Baked Cod

Baked Cod Gratinée

The Year of the Tomato continues...

I canned another 8 pints of tomato sauce, today, and then set Victor loose in the kitchen for dinner.

Kitchen tag-teaming is an art in our house! We had cod, we had sweet potatoes, and we had tomatoes - the perfect combination for a fantastic dish!

He started with a small casserole dish - buttered. Into that went thinly sliced sweet potato, a bit of sliced onion, and sliced tomato on top of that. A bit of salt and pepper, of course, and then a sprinkling of bread crumbs and just a bit of parmigiano reggiano.

It was covered, and then into a 350°F oven for about 35 minutes.

The cover came off and the fish went on. He drizzled the fish with aleppo oil - a mixture of aleppo pepper and oil. Onto the entire dish went a covering of bread crumbs and grated cheeses, mixed with a bit of S&P and oregano.

Since everything else was cooked, it went under the broiler for just a couple of minutes to cook the fish.

To serve, it was topped with chopped tomatoes - because we have lots of tomatoes.

Baked Cod

It was a very uncomplicated dish - and just exploded with flavor. The sweet potatoes were perfectly soft, the tomatoes almost disintegrated, the fish was perfectly firm and moist...

Crusty cheese and crumbs added texture and flavor.

Perfection on a plate!

 

 


Tuna Burgers

Tuna Burgers

We had a couple of odd-sized tuna steaks in the freezer - one rather large and one rather small - so I thought it might be a good idea to figure out how to make them more equal-sized. Chopping them up and making burgers seemed the easiest. I had roughly 12oz of tuna, so I went to work.

Tuna Burgers

  • 12 oz tuna
  • 3 green onions, chopped
  • 1 hot pepper, minced
  • 3 tbsp chopped chives
  • 1 tbsp chopped basil
  • 1 tbsp chopped mint
  • 2 tbsp mayonnaise
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • panko bread crumbs

In food processor, mince herbs and hot pepper. Add 2/3 of the tuna and process fairly well. Add mayonnaise and green onions and mix well.

Hand-chop the remaining tuna into small cubes and add to processor. Pulse just until mixed.

Form into patties, dredge in panko, and fry until golden

Serve with tartar sauce, if desired.

I made 4 burgers. Two for dinner and two for the freezer.

We had them with the last of the homemade pasta from Sunday, but they would be equally good on buns with fries or with potato salad. They were really flavorful, juicy, and had a great crunch - everything you want in a seafood burger.

Making the first part of the tuna a bit pasty meant it didn't need egg or a lot of other binder. A bit of mayonnaise worked quite well. Adding in chunks of tuna gave it texture and flavor.

Really quick and easy!

Tuna Burgers

 


Shrimp and Cod

Shrimp and Cod

Relaxing after dinner, last night, Victor said: You know what would be good? Those grilled vegetables on rice with shrimp and cod. With one of the pita breads.

A meal was born!

The grilled vegetables in the 'fridge are getting a workout, this week. I can't believe the concept hadn't occurred to us before - grill a bunch of vegetables in advance and have them available when you want them. It really is a simple idea.

Tonight's variation on a theme started with simple white rice. We probably have a half-dozen or more different rice varieties in the cupboard, but Goya Canilla rice is my go-to. 3-pound bag, $2.39.

On top of the rice went the grilled vegetables. I added a can of chopped green chiles, a pinch of cumin, and a pinch of ancho chili powder to them to switch out the base flavor. I don't over-season them to begin with, so they can go in any direction...

On top of that went the shrimp and cod.

My original thought was to use some tomatoes and hot peppers from the yard to make a quick fresh sauce to poach the fish in. Alas, the skies opened up and torrential rains have been falling. I ain't going out there for nuthin'.

Instead, I used a bit of Salsa Autentica and some chopped roasted red pepper. I brought it to a boil, placed the cut up fish and the shrimp into the sauce, stirred, covered, and turned off the heat. In three minutes I had perfectly-cooked seafood.

