1-2 minutes, until beginning to turn pink and then turn. Season the second side with salt and pepper.

Cook for another 1-2 minutes until shrimp are pink and curled and then set aside on a plate. Do not be tempted to overcook the shrimp, they do not need long at all.

Add another bit of oil to the pan along with the zucchini and onion. Cook for 4-5 minutes until they are beginning to soften. You don't want them to be mushy.

Add the garlic, and stir for a few seconds to let the garlic soften.

Add the tomatoes, another pinch of salt and pepper, and cook just long enough for the tomatoes to get warm and juicy.

Remove from heat and stir in the basil and shrimp.

Add couscous to a large serving bowl and top with shrimp mixture. Stir it all together and top with a few more sprigs of basil for some visual appeal.

Makes 4-6 servings

Isn't it beautiful?

P.S. It is 9:58 am and after writing this post, I am feeling ever so tempted to go heat up the leftovers and eat my lunch right now. It is that delicious.

Teryaki Shrimp Salad

Sometime last week, we enjoyed a delicious "summery meal" that consisted of grilled teryaki shrimp skewers, a big leafy salad and baked potatoes.

The next day for lunch, I topped my salad with the leftover shrimp and really enjoyed the combination. It's nothing fancy, but it was delicious! I would definitely make this again as a meal time salad, and grill the shrimp immediately before dinner rather than using leftovers. It would be perfect paired with a few wedges of pita, brushed with olive oil and garlic and toasted on the grill!

Teryaki Shrimp Salad
4-5 large grilled teryaki shrimp (I used PC 5 Spice Teryaki Marinade)
Mixed greens
Diced cucumber
Diced tomato
Diced red onion
Diced carrot
Diced celery
*And any other veggies you like to include in your salad
Homemade Ranch Dressing

Mix diced veggies with your leafy greens. Top with shrimp. Drizzle with dressing.

Enjoy a quick, easy and delicious lunch (or supper)!

Angel Hair Shrimp and Feta

You know we love pasta around here. And shrimp. And capers. And mushrooms. I shouldn't have to explain myself anymore. This was an impromptu meal - I had planned to make shrimp and feta crepes, but I was too lazy tired after getting home from school so I just threw this together instead. It might look fancy but it only took about 15 minutes, start to finish.

Shrimp and Feta Angel Hair Pasta
EVOO
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deviened
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt
Pepper
1 heaping tablespoon capers
1-2 cups roasted tomatoes *if you don't want to make these first - you can use regular cherry tomatoes or diced tomatoes and add more spices. But trust me, it's worth it to make these. I had them in the freezer.
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup feta, crumbled
300 grams angel hair pasta

Heat EVOO in a frying pan and cook shrimp until pink. Remove from pan and set aside. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to instructions on package, drain and return to pot.

Add more oil to pan, if needed. Brown mushrooms.

Season with salt and pepper once browned. Add capers and cook 2-3 minutes.

Add tomatoes and white wine. Boil 4-5 minutes, until tomatoes are heated through.

Return shrimp to the pan and toss to coat.

Pour sauce over pasta and toss to coat. Add the crumbled feta and stir until cheese is just starting to melt.

Makes 4 servings.

Barefoot Contessa's Herb Shrimp

For this weeks' Food Network Chef's Cooking Challenge, we are all cooking with Barefoot Contessa! I chose to make the herb shrimp, which is actually supposed to be grilled herb shrimp cooked on skewers, but the FD wasn't home in time the evening we were having this and well, I don't know how to work the grill. So, pan fried herb shrimp it was. The recipe was delicious although VERY salty. She calls for two teaspoons of salt in the marinade and I put less than 1/4 teaspoon in and it was still too salty. I would suggest leaving the salt out all together. Perhaps the taste would have been less salty had we grilled them, I don't know?

Grilled Herb Shrimp - from Ina Garten
2 pounds large shrimp (16 to 20 per pound), peeled and deveined (see note)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, small-diced
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried basil
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt (or less)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 lemon, juiced

Combine all the ingredients and allow them to marinate for 1 hour at room temperature or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Heat a pan over medium heat. Using a slotted spoon to drain as much excess marinade as possible (mine were too oily), transfer the shrimp the hot pan.

Cook about 1-2 minutes per side, until shrimp are pink.

Ina's instructions (which would probably be so tasty): Skewer the shrimp. I use 3 or 4 shrimp on a 12-inch skewer for dinner. Heat a grill with coals and brush the grill with oil to prevent the shrimp from sticking. Grill the shrimp for only 1 1/2 minutes on each side.

Note: I leave the tails on when I'm peeling the shrimp.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Another successful week at the Food Network Chef's Cooking Challenge. The chef for this week was Giada and I chose to make her Shimp Fra Diavolo. And a good choice indeed. The only thing I really did different was to add mushrooms to the mix and serve it over pasta, because those seemed like the logical things to do. If anyone is surprised at my decision to add mushrooms to a mushroomless dish, you clearly don't know me very well. I have an ongoing love affair with mushrooms. Oh, I also tossed in a few capers for good measure.

