Goat Cheese and Basil Tomato Sauce

My 21^st birthday was some time ago. More years than I’d really like to admit, if I’m being honest. While there are many things I remember about this specific birthday, one was an appetizer we had at dinner. The dish was simple enough, consisting of goat cheese baked in marinara sauce and served with toasted baguette. Our server suggested mixing the cheese and sauce together – which we did – and I don’t think any of us could stop eating it. It was slightly tangy and luscious.

At the time when I whipped the sauce up for dinner, I wasn’t really thinking about recreating the appetizer in any way. I was just simply getting a bit creative with random items in the fridge and pantry. Now I think of this sauce as a nod to that appetizer…even though I’m making it about a million years later.

I’ve included a recipe for the dish I made that night and a separate recipe for just the Goat Cheese and Basil Tomato sauce. If shrimp, mushrooms, leeks, and spinach aren’t your thing, the GCBT Sauce would go great with grilled chicken or be fine all on its own.

Shrimp Pasta with Goat Cheese and Basil Tomato Sauce 

*Serves 4

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

-          2-3 garlic cloves

-          ½ medium onion

-          16oz plain tomato sauce

-          3 tbl EVOO, divided

-          2 leeks, slice ¾ inch thick and clean*

-          2 cups mushrooms, sliced

-          3-4 cups fresh baby spinach

-          2 tbls butter

-          1 pound 26/30 shrimp

-          2 tbls goat cheese

-          2 tbls minced fresh basil

-          ¾ pound thin spaghetti

-          1-2 tbls tomato paste

-          Salt and pepper

*Clean leeks by placing them in a large pot of water and swishing them around to release any dirt trapped between their layers. Use a slotted spoon to scoop leeks out of bowl once they are clean.

Directions:

1- Cook pasta according to package directions

Simple Supper: Blackened Fish Sandwiches

I can’t deny the fact that living in the Tampa Bay area for so long hasn’t left some sort of impression on me. I love a good sunset, I know how to combat humidity riddled hair days, I wear sandals 360 days a year, and I love a good fish sandwich.

Before moving here, I’d never had a fish sandwich. Sure, I’d had fried whole belly clam rolls, or hot lobster rolls – very tradition New England fare – but not a simple fish sandwich. Florida converted me to them. I suppose it was only a matter of time.

If you ever travel to the Tampa area, I highly suggest you seek out a Grouper Sandwich. Pretty much every local restaurant serves them, so you won’t have to search hard. You can get them fried, grilled, or blackened. I prefer them fried with a slice of cheese and Brent likes them blackened. I honestly don’t know one person who has ever ordered one grilled, but you can if you want.

You may be wondering why the post it titled TILAPIA and I’m talking about grouper. The point is that grouper can be pretty pricey, so when I get a craving for something similar, I opt for the more wallet friendly and readily available Tilapia. While you can’t mistake tilapia for grouper, enough of the notes are there to hit the spot when I don’t feel like dining out. An added bonus is that tilapia cooks fairly fast and dinner can be done in about 20 minutes.

This particular night, I went for a blackened tilapia and made an avocado and dill spread to balance out the heat.

Blackened Tilapia Sandwiches with Avocado-Dill Spread
*Makes 2

Ingredients:
- 2 tilapia fillets, roughly 4-6oz
- 2 sandwich buns, any kind you prefer
- ½ a Hass avocado
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- Squeeze of lime juice
- 1 teaspoon paprika*
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt*
- ½ teaspoon black pepper*
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper*
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder*
- ½ teaspoon onion powder*
- 1/8 teaspoon celery salt*
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (use more for more heat)*
- 1 tablespoon butter or oil
- Lettuce, tomato, and onion if desired
* Or just use any blackened seasoning you like.

Peel n Eat Shrimp - A Great Summer Recipe

A few weeks’ back– ok ok, months - Brent’s mother had a get together at her house for the family. She was having a good ol’ southern fish fry and I decided to make some peel n’ eat shrimp to share while we all waited for Brent to fry up pounds and pounds of tilapia, catfish, and grouper.

