Creole Shrimp Stuffed Peppers

We hope you haven't given up on us. It's not that we haven't been cooking. We just haven't been writing about it. Instead we are spending time relaxing, playing trivia, having fun, and all around enjoying these lazy, hazy days. But we definitely wanted to share these peppers we made a few weeks ago. We found some long green peppers of unknown variety at the farmers' market and Amy thought to marry them with some Creole-seasoned shrimp and goat cheese. They were very rich and spicy. And would work with any pepper variety, don't you think? Try 'em and let us know.

Creole Shrimp Stuffed Peppers

(serves 2-4)

Ingredients:

2 large peppers

1/2 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tablespoon Creole seasoning (we suggest Tony Chachere's)

1 tablespoon olive oil 

4 ounces goat cheese

4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

8-10 fresh basil leaves, shredded

hot sauce, to taste

1/2 cup panko style bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice the peppers in half lengthwise and cut out the insides and seeds. Set pepper halves into a large baking dish. Coat shrimp with Creole seasoning. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the shrimp 4-5 minutes, tossing often, until pink and cooked through. Allow cooked shrimp to cool and then chop them. Place chopped shrimp into a mixing bowl. Add cheeses, basil and hot sauce and stir to combine. Spoon the mixture into the peppers and top with breadcrumbs. Bake for 45 minutes, until hot and golden brown. 

Maida Gras 2014 (with recipe for Mardi Gras Pasta Salad)

John Maida and Cyndi Corker-Cherry 

Mardi Gras 2010

Our annual Mardi Gras Party, which takes place the Saturday before Mardi Gras, has come and gone. Thankfully, we did not have 3 feet of snow this year (see Nemo Gras 2013). What we did have, though, was a night of revelry but also of remembrance, as we celebrated the life, and mourned the passing, of one of our regular "Krewe" members, John Maida. Mr. Maida died in a car accident late December. His fiancee, Cyndi, who was in the car with him, was badly hurt and her medical bills and living expenses have been piling up since. Thus, we renamed the party "Maida Gras," and made it a fundraiser to help Cyndi out. We are proud to say we made about $600. Speaking of which, further donations can be made HERE.

Gumbo

Chris holding one of several fried turkeys

As always, we supplied the hurricanes (four gallons!), fried turkeys (seven of them!), and Coca-Cola ham (a 13-pounder). We also made chicken and andouille gumbo (K's Semi-Homemade recipe), and "Mardi Gras Pasta Salad" (recipe below). Over 100 guests, ranging in age from 7 weeks to nearly 70 years old, brought a wide variety of dishes such as: jambalaya, shrimp ceviche, jalapeno meat poppers, a plethora of dips and chips, kielbasa, andouille, and so many more. And that doesn't include the desserts, with cupcakes in such flavors as: Mardi Gras margarita, red velvet, and chocolate with chocolate frosting; plus cookies like Mardi Gras meringues, Barb's famous chocolate chip, and inside-out Almond Joy macaroons; not to mention brownies, various other bites, and "Frenchie's" most amazing King Cake.

Frenchie's King Cake

Mardi Gras Margarita Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes and Mardi Gras Meringues

To manage the hostessing and take pictures of all of that is nearly impossible, but here are a few shots to inspire you to "Laissez les bon temps rouler!" And don't forget the recipe for Mardi Gras Pasta Salad, which can very easily be doubled, tripled, or quadrupled to suit your own Mardi Gras Party needs. It was inspired by two of New Orleans' most famous foods - the muffaletta sandwich and Gulf shrimp.

The Afternoon After

And, not for nothing (as C's family loves to say), Amy would like to add that the best part of hostessing is being reminded of how blessed we are to have so many amazing people in our lives. And the second best? Getting to eat the crispy-crunchy turkey wings the next day for lunch. Just sayin'. 

Mardi Gras Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 pound box tri-color rotini pasta

1/2 pound mozzarella "pearls"

1 10-oz. jar salad olives

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil 

1 4-oz. package mini-pepperoni

1 lb. cooked (frozen/thawed) salad shrimp

salt and pepper, to taste

olive oil, to taste

Creole seasoning, to taste

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Toss pasta with remaining ingredients. Chill and serve.

Amy's Mardi Gras Pedi and Flip-Flops

Italian Lemon Shrimp (Secret Recipe Club)

It's Secret Recipe Club reveal day again! And we haven't posted anything since April 9th! Sorry about the unannounced hiatus, by the way. We have lots to catch up on, but first, you really need to check out the blog assigned to us this month for SRC - White Lights on Wednesday - where author Julie shares DIY projects, giveaways, cooking challenges, and PLENTY of fantastic recipes. 

One of Julie's most recent recipes was for a "Mocha Cupcake Milkshake," and we can't tell you how tempting that was. Let's just say it's been bookmarked, and seeing as we are entering the chaos of the beginning of the end of the school year, we'll probably be making two of 'em quite soon. Several others sounded scrumptious as well, such as Tequila Infused Queso Fundido (hmmm...Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner), Thai Pizza with Peanut Butter Sauce (so creative!), and Butter Cream Chicken (decadently delish). 

Still, we were in the mood for shrimp and Julie's Italian Lemon Shrimp sounded easy and refreshing - perfect for a pretty spring evening. And even though our last post was about a shrimp dish, again, that was way back on April 9th so we thought  it would be okay. 

We made the Italian Lemon Shrimp almost exactly according to the recipe, using Key West Pink Shrimp that our favorite market carries (frozen, unfortunately). These Gulf shrimp have a salty-sweet taste and firm texture that went really well with Julie's spicy buttery lemon sauce. A great match indeed! We served ours over angel hair and ate it all up. 

