Everyone needs a good quick meal every once in a while. Things get too busy but alas we all need to eat. I happened to have one of those days this week. This super easy pasta saved the day. It cooks in about the time it takes you to boil the pasta and has all kinds of goodies like lemon pepper, shrimp, shallots, garlic and wine.

If you’ve browsed my pasta recipes you can see that I often lean towards the long pastas. I love linguine, spaghetti and fettuccine. But for this pasta I wanted something a little bit lighter yet still filling. In comes fusilli, or corkscrew pasta. The little crevasses soak up the white wine garlic sauce very nicely. If you don’t have any fusilli, any other short pasta, such as penne will do.

Serves 2 – 4

You will need:

• 8 ounces dried fusilli pasta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 shallot, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1 pound 51 – 60 count prawns, peeled and deveined
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
• kosher salt

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook according to package directions. Drain.
2. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook shallots and garlic until shallots are softened, about 2 -3 minutes. Stir in white wine, lemon juice and lemon pepper. Cook 5 minutes. Stir in prawns and cook until prawns are opaque.
3. Add cooked pasta to prawn mixture. Stir in fresh parsley. Toss to combine. Season to taste with kosher salt.
4. Serve.

Enjoy!

According to the calendar, there are still a couple more weeks of winter. Just enough time for me to share this Shrimp and Corn Chowder recipe before everyone starts craving the lighter dishes that are common during spring. So as the last of the cold winter wind and rain patter at your window, cook up a pot of this soup full of all kinds of yumminess like shrimp, bacon, potato and corn.

For the longest time I did not like corn. I did not like corn on the cob, I did not like corn as a side dish and I certainly did not like corn in my chowder. But the older I got the more I opened up to it. I eased my way into corn on the cob and I started cooking corn more often as our vegetable side dish. However, it was not until this dish that I actually tried it in chowder and you know what, it’s pretty good. The sweetness of the corn compliments the sweetness of the shrimp and the kick from the cajun seasoning very nicely. Now if I could just work my way up to corn chowder.

Serves 4

You will need:

• 4 slices bacon, diced into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 3 tablespoons of flour, divided
• 1 (8 ounce) jar clam juice
• 1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons water, divided
• 2 medium red potatoes, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 pound (51 – 60) count prawns, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup frozen corn

1. In a large dutch oven cook bacon until browned. Reserve 1 1/2 tablespoons of pan drippings. Set bacon aside.
2. Add onion to the dutch oven with the reserved bacon drippings. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of flour. Cook 2 minutes.
3. Pour clam juice and water over the top. Add potatoes, celery, bay leaf, kosher salt and cajun seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until potatoes are fork tender.
4. Stir 3 tablespoons of hot broth into the milk to temper it. Pour tempered milk into the soup.
5. Make a slurry with remaining 1 tablespoon of flour and 2 tablespoons of water. Stir slurry into soup and let simmer for 30 more minutes.
6. After soup has simmered add prawns and frozen corn. Cook 5 more minutes or until shrimp is pink and cooked through. Remove bay leaf. Stir in reserved bacon.
7. Ladle into hot soup bowls and serve.

Enjoy!

After the cocktail, the tapenade and the salad, the next step in this at home Valentine’s day menu is the main course. Like any good celebration meal entree this dish is a show stopper. A pièce de résistance if you will.  It’s caper-y and buttery. It’s light yet indulgent. It’s quick to prepare with your sweetie and perhaps the best part of all it’s pasta. What does that mean you ask? Well it means that you can share it Lady and the Tramp style, kisses and all.

When the first visions of this Valentine’s menu began dancing around in my head, I asked a couple of friends what kind of pasta they would like to see. Both of them said creamy so I set out to make an ultra creamy pasta. The result? Far too creamy and heavy for this Valentine’s meal. I’ll share it later I promise. But in the mean time I needed an entree for my Valentine’s menu. Since I had so much success with my chicken piccata I thought of other ways I could do it. And that is when it hit me, light, tender, fresh, sweet scallops would pair perfectly with the buttery caper sauce.