I’ve wanted to make peel n’ eat shrimp at home since October when Brent and I took a short getaway to Orlando and we had some pretty great ones at Jimmy Buffett’s MargaritaVille at City Walk. Normally I don’t eat “messy” things like this in public, but they turned out to be a perfect midday snack as we took a break in between the two parks.

Old Bay Peel n’ Eat Shrimp
*Serves 10-12 as an appetizer
(printable recipe)

What you’ll need:
- 4 lbs 31-40 uncooked shrimp, shell on and deveined
- 2 cups light beer
- 1 tablespoon crab boil
- 1/3 cup old bay seasoning
- extra old bay for sprinkling if desired – I used about 2 tablespoons
How to do it:

1- Make sure your shrimp are properly deveined and clean but the shells still on. In a large pot add beer, crab boil, and old bay. Fill pot 2/3 full with water and bring to a boil.

2- Once pot is boiling add shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp is just pink in color. Remove from heat and drain.

3- Allow shrimp to cool and sprinkle with extra seasoning if you like. Chill shrimp for at least an hour before serving.

Thoughts: These are perfect for a summer get together – preferably an outside one! Keep them well iced and a garbage bowl near for the shells. People can dig in, peel, and enjoy. Pair them with the cocktail sauce recipe below or whichever brand you prefer.

Shrimp and Scallop Roasted Red Bell Pepper Pesto Pasta

Many times I let ingredients in my fridge inspire me for an answer to that never ending question of “What to make for dinner?”. This dish was inspired by the roasted red pepper pesto I had in the fridge from this post. Feel free to use store bought if you don’t wish to make your own pesto.

Shrimp and Scallop Roasted Red Bell Pepper Pesto Pasta

*Serves 2
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:
- 1/3 lb medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 1/3 lb bay scallops
- 2 leeks
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup prepared alfredo sauce, I like Buitoni
- ¼ cup red bell pepper pesto
- a few handfuls of fresh spinach
- 4oz thin spaghetti, cooked per package instructions
- salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Place fresh spinach in the colander you plan to drain pasta in. Slice leeks in half and cut into 1/3 inch slices using only the white and light green parts. Fill a large bowl with water and rinse leeks to remove dirt. Remove from water and drain excess.

15 Minute Dinner: Cajun Scallop Tacos

On nights that Brent works his late shift I like to make meals that don’t take a whole lot of time and effort (or uses a lot of dishes) so that I have time to take care of chores or homework. A lot of times I make some sort of breakfast for dinner or an easy one pot pasta dish. One of my favorite go-to meals is some form of taco. I’ve made these tacos several times and it only occurred to me this morning to share them with you. Sometimes I go really simple and just top them with lettuce and salsa if that is all I have on hand. So this is really more of an idea to share really since you can change them up however you like!

Cajun Scallop Tacos

*Serves 2 (two tacos per person)
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

- 16 large sea scallops

- 1 ½ - 2 1/2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
- 2 plum tomatoes, diced

- 1/3 cup chopped scallions

- 4 soft tortillas

- lettuce, shredded

- 1 haas avocado, sliced

- Cilantro Sour Cream

- Small amount of oil

- 1 lime (optional)

Directions:

1. Make sure your scallops are thawed and clean. Place in a small bowl and top with Cajun seasoning. I like a good amount of spicy flavor so I go with 2+ teaspoons, if you don’t like as much, go with less. Allow to sit for at least 5 or so minutes.

2. Heat pan to medium heat and add just enough oil to coat the bottom. Add scallops and cook for 3-4 minutes per side. Scallops will start to brown and caramelize slightly.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Shrimp with a Chipotle Bourbon BBQ Glaze

I wish there was a shorter name for this. Good gravy.


This recipe is adapted from one I found in my BHG cookbook a while back. I remember it clearly as a Sunday night and I wanted something new and different for dinner. I have a lot of cookbooks and I rarely look at them, but this night I happened to turn to them for some inspiration. I’ve made these several times since that night and have tweaked the recipe along the way. I think I’ve finally gotten it to where I’m extremely happy with the results. These are sweet, slightly salty, and have a bit of heat to them. What more could you ask for?

