Cilantro Lime Shrimp

I’ve been in a bit of a cooking rut lately. I blame it on the whirlwind that was the month of May, which found Mike and I either out of town, celebrating a birthday or graduation, or grabbing whatever foodstuffs were handy for dinner while frantically preparing for the aforementioned vacations.

June has brought with it not only a return to our more-or-less usual routine, but also weather so beautiful that it seemed criminal to waste it indoors cooking or strolling the aisles of the grocery store. This means that dinner at the Cassity house lately has consisted of such gourmet offerings as egg salad sandwiches, hot dogs, and cold cereal. Aren’t you jealous?

In an effort to try and get my groove back, I dug some shrimp out of the freezer one morning last week, put them in the fridge to thaw, and started looking around for a recipe. This cilantro lime version I found produced flavorful, succulent shrimp that are the perfect balance of salty, sweet, sour, and hot. Served with some quinoa and a green salad, they were a perfectly light summer meal that came together so quickly that we had plenty of time to bask in the outdoors after dinner. Let’s just not talk about how the shrimp actually took two full days to thaw, so that on the night I planned to cook them we once again forewent a decent home-cooked meal and indulged our lonestar taqueria habit instead. That little debacle is entirely beside the point.

Cilantro Lime Shrimp (from The Gourmet Cookbook)

The recipe recommends sauteeing the shrimp, but I thought the smoky flavor of the grill would complement the flavors nicely so I grilled them instead. I’ve included instructions for both cooking methods. Also, these are originally meant to be served as an appetizer, so if you’re looking to serve them as a main course for more than 2 or 3 people I would up the quantities.

3 garlic cloves
1 1/8 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons olive oil (plus more if sauteeing shrimp)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (adjust to taste)
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined (The recipe says 20-24 to the pound but I used 25-31 to the pound)

1) Using a large knife, mince garlic cloves and mash to a paste.
2) Mix garlic with 1 teaspoon salt.
3) Whisk together garlic paste, lime juice, marmalade, cilantro, 3 tablespoons oil, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt,and pepper in a small bowl.
4) Transfer 1/3 cup of the mixture to small serving bowl and reserve for dipping sauce.
5) Combine shrimp with remaining mixture in a large sealable plastic bag and seal bag, pressing out excess air.
6) Marinate shrimp in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, turning the bag once halfway through.
7) Drain shrimp and gently pat dry.
8) To grill shrimp: Thread shrimp onto skewers (if they’re wooden skewers make sure to soak them in water for 15-20 minutes beforehand). Place on an oiled grill and cook over medium heat until shrimp are pink on the outside and opaque (about 1 ½ or 2 minutes per side).
To pan fry: Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large non-stick skillet over moderately high heat.
Add half the shrimp and cook, turning occasionally until shrimp is cooked through, about 3 minutes total. Transfer to a platter and cook the remaining shrimp in 1 1/2 teaspoons of oil.
9) Garnish with cilantro and serve with dipping sauce.

Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream Sandwiches

The last time I posted on this blog, I was all about the chocolate and peanut combination. Well, now it’s time to talk about its more subtle, sophisticated cousin, the one I love most of all: chocolate and hazelnut.

My first introduction to this combo was the ferrero rocher chocolates my mom always bought for Christmas, and oh man did I fall hard for those. Then came nutella, that European chocolate hazelnut spread that puts peanut butter to shame. I still remember eating it in a giant crepe with bananas on the street in Paris. Perfection. But it’s also pretty good on toast or eaten by the spoonful out of the jar. Basically what I’m saying is that I would eat this stuff if it were spread on cardboard.

And now that you know of my undying love of all things chocolate and hazelnut, let’s talk about these ice cream sandwiches. I was given the recipe posted below by my older brother and forgot all about it for a couple of years until I recently cleaned out my recipe folder. I had some chocolate wafers left over from making an icebox cake and, as fate would have it, the same brother who asked me to make them in the first place had recently returned home from grad school in Switzerland and I figured he was due a “welcome home” treat.