That went on top.

At the table, we had some homemade habanero hot sauce I made yesterday. Just one little bottle. It has a bit of heat but it also has a lot of flavor. I cut the peppers and vinegar with tequila and it really helped to mellow it out.

Habanero Hot Sauce

We also had a the pita. We made little bite-sized sandwiches and ate more with our fingers than with utensils.

Shrimp and Cod

All-in-all, a very fine dinner.

 


Shrimp and Grits

The End of Week Fifty-Two

We did it.

Fifty-Two Weeks of seeing a Personal Trainer three times a week. One hundred and fifty-six training sessions. 

The results are pretty mind-boggling.

Lookin' Good!

Victor has gone from a Body Fat Percentage of 38.5% to 31.4 and a BMI of 32.2 to 27.5.

I went from 32.7 to 20.8 and a BMI of 31.4 to 24.8.

I'm wearing 34" waist pants down from 42" and we're both now exclusively in large t-shirts - down from XXL. It's nothing short of a miracle - and a lot of hard work.

The first low plank I did a year ago lasted 34 seconds. Today I did two and a half minutes - and could have gone longer. Three times as many push-ups, three times longer on a wall-sit. And I didn't want to die, afterwards. Victor was right there, as well - doubling and tripling what he was able to do last year - and he did a hellava lot more sit-ups than me. I hate sit-ups.

I really credit Charles, our Trainer, for pushing, us prodding us, and giving us the confidence to do it. He has read us well - knowing when to push, knowing when to back off, and working with each of us as individuals even when we were doing the same routines - adjusting them to suit our needs and abilities.

My biggest area to work on will be flexibility. I still can't get close to touching my toes, but I can pretty much pick something up off the floor without kneeling - that's something I couldn't do a year ago.

Victor can touch his toes and pretty much bend himself into a pretzel. He wants to lose a few more pounds, so we'll be back to watching portions, better. They've been creeping up...

We're taking a month off from Personal Training because we need a break - three days a week for a year has been pretty intense. Next month we'll be back one day a week for about six months to fine-tune things and keep us on track.

And I think the gym will be a regular feature in our lives from here on out. We've come too far to fall back into our former slothful ways.

That, of course, doesn't mean we won't splurge on things or overeat or gorge on ice cream now and again. It simply means we won't do it a lot - and we'll be aware of it when we do so we can balance it out with a few less calories and a bit more work.

Our celebratory meal, today, is Shrimp and Grits - with the Grits coming from Anson Mills. Actually, it's their Rustic Polenta Integrale, but I'm not quibbling.

I made a very basic polenta - a lot, because it's also going to be a part of tomorrow's dinner - and topped it with Anson Mills Sea Island Red Peas mixed with shrimp and just tons of fun foods and flavors.

The basic ingredients included:

  • shrimp
  • green pepper
  • onion
  • garlic
  • celery
  • Penzey's Cajun Spice
  • Anson Mills Sea Island Red Peas
  • tomato
  • corn cob coins

A simple saute of the onion, garlic, green pepper, and celery with the tomatoes and beans adding the necessary liquid. On went the lid and in a few minutes I stirred in the shrimp. The cover went back on and in two minutes it was ready.

Shrimp and Grits

It was a fun and filling dinner - lots of eating with fingers - and the perfect meal for a fun and fulfilling day.

The numbers surprised me. I knew we were doing well - but seeing the actual numbers made an impact - and a decision not to fall back. I'm not putting myself through this, again.

And I think it also proves that if we can do it, anyone can. We started this journey at 66 and 67 years of age. There was a real fear that in retirement, I was going to cook and bake us to death. Let's face it - our love of food has never been a secret. The foods we were eating were relatively good, we were just shoving way too much of it into our mouths. The excess weight fueled the lethargy that fueled the overeating that fueled the lethargy. We needed to break the cycle - and we did.

