Shrimp and Pineapple Kebabs with Lime Viniagriette

Okay, so I will once again admit it: I am a complete sucker for shrimp cocktail.  There's something about chilled shrimp in a glass that just has me at hello, so it is pretty much a done deal that I will be working this into the Southern husband and my Friday Night Lights approach to Friday dinners in any way I can, and I have to say that so far....this may be my favorite.

It's got shrimp.  It's got pineapple.  It's got cherry tomatoes.  It's got a light lime vinaigrette.  It's served on skewers, which makes it oh-so-easy to eat when you are on the couch watching a movie while your teenager is out gallivanting.

I love the word gallivating.  Somehow I never look like this when I do it.

Anyway.

This is one of those ecipes that looks like you spent all day creating a wonderful seafood concoction when you really only spent about 15 minutes cooking up some shrimp, chopping up some tomatoes and pineapple and whisking together a super-simple line dressing.  You mix the whole thing together and skewer the pieces together,  Then chop up a little lettuce (I used Bibb lettuce for this and it was just about perfect.)  Now comes the fun part: choose whatever glasses you have that have a wide opening.  Margarita glasses would actually be perfect, and if I had any that's what I would have used.  Make a nice soft bed of lettuce in the glass and arrange a few skewer inside.  Drizzle the whole thing with the leftover lime dressing from the mixing bowl, and then hand them out.

Now comes the REALLY fun part.  The eating.  Because this is one of those dishes with just the right amount of tangy and sweet and wonderful.  We had these for our light supper, but I can totally picture them as the perfect summertime appetizer before you grill whatever it is you are going to grill.  And I'm beginning to believe that grilling season might just get here one day.

In the meantime, cuddle up inside on the sofa with some of these and March won't seem so March-like.

Shrimp and Pineapple Kebabs with Lime Vinaigrette, adapted from a WeightWatchers recipe.  (5 points, if anyone's counting!)

	8 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
	1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
	2 tsp honey
	1 tsp olive oil, extra-virgin
	1 tsp apple cider vinegar
	1 tsp Dijon mustard, coarse-grained
	1 tsp cilantro, chopped
	1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
	8 chunks fresh pineapple
	4 medium cherry tomato(es), halved
	1 1/2 cup(s) mixed baby greens
	2 Tbsp red onion(s), finely chopped

• Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil; add the shrimp. Reduce the heat and simmer until the shrimp are just opaque in the center, 3–4 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water to stop the cooking. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels.
  
• Stir together the lime juice, honey, oil, vinegar, mustard, cilantro, and crushed red pepper in a bowl until blended. Stir in the shrimp, pineapple, and tomatoes; gently toss to coat.
  
• Alternately thread the shrimp, pineapple, and tomatoes on 4 (6-inch) wooden skewers; reserve any vinaigrette remaining in the bowl. Divide the greens between 2 glasses; place 2 kebabs in each glass. Sprinkle with the onion and drizzle with the reserved vinaigrette. 

Click here for printable recipe

Lobster Rolls and a Cookbook Contest!

Yes, that is a good old-fashioned lobster roll in front of you, and it come from one of my new favorite cookbooks, STONEWALL KITCHEN FAVORITES. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I would basically like to move into the Stonewall Kitchen and live there for the rest of my life. Click here for just a few of the many, many, many reasons why. At any rate, the folks at Stonewall Kitchen heard about my adoration and were nice enough to send me a copy of their amazing cookbook. First of all, the food photography made me both deliriously happy AND think I better practice a little more with my own Nikon. It's just glorious. And the recipes...every bit as wonderful as I hoped they would be.

And happily, I have one more of these fabulous cookbooks to give away!



More info on how to enter for the giveaway at the bottom of this post...but first we must discuss the lobster roll, which (of course) came from this fabulous cookbook.

Among the many, many other talented things that the Southern husband does is keep an eye on all the various supermarkets in the area for when lobster goes on sale. We just LOVE lobster in this house (who doesn't?), but it does make me squirm a little when the price of cooking dinner starts rivaling the mortgage payment. So whenever he spots it on sale he makes sure to pick up a few of those babies, and to have have supermarket steam them up so they are cooked and ready for action. I have a few recipes that I go back to again and again that call for cooked lobster, but some days there is nothing like a good old-fashioned lobster roll.