Serves 2

You will need:

• 1/4 pound angel hair pasta
• 1 pound sea scallops (about 10), pat dry
• fresh cracked pepper and kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons nonpareil capers
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. While you’re waiting for your pasta water to boil. Season scallops with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once butter melts, place scallops in pan. Cook, turning once until scallops are browned, about 3 – 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, loosely cover to keep scallops warm. (Note: You may need to do this step in batches, you do not want to over crowd the scallops or they will steam and won’t get the color you want.) Reserve pan juices.
3. If you haven’t already, begin cooking pasta. Cook according to pasta directions. Drain.
4. While pasta is cooking add garlic to scallop pan, reduce heat to medium, cook 20 seconds or until fragrant. Pour in wine, capers and lemon juice. Scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until sauce reduces by 1/3 about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Swirl until butter melts. Stir in fresh parsley.
5. Divide pasta evenly among heated pasta bowls. Place 5 scallops on top of the pasta. Pour sauce over the top. Serve.

Enjoy!

Most Super Bowl party fair includes chips and dip and maybe a relish tray. Chicken wings and hot dogs usually make an appearance too. Lately at the grocery store, I’ve also been seeing those refrigerated trays of chilled prawns with cocktail sauce. While they are pretty simple and easy to plop on the table right before your party, I find the shrimp to be a little lacking in flavor. These Spicy Peel and Eat Shrimp with cayenne pepper, chili powder, cumin and garlic powder are a nice change of pace and trust me, will be devoured by your guests.

Ryan and I tend to eat a lot of shrimp. We eat shrimp pasta, fried shrimp, baked shrimp, shrimp scampi…I guess I should stop before I start to sound like a scene from Forrest Gump. But great movies aside, peel and eat shrimp is one of our favorites. They are super quick and easy to make. While they make a great appetizer for any party, served along side some rice and a salad, they make the perfect entree for a light supper too.

Serves 2 – 4

You will need:

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 16 medium prawns, thawed if frozen, deveined but not peeled
• 2  teaspoons olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lime

1. In a bowl combine kosher salt, chili powder, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and cumin.
2. Place deveined prawns in another bowl. Sprinkle spice mixture over the top. Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once warm add prawns. Cook 2 – 3 minutes, turning once, until shrimp are pink and cooked through.
4. Transfer to a serving platter. Squirt with lime juice. Serve.

I served these with some cocktail sauce but they were also delicious on their own. Just be sure to pass the napkins. They can be a bit messy. Enjoy!

P.S. There are only a few more days left until the Super Bowl. If you’re still looking for recipes for your party or to bring to another I’ve included my favs over here.

Lets see… how do I put this sandwich into words. How do I tell you how wonderful the crispy batter is? How do I tell you that the combination of the crispy batter, flaky fish and homemade tartar sauce is a match made in heaven. Maybe I should just come out and say it. Its crispy. Its fried. Its slathered with tartar sauce. It. Is. Scrumptious.

Saturdays pretty much always start out the same in our house. Usually, I get up a couple of hours before Ryan, get some cleaning done and then I make a big breakfast. That big breakfast means that Saturday lunch is usually a light affair, maybe a salad or some leftovers, but this past Saturday I was a little indulgent and I slept in.

I didn’t sleep in that much, but it was just enough that it didn’t make sense to make my traditional big breakfast. When I told Ryan that I would not be making breakfast his response was “well then we have to have an even bigger lunch!” “Alright”, I told him, “I can handle that”.  But when I got out the ingredients for the fish sandwiches, he didn’t seem all that convinced that those two little fillets of fish would turn into the big lunch that he was hoping for. You should have seen the look on his face when I put the finished product in front of him.  Let’s just say, after happily devouring his and part of mine, he was more than willing to eat dinner a little later than usual.

Makes 2 sandwiches

You will need:

• oil for frying
• 2 white fish fillets (cod, snapper, halibut) bones and skin removed
• fresh cracked pepper and kosher salt
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup beer batter (recipe follows)
• 2 lettuce leaves
• 1 tomato, sliced
• tartar sauce
• 2 hamburger buns, toasted if desired

1. Heat 2 inches of oil in a large pan or pot over medium-high heat until oil reaches 375 degrees. Note: Make sure the pan is large enough that the fish fillets wont be crowded when frying.
2. Sprinkle the fish fillets with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour. Dip into batter. Gently lay battered fish into oil. Fry until golden brown about 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle with more kosher salt if desired.
3. To assemble the sandwich place 1 lettuce leaf and 1 – 2 tomato slices on the bottom portion of the bun. Top with fish. Spread tartar sauce generously on top of fish. Repeat to make other sandwich.
4. Serve immediately.

Beer Batter

Makes 2 cups

• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 12 fluid ounces beer

1. In a bowl whisk together flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.
2. Slowly whisk in the beer.
3. Use immediately or store in an air-tight container. Use within a couple of days.