If you've been keeping track this past year, you'll note that we are not dieting. There are no foods that are forbidden, there are no ingredients we cannot eat. It's more about just being sensible. It's been rethinking our meals and our portions - and learning to stop when we were full and not licking our plates clean.

We still have dessert every night, but it's now usually fresh fruit or popcorn instead of pies, cakes, and cookies. The pies, cakes, and cookies still appear, but in smaller versions. You can make a 6" cake with 3/4 cup flour and a half-cup of sugar - just don't make them every day.

But simply eating better is merely one part of the equation - moving is the other. We've broken the sloth-cycle, as well.

So here's to the past year and to all the years ahead.

We're ready.

 


Cod Cakes

Cod Cakes and Grilled Vegetables

Summertime, and the livin' is easy... and hot and muggy and wet. The only thing loving this weather, right now, is the cucumber plant.

I don't mind hot, but when going outside is like walking into a steam room... well... I tend to stay inside a bit more. It just saps my new-found strength.

My original thought for dinner, tonight, was grilled cod with grilled vegetables. I grilled the vegetables earlier in the day, but decided to make cod cakes because I didn't feel like standing over the grill, again.

It was a good choice.

Grilled Vegetables

This batch of vegetables included

  • corn
  • mushrooms
  • fennel
  • cauliflower
  • carrots
  • leeks
  • yellow zucchini
  • asparagus
  • green onions

I liberally coated everything in olive oil, hit them with salt and pepper, and onto the grill they went. Really simple, very basic.

I then chopped everything, mixed them into a bowl, and drizzled with a bit of good balsamic and a pinch of salt and pepper.

The cod cakes were pretty basic, as well. I poached the cod and mixed it in with some good stuff.

Cod Cakes

Poaching liquid:

  • 1 cup white wine
  • 2 cups water
  • juice of 1 lemon

Cod cakes

  • 1 lb cod
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 1/2 small onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 2 tsp good mustard
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp chili flakes
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 2 tbsp mixed fresh herbs
  • salt & pepper, to taste

Poach fish in poaching liquid until just cooked and fish flakes. Remove from liquid and set aside to cool.

Saute celery, onion, and garlic until wilted. Set aside to cool.

Mix mayonnaise, mustard, eggs, bread crumbs, herbs and spices. Stir in celery mixture. Break up cod and lightly stir into mixture. Form into 4 patties.

Fry in a lightly-oiled skillet until browned on both sides and heated all the way through.

Serve on top of grilled vegetables.

Cod Cakes

We also had a roasted beet from the garden, so that went onto the plate, as well.

Lots of flavors and lots of textures, and because it was done in short stages over the course of the day, it took no time to pull it all together.

A bowl of grilled vegetables is now a staple in the 'fridge. Perfect for lunch, snacking, or a quick side for dinner.

The livin' is easy, indeed...

 

 

 


Shrimp Ravioli

Shrimp Ravioli

I suppose there's millions of people out there barbecuing and grilling, today. Lord knows we've been there. We just didn't feel like grilling in 90°F weather with thunderstorms and ridiculous humidity. Better to stay indoors with air conditioning.

July 4th is also my favorite brother-in-law's birthday. I've known Mike since the mid-'60s, so there are a few birthday celebrations I have difficulty remembering. today. Our misspent youth was definitely misspent. Or not. How many of you remember the days when you had to make sure you had a wad of cash because ATMs would only give you a paltry amount per 24 hour period and were often Out Of Service after 1:00am?!?

Ah... the good ol' days...

If we were on the west coast, we'd be celebrating with him, today.

But since we're not... we're celebrating with homemade ravioli!

Victor had leftover pasta dough and ricotta filling from the ravioli he made last week, so he pulled it from the freezer and went to work.

Shrimp Ravioli

He took the ricotta filling and added chopped shrimp he sauteed in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Really simple.