Prosciutto-Wrapped Shrimp with a Chipotle Bourbon BBQ Glaze

*Makes two dozen shrimp

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

- 2 dozen large shrimp, shells removed

- 8 slices of prosciutto, sliced thicker than normal

- 1 ½ cups bourbon BBQ sauce (I used Jack Daniel’s No 7)

- 2 chipotle in adobo peppers
- 1 teaspoon bourbon (optional)
- Scallions for garnish (optional)

- Salt and pepper

*Skewers would be helpful. Soak wood skewers in water for 30 minutes before using.

Directions:

1. Combine chipotles and BBQ sauce in a blender, food processor, or your magic bullet that someone convinced you to buy 8 years ago.

2. Remove sauce and divide in half. Add the bourbon to one half and stir together. This is your basting sauce. Use the non-liquored up BBQ for dipping.

3. Clean shrimp and remove shells. (You can leave tails on if you choose to.) Pat dry and season with salt and pepper.

4. Slice the prosciutto into 3 long strips.

Crab, Artichokes, and Cheese! Oh My!

So lately you may have noticed a trend on my little bloggy blog here. The last few recipes I’ve posted have been for appetizers of some sort. The reason for that is simple – Football season is upon us. I’m not really a football fan – I prefer baseball to be honest – but I try to be a good sport for my boyfriend.

Depending on the game, it can get a little ugly at my house because we have different favorite teams, and it just so happens that my favorite (and home team) is the one team he hates with a passion.

However, he picked Tom Brady as his quarterback for Fantasy so maybe it won’t be so bad this year.

I made this dip a little while back when we had family over for dinner. His mom is a big fan of Crab and Artichoke dip, so I thought I would make it for her. I served it with wonton chips because I forgot to pick up pita bread at the store and I had wonton wrappers in the freezer. You could use anything you want though! Warmed pita bread, crusty crostini, chips, a spoon – whatever floats your boat!

Please excuse my picture; I had to snap it quick before everyone dug in.

Crab and Artichoke Dip

*Serves 8 – 10 as a starter

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

- 14oz artichoke, drained and roughly chopped

- 12 oz lump crab meat, drained if too liquidy

- 8oz cream cheese, room temperature

- ½ cup sour cream

- ¼ cup heavy cream

- 2 teaspoon garlic powder

- 2 teaspoon onion powder

- 1.5 cup shredded Italian mix cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste


Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl stir together all ingredients except shredded cheese. Pour into an oven proof baking dish and then top with shredded cheese. Cover with foil.

2. Place in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes until cheese on top is slightly browned and dip is bubbly.

Thoughts: Creamy, cheesy, tasty, and I would have stood there and ate it all with a spoon if that was socially acceptable. I had made another appetizer, but this was clearly the favorite of the get together.


I’ve got a couple other appetizers that I will be posting as soon as I can. School started this week so I’ve been preoccupied with that.

Shrimp, Bacon, and Mushroom Quesadillas with Mexican Herbed Sour Cream

So it was Saturday night and I was trying to figure out what I should whip up for dinner. After mentally running through everything that was in my freezer/fridge and pantry, I came up with the idea to do Quesadillas. But these aren’t “normal” quesadillas; these have shrimp, bacon, mushrooms, and gouda cheese in them. Swoon.

After I settled on my ingredients I thought that I couldn’t just serve them with plain old sour cream. That would be boring and probably not stand up well. So I went with a Mexican-ish Herbed Sour Cream. Which I am now addicted to and use on everything I can possible think of. And I swear the longer it sits in my fridge, the better it gets.

Shrimp, Bacon, and Mushroom Quesadillas with Mexican Herbed Sour Cream

*Serves 2

(Printable version)

Ingredients:

- 1 dozen raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

- 2 cups shredded gouda cheese

- 2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese

- 1 cup sliced mushrooms, any variety – I used baby bella

- 6 bacon strips

- 3 large tortillas

- 1/3 cup chopped scallions

- Canola or Veggie oil, few tablespoons for frying

- S&P

Sour cream:

- 1 cup sour cream

- ½ teaspoon garlic

- 2 tablespoons fresh chives

- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro

- 1 teaspoon ground cumin

- Juice of ½ lime

Preparation:

Note: Make the sour cream mixture first and then set in the fridge. You’ll want to do this so they flavors have time to develop into a happy mixture.