Enter the Stonewall Kitchen Favorites, which has a lobster roll recipe that has now become my favorite lobster roll recipe of all time. It's light and creamy and classic and perfect. And EASY. You take a couple of lobsters-worth of lobster meat, tear it into bite-sized pieces, and mix it up with lime zest, lime juice, fresh ginger, chopped scallion and just the teeny-tiny-est bit of mayo.

Then lightly toast a few hot dog rolls. In an ideal world, you will have top-split hot dog rolls (which are sometimes called New England-style. Why? I have no idea.). Butter them lightly, and then spoon the lobster salad into the rolls.

You have now pretty much achieved Lobster Roll Nirvana. It just doesn't get any better than this.

Recipe is below, but first the giveaway: I have one glorious copy of Stonewall Kitchen Favorites to give away to a lucky winner, and get this: it is also signed by the authors. All those spectacular recipes, and signed by the authors as well...it's almost as good as that lobster roll! Just leave me a comment on this post telling me your favorite summer recipe, and next Sunday I will pick one lucky, lucky recipient of this amazing cookbook. My beloved email subscribers, you can enter by clicking the post title, which will take you to the website where you can comment.

But first...lobster roll!

Lobster Rolls, adapted from Stonewall Kitchen Favorites

1 1/2 cups cooked lobster meat

1 teaspoon grated lime zest

1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon grated, peeled fresh ginger

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 scallion, white and green parts, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Two hit dog buns, toasted and buttered

1. Mix together the lobster, lime zest and juice, ginger, mayonnaise and scallion in a small bowl until well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. Serve in a lightly toasted and buttered hot dog bun.

Click here for printable recipe

Chilled Avocado Cucumber Soup

I've had this recipe for about one million years, and I both love and make it so much that the Southern husband gets that beef barley soup look in his eyes when I pull out the recipe, which is an interesting combo of "I like that soup!" and "wow, she's making that AGAIN." But I can't help it...this soup is cool and refreshing and delicious and only involves one kitchen appliance and that is the blender. Highly satisfying in so very many ways.

So here's the scoop. Pull out that blender and you toss in the following: some cucumber (get the English kind if you can. They are usually shrinkwrapped in plastic next to the cucumbers with the regular old American accent. Why? No idea. But they have less seeds and if you can get 'em, they're great.) Then some avocado, some yogurt, a little lime juice, some minced jalapeno, some salt and pepper and a little ice water. Press that puree button, baby.

And that puree sound is the MOST satisfying thing, can I just say? In about one minute it will be a lovely, thick chilled soup. Now all you have to do is thin it down with a little more ice water until it is nice and soup-like, and stir in some chopped avocado and cuke for substance and crunch. Garnish with some tomato, some fresh ground pepper and...the best part...some chopped crabmeat or shrimp. Dinner in about 10 minutes, and so delicious and healthy, too! Happy sigh.

Chilled Avocado Cucumber Soup, adapted from Everyday Food

• 1 English cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
• 2 avocados, pitted and peeled
• 1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 minced small jalapeno chile (seeds and ribs removed for less heat, if desired)
• 1/3 cup sliced scallions
• 1 tablespoon cilantr0 (optional)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 6 ounces cooked shrimp or crabmeat
• 1 chopped tomato

1. In a blender, combine half the cucumber and 1 avocado with the yogurt, lime juice, jalapeno, scallions, 1 tablespoon cilantro, 1 cup ice water, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Puree until completely smooth. Transfer to a large bowl.

2. Cut remaining avocado into 1/4-inch cubes. Stir avocado and remaining cucumber into soup. Thin with 1/2 to 1 cup ice water, as desired. Season again with salt and pepper. Chill, about hour.

3. Ladle soup into bowls; garnish with shrimp or crabmeat and tomato.

Click here for printable recipe

Black Pepper and Lime Fries

For me, summer cooking is all about the grill wherever possible. Steak, chicken, seafood, corn, grilled pizza (happy happy sigh)...and since the Southern husband is an impresario at the grill, life in the summer is even better. There's nothing like sitting on your back steps, glass of merlot in hand, watching the love of your life do the cooking.

