Scallops Provencal

Recently, I wound up with one pound of fresh scallops that needed to be cooked pretty quickly. With using the ingredients I had on hand I settled on this recipe. These scallops were divine. Not only were they the freshest scallops we’ve ever tasted, but they flavor was incredible. Lemon, butter and seafood are just meant to be paired together so it’s no surprise that this recipe was a winner.

Scallops Provencal
Ingredients:

1 pound fresh bay or sea scallops
Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup chopped shallots (2 large)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 lemon, cut in 1/2

Directions:
Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper, toss with flour, and shake off the excess.

In a very large saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat until sizzling and add the scallops in 1 layer. Lower the heat to medium and allow the scallops to brown lightly on one side without moving them, then turn and brown lightly on the other side. This should take 3 to 4 minutes, total depending on the size of your scallops. Melt the rest of the butter in the pan with the scallops, then add the shallots, garlic, and parsley and saute for 2 more minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops. Add the wine, cook for 1 minute, and taste for seasoning. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Source: Barefoot in Paris, Ina Garten

Spicy Shrimp Po’ Boys

During the summer months we eat sandwiches and salads quite often. We like to try different variations and take advantage of all of the seasonal vegetables.  This was a delicious sandwich. In fact, when I asked Joe what he though he  said that this was “awesome & mouth-watering”. He also said he would take this sandwich over a burger anyday which speaks volumes of this sandwich. It’s a nice change of pace from your typical sandwich and is packed full of flavor.

Spicy Shrimp Po’ Boys
Ingredients:
For the remoulade sauce:
½ cup plus 2 tbsp. light mayonnaise
2 tbsp. stone ground mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1½ tbsp. pickle juice
½ tsp. prepared horseradish
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
¼ tsp. hot paprika
Dash of hot sauce

For the sandwiches:
1 lb. medium-large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. Cajun seasoning blend
1 baguette (or 4 sandwich rolls)
Shredded lettuce
Sliced tomato

Directions:
To make the remoulade sauce, combine all of the sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until smooth.  (If you don’t have a blender or food processor, you can just mix it in a small bowl with a spoon.)  Adjust seasonings to taste.  Chill until ready to use.

To prepare the sandwiches, combine the shrimp with the olive oil and cajun seasoning in a medium bowl.  Toss well to coat the shrimp.  Heat a grill pan to medium-high and grill the shrimp just until opaque, about 2 minutes per side.  Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.

Slice the baguette into 4 servings, and cut horizontally to open the bread.  Spread some of the remoulade sauce onto both pieces of the bread.   Layer the bottom slice of bread with shrimp, then top with lettuce and tomato as desired.  Top with the remaining piece of bread and serve immediately.

Yield: 4 sandwiches

Source: Annie’s Eats

Baked Shrimp Scampi

For my birthday, I received several great cookbooks, one being Ina’s newest. The first recipe that jumped out to me while paging through was this one. One of the things I love about Ina is the simplicity of her ingredients. She uses very few ingredients to create amazing flavor. I can’t wait to try this again.

Baked Shrimp Scampi
Ingredients:
2 pounds shrimp in the shell (I used 20/lb size)
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp dry white wine
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 tsp minced garlic (4 cloves)
1/4 cup minced shallots
3 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 tsp minched fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 extra-large egg yolk
2/3 Cup panko
lemon wedges, for serving

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.

In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper until combined.

Starting from the outer edge of a 14-inch oval gratin dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curing up and towards the center of the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until hot and bubbly. If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1 minute. Serve with lemon wedges.

Source: Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, by Ina Garten

Shrimp Lasagna Rolls

I thought a long time about making these. I saw the recipe, was intrigued, and then decided not to make them. Then, one day I got to thinking. I like several other pasta recipes with seafood in them so why was I discriminating against this one? Well, I finally made them and really enjoyed them! I just love lasagna rolls — perfectly portioned pieces of lasagna. If you think you might like these give them a try! You will not be disappointed.

Shrimp Lasagna Rolls
Ingredients
12 lasagna noodles
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 (15 oz) containers ricotta
1/2 Cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 Cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 tspfreshly grated nutmeg
3 Cups marinara sauce, store-bought or homemade
1 1/2 Cups grated mozzarella cheese

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and partially cook until tender, but still first to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and garlic to the pan and saute until shrimp are cooked, about 4 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and let cool. Coarsely chop the shrimp and place in a bowl with 2 cups ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, eggs, bails, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and nutmeg. Stir to combine. In another bowl, combine the marinara sauce with remaining 1 cup ricotta and stir to combine.

To make the lasagna, cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 ince baking dish with 1 cup marinara mixture. Lay a lasagna noodle flat on a dry work surface. Spread about 1/4 cup shrimp mixture evenly over the noodle. Roll up and place seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Pour remaining sauce mixture over the lasagna rolls and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese starts to turn golden brown.

Source: …and a cookie for dessert

Phyllo Wrapped Salmon with Goat Cheese

Lately, I have been trying to incorporate a lot more fish and seafood into our meals. We used to eat fish at least twice a week and somehow my meal planning stepped away from that temporarily. We are very fortunate to live so close to the water and fresh seafood is available to us year round — I really have no excuse! This was very good. It has a nice flaky crust with a creamy tender, and the goat cheese adds a nice element to the salmon.

Phyllo Wrapped Salmon with Goat Cheese

Ingredients

2 salmon fillets

1-2 oz. herbed goat cheese

12 sheets phyllo dough

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°. 