Wonton Mission

There are a few things you need to know about this dip:

• The inspiration behind it was solely the desire to make wonton chips. Seriously, I’m not joking.
• I debated between calling this zesty or spicy.
• I took many more pictures of the process to share, but my camera didn’t like me today. She’s an old lady, what can I say?
• I ate all of this dip for dinner tonight. Can we push beach season back a few more weeks?

 So last night BD had Sam the Cooking Guy on and I kept glancing at it while cooking, cleaning, and doing homework. One of his dishes was guacamole and instead of tortilla chips he used wontons to make chips. He’s all about healthy eating on the show and claimed there are very little fat and calories in them, which I could care less about. (Just ask the cellulite on my thighs.) However, the idea of using wontons as chips really intrigued me, so all day I’ve been rolling ideas around in my head for some kind of asian-esque dip to serve them with. I’m sorry but guacamole deserves tortilla chips. (You can check out my guacamole recipe here, btw.) What I came up with is kind of a deconstructed Crab Rangoon. It wasn’t my original intentions but after I started wolfing it down like a cat on tuna fish and thought about the flavors that’s how it worked out.

Stone Crab Season!

Even as a kid I loved seafood. I suspect it’s because I was raised eating steamers, clam chowder, and lobster among other fish and shellfish.

Stone crab season is from the middle of October to middle of May. It is the only time that their claw can be harvested. The claw will grow back in about a year. They are considered by many a delicacy, and I assume this is because they aren’t available year round. I try to enjoy them at least once or twice a season.

Stone crab is commonly served with a mustard sauce. Usually it’s a mayonnaise based dip. Since I don’t groove on mayo, I created my own version. It still has kick, is very easy, and it doesn’t have to be used on just seafood either.

Mustard Sauce

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

- Sour cream

- Dijon mustard

- S&P

Preparation: Take equal portions of the sour cream and mustard and mix together. Add a pinch of salt and a good amount of freshly ground black pepper. Mix again.

Then settle in with a mallet and get to work!

Its a messy job, but someones gotta do it!

To serve stone crab, the best way is to serve chilled over ice in a shallow dish. I prefer crushed ice and then put the sauce in the center.

This is about a pound of stone crab. I was planning on having it as an appetizer for dinner that night, but  I lucked out and BD was working and our roommate went out so I got to enoy these bad boys all by myself.

Picnic done right: Hot Lobster Rolls

Having lived in Florida for a good part of my life, I have come to appreciate the beach and a great sunset. The other Sunday, BD and I combined three of my favorite things for dinner: a sunset, hot lobster rolls, and champagne.

Hot lobster rolls are one of my all-time favorite dishes. In fact, I would die a happy woman if it’s my last meal. Many people are only familiar with the cold rolls which is usually lobster mixed with mayo and some other ingredients. I am anti-mayo. I’ve never liked it and the few times I’ve eaten plain (by accident, I’ll add) I’ve broken out in hives.

Anyway, a hot lobster roll is lobster, a hotdog-like bun, and butter. Lots of glorious butter! Lobster rolls, both hot and cold, I sort of consider regional fare. Reason why is it’s hard to find as a regular menu item anywhere outside of New England. And apparently, hot lobster rolls are more popular in CT than the rest of New England. Below is the “recipe” on how to prepare your own hot lobster roll. If you like lobster, I really recommend you trying this one day.

Hot Lobster Rolls

(print the recipe)

Ingredients:

- Lobster, 1/3 pound of fresh picked lobster per person

- Hotdog rolls

- A good amount of butter, melted

Method:

1 -Melt your butter slowly in a sauce pan over med-low heat

2 –Add your lobster to the butter. Allow to slowly warm for about 10 minutes or so, depending on how much lobster you have.

3- Once hot, strain butter and place in bun.

Be sure to have some other melted butter on side for dipping!