So I made these ice cream sandwiches and fell head-over-heels in love. A stellar combination of barely sweet dark cookies, crunchy hazelnuts, smooth chocolate ice cream, and the aforementioned nutella, these chic little frozen treats are the dessert equivalent of those small, elegant cups of after-dinner espresso. They are also the ultimate example of the “quality over quantity” mantra, as one of these tiny sandwiches feels more indulgent and satisfying than a giant Fat Boy. But that’s not to say I’ll judge you for eating two. Heaven knows the terms “restraint” and “nutella” don’t really pair well in my world.

Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream Sandwiches (from Better Homes and Gardens, Sept. 2008)

When I made these I totally ignored the instructions and just spread the nutella to my liking, smeared the ice cream all willy-nilly between the cookies, and pretty much made a giant mess. The end result was good but inconsistent. You couldn't taste the nutella in some of the sandwiches, and the ice cream didn't look very pretty. I would suggest learning from my rebel ways and following the directions instead.

16 chocolate wafer cookies (I used nabisco brand but you can also make your own)
1/3 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (nutella)
1 pint premium chocolate ice cream (I used Haagen Dazs)
1/3 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts*

1) Spread flat side of each wafer with nutella; set aside.
2) Scoop 8 ice cream balls, about 3 tablespoons each, and keep in freezer until ready to assemble.
3) To assemble sandwiches, remove ice cream balls from freezer and allow to soften for one minute.
4) Place 1 ice cream ball on each wafer and top with remaining wafer; press gently together.
5) Sprinkle edges with nuts. Place sandwiches on baking sheet lined with wax paper and freeze for 3 hours, or until firm. To store, freeze up to 2 weeks in self-sealing plastic bags.

*To toast and skin hazelnuts, spread nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes until skins crackle. Wrap hazelnuts in a clean towel and let steam for 5-10 minutes. Rub hazelnuts in towel until skins flake off.

Squirrel Bars

There are few combinations more universally popular than the pairing of chocolate and peanut butter. And there are few examples of this pairing that I love more than squirrel bars. A favorite of my family’s , these cheekily named bars are essentially a peanut butter blondie with swirls of melted semi-sweet chocolate running across the top. They are a perfect combination of salty and sweet and, though they are fairly rich, they impart a generous dose of chocolate and peanut butter flavor without evoking the mouth-filling heaviness of, say, a Reese’s peanut butter cup.

I actually can’t believe it’s taken me this long to post about these, since they are frequently my go-to recipe when someone asks me to bring a treat to a shower, open house, etc. Squirrel bars look a little fancier than your typical brownie or cookie, but are easy and quick to make. Perfect for when you want to change things up a bit but don’t have a lot of time to make anything elaborate. Just be careful serving them to children, since word on the street is that they all have deathly peanut allergies these days.

Squirrel Bars (from the Ivory Favorites cookbook)

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1) Cream together first four ingredients.
2) Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well blended.
3) Stir in flour and baking powder.
4) Spread dough in a greased 9x13 pan and sprinkle with chocolate chips.
5) Bake at 350 for 3 minutes, or until chocolate chips are nice and melted, like this:
6) Remove from oven and marbelize by dragging a butter knife or similar utensil (I use a chopstick) through the chocolate chips, like so:

Until they look like this:
7) Return the bars to the oven and bake for another 18-20 minutes, or until bars are a pale golden brown and set (mine usually don't take that long, so start checking after like 15 minutes).

*Don't be tempted to substitute milk chocolate chips- they don't impart enough chocolate flavor. Also, every time I have made these with chocolate chips that have been sitting in my pantry for quite some time, the end result isn't quite as pretty, since the chips don't melt enough to be marbelized. So if you're looking to achieve the result pictured above, use fresh chocolate chips (one sure sign that chocolate chips are old is if they are kind of white on the outside).

Mediterranean-ish Pasta Salad

This is what I like about pasta salads: they’re easy to make and adapt to your tastes, they can be prepared ahead of time, and they are a relatively inexpensive yet filling dish to serve at a party, shower or other such function where you want to feed people without spending too much money. This is what I don’t like about pasta salads: just about everything else.