He then made a sauce of olive oil, garlic, white wine, clam juice, lemon juice, fresh oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, butter, salt and pepper. When it had reduced by about half, he added the shrimp and in three minutes the sauce was ready. Again, really simple.

Shrimp Ravioli

The pasta was feather light and the filling screamed flavor. Rich shrimp flavor with perfect chunks to offset the creamy ricotta. The sauce was light but rich in flavor. It was the perfect topping.

Meanwhile, I made a loaf of sourdough walnut raisin bread. I screwed it up - more detail than I can go into, here - but, the flavor was excellent.

Raisin Walnut Sourdough

A successful holiday, and a successful meal.

Plus, the DC festivities are in shambles because of the weather... Who could ask for anything more?!?

 

 


Gnocchi alla Romana

Gnocchi alla Romana

I receive a daily email from La Cucina Italiana - in Italian. There are usually one or two ideas that look promising - and I do have to admit that Google Translate can really be a hoot when it comes to translating food ingredients and cooking terms.

This morning, Victor said he was going to make some sweet potato gnocchi just to have. He wanted to make a small gnocchi salad and then freeze the rest for dinner some day. It's great to have homemade items in the freezer for those brain-dead what-should-we-have-for-dinner days...

While he went off to make gnocchi, I opened the La Cucina email - all about gnocchi!

I scrolled through quite a few recipes and landed on one called Gnocchi alla Romana - something I had never heard of before. After a quick look at the pictures and ingredients, I knew it was dinner, tonight! I had already planned shrimp, and the gnocchi looked like the perfect accompaniment.

Gnocchi alla Romana

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 L milk
  • 250 g semolina
  • 120 g butter
  • 80 g grated parmesan
  • 2 egg yolks
  • nutmeg
  • salt

PREPARATION

1. Bring the milk to a boil with half a liter of water, 20 g of butter and a pinch of salt. At the boil, pour in the semolina, stirring first with a whisk and then, as soon as it begins to thicken, with a spoon. Cook the obtained polenta for about 15'.

2. Turn off the heat and season with a sprinkling of nutmeg, a tablespoon of parmesan cheese and the egg yolks.

3. Pour the polenta onto a tray soaked with water and level it, smoothing it with a spatula, to a thickness of 1.5-2 cm and let it cool completely.

Gnocchi alla Romana

4. Cut the gnocchi into the polenta layer with a round pastry cutter or with a small glass (ø 5 cm).

Gnocchi alla Romana

5. Melt 80 g of butter in a small pan; butter the baking dish with another piece of butter (or portion dishes) and arrange the gnocchi in layers. Sprinkle with plenty of grated parmesan and sprinkle with melted butter. Finally, put them in the oven at 200 ° C until they are grilled on the surface.
Gnocchi alla Romana

The sauce was an on-the-fly creation. I went for something a bit bold against the rich creaminess of the gnocchi - olives and roasted red peppers.

Shrimp Sauce

  • shrimp
  • white wine
  • leeks
  • garlic
  • roasted red peppers
  • crushed red pepper
  • olive tapenade

Saute leeks until slightly wilted. Stir in garlic. Add white wine and simmer a bit until leeks are tender. Add chopped roasted red peppers, crushed red peppers, to taste, and tapenade. Stir in shrimp and simmer until cooked through.

Check for seasoning and add salt & pepper, as desired.

This is one of those things that almost defies description. It's called a gnocchi, referred to as polenta in the recipe, and tastes like creamy heaven. The gnocchi literally melt in your mouth, covering your tongue with an almost custard-like sensation. Perfection on a plate.

We knew it was a winner because we ate in almost complete silence - except for the ooh's and ahh's that would occasionally escape our lips between bites. We were much too busy eating to talk.

The recipe made a lot, and we have another two meals in the freezer.

This is fun!

Gnocchi alla Romana

 

 


Smoked Salmon Salad

Asparagus and Smoked Salmon Salad

We had some smoked salmon in the 'fridge - hot smoked with pepper. Victor looked at it and said we needed some asparagus - he had an idea and wanted to make a salad.