Enjoy!

I know that I have already shared a recipe for salmon with dill this week but I could not resist sharing this recipe too. First the salmon is baked with lemon, then topped with a buttery white wine sauce that gets a burst of flavor from some fresh dill added right at the end.  After all the rich food we’ve eaten the last few weeks, it’s a nice change.

First, I want to start out by saying Happy New Year everyone! I truly hope you all had a wonderful and safe New Year’s eve. Ryan and I ushered in 2010 with some friends. And while we said goodbye to 2009 and all of the memories that it brought, I started looking forward to all that 2010 will bring. Then I started thinking about resolutions.

Each year I have every intention of following through with the New Year’s resolutions I make but in the spirit of complete honesty, I don’t always keep them. This year I decided to do something that I thought might be pretty easy to keep. After a friend of mine mentioned that I don’t have many fish recipes on the blog I realized that it was probably because I don’t eat nearly as much fish as I should. So this year I have made a resolution to get more fish in my diet, especially salmon which has loads of Omega-3 fatty acids. And I’ll just say that if every salmon recipe I make tastes this good, I should have no problem keeping this New Year’s resolution. Now, if only I could keep the one that involves eating less potato chips.

Serves 4

You will need:

• 2 (5 ounce) salmon fillets, bones removed
• fresh cracked pepper and kosher salt
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

1. Preheat your oven to 450.
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick spray.
3. Place salmon fillets on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle fillets with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. Place 2 lemon slices on top of each fillet. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and tent with aluminum foil for 10 more minutes. Fish will continue to cook during this time. It will flake easily when done.
4. While salmon is baking, melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add minced garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in wine. Cook for 5 minutes or until sauce reduces by 1/3. Stir in fresh dill and remove from heat.
5. Remove lemon slices from the top of the salmon and discard. Gently slide a turner or serving spatula between the skin and the flesh of the fillet to remove the skin, it should separate very easily. Transfer to a serving platter and spoon white wine dill sauce over the top.
6. Serve.

Enjoy!

I’m guessing that because tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, many of you probably have some party plans. Just in case those plans include food, I wanted to share one last appetizer fit to ring in the New Year. With smoked salmon, fresh dill, cream cheese, sour cream and a little garlic all piled into a crispy wonton cup these little bites are sure please all of your party attendees.

This is essentially smoked salmon dip in a cup. I have already made a smoked salmon dip but with this recipe I decided to use the winning combination of smoked salmon and dill.  While it tasted great on its own, I knew that I didn’t want to serve just another dip. I wanted to make it a little prettier on the plate so I decided to bake some wonton wrappers and spoon the mixture inside. The result was the perfect bite of crunch and creaminess.

Makes 8

You will need:

• 8 round wonton wrappers
• olive oil
• 4 ounces cream cheese softened
• 1 tablespoon fat free sour cream
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 cup flaked smoked salmon
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Brush both sides of wonton wrappers lightly with olive oil. Place in cupcake pan. Push down lightly to form cups. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until browned.
3. Meanwhile, in a bowl combine remaining ingredients until mixed well.
4. When wontons wrappers have browned, remove from oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Transfer to a plate.
5. Spoon tablespoon of smoked salmon mixture into cups. Garnish with chopped fresh dill.
6. Serve.

Enjoy!

Now that Thanksgiving has past, we are entering the season of Holiday parties, which depending on how well you get along with your family and co-workers can be a good or a bad thing. But regardless of who will be there, hopefully you can rest assured knowing that there will be plenty of appetizers to go around.  And if you are in charge of cooking said appetizers, I suggest giving these a shot. After all how can you go wrong with succulent prawns marinated in sambal oelek, fresh ginger and soy sauce then wrapped up in a wonton wrapper and fried until golden? Answer: You can’t.

I have seen these Firecracker Prawns in many different restaurants over the years but had yet to try them at home. I am not sure why. They are so easy and delicious. I will note that they are a bit on the spicy side because of the sambal oelek chili paste but my friend, who is just now inching her way into the world of spicy food, found them delicious so don’t be afraid. You can cut the spice down a bit by using 1 teaspoon of chili paste. You can also spice it up a bit by using 1 tablespoon of chili paste instead of 2 teaspoons. Either way, holiday party guests are sure to devour them.