However, it DOES entail coming up with more side dishes than I, lover of one dish cooking, am normally used to, so I am always doubly happy when I come across a really fun one. These lime fries are from the fabulous 101 Cookbooks blog, and they are both super-easy and very yummy. And pretty darn healthy, as they are the variety of fries that cook in the oven with just a drizzling of olive oil. They involve lots and lots of black pepper, and for that extra zing (here's the part that especially caught my eye), a drizzling of lime juice and some fresh grated lime peel.

Some grilled steak/chicken/seafood, some lime fries, a warm summer evening...ah yes.

Black Pepper and Lime Fries, from 101 Cookbooks

1 1/2 pounds small potatoes, cut into wedges
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1 lime
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375, oven racks in the middle.

In a medium bowl toss the potato wedges with the olive oil, a few big pinches of sea salt and five or six cranks of the pepper grinder. Arrange the potatoes cut side down on a baking sheet. Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes, tossing the potatoes with a metal spatula half way through.

While the potatoes are baking, zest the lime and cut it into a few wedges.

When the potatoes are cooked through, remove them from the oven, taste, and adjust the seasoning. Add more salt and pepper to taste (don't skimp on the pepper!). Serve in a big shallow bowl, or on a platter, drizzled with lime juice and dusted with the lime zest and Parmesan.

Serves 4 - 6.

Click here for printable recipe

Chicken Tostadas

I love love love Mexican food, but sadly for me, really good Mexican restaurants are few and far between out here in the wilds of Northern New Jersey. Yes, there is El Bandido in Spring Valley, but unless you want to eat your Mexican dinner at 4pm in the afternoon or wait on a wicked long line (no thank you and no thank you), you are pretty much relegated to Taco Bell. And while I do love a Crunchwrap Supreme as much as the next girl, I also sometimes get in the mood for good old fresh-tasting chemical-free Mexican food.

So if you can't find it, make it - that's my motto, and this recipe is a quick and easy and pretty healthy version of chicken tostadas. You can use either corn or flour tortillas, but personally I like the taste of the corn ones for this. If you have some grilled chicken around that will work perfectly in this dish. You are basically melting some shredded cheese on the top of your tortillas, then topping them with the cooked shredded chicken that you have heated up in an easy sauce of onion, chili powder, lime juice and water. The kicked up chicken goes on top of the tortilla and top it off with whatever Mexican wonderfulness you like best. We had tomato, avocado chunks and red onion...this time. I wouldn't say no to guacamole, salsa, sour cream, etc. etc., though. Chicken tostadas -- yumyumyum.

Chicken Tostadas, adapted from Everyday Food

4 corn tortillas
3 tsp olive oil
3/4 c Monterey Jack cheese ..or more
1/2 small red onion, diced small
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup cooked chicken breast, torn into bite-sized pieces
coarse salt & ground pepper
1 tsp fresh lime juice
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced small
fresh parsley or cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees lightly on both sides of tortillas w/ 2 tsp oil and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden and crisp, 10 minutes. Divide cheese among tortillas and return to oven. Bake until cheese is bubbling, about 3 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

2. In a large skillet, heat 1 tsp oil over medium-high. Add half the red onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add chili powder and garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add chicken and 1/4 c water and season w/ salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until chicken is warmed through and water is almost evaporated, 2 minutes. Stir in 1 tsp lime juice and remove from heat.

3. Top each tortilla with chicken mixture, tomato, avocado, remaining onion, and parsley or cilantro.

Click here for printable recipe

Asian Shrimp, Pineapple and Peanut Salad

Here's the back story on this one. (You know I love the backstory).

Here are the main loves of my life.



Aren't they the sweetest?

And this, God help me, is the other love of my life.

And I was pretty much living happily ever after with all three of them, thinking life couldn't be much better.

Until this came along.

Yes, I know it is not right to fall in love with inanimate objects. But it plays all my favorite songs. It plays all my favorite movies. It lets me read all my favorite books...with a backlight!!! It shows off all my nine million pictures of chocolate chip cookies. And you can jazz it up with apps that tell you everything from where you parked your car at the mall to what to make for dinner when you have shrimp, pineapple and peanuts on hand and you just KNOW there's a good recipe in there somewhere.

