Creole Sicilian BBQ Shrimp

It's been a a while since I add anything to the site. The sun is coming out thus it is getting harder to stay inside. So what if it's 45 degrees, it's a sunny 45 and the body is used to cloudy, 15 degree days. The dog and I are running every night (when I'm not sore or coming home from a tasting.) I have been trying out some new recipes this week. I don't have any pictures though since the camera is being used elsewhere right now.

I had a craving for some good shrimp. I love creamy sauces that have creole flavors like a really good etouffee. We used to go to a great cajun/creole place up in Ithaca called Maxie's. Their gumbo was huge and so was the brick of cornbread that went with it. It was definitely my favorite restaurant in the city, and the reason why I love that type of food so much. Let's just say, I was never a fan of cornbread until Maxie's told me I was doing it all wrong my whole life.

I was definitely channeling a little bit of Maxie's last night. I came across a BBQ shrimp recipe in one of my Cooking Light books. The interesting thing about the recipe is that there is no BBQ sauce, ketchup, or molasses. You figure when you hear "BBQ", you definitely expect one of these in there. Well, the sauce was more creole and Italian than true Bible Belt BBQ. My only complaint about the recipe was that I ran out of wet-naps to clean my hands. I left the shells on to give the sauce some extra flavor but the mess was worth it. The sauce is creamy, and coats everything, but luckily it's light on the calories.


Enough chit-chat. Here's what you'll need:

• 1.5 - 2 lbs shrimp (you can use either peeled or unpeeled)
• 1/2 cup fat free Caesar dressing
• 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 - 1.5 tsp black pepper
• 1 - 2 tsp hot sauce
• 4-5 bay leaves
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup dry white wine (Chenin blanc or Gewürztraminer)
  

1. Add all ingredients except wine and shrimp to a large skillet. Bring mixture to a boil. Stir often.
2. Add shrimp to boiling sauce. Cook for 7 min or until shrimp turns pink. Stir often.
3. Add wine to sauce. Cook for 1 min.
4. Eat the shrimp.

I also toasted a French baguette in the oven for 8-10 min preheated at 400 F. Just throw half of the baguette into the oven to get a crispy crust. Take out and slice diagonally, just watch out for the steam. Sprinkle some lemon juice over the shrimp and use the bread as a scoop/dipper to eat up all the delicious sauce. Bring extra napkins and lots of friends.

One last thing, my suggestion for the wine is not a set thing. If you can "only" drink Chardonnay then go ahead. I just think that the acidity and fruitiness of the Chenin or the Gewurz helps bring out some of the flavors in the sauce. It also helps cool the mouth if you overdid it on the hot sauce. Just don't use the fancy crystal because your dirty fingers are going to leave quite the messy prints.

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Mmm mm... Penne Arrabbiata with Shrimp

Nothing like a cold and gloomy work week to make you crave an easy and spicy meal. Football season is almost over. My excuse to have a weekend where beer is king will soon be put away until baseball rolls around. So I guess I must enjoy some wine to fill that void, not only on the weekends but during the week too. Well, what could I possibly cook today to make me feel warm after darting between my office to my car to my apartment. Definitely something quick and to the point. Definitely some PASTA.

After digging for some ideas, I come across the perfect answer to dinner thanks to Family Circle. Penne Arrabbiata with Shrimp. I'm pretty sure you could use any kind of pasta besides penne but the Barilla Plus Penne was on sale. By the way, If you haven't tried any of the Barilla Plus pastas, give them a whirl. It is whole wheat pasta, that still cooks in 8-10 mins, and afterwards makes you feel fuller than expected without having a weird health food taste. This has been the pasta of choice at our place for a while now and there really is no reason to go back to regular pasta.

Give it a whirl and at less than 325 calories per serving, there is no reason to mess up your diet.

Ingredients List:

• 3/4 lb shrimp (31-40 count size)

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

• 1 tbsp water

• 2 cans (14.5oz) of diced tomatoes (zesty or with green chiles for an extra kick)

• 1 can (8 oz) of tomato sauce

• 1/2 tsp red-pepper flakes

• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

• pinch of cayenne (for those thrill seekers)

• Whole Wheat Penne (amount and pasta type is up to you, full box for leftovers)

• 1 bag of Spinach, sliced

• 1/4 tsp salt and pepper

• grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat some canola (poor man's olive oil) in medium-size saucepan. Add onion; cook 5 minutes. You're shooting for clear, soft onion, not black, crisp onion. Add garlic and water; cook 2 minutes.

My girlfriend and I snacked on some french bread with seasoned olive oil. Yeah, this isn't exactly the healthiest appetizer but after a long day, we were craving something as dinner cooked. I'll touch on this little meal down the line. Ok, now back to the sauce.

2. Stir diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, red-pepper flakes, cayenne and oregano into saucepan; simmer, no lid, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.

We blended the diced tomatoes to make it more of a sauce but if you prefer it chunky, by all means give it a whirl. Threw it all in and got back to munching on some french bread.

3. Boil some water. Throw the pasta in, cook until al dente, tender but still firm. Drain the pasta.

I usually throw some olive oil and salt in to the water to do two things: Season the pasta and prevent the foamy mess you get from pasta. Like I said before, the whole wheat pasta shouldn't take much longer than regular pasta. Your goal is to cook it al dente. This means that it is soft, not mushy but firm just not uncooked. I'd throw a piece up to the ceiling, if it sticks, you're golden. Just make sure you remember to get the pasta down or else it will be permanently cemented as a decoration for the kitchen.

4. Throw the sliced spinach in to the sauce, cook 5 min. Add salt and pepper. (Always been a fan of Push it since that hilarious Sprint commercial)

Add as much as you want, we definitely didn't use the whole bag and you see what we ended up with.

5. Heat small skillet. Add 3 tbsp of sauce. Add shrimp and cook until pink.

We could have just added the shrimp to the sauce directly but we decided to use the extra sauce for leftovers. And we didn't want to freeze the sauce with shrimp in it.

6. Pour the sauce over the pasta. Add some shrimp to the plate. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. DONE.

It's such an easy pasta to cook and eat that it's going to become a staple. Or that fancy meal for a special date night. Just don't forget the wine.

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