I headed to the store.

One of the great things about both of us liking to cook is that we cook differently. We look at foods differently and can come up with vastly different ideas using the same ingredients.

It keeps it fun and interesting!

Asparagus and Smoked Salmon Salad

Salad:

  • 1 pound fresh asparagus cut into pieces
  • 1 cup pecans, broken into pieces
  • 1/2 fennel bulb, diced
  • 3 celery stalks, diced
  • 3 scallions, chopped
  • 1 cup peas, thawed, if frozen
  • 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
  • 1/2 pound smoked salmon, broken into pieces

Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 1 teaspoon good mustard
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Lettuce of your choice

Directions:

Blanche asparagus until just tender - 3-5 minutes. Drain and cool.

Lightly toast pecans. Cool and set aside.

Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Mix asparagus, pecans, peas, fennel, celery, scallions, capers, and smoked salmon. Add 2/3 of the dressing and mix well.

To serve:

Place lettuce on plate and top with salmon salad. Add additional dressing, as desired.

Top with grated parmigiano reggiano.

 

Smoked Salmon Salad

The salads had absolutely everything going for them! Lots of crunch, lots of softer textures, and lots of individual flavors tied together with an awesome dressing.

The hot smoked salmon - as opposed to a cold smoked nova - is closer in texture to a traditionally cooked piece of salmon, so it's thicker and flakes easily. And totally delicious. A piece of cold, broiled or grilled salmon could be substituted with slightly different results.

If you like salmon, this is one to try!

And... it's a salad. Add or subtract ingredients as you see fit.

The recipe made enough for dinner, tonight, and lunch salads for a couple of days. My stomach is smiling at the thought of seeing this, again!


Crab and Shrimp Frittata

Crab and Shrimp Frittatas

Dinner Monday night was Crab and Shrimp Louie - dungeness crab and bay shrimp piled high on top of iceberg lettuce with a homemade Louie Dressing. In typical Tim-Fashion, I had more crab and shrimp than I needed for four salads, so the rest went right into the freezer.

While getting lunch together, today, Victor said he had a plan for it - he was going to make a frittata for dinner. Never one to argue when someone wants to feed me, I immediately took the crab and shrimp out of the freezer!

And I had a feast for dinner!

Along with the crab and shrimp, Victor added diced red pepper, caramelized onions, diced tomatoes, pecorino romano, ricotta, fresh basil and oregano, and salt and pepper.

As perfect as perfect can be!

Crab and Shrimp Frittata

Even more perfect is we have enough for lunch tomorrow, as well, since there's really no way to make a small frittata in our house!

It's great being married to a man who can cook!


Baked Cod

The End of Week Forty-Six

Forty-Six Weeks. I'm fried.

Our Trainer is getting more relentless. It's more movement, more physical - more exhausting. It's become rapid-fire, non-stop, sweat-pouring movement. The relaxation part is moving from the floor area to the machines or weights - although, in reality, those are just different devices of torture. I was on one machine today, doing an assisted pull-up, and then into a rotation of two other exercises, and then back to the machine. On my third go-around, he increased the weights on the machine. I almost did two reps and flat-out couldn't get through the third. I just looked at him and said it ain't happening. He grinned, said I had improved a lot - and lowered the weight a bit. I finished. Barely, but I finished.

There's a reason we're paying for this - and I mean money-wise and not physically-wise - and it's because there's no way in hell I would put myself through this on my own. I can push myself to a degree, but my degree and our Trainer's degree are many many degrees apart.

I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

Yet... when we walk out of the gym, recovery has pretty much already take place. Something right is happening - and we wouldn't be where we are had we done this on our own.