Maybe this is because when I think of pasta salad I immediately picture a bland mixture of tri-color pasta, broccoli, and black olives drenched in overly sweet Italian dressing, but even as I type that I realize that even the most artisan cold pasta creations from Tony Caputo’s don’t really do it for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll eat pasta salad (I’ll eat just about anything, really) but it’s never something I go out of my way to procure. I guess at the end of the day I just prefer my pasta served hot (preferably drenched in some kind of tomato cream sauce) and my salads to consist primarily of vegetables.

But like most of my deeply held convictions, I eventually came across an exception to my apathy toward pasta salad. It came in the form of a Mediterranean style pasta salad that my older sister created for a family dinner, and which I have susequently adapted and made for a handful of bridal showers, book club gatherings, etc. In my opinion, what sets this pasta salad apart is the homemade Italian dressing and the way it mingles with the oil of the sun-dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts to create a complex blend of flavors; the high ratio of other ingredients to the pasta (of course, if you like more pasta you can always change this aspect of the recipe, but I prefer more of the other stuff); and the use of whole wheat pasta, which lends a nutty depth to the dish. If there were ever a reason to reconsider my culinary opinions, this pasta salad is it.

Elena's Pasta Salad

When I made this pasta salad for a book club last week, I had every intention of measuring out the ingredients and writing everything down, since people often ask for the recipe and I’m tired of responding with, “well, you just kind of throw a bunch of stuff together…” But life happened and I did end up just throwing everything together in a hurry, like always. So just use these measurements as very loose guidelines and go with whatever ratio looks right to you. As mentioned above, I like to have an equal amount of pasta and non-pasta ingredients, but do whatever you like.

Also, some of the ingredients in this salad might sound fancy but they are actually a Costco shopper’s dream because they stay good for years. I bought big jars of artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, and kalamata olives at Costco for a good price and now they just sit in the back of my fridge until I need them.

1 pound whole wheat spiral pasta
About 1 cup artichoke hearts marinated in oil (not canned), quartered
About ¾ cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
About ½ cup sundried tomatoes, sliced
About 8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into bite-sized cubes
About ¾ cup diced tomatoes (I had some baby heirloom tomatoes on hand, so I just used those cut in half)
1 ripe avocado, diced
About ½ cup Italian Dressing (recipe follows)

1) Cook pasta according to package directions and allow to cool to room temperature.
2) Once pasta is cool, place in a bowl with remaining ingredients and stir to combine. If making a day ahead, wait to stir in avocado and dressing until just before serving. Keep refrigerated.

Italian Dressing (via food.com)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon grated parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients in a bottle. Shake to blend. Allow flavors to blend about an hour or so, Will even be more flavorful the following day. Be sure to refrigerate any leftovers.

Black and White Cookies

I’m pretty bad when it comes to picking favorites. If you asked me to name my favorite food or favorite book, I would probably bombard you with an endless list of options that could all be considered my top choice. But there is one category in which I could easily pick a favorite, and that’s TV sitcoms. As far as I’m concerned, Seinfeld is by far the greatest sitcom ever made; it’s original, clever, and downright hilarious. Fellow Seinfeld fans may remember the episode in which Jerry and Elaine go to a bakery together and Jerry waxes philosophical about black and white cookies (“look to the cookie”) before eating one makes him sick. If you don’t remember this episode or haven’t seen it, you can catch the highlights here.

According to this New York Times article, Seinfeld solidified the black and white cookie’s status as one of New York’s trademark foods. I actually never encountered a black and white cookie in the times I visited The Big Apple (which is surprising, because I hit the city’s bakeries and I hit them hard) so my first encounter with this iconic pastry was a small, delicate version at a local bakery called Les Madelines that bore little resemblance to the black and white cookie of Seinfeld fame. I’m guessing it’s what black and white cookies would look like in France.