For those of you who have one of these babies, there is an app called EPICURIOUS that is in the App Store for the low, low price of $Free. And for those of you who don't have one, as far as I can tell all the recipes are also available on www.epicurious.com. Anyway, one of the first delectable recipes that caught my eye was this one for a salad of shrimp, pineapple, avocado and peanuts, with a jalepeno lime mint dressing. Yes please, and thank you. It was quick and easy and delicious in a fun, tropical, summer-is-almost-here kind of way.

Asian Shrimp, Pineapple, and Peanut Salad, from Epicurious

Dressing:
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots (about 2 large)
1 small jalapeño chile, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons (packed) fresh mint leaves

Salad:
16 peeled deveined cooked large shrimp with tails intact
6 ounces fresh pineapple, peeled, cut into 2x1/4-inch spears (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 large avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons salted peanuts
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges (for garnish)

For dressing:
Whisk lime juice, fish sauce, oil, and sugar in small bowl until sugar dissolves. Stir in shallots, chile, and mint.

For salad:
Toss shrimp with salt and pepper in bowl. Add pineapple, avocado, and dressing; toss to coat. Divide among plates, top with nuts, and garnish with lime wedges.

Click here for printable recipe

Pad Thai

This is most definitely the suburban New Jersey version of pad thai, and I say that with pride. Let me explain.

A couple of weeks ago the New York Times ran an article, complete with recipe, for pad thai. My friend S sent it to me first, followed by about a thousand or so other folks. Who knew pad thai was so popular? I've had it a couple of times in the past and had always figured it fell into the chicken-fried steak rule (click here for an explanation of that weird little reference), but I am a girl who loves a challenge, and so I put it on the menu for last week.

And then I looked at the ingredients.

Tamarind paste?

Mom!!!

(Between my mother and Fairway, I really don't have a decent excuse for not coming up with the accurate ingredients for things.)

Tamarind paste, for those of you who are wondering, is a thick, smooth paste that looks a lot like a solidified version of soy sauce, and it's definitely key to the flavor of this dish, so if you are going to mess with the ingredient list of this recipe as much as I did, just make sure you stay true to the tamarind paste. If your supermarket doesn't have it, you can look in an Indian speciality grocery, and if you don't have one of those around, there is always Amazon. Click here. Yep, in addition to TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, they also sell tamarind paste. Or you can call me -- I now have a giant jar of it.

So while I did use tamarind paste I took, um, liberties with the rest of it, starting with the noodles. You are SUPPOSED to use something called rice stick noodles, and I'm sure Amazon carries those too, but I have an endless supply of fettecine in my pantry, and it tasted just fine. Then we have the issue of the cilantro. I was relieved to read this article, also in the Times, saying that the reason that certain people (me!) have an aversion to cilantro is because of their specific neurological make-up. As soon as they figure out the same thing for eggplant, mushrooms and lima beans my mother and I are going to have a nice little conversation. ("Try them. If you eat them enough, you will like them!) So I took my usual approach to cilantro, which is to mix up a combo of chopped mint and chopped flat-leaf parsley. Transgression #2.

The third thing was not exactly my fault, and kind of stayed within the boundaries of the recipe. It called for shrimp or tofu, and I did ask the southern husband to defrost some of my wonderful Costco shrimp that morning, but he has a lot on his mind and I came home to non-defrosted shrimp. Oops. But I did have some grilled chicken in the fridge and that worked just fine.

So as I said -- suburban NJ Pad Thai, and I am sure I have broken a whole variety of pad thai rules, but it sure tasted good!

Pad Thai, adapted from The New York Tmes

4 ounces fettuccine-width rice stick noodles (or fettecine!)
1/4 cup peanut oil
2 to 4 tablespoons tamarind paste
1/4 cup fish sauce (nam pla)
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1 garlic clove, minced
2 eggs
1 small head Napa cabbage, shredded (about 4 cups)
1 cup mung bean sprouts
1/2 pound peeled shrimp, pressed tofu (or shredded cooked chicken!)
1/2 cup roasted peanuts, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or chopped mint and flat leaf parsley!)
2 limes, quartered.

1. Put noodles in a large bowl and add boiling water to cover. Let sit until noodles are just tender; check every 5 minutes or so to make sure they do not get too soft. (Or if using fettecine, cook according to package directions.) Drain, drizzle with one tablespoon peanut oil to keep from sticking and set aside. Meanwhile, put tamarind paste, fish sauce, honey and vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and bring just to a simmer. Stir in red pepper flakes and set aside.