The true test, come July, is going to be maintenance. We need to maintain our weight and stamina without the scheduled sessions - and that means psyching ourselves up for pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones. That will probably be a bit more of a challenge. I could be a sloth fairly easily - but I also never want to step into an extra-large (let alone the xx-large I was wearing,) again. I really haven't felt this comfortable in years. I plan on enjoying it!

Portion, portion, portion. It's what I need to keep reminding myself about. My love of food hasn't diminished and we're not depriving ourselves - except by limiting intake. We don't walk away from the table hungry - but we also don't walk away stuffed to the gills.

Is it possible to learn balance at 67 years of age?!?

In our culinary adventures, we have rediscovered fresh ginger. Ginger became one of those items I would buy for a specific recipe and then watch the rest dry up to nothingness. There is powdered, crystalized, and two types of dried ginger pieces in the spice cupboard, but there really is nothing as satisfying as fresh. It's making its appearance in hot and cold beverages, soups and stir-frys, or pickled, like tonight.

Pickled Ginger

  • 3" piece ginger, peeled and sliced as thin as possible
  • 1 radish, sliced as thin as possible
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp demerara sugar
  • 1/4 cup black vinegar - or rice vinegar, white balsamic

Mix vinegar with salt and sugar. Pour over ginger and radish and let set about 2 hours. The longer it sets, the better it is. It can be refrigerated for weeks.

The fish was cod marinated in vaguely Asian spices and baked.

Baked Cod

  • cod fillets
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup rice wine or dry sherry
  • 2 tbsp sambal oelek or to taste
  • 1" peeled fresh ginger, minced
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 scallions, chopped
  • black sesame seeds

Mix soy sauce, rice wine, sambal oelek, minced ginger, and sesame oil. Pour over fish and marinate at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Remove fish from marinade and place in an oven-proof dish or pan. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until fish easily flakes.

Top cooked fish with pickled radishes, pickled ginger, chopped scallions, and sesame seeds.

The pickled ginger really made the dish. It would be good without them - it was excellent with them!

Baked Cod

On to Week Forty-Seven.

 

 


Shrimp and Bean Salad

Shrimp and Bean Salad

Tonight's dinner is brought to you by a bit of miscommunication...

We watch more than our fair share of cooking shows on TV, and there are times when the shows just blur together. It's especially true when shows use a lot of the same ingredients.

Case in point: Last week Lidia had a recipe for a shrimp and bean dish - and so did America's Test Kitchen. I vaguely remembered the one from ATK and didn't really remember the one from Lidia. Victor did, however, and said he thought it sounded really good.

Never one to pass up a dinner suggestion and thinking I knew what he was talking about, I headed over to the ATK website and printed the recipe. Their recipe called for 2 cans of cannellini beans, but since we had a half bag of dried, I soaked them overnight and cooked them early this afternoon.

With beans cooked and shrimp thawed, it was just going to be a matter of a few minutes in the kitchen to get it all together. We were talking and I said something about America's Test Kitchen - we tend to mock them a lot - and Victor said, no, it's a Lidia recipe.

I did a classic HUH?!?

He said not to worry about it, dinner is dinner, but... he was looking forward to something else... I went to Chef Google and got Lidia's recipe.

Her recipe called for fresh fava beans and cranberry beans, but cannellini beans were ready. I used them.

It was really good.  It was fresh, it was light, and absolutely perfect for an 80°F day. And it saved me from shelling fresh beans - something I'm really not opposed to, but... I spent a good portion of the day cleaning out the shed and getting the 18 partial cans of paint opened and outside to dry do we can get it into the trash one of these days. I was looking for a bit of unattended cooking.

Shrimp and Bean Salad

So here is the Lidia Recipe and the America's Test Kitchen Recipe. I think I'll make the other one next week. it sounds good, too!

Have fun!