The first time I tasted a real black and white cookie ended up being when I baked them from a recipe found in my Gourmet cookbook last weekend. I could tell from the outset that the black and white would be my type of cookie: a soft, cakey base topped with a simple glaze that imparts a striking visual appeal without being too showy or cute. And while I’m usually a chocolate whore, I found myself enjoying the vanilla side equally (although the two flavors are really best when eaten in the same bite). These cookies may not hold the secret to racial harmony as Jerry claims, but they sure do wonders for a girl’s sweet tooth.

Black and White Cookies (adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook)


When I first made these, I followed the orginal recipe's specifications for cookie size and made them huge. The second time around I went for a medium version (pictured above), which I am more partial to simply because the large ones are a little much unless you're really committed to eating a cookie. But feel free to go with your own preference because I've included directions for both.

The other change I made in this recipe involve the icing, as I'm not too fond of lemon in my baked goods and I thought the process could be a little less hassle-free. I recommend making one of the icings first and frosting the cookies with it before making the other one so that neither one of the icings has a chance to solidify in the bowl.

cookies:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg

Vanilla icing:
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons hot water

Chocolate icing:
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons hot water
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1) Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.
2) Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well.
3) Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.
4) For large cookies: Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven at 350 until tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 15 to 17 minutes.
For medium cookies: Spoon about 2 tablespoons of batter 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake for about ten minutes, or until cookies spring back when touched.
5) Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes (or you could just let them cool at room temp before you frost them if you have the time).
6) When cool, turn cookies flat sides up, then spread white icing over half of each and chocolate over other half (recipe follows).
7) Once cookies are iced, let them sit at room temperature for an hour or so, or until the glaze has set. Store in an airtight container in between sheets of waxed paper.

Vanilla icing:
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons hot water

Chocolate icing:
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons hot water
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

For vanilla icing: Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until smooth (you want it to be the consistency of thick Elmer's glue, so add more or less water accordingly).

For chocolate: Same process as vanilla, only add cocoa in as well and use more hot water to thin to the same consistency as the vanilla icing.

Green salad with beets, goat cheese, and candied pecans

As far as restaurants go, I am neither here nor there on the subject of The Cheesecake Factory. I know people who absolutely love this place and others who dismiss it as totally overhyped. I fall into neither camp, and consider Cheesecake Factory one of those places that I wouldn’t choose if the restaurant decision is up to me, but I’m perfectly fine with eating there should someone else pick it.

I can, however, recall a time when I had a pretty terrible experience at this restaurant. We went there with my in-laws and had to wait an unreasonable amount of time for a table (even by Cheesecake Factory standards), Mike’s meal arrived stone cold, and the salad I ordered wasn’t anything to write home about. It was called the french country salad or something like that and the description on the menu sounded right up my alley: greens tossed in a vinegarette dressing with roasted beets, pecans, and goat cheese. However, when the salad arrived it was swimming in dressing, the beets were mushy, and the goat cheese was limited to two small dabs (unusual for a restaurant that prides itself on huge portions).

As awful as the execution of this salad was, I still liked the idea of the ingredients together so when I found myself with both beets and goat cheese that needed to be used up, I decided to create my own version of it. I did a bit of googling to get ideas and it turns out that there are tons of variations of this salad out there. I drew inspiration from a few of the recipes and ended up with a simple salad that far exceeded the verison I sampled at Cheesecake Factory in every aspect except for the fact that I couldn't order a piece of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake after I finished it.

My version of the French Country Salad

I always feel like writing out quantities in salad recipes is kind of a waste since it’s tough to measure it out and you should really just go by how much of each ingredient you want in the finished product. So the quantities below really are just guidelines. And if you have some roasted asparagus on hand, I think it would make a great addition to this salad.

Even though I usually dismiss individual plating as too fussy, it really does work better for this salad. The first time I experimented with making it I made a huge bowl for my family’s Sunday dinner and it didn’t work too well because you really want a good balance of the ingredients and the dressing to thoroughly coat the salad and beets, which is harder to do in a large bowl than individual plates.