Italian Lemon Shrimp

minimally adapted from this recipe by Julie of White Lights on Wednesday

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 lemon

1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon crushed red chile flake

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 pound raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed

1/2 pound angel hair pasta

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cut lemon in half and then into thin slices. In a medium bowl, combine Italian seasoning, oregano, chile flake, salt, and pepper. Add shrimp and toss to combine. Pour shrimp onto prepared baking sheet. Top with lemon slices and melted butter - evenly distributing both. Bake shrimp for 10 to 12 minutes, until pink and cooked through. While shrimp bakes, cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water. Remove lemon slices from shrimp. Pour shrimp and butter onto drained pasta. Add reserved pasta water and Parmesan cheese to taste. Toss to combine. Top with more Parmesan cheese if desired.

Yellow Curry Shrimp, and Musings on the Weather in New England

We know that sometimes it seems we make a big deal of the so-called "changing of the seasons." Our readers in, say, Florida or, perhaps, California, may wonder why we make such a big to-do about our "crocus forests" or the fact that it has finally, on April 8th, reached 70 degrees. We suppose it has to do with the wide range of weather that we experience in New England on any given year. Let's take this particular school year for example (we are teachers in "real" life after all): we were hit with a hurricane (you read that right) in October. A hurricane which, according to Wikipedia (yes, we know it's not the most reliable, but admit it - you use it all the time), was  "the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclone of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, as well as the second-costliest hurricane in United States history." Once we got over that mess, we faced one of the snowiest years we can remember, which included a blizzard that dropped close to 3 feet of snow mid-February (see Nemo Gras). And seeing as the two of us (both in our 40's) can't really remember 3 feet of snow in our snow-measuring history? Well, that'something! While the uber-winter mix seemed to dissipate after that, it was cold, gray and rainy for so long that people were starting to mutiny against that crazy groundhog Punxatawny Phil who predicted an early spring: That damn TV rodent. He really must be taken care of, if you know what we mean...

Fast forward to today. We are tired. We are sun- and, hence, vitamin-D-deprived and we just want to enjoy some warm rays and non-blisteringly-cold winds. Is it really so much to ask? Sure we're a little excited about our crocus. Yeah, we are posting pictures of our spring onions. So sue us. We just can't help it. And when we texted each other about dinner today - something along the lines of, "let's do something lite (sic)" - "okay how bout (sic) yellow curry shrimp n veggies," a plan was quickly hatched. We even used a tool from our fancy garnishing kit (thank you, Turners!) to cut our carrots so they'd be prettier than usual. And, really, aren't they????

This recipe may not be the typical Californian's or Floridian's version of "light" but it was perfect for us New Englanders. Bright, colorful, cheery, and most importantly (for this time of year), quick and easy, we are adding this to our weeknight repertoire because we loved it's cheery springiness and the way it made us feel about the change of seasons. We enjoyed this served over basmati rice - and we even cheated a little bit by using Success Rice Boil-in-a-Bag, which takes 10 minutes, not-coincidentally about the time it takes to make the shrimp. How perfect is that?

Yellow Curry Shrimp

Ingredients:

1 15-ounce can light coconut milk

3 tablespoons yellow curry sauce (we like Trader Joe's)

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

1/2 pound green beans, chopped

1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon fish sauce 

2-3 leaves basil, chopped

1 teaspoon sugar

In a large skillet, bring coconut milk to a simmer. Stir in curry sauce and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add carrots and green beans and simmer about five minutes until vegetables begin to soften. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp turn pink, about 2 minutes. Add lime juice, fish sauce, basil and sugar, and stir to combine. Simmer an additional minute to incorporate all ingredients. Serve over prepared rice, pasta, or simply with crusty bread for dipping.

Shrimp with Cellophane Noodles (French Fridays with Dorie)

We somehow don't have the time to participate in French Fridays with Dorie as often as we would like. But this week's recipe, Shrimp with Cellophane Noodles (page 322), seemed pretty easy, and so we made it last night. Basically, it involved preparing Asian noodles (we used rice vermicelli), then cooking shrimp with onions and garlic and spices (cayenne, five spice, white pepper) in a wok, then adding tomato puree (which we couldn't find so we used an immersion blender on some crushed tomatoes and added that). For a little fun, we even made garlic chips (thin slices of garlic "fried" in a little olive oil), as suggested, for a garnish.

Now, we love Dorie Greenspan, love her recipes, love her book Around My French Table (from which this recipe comes, and around which French Fridays revolve). But as for this recipe, it was just sort of weird. It tasted like an oddly sweet shrimp spaghetti that seemed neither Italian, Asian or French. After we ate it, we actually felt bad that we had treated those beautiful shrimp in such a way. We won't be making that mistake again.

 

New Orleans Part One

We are livin' the good life in New Orleans and thought we should share some photos of our culinary adventures so far.

Day One:

Lunch at Mandina's

Seafood Gumbo

Crab Fingers in White Wine Sauce

Fried Oyster Po'Boy

Afternoon Snack at Williams Plum St. Snoballs

Pineapple with Coconut Cream and Dreamsicle

Appetizers at Dockside

Chargrilled Oysters

Dinner at Huckleberry's

Shrimp Etouffee

Trilogy (fish, oysters, shrimp) Po'Boy

White Beans with Grilled Shrimp

Day Two:

Lunch at Pascal's Manale

Loaf of French Bread

Shrimp and Andouille Ravioli

The Original Barbeque Shrimp

Sazerac

Dinner at Impastato's (Chef Joe's Dinner Special, sadly no photos!)



Day Three:

Brunch made from leftovers

Pasta Frittata, Veal Hash, White Beans-and-Rice Arancini, Filet Mignon, Mimosas



That's all for now! We are heading to the French Quarter for a couple of days, and we will update soon!