2. Put remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; when oil shimmers, add scallions and garlic and cook for about a minute. Add eggs to pan; once they begin to set, scramble them until just done. Add cabbage and bean sprouts and continue to cook until cabbage begins to wilt, then add shrimp or tofu (or chicken).

3. When shrimp begin to turn pink and tofu begins to brown (or chicken is heated through), add drained noodles to pan along with sauce. Toss everything together to coat with tamarind sauce and combine well. When noodles are warmed through, serve, sprinkling each dish with peanuts and garnishing with cilantro (or parsley/mint) and lime wedges.

Click here for printable recipe

Coconut Shrimp Soup

If I had to make a list of my all-time favorite things to eat, soup, shrimp and coconut would be right there at the top of the list. Okay, so they would be after bacon, but still right there near the top. Okay, maybe behind chocolate too -- but still at the very head of the class.

So this speedy little soup is a great favorite of mine. It combines shrimp and coconut milk with angel hair pasta and carrots and it all comes together in a delicious, rich-tasting mixture that is part soup, part stew, and totally wonderful. I like to sprinkle some flaked coconut on top each serving - it gives it a little of that sweet and salty kick that I am so hopelessly addicted to. It's like a little taste of the tropics, right here in the middle of snowy, cold, snowy, windy, snowy February. (Did I mention that we had some snow?)



Go warm up with some nice hot coconut shrimp soup.

COCONUT SHRIMP SOUP, adapted from Everyday Foods

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 grated fresh ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 1 pound (6 to 8 medium) carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced
• 1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 4 ounces angel-hair pasta
• 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• Coarse salt
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• Flaked coconut for garnish
  

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add ginger, garlic, and pepper flakes; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add carrots, coconut milk, and 3 cups water. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water until smooth; add to pot. Bring to a boil.
2. Break pasta in half; add to pot. Return to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until pasta is al dente and carrots are just tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Add shrimp; stir until opaque, about 1 minute. Remove pot from heat, and stir in lime juice; season with salt. Ladle into serving bowls, and garnish with scallions and flaked coconut.

Click here for printable recipe

Beef Stir-Fry with Sugar Snap Peas

This recipe falls into my "life is short so always use the best ingredients, even if that is not what the recipe tells you to do" bucket. This is a delicious stir-fry with just a handful of ingredients, and front and center is the beef. Obviously. The original recipe, found in Everyday Food Magazine says to use sirloin, which I am sure would be perfectly okay. Just fine. Totally acceptable.

However.

In a dish like this where the meat can make it or break it, I always choose to use a tenderloin filet. Yes, I know how much they cost. But in the great scheme of things, I think an amazing-tasting dinner is always a worthwhile investment. And trust me, using the filet will take this from a perfectly okay dinner to an amazing one. And you're worth it!

So, now that you have your tenderloin, make sure you get really nice sugar snaps -- none of those frozen ones. The original recipe calls for white rice but I actually like it even better with brown rice. And of course with brown rice, you get that lovely, angelic feeling of being incredibly and responsibly HEALTHY too. Last but not least, I serve this one with some lime wedges on the side. I think the lime juice is one of the things that makes this dish stand out from the pack, and it's nice to have a little extra dash of lime to squeeze over the top just before you dig in. After all, if you have splurged on the tenderloin, might as well go all the way, right?


And with that, here you go...delicious AND nutritious. Yum.

BEEF STIR FRY WITH SUGAR SNAP PEAS, adapted from Everyday Foods

• 2 cups cooked brown rice (or white, if you prefer)
• 1 pound tenderloin steak, thinly sliced crosswise
  
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 12 ounces snap peas, strings removed
• 5 to 6 scallions, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced diagonally
• 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from about 1 lime)

1. Ten minutes before rice is done, place steak in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with cornstarch, and season with salt and pepper; toss to coat. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Cook half the steak until browned on one side, 1 to 2 minutes (steak will cook further in step 3); transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining beef.
2. Add snap peas, white part of scallions, ginger, red-pepper flakes, and 3/4 cup water to skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cook until snap peas turn bright green, 1 to 2 minutes. Return steak to skillet until cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and mix in green part of scallions and lime juice. Serve with rice and lime wedges on the side.

Original recipe link: Beef Stir Fry with Sugar Snap Peas