Salad:
2 medium beets, scrubbed
Olive oil
Sea salt
~6 cups salad greens
~4 oz. goat cheese

Candied Pecans:
2 cups pecans
1 tablespoon melted butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. vanilla

Dressing:
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
½ tablespoon honey

1) Make candied pecans by tossing the nuts with the butter and vanilla, then adding the brown sugar and stirring to coat the nuts.
2) Bake pecans on a foil-lined baking sheet at 375 for about 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. I would start checking them after ten minutes because the sugar can burn quickly. Once the nuts are golden brown and the sugar has solidified, remove them from the oven. Let cool completely.
3) Rub each of the beets lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with some salt. Wrap in tin foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 for about an hour (longer or shorter depending on the size of your beets), or until a fork goes through them easily.
4) Allow beets to cool, then peel and dice into small pieces.
5) Make dressing by whisking ingredients together. Drizzle desired amount of dressing over beets and greens and toss.
6) Divide salad evenly among plates and top with crumbled goat cheese and pecans.

Tomato Soup

So remember how a little while ago I wrote about some blue cheese crackers that I was eager to eat with a bowl of tomato soup? Well, after I wrote that sentence I couldn’t get the idea out of my mind but there was one teeny problem with executing this plan, namely that I didn’t have a great tomato soup recipe.

The issue that I have with most tomato soup is that it is way too rich and intense to be enjoyed by the bowlful. It works well as a dipping sauce for grilled cheese sandwiches or breadsticks but that’s about it. I’ve found a few exceptions to this generalization, one of which is the tomato bisque posted below.

I found this recipe on a food blog and was immediately intrigued by the inclusion of butternut squash puree. In the same way that the potato in that broccoli cheese chowder recipe added some depth and thickness to that soup, so does the squash in this tomato one. It doesn’t add a particular flavor but keeps a soup that can easily become reminiscent of pasta sauce firmly anchored in spoon-and-bowl territory. Which isn’t to say that it wouldn’t be great paired with a grilled cheese sandwich, but for someone who wanted to enjoy her soup with just a few crackers, it was a perfect fit.

Tomato Bisque (adapted from melskitchencafe.com)

I made a couple of changes to the original recipe, posted here. The first was to reduce the amount of sugar it called for. I added half the original amount (1 tablespoon) when I first made it and I found that it gave the soup a sweet flavor that was totally not what I was going for. So from now on I'm just going to add enough sugar to take some of the acidic bite out of the tomatoes. I also switched up the cooking directions a bit so more flavor from the various seasonings gets infused into the soup.

1 medium butternut squash (for about 1 1/2 cups cooked squash)
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup finely diced onion
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 can (14.5 ounces) Italian-style stewed tomatoes (or 1 can stewed tomatoes with 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning)
1 cup chicken stock ( I used broth)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 cup nonfat half-and-half (I used 1% milk and it worked beautifully)
Tapatio or other hot sauce to taste

1) Cut the butternut squash in half, lengthwise, so you have two long pieces. Scoop out the seeds and pulp from each half.
2) Place both sides cut-side down in a 9X13-inch pan. Add enough water to come about 1/4-inch up the sides of the squash. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about an hour, or until squash is very tender when pierced with the fork in several places. If the flesh doesn’t easily give to the pressure of the fork, continue cooking in ten minute increments, and testing again, until the squash is tender.
3) Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the squash to a large cutting board or plate. Let it cool about 15 minutes before scooping out the flesh. If preparing the day before, scoop out the flesh and place in a tupperware. Let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate until using it in the soup. If using the squash immediately, scoop the squash into the blender.
4) While the squash is cooking, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and saute the onion until soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, salt, basil, and sugar and let simmer for about ten minutes.
5) Add the tomato mixture to the squash in the blender (or, if you have an immersion blender, add the squash to the tomato mixture and blend in the pot). Process until smooth. Pour the blended mixture back into the saucepan and add the half and half or milk. Heat over medium-low until the soup is warm (but don’t let it boil or simmer to avoid the cream curdling). Serve immediately and add hot sauce to taste, if desired.

P.S.- I also tried Mel's split pea and barley soup last week and it was delicious. Highly recommended.