Makes 12

You will need

• 12 large prawns (20-30 count)
• 2 teaspoons sambal oelek chili paste
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 12 wonton wrappers
• water for sealing
• oil for frying

1. Peel and devein the prawns but leave the tails attached. Make two small cuts on the underbelly of the prawn (do not cut through) so that you can straighten the prawn out. This helps prevent the prawns from curling up completely while cooking. Pat dry and set aside.
2. In a bowl combine chili paste, ginger and soy sauce. Using a pastry brush, brush both sides of the prawns with the mixture cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
3. Place one wonton wrapper on a flat work surface. Place one prawn on a wrapper, with the tail hanging off the edge. Dip your finger in water and run it along the edges of the wrapper. Next, roll the prawns tightly in the wrapper. Set aside. Repeat until all prawns are wrapped.
4. Heat 2 inches of oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Once oil starts to shimmer, drop in a tiny piece of a wonton wrapper.  If it starts sizzling the oil is ready. Cook the prawns 4-5 minutes or until the wrappers are golden brown and the prawn tails are pink. Depending on the size of your pan you may need to do this in batches. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the prawns to a paper towel lined plate.  Sprinkle with kosher salt and serve immediately.

Serve with a quick dipping sauce using 3 parts soy sauce, 2 parts rice vinegar and a little garlic powder and enjoy!

P.S. Trust me when I tell you to try a couple before you pass them out, it’s the only way you’ll get any.

One of the wonderful things about living in the Pacific Northwest is the access to wonderful, fresh seafood. In an effort to take advantage of all of the lovely creatures of the sea available, Ryan, a couple of friends and I decided to have a seafood feast this past Sunday during which we devoured these steamed clams. And I say devoured because it was down right impossible to resist these clams steamed in butter, olive oil, shallots, garlic and white wine.

This isn’t a new recipe to me. This is actually a recipe that I created a couple of years ago when I was making steamed clams for the person in my life who loves clams the most, my grandma. If you could just see my grandma’s eyes light up whenever someone mentions the idea of eating clams, there would be no way that you could resist making them for her. Seeing that is is my grandma’s favorite dish, I didn’t want to make just any clams, I wanted to make sure they had a ton of flavor. That is where the shallots and garlic came in. And I couldn’t drown out all of that lovely flavor with water, nope, that would never do. Instead I threw in some white wine.  The result was a dish that the whole family enjoyed, especially my grandma.

Serves 4

You will need

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds manila clams, cleaned and scrubbed
• 1/2 cup white wine
• chopped fresh parsley

1. In a large skillet with a lid, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat. Once butter melts, add shallot and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
2. Add clams to skillet, pour wine over the top. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until shells open. Try to refrain from removing the lid during the first 10 minutes. Shake the pan back and forth across the burner occasionally.
3. Carefully transfer clams and broth to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Be sure to serve this with some crusty french bread so soak up all of the yummy broth. Enjoy!

If I had to make a list of my top 5 sandwiches, a classic BLT would certainly be near the top. The toasted sour dough bread, mayo, juicy tomatoes, crunchy bacon and crisp lettuce nearly always yield a scrumptious sandwich. A sandwich that I thought could not get any better. That is until I tried a BLT with the addition of spicy, succulent Cajun shrimp. Now that my taste buds have experienced this delicious combination, this sandwich just might inch its way past the traditional BLT on my sandwich list.

I first had a Shrimp BLT at a Cheesecake Factory of all places. Like all things Cheesecake Factory it was ginormous and I couldn’t finish it all. While I do remember it being quite good, I also remember thinking that the shrimp was lacking a little something.  It just didn’t have much flavor to it. I wanted something with a little more pizazz. I wanted a little more kick. Thus, when I made these at home recently I decided to add some Cajun seasoning to the shrimp before cooking. The spiciness isn’t over powering and combines nicely with the salty bacon and creamy mayo.

Serves 2

You will need:

• 8 slices of bacon
• 12 (31-40 count) prawns, peeled and deveined
• 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 slices sourdough bread
• mayonnaise
• 1 tomato, sliced into 4 slices
• 2 romaine lettuce leaves

1. Fry bacon over medium heat until browned and crispy. About 10 minutes. Transfer to paper towel lined plate, set aside.
2. In a bowl combine prawns, Cajun seasoning and olive oil. Transfer to a small pan and cook over medium heat, 3-5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Remove from heat, set aside.
3. Toast sourdough bread.
4. Spread mayonnaise on all four slices of bread. Assemble sandwiches by layering 4 slices of bacon, 6 prawns, 2 tomato slices and 1 lettuce leaf per sandwich. Serve immediately.

Serve with homemade potato chips and enjoy!