Sunday, July 8, 2007

The rest of the shrimp

became the filling for crepes.

Using your favorite crepe recipe (mine came out a little heavy this time, not sure why) fill with

Shrimp & Spinach (are you noticing a pattern here? I'm on a mission to use stuff while it's still fresh)

Heat approximately 4 tablespoons of your favorite combination of EVOO and butter (eliminating completely one or the other if you wish) in pan over medium heat (size-wise, you're going to have a little more than a quart of filling when you're finished; judge accordingly). Toss in about 1/2 cup of diced onion and saute until almost transparent; then add 1 cup of diced water chestnuts and 2 cloves diced garlic. Continue sauteing until onion is tender and transparent.

Turn heat to low and add 3/4 lb of coarsely chopped cooked jumbo shrimp, tails removed, and approximately 2 cups of fresh baby spinach leaves, cleaned and stems removed. Add 2 tablespoons of dry white wine and one tablespoon of half and half. Season with sea salt, white pepper and fresh or dried rosemary to taste, adding approximately 1 tablespoon of lemon juice as the mixture reduces (about 2 minutes)

Remove from heat and toss in 1/3 lb of crumbled feta cheese. Roll in crepes and garnish with bits of feta & spinach and a fresh or sun-dried tomato strip.

Shrimp (what to do with 1.5 lbs...)

In the interest of expanding my shrimp repertoire from stir-fry and shrimp cocktail, and not passing up a deal at Whole Foods late last week, I have two new shrimp recipes to share. The first, a Grilled Shrimp and Avocado Salad and the second Crepes with Shrimp and Spinach.

The salad has a bit of a story. Last week I made Emeril's Roasted Pork Chimichangas. His recipe is accompanied by a Corn and Goat Queso that is yaya! if you're a corn and cheese lover like me. I didn't make the whole recipe of chimis so I had some queso left over. It was positively yelling "shrimp!" to me from the shelf of my fridge.

Grilled Shrimp and Avocado Salad
3/4 lb of cooked jumbo (16/20) shrimp, basted with olive oil, skewered and grilled until just heated through. But least I mislead, I did not grill my shrimp. I had neither the fortitude nor the charcoal to heat up the grill. So I sauteed in a mixture of olive oil and butter with one crushed glove of garlic until they barely started to curl. Cooled and removed the tails. Why not remove the tails first you may ask? I like the flavor imparted by the tail left on during sauteeing.
1/2 recipe of Emeril's Corn and Goat Cheese Queso, about 1 1/2 cups (also in the interest of full disclosure, when making the recipe I used one tablespoon of canned diced jalepenos rather than the fresh, and half and half rather than cream) Reheat the Queso, adding 1 teaspoon more of diced jalepeno, and about 1/4 cup of half and half, and a bit of salt. When heated through, add the shrimp along with any cooking liquid and with tails removed, stir to coat and allow to cool.
Dice two Haas avocados and toss with approximately four cups of washed baby spinach leaves, and add the shrimp queso, tossing once more lightly. Serves six or so as a side salad.

Story of the salad, continued
My daughter and I were invited to fourth of July with her best friend's family. Hmmmm, what do you take to a potluck party attended by bastions of the local restaurant scene? The family owns/has owned three of the top local eateries. It's a bit intimidating. Really... But, the salad disappeared, rather quickly actually. Yay me!!!! I got the last few bites. though.