A recent visit to New Orleans - one of the planet’s best food towns - reminded me of a classic dish that I hadn’t tasted in years: Prawns (or shrimp) Pernod. It’s a rich, creamy dish made slightly spicy with Creole seasoning and with a subtle anise flavor from Pernod. Serve it straight up or with rice or pasta. Ingredients: 2 dozen large prawns or shrimp, peeled, … [Read more...]
Butter Lettuce Salad with Shrimp
When temperatures warm up in spring and summer, I often like to enjoy a hearty salad as a main dinner course. This butter lettuce salad with shrimp makes for a great one-plate dinner or lunch. Ingredients: 1 Tbsp butter 1/2 lb. medium shrimp, shelled and deveined Old Bay Seasoning (optional) 1 small head of Boston or Bibb lettuce, leaves torn into bite-size … [Read more...]
English Peas with Prosciutto
There are few things I like more than sweet and delicious fresh spring peas. Here is an easy recipe for peas with prosciutto or bacon that makes for a great side dish. Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups fresh shucked English peas ½ Tbsp olive oil 2 shallots, peeled and minced 2 oz. prosciutto, diced or 1-2 strips bacon, diced 1 tsp. sugar salt and … [Read more...]
Cajun Shrimp Poppers
If you’re looking for something tasty to serve during the Super Bowl on Sunday, these spicy shrimp poppers are perfect. You could also substitute the shrimp for crawfish tails, if you’d like. Ingredients: 1 Tbsp cayenne pepper 1 Tbsp ground cumin 1 Tbsp chili powder 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour Oil … [Read more...]
Shrimp Creole
I’ve tried dozens of different recipes for shrimp Creole in the past. However, this one - which is based on a NY Times recipe - is my wife’s favorite, so it’s become my go-to shrimp Creole recipe. It may look complicated due to the large number of ingredients, but the actual cooking time is pretty brief - about a half hour. Ingredients: 1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined … [Read more...]
Rice Noodles with Garlic and Sesame
Last week I shared a recipe for seared scallops. I served the scallops with a tasty Thai-style rice noodle side dish that is very easy to make. Here is the recipe for the noodles. Ingredients: 4 Tbsp butter 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced 1/3 cup minced scallions 2 Tbsp oyster sauce 1 Tbsp brown sugar 2 tsp sesame oil 2 tsp soy sauce 6 oz rice … [Read more...]
Seared Sea Scallops
I love the slightly sweet and tart flavor of seared sea scallops - those are the large scallops; the small ones are bay scallops. They are super easy and quick to make - they literally cook in about 3 minutes. Serve them simply with salt and pepper or with a favorite sauce, aioli, remoulade, yuzu-miso, etc. Ingredients: Fresh sea scallops - about 3-4 per person as a main … [Read more...]
Korean-Style Grilled Flank Steak
Here is a really flavorful recipe for flank steak that takes, literally, only minutes to cook. You’ll want to marinate the meat before cooking for at least 4 hours; I prefer to allow my flank steak to marinate overnight. I suggest serving the beef with rice and grilled green onions. Ingredients: 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 Tbsp sugar 2 Tbsp dry white wine 2 large garlic … [Read more...]
White Beans with Sausage
Whenever I’m in France, I always enjoy visiting cozy little bistros that serve comfort food dishes like sausages with beans. When I’m not in France, here is the recipe I use. Ingredients: 1/2 lb. dried cannellini, Great Northern, Navy or other of your favorite beans Handful of fresh sage leaves (4-5) 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 4-5 black peppercorns … [Read more...]
Beer-Braised Short Ribs
Braising is a pretty simple way to create a lot of flavor with inexpensive cuts of meat. This beer-braised short rib recipe is a very hearty and satisfying cold weather dish that only takes about 15 minutes to prep. Ingredients: 1 ½ lbs. Boneless beef short ribs Salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced ½ medium … [Read more...]