This may be my favourite Food Network Chef recipe yet! But, I guess I say that about every other week.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo - slightly modified from Giada De Laurentiis
1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 teaspoon salt, plus additional as needed
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 to 2 tablespoons
8 oz fresh white mushrooms, quartered
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup dry white wine
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon basil
1 tablespoon capers
Linguine

Toss the shrimp in a medium bowl with 1 teaspoon of salt and red pepper flakes. (I bypassed the salt - knowing I was going to add capers, I didn't think I needed any extra salt).

Heat the 3 tablespoons oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp.

Saute for about a minute, toss, and continue cooking until just cooked through, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Transfer the shrimp to a large plate; set aside.

Add the onion and mushrooms to the same skillet, adding 1 to 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the pan, if necessary, and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juices, wine, garlic, oregano, parsley and basil.

Simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.

Return the shrimp, capers and any accumulated juices to the tomato mixture; toss to coat, and cook for about a minute so the flavors meld together.

Sprinkle with some grated cheese and serve over linguine with a side salad and cheesy garlic toast.

Makes 3-4 servings.

Lobster and Cream Cheese Dumplings

One of my favourite restaurants has a delicious crab and cream cheese dumping appetizer. WA while back, I remember The First Year Wife, mentioning that her husband makes cream cheese dumplings. I asked her for the directions and she told me what he does. So, I went by her instructions and modified the filling a bit for a yummy Christmas eve appetizer.

Lobster and Cream Cheese Dumplings
1 can frozen lobster meat, thawed and drained (you can also use crab)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2-3 green onions, or chives, finely chopped
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic
Salt
Pepper
1 package large egg roll wrappers
2 eggs, beaten

1. Mix all ingredients, except egg roll wrappers, in a medium mixing bowl.

2. Remove egg roll wrappers from the package. One at a time, dip egg roll wrappers into the beaten egg mixture to coat.

3. Lay flat on a cookie sheet. Scoop a heaping spoonful of filling on wrapper.

4. Fold up to close. Repeat until all filling is used.

5. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, until browned. Then, turn on the broiler and broil for 2 minutes to crisp them up.** You can also deep fry these, if you'd like. If so, don't bother with the egg wash.

Serve with sweet and spicy thai sauce for dipping.

Makes 12 dumplings.

Scallops with Saffron Aioli and Beer Boiled Shrimp

Last week, I e-mailed Sarah to let her know that I would be skipping this week's Food Network Chef's Cooking challenge because I wasn't going to have time to find and make one of Claire Robinson's recipes. But then, I was at my mom and dad's house on the weekend and we were watching The Food Network a lot. We started talking about what we could make for dinner on Sunday night when my dad would be away for the evening and so we decided to search through Claire's recipes to see if I could be part of the challenge after all.

This was a great lesson for me - an insanely perpetual planner - to see that sometimes the most amazing, tastiest things happen when I just stop planning for a few seconds.

Who knew that on the week I decided not to participate I would end up discovering and making not one, but two, recipes and that they would both be so tasty!

So, without further adieu, I will share both of these wonderful dishes from the sea.

Sea Scallops With Saffron Aioli - from Claire Robinson
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, plus 1 tsp zest
1/8 teaspoon (pinch) saffron threads
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 to 16 large sea scallops
Freshly cracked black pepper

Squeeze the orange and grate 1 tsp of zest.

Put the orange juice and saffron in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Cook for about 1 minute, until orange juice is infused with the saffron; stir in the zest and remove from the heat to cool slightly.

Whisk the orange mixture and the mayonnaise in a small bowl until combined. Season with salt and set aside while you cook the scallops.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel and season well with salt and pepper.

When the oil is rippling, add the scallops and sear, turning once, until golden brown but still opaque in the center, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Remove the scallops from the skillet to serving dishes and drizzle with the aioli (or just dip the scallops in the aioli). Serve immediately

I'm not normally a huge fan of citrus flavours in main course dishes but this was delightful! The combination of the saffron and the orange juice and zest made for a sweet yet zingy aioli. Forget the scallops, the aioli itself was delicious. I may or may not have even dipped my broccoli in it once or twice. We thought it would make a really nice dipping sauce for homemade chicken fingers, as well!

Beer Boiled Shrimp - from Claire Robinson
3 bottles beer
1 cup water
1 tablespoon cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mixed peppercorns
1 lemon, juiced, halves reserved
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, shell left on, rinsed well

In a large pot, bring the beer, water, shrimp boil seasoning, salt, peppercorns and the juiced lemon halves to a boil over medium heat.

Allow mixture to boil covered for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, melt butter in a small saucepan and add the lemon juice.

Add the shrimp to the pot of boiling beer, cover, and turn off heat.

Check shrimp after 3 minutes for a pink color throughout.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp and transfer to serving bowls.

Add 1/2 cup of the beer boiling liquid to the butter and simmer for 2 minutes, then transfer to small serving bowls.

Serve the warm shrimp with the butter dipping sauce on the side, and don't forget the empty bowls for the shrimp shells and some nice, crusty bread to sop up the extra sauce. Enjoy!

My mom and I served these two seafood dishes with steamed broccoli and couscous.

We made all of this to feed just the two of us. And we sure did a number on it! I'm pretty sure that the two of us consumed half of the Atlantic ocean. Here's proof...

Enjoy!