Coconut-Crusted Shrimp with Pineapple Salsa

 

There are about a half-dozen drafts on my dashboard- most of them from before Christmas.  Since it's nearly March... I suppose I better finish them off and get them posted.  It looks like we're off to a rough start for 2015.

Without further ado (and excuses), lets get to this deliciousness.

Shrimp.  Pineapple Salsa.  Appetizer or main dish this recipe looks a lot fancier than it is.

 INGREDIENTS

1 Tablespoon lime juice

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh jalapeno pepper

1/2 cup pineapple preserves (or 1/2 cup fresh pineapple, diced)

1 pound uncooked large shrimp peeled and deveined

2 egg whites

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

DIRECTIONS

Combine lime juice, jalapeno pepper, and pineapple preserves in a small bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl beat egg whites with a hand mixer until soft peaks form.

Place cornstarch and coconut on two separate plates. Hold shrimp by the tail and dip and coat the shrimp with cornstarch. Next, dip the shrimp in the egg whites and finally in the coconut coating well.

Place shrimp on the cookie sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes or until coconut is a golden brown. Make sure to turn it once halfway through (around 8 minutes into cooking time) to make sure both sides brown.

Serve with pineapple dipping sauce. 

VERDICT

Delicious.  It looks fancy and will impress guests- and only you will know how easy it was to whip up!

 

Buffalo Shrimp

It's football season!  Here's a fun twist on traditional "Buffalo" flavored fare:

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp each salt and ground cayenne pepper
1 1/2 lb large shrimp, shelled, deveined, and tails intact
1 Tbsp each, olive oil and unsalted butter
2 tsp regular hot red pepper sauce or garlic flavor

1 cup cornflakes, crushed

1 egg
Chopped fresh parsley or chives
Carrot and celery sticks

DIRECTIONS

In a shallow bowl, combine flour, salt and cayenne pepper.  In another bowl, break an egg and lightly beat it (you may want to add a bit of water as well).  In a third bowl, add the cornflakes and crush. 

Add shrimp first to the flour bowl, then in the egg, then into the corn flakes.

In a large skillet, heat oil, butter, and hot pepper sauce. Add shrimp and cook, stirring constantly until lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes.
 

Serve with blue cheese dressing, carrots & celery.

NUTRITION

Makes 4 servings.
Each serving: 444 cal, 22 g fat, 37 g protein, 23 g carb.

VERDICT

I don't know what the idea is behind leaving the tails on, but they were a pain to peel off (and even find sometimes) when they were all coated.  If we do this again I'll completely peel the shrimp, tail & all.

Otherwise, these were really fun!  

 

Tilapia & Shrimp Hoisin Packets

My husband was working late one night so I decided to make a meal he doesn't really care for.  And in spite of it being Friday night I was actually in the mood to eat healthy.  I based this loosely on Hosin Shrimp Packets but decided it was too cold outside to light up the grill.  If it can be done on the grill it can be done in the oven, right?  Read on...

INGREDIENTS

Random vegetables from the refrigerator (I used zucchini, asparagus & carrots) cut into bite-sized pieces.
1/2 cup instant brown or white rice
1/2 cup white wine (um... a good white wine.  See verdict)
1/4 cup Hosin Sauce
1 tilapia fillet
1/4 - 1/2 lb. uncooked shrimp

DIRECTIONS

Pour the rice onto a piece of tinfoil.  Next add the seafood, then the vegetables.  Pour hoisin sauce on top. 

Make a packet with the tinfoil, pinching in the sides to prevent leaking.  Carefully add the wine before sealing up.  Poke the top a few times with a fork to vent.

Grill for 20 minutes, or bake for 45, or until fish is flaky and shrimp are pink. 


VERDICT

I'm assuming this would have been better with a good white wine.  Or at least a white wine that didn't taste like cat piss.  But I used this bottle.

And then it took forever in the oven.  Forever!  White I waited for dinner I moved on to this bottle of wine.  Much better.  After three glasses of red wine dinner was finally cooked through.  And it tasted like it had been cooked in cheap wine.

Sigh.  I tried.  I really tried to eat healthy.  And the recipe was healthy.  Three glasses of red wine, alas, is not.

Spicy Jalapeno Tequlia Shrimp

It's always a bit of an adventure cooking dinner at my mother's house.  The only spices she has are in their original glass tins and have 1978 stamped on the bottom as their expiration date.  I kid you not.  When it's my turn to cook there I usually go out and buy everything fresh, or bring it from home.  The one thing I did not bring was tequilla.


Another fun fact about my mother- though she doesn't drink, she loves a good deal and returns from yearly cruises with 4-5 bottles of liquor.  Mango rum?  She's got it.  Raspberry vodka?  Check!  ("But it was only $6 in St. Maarten!")  I assumed she'd have tequilla amidst her liquor bottles under the stove.  There wasn't any, so we didn't follow the directions to set fire to this recipe, but it still had plenty of flavor.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup vertically sliced onion
• 1/2 cup julienne-cut seeded jalapeno pepper
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup tequila
• 3 cups chopped seeded tomato
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 6 cups hot cooked rice
• 1 peeled medium avocado, cut into 12 wedges

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeno pepper, and garlic; saute 8 minutes. Add shrimp, vinegar, and salt, and saute 3 minutes. Pour tequila into one side of skillet, and ignite tequila with a long match. Let flames die down. Add tomato and cilantro, and cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and stir in lime juice. Spoon shrimp mixture over rice. Serve with avocado wedges.

VERDICT

Even without the tequilla (or cilantro... I didn't bring that either), this was really good.  Really, really spicy though!  Those jalapenos add a ton of spice!


We served it over pasta and had plenty of leftovers.

Frogmore Stew/Clambake

Clams, Shrimp, Potatoes & Corn all steamed and then dumped onto a paper-covered table in front of you?  Yes, please.

This is the perfect dinner for a crowd- and with no silverware or plates required, the short clean-up time is perfect for a host too!

Before I get to the recipe, there's a side note on this guy:

He is a new shell lobster.  At $6.99 a pound he was also a steal compared to the regular hard shell lobsters in the tank ($12.99 per pound).  I have to admit- I hated picking him up.  And tossing him in the water also seemed really cruel in spite of the lack of a central nervous system. 

The guilt didn't last that long.  He and his brother were DELICIOUS.  Best lobster I've ever had.  If you see "new shell" lobsters at your local market, I recommend picking one up.

Now then... onto the recipe!

INGREDIENTS

3 dozen clams
1 pound raw shrimp
1-2  pounds baby red potatoes
6 ears corn, cut into 2-inch pieces
5 quarts water
1/4 cup Old Bay seasoning

DIRECTIONS

Bring water and Old Bay to a boil. Wash the clams well and soak in water to draw out the sand.

Add the potatoes, boil uncovered for 10 minutes.

Add the corn, cook an additional 10 minutes.

Add the clams and shrimp, cook just until the clams open, about 3-4 minutes.

Drain, and dump out onto a paper-covered table.  Serve with melted butter, cocktail sauce, and more Old Bay.  Chunks of crusty bread make a great side.

VERDICT

Not counting the lobster (which was AWESOME!), this was a really great dinner.  The clean-up was super easy, the kids loved eating with their fingers, and the taste was great.  The shrimp wasn't the best (they cooked really, really fast and were slightly overdone) but the rest was great.

The original version of this recipe calls for spicy Italian sausage going in with the corn.  I skipped this and added clams instead, but that's always an option to add back in.