Shrimp and Mixed Bean Salad

Lidia Bastianich

Ingredients

  • 1 pound fresh fava bean, shelled
  • 1 pound fresh cranberry beans, shelled
  • 1/2 small onion
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 small carrot, sliced
  • 1 rib celery, cubed
  • 1 pound large (about 14-20) shrimp, shelled except for the fantails, and deveined
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons wine vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

In two separate pans of boiling water, cook the beans until tender, about 4 and 8 minutes for the favas and cranberry beans, respectively. Drain and refresh the beans under cold running water, and remove the outer skins from the favas.

In a medium saucepan, boil the onion, bay leaves, carrot, and celery in 6 cups of water for 20 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook just until opaque throughout, about 1 minute. Remove and drain the shrimp and allow them to cool.

In a serving bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper. Add the beans and shrimp, and toss to coat the solids thoroughly. Serve warm as an appetizer.


Tuscan Shrimp and Beans

America's Test Kitchen

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 pound large shell-on shrimp (26 to 30 per pound), peeled, deveined, and tails removed, shells reserved
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped fine
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced thin
  • 2 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans (1 can drained and rinsed, 1 can left undrained)
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
  • 1/4 cup shredded fresh basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon juice

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Dissolve sugar and 1 tablespoon salt in 1 quart cold water in large container. Submerge shrimp in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Remove shrimp from brine and pat dry with paper towels.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add shrimp shells and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to turn spotty brown and skillet starts to brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and carefully add 1 cup water. When bubbling subsides, return skillet to medium heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Strain mixture through colander set over large bowl. Discard shells and reserve liquid (you should have about 1/4 cup). Wipe skillet clean with paper towels.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil, onion, garlic, anchovies, pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in now-empty skillet over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add 1 can drained beans, 1 can beans and their liquid, tomatoes, and shrimp stock and bring to simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

4. Reduce heat to low, add shrimp, cover, and cook, stirring once during cooking, until shrimp are just opaque, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and stir in basil and lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to serving dish, drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and serve.

 

 


Broccoli Rabe

Broccoli Rabe

The concept for tonight's dinner comes from three different recipes - all of which paired broccoli rabe with crushed red peppers. In our house, that's pretty much a given because we like spicy, but other things caught my eye.

Raisins and pine nuts in one, polenta in another, and a balsamic vinegar sauce in a third.

I went to work...

Right off the bat, polenta out. Bay scallops and langostino in, along with the raisins and pine nuts. And the last of the roasted garlic Victor did the other day. I had half a fennel bulb and half a leek in the 'fridge, so they came into the mix, as well. Balsamic vinegar sauce out, but a drizzle of good quality balsamic vinegar, in. Cooking is definitely an adventure around here.

Broccoli Rabe with Bay Scallops and Langostino

for the broccoli rabe:

  • 1 bunch broccoli rabe
  • 1/2 leek, chopped
  • 1/2 bulb fennel, chopped
  • 4 roasted garlic cloves
  • 1 heaping teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 2/3 cup white wine
  • olive oil
  • butter
  • salt and pepper
  • good quality balsamic vinegar

for the scallops and langostino:

  • 6 oz bay scallops
  • 6 oz langostino
  • thyme
  • garlic powder
  • olive oil
  • butter

Chop broccoli rabe and blanche in boiling salted water for about 4 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, melt a pat of butter in a drizzle of olive oil. Add crushed red peppers and cook until fragrant. Add chopped fennel and leeks and cook until wilted. Stir in roasted garlic and a pinch of S&P. Add wine and cook down to almost nothing.

Add broccoli rabe, raisins, and pine nuts and heat through.

Meanwhile, prepare the seafood.

Heat a drizzle of olive oil and a small pat of butter in a small skillet. Add seafood and quickly cook, adding a pinch of thyme and garlic powder.

To serve:

Mound broccoli rabe on plate and top with seafood.

Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Really simple and really flavorful. Nice crunch from the broccoli rabe and the balsamic mellows out the bitterness of the greens. The fennel and leeks add another level of sweetness.

All-in-all... a successful dinner!

Broccoli Rabe