In addition to the lobster rolls, we purchased some pasta salad from our local grocery store. We chose tomato and basil pasta salad that also had grated parmesan cheese and onions with an Italian dressing. It was very tasty, and a great side for our picnic.

And of course there was plenty of sunset and champagne!

So pretty!

Be Crabby Cakes!

Crab Cakes can be very temperamental. You have to get the ingredients just right, cook it to the point of perfection, and then hurry up and eat it before it goes past its prime. I’ve only attempted cooking crab cakes at home once before last night. This was about two years ago and while it wasn’t bad – it wasn’t a great success either. I think last night's attempt went much better. I didn’t reference any other recipes and went with my gut on this one.

Crabby Cakes

(print recipe)

Ingredients:
- 6oz of picked lump crab

- 4 tablespoons of melted butter (approx – you may need more or less)

- 1 teaspoon of seasoned salt

- ¾ cup of bread crumbs (approx)

- 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley

- juice from half a lemon

- 1 tablespoon minced garlic

- 3 tablespoons of finely minced red bell pepper

- 3 tablespoons of finely minced onion

- 1 egg

- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder (optional)

- 2 tablespoons of EVOO

- fresh ground pepper to taste

Method:

2. In a medium sized mixing bowl add crab, lemon juice, parsley, seasoned salt, egg and the cooked peppers, onion, and minced garlic. Mix together. (I beat the egg first. It’s an OCD thing. For some reason, I think if I don’t the egg won’t evenly distribute throughout the mixture.) If you want a more prominent garlic flavor add the extra teaspoon of the garlic powder, but if you don’t care for garlic you can omit it.

3. Once that is well combined, add half of the bread crumbs and half of the butter. Mix together and slowly add the rest until you get the mixture where it’s not flaky but not overly wet. You want it to be moist so that it sticks together. You may not need to use all of the butter and bread crumbs. (NOTE: I used Italian bread crumbs because that is what I keep on hand. Plain would be fine)

4. Once you’ve reached the desired consistency take a portion of the mixture and form it into a patty. My cakes were about 1.5” in diameter and about ½” thick. In order to make them uniform, I first make the mixture into a little ball that fits in the palm of my hand and then slowly flatten them out. I was able to make 5 with my palm. Once you’re patties are made place them in the fridge to set for about 10-15 minutes.

5. In a medium sauce pan, add equal parts of butter and EVOO. About 1 tablespoon each. Over medium to medium-high heat, add your crab cakes and pan fry until golden brown and crisp. Mine took about 4 minutes. Then flip (carefully) and repeat.

6. Serve immediately!

*This made recipe made 5 medium crab cakes and served two of us.

My thoughts on this dish: From what I can recall this attempt was defiantly better than my last. The outside had a nice crust and the inside hot and soft. I thought the ratio of crab to other ingredients was just about right. While you do want the crab to be the dominant flavor, you also want it to have a little more depth. I think I was able to accomplish that this time. I felt the peppers and onions added a lot of flavor to the cake and the garlic played nicely in the background.

Crab Cake Sauce

I have no idea what else to call this. This recipe is derived from one I saw Sam the Cooking Guy use one episode. It looked tasty, and I thought something similar would be nice for the crab cake rather than just plain old tarter sauce. After tasting it, I think it would pair nicely with other kinds of seafood as well.

(print recipe)
Ingredients:
- 3oz of plain Greek yogurt (you could use any plain yogurt)
- 1 tablespoon of capers
- 1 teaspoon of dill
- Juice of half a lemon
- pepper

Method:
1. In a small mixing bowl add the yogurt and lemon juice, and whisk together until smooth.
2. Add the capers and dill. * I didn’t roughly chop the capers but probably will the next time so they are more evenly distributed and the sauce looks smoother. Add the dill as well. I did this little by little to make sure I got the amount of dill flavor I wanted.
3. Lastly add some black pepper. Allow to set in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

My thoughts on this dish:
When I first tried it before placing it in the fridge I was a little scared - I’m not gonna lie to you! It didn’t taste like what I had hoped for; little too tart and tangy. But instead of ust tossing it, I let it sit in the fridge while I made the crab cakes. I figured I would try it anyway once they were done to see how they might pair with the cakes. That’s when the magic happened. After sitting in the fridge for a bit, the flavors really blended well together and the tartness reduced. Overall I was really pleased with the end result, and will probably use it on something else in the near future.