On a work surface, layer 6 pieces of phyllo dough brushing with melted butter in between each layer. Place one salmon fillet in the corner of the phyllo dough and season with salt and pepper. Spread half of the goat cheese on top of the salmon. Roll up the salmon making sure to keep all ends tucked in. Trim any excess dough. Place seam side down on a baking sheet and brush tops with melted butter. Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until phyllo is golden brown. 

Source: Adapted from Annie’s Eats, originally from Bella Lately

Shrimp Étouffée

In French Étouffée means smothered, and smothered shrimp sounded delicious! I saw this recipe in the July issue of cooking light and immediately knew Joe would love it. I don’t typically care for spicy food, but I thought I would give this a try anyways. I’m glad I did because Joe LOVED it. The flavor of this dish was wonderful and had a great creamy texture. I also imagine this dish would be just as wonderful served over pasta instead of rice. It’s very versatile. 

Shrimp Étouffée

Ingredients:

4 Cups chicken broth

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried basil

1 bay leaf

⅓ Cup Butter, divided

½ Cup all-purpose flour

Cooking spray

1½ Cups chopped onion

⅔ Cup diced celery

½ Cup chopped red bell pepper

½ Cup chopped green bell pepper

¾ Cup water

¼ tomato paste

1 tsp salt-free Cajun seasoning

1½ tsp minced garlic

¼  tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp ground red pepper

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

½ Cup chopped green onions

½ Cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided

1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

4 Cups hot cooked long-grain rice

Directions:

Combine the first four ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring the contents of the saucepan to a simmer, cover, and remove from heat. Meanwhile, melt ¼ cup of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add flour to pan whisking to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add 1 cup of broth mixture to pan and whisk until smooth. Add remaining 3 cups broth mixure, whisking until smooth. Set aside

Melt remaining butter in a large dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, and bell peppers to the pan. Cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender and onion is golden brown, stirring occassionally. Stir in water, scraping pan to loosen brown bits. Add tomato paste, Cajun seasoning, garlic, salt, black pepper, and red pepper. Cook 1 minute stirring constantly. Add reserved broth-flour mixture and worcestershire sauce to pan, stirring well to combine, bring to a simmer. Cook 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Add green onions, ¼ cup parsley, and shrimp. Cook 3 minutes or until shrimp are done. Discard the bay leaf. Serve over rice and sprinkle with remaining parsley.  

Source: adapted from Cooking Light

Catfish Po’ Boys

This is another great recipe from Dinner Diva’s! This is probably one of the quickest meals I have ever made, and it was tasty too! Joe and I are very fortunate to live in a coastal area and have access to great seafood year round. We both love fish and I enjoy trying new recipes. This is a great sandwich that I have ordered out before, but have never made at home. Mainly, because I didn’t think I could find a healthy recipe. When I saw this I knew we would love it and I was right!

Catfish Po’ Boys

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons fat-free milk
1 pound catfish fillets, cut into 2 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt ( I omitted)
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fat-free sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
Dash of crushed red pepper
2 cups bagged broccoli coleslaw (I used cabbage slaw)
4 (2 1/2-ounce) hoagie rolls, toasted

In a zip top plastic bag combine cornmeal and Cajun seasoning. Place milk in a small bowl and dip catfish pieces into the bowl, shaking off excess. Place catfish in plastic bag and seal. Shake bag making sure all catfish is coated.

Heat oil in a nonstick skillet. Add catfish and cook approximately 3 minutes per side, or until fish flakes when stuck with a fork.

While fish cooks combine vinegar, mayonnaise, sour cream, and sugar. Add coleslaw and toss to coat. Top each roll with ½ Cup coleslaw and top with fish.

Source: Dinner Divas, originally from Cooking Light

Shrimp Risotto

I was browsing recipes for shrimp risotto and found one that sounded appealing on Cooking Light. I modified the original recipe quite a bit. The original recipe called for the risotto to be made in the microwave and since that didn’t sound appealing to me I made it on the stovetop. I used some of the same ingredients and subbed several others. The recipe calls for salt and pepper, but I ended up only adding pepper because the cheese is plenty salty. The final result — delicious!

Ingredients:

1 lb of shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped

1 cup cooked peas

12 oz Arborio rice

1 small onion chopped

½ Cup Mushrooms chopped

½ Cup chopped roasted red peppers

2 cloves garlic, chopped

6 Cups chicken stock (may use less)

½ C white wine

1 Cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

1 Lemon

¼ C fresh basil, chopped

3 T butter

Salt & Pepper to taste

 

Directions:

 

In a large skillet melt 2 T butter over medium heat, add onion, mushrooms, and garlic and sauté until onions are translucent and mushrooms are golden. Add shrimp and cook through. Remove onion mixture and set aside in a small bowl.

 

Heat chicken stock & wine in a small saucepan over medium low heat.

 

Melt the remaining butter over medium-low heat. Add the rice and toast approximately 2 minutes. Next, add additions of the stock/wine mixture stirring constantly  (I use a ladle, and usually add 1-2 ladlefuls).  Everytime the rice absorbs the mixture add more stock mixture making sure to stir constantly (about 30 minutes or until rice is tender to the bite).  Once the rice is cooked add the onion/mushroom/shrimp mixture, cooked peas, and basil. Combine well and stir in ½ of the cheese.  Season with salt and pepper, and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon and stir prior to serving

Inspiration from: Cooking Light