The Finale!

Together I thought the sauced paired very well with the crab cakes. It was hard to resist going back for more.

Kitten ^..^

1. In a sauté pan add 1 tablespoon of EVOO, minced garlic, red bell pepper, and onion. Season with S&P and sauté over medium heat until soft. Set aside to cool.

Lobster Pasta with Brandy Cream Sauce

This past Thursday night while I was attempting to do some online homework my boyfriend, BD was in charge of cooking dinner. BD and I have been dating for about three years now and one of the few things that we are equally passionate about is good food. My mother was always a great cook and while she never sat down and taught me, I am pretty sure I inherited my skill and knack for cooking from her. Not sure where I get my baking ability though b/c Mom can't even bake frozen garlic bread without burning it!

In past relationships I was always the one that did all of the cooking (unless you count making PB&J or ordering take out - I don't). This was until I met BD. I know he comes from a long line of southern cooks and that certainly does show but a majority of his skill was gained from cooking in restaurants. He's been a Sous Chef at a major Italian restaurant, worked in countless other acclaimed local places and is currently moonlighting at a local Seafood House as a Saute Chef. He's a fantastic cook and definitely the "professional" of the two of us. This tends to lead to problems from time to time in the kitchen but we are working on it.

So this past Thursday BD had full range of "my" kitchen. He asked what I was in the mood for and since we had a lobster in the fridge, I simply said Lobster Pasta - something yummy. He popped online for a little inspiration and the following dish is what he whipped up. This is actually pretty typical for both of us to do. We get a craving or an idea and just wing it. Usually it works and I think he hit this one out of the park. Because we don't follow recipes 99% of the time I know this will present a challenge when trying to share here but I'll work on it. Below is the recipe courtesy of BD. I can't promise if its exact but its probably pretty close so feel free to make some adjustments to your own taste.

Lover's Lobster Pasta

Ingredients:

- 1.5 - 2 lobster, steamed, shelled and chopped in 1" chunks

- 1 shallot, finely chopped

- 1 Roma tomato, quartered, seeded and julienned

- 2 tablespoons of scallions, finely chopped

- 1/2 cup of asparagus cut in 1/2 inch pieces

- 1 teaspoon of minced garlic

- 1 pint of heavy cream

- 1/4 cup of cognac

- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

- 3 tablespoons of butter -total

- half pound of linguine

- Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

- Boil water for linguine first so it can cook while you are working on the dish. When it is cooked al dente, set aside in an ice bath to stop the cooking process and then strain and set aside.

- In a large saute pan, saute shallots and garlic in one tablespoon of butter until shallots are translucent.

- Deglaze the pan with the cognac and reduce until it reaches a glaze. This will take a couple of minutes. (If you are worried about the dish having too strong of a cognac flavor you can use about 1/2 of what the recipe calls for)

- Add asparagus and lobster with a splash of water and the remaining two tablespoons of butter. Let lobster simmer in the butter and cognac for about a minute and then remove and set aside.

- Turn burner on high and add heavy cream and let cream reduce by 1/3. Be sure to stir frequently.

- Once cream reduces, stir in Parmesan cheese and let simmer on low until it thickens.

- Add lobster and add salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for another minute.

- Add pasta to saute pan and toss to coat evenly.

* You can toss the tomatoes and chives in at this point OR place on top of each dish after plated for presentation. We did the former.

My thoughts on this dish: I really liked it. The plate pictured is mine and I ate the entire plate. The asparagus and lobster worked really well together and I thought the tomatoes and scallions added a nice bit of freshness to the dish. The cognac flavor wasn't overpowering at all which was great and instead it played nicely in the background. My only complaint was that I didn't have a good hunk of crusty bread to mop up all the lingering sauce on my plate. BD says he was surprised how well this turned out and we will definitely be making it again.

Enjoy! And feel free to write if you need some claification. And please excuse my noob picture taking skills - I'll be sure to work on that too!

KW