Shrimp Salad

I've been doing a better job lately of just making up something to eat based on whatever's in the fridge and freezer.

A month or so ago, I took this picture of a shrimp salad I threw together one afternoon. We had a bag of raw shrimp from HEB in the freezer - I had been using small amounts of the shrimp at a time for sushi rolls. We used a simple spicy shrimp boil to cook the shrimp in. After you cook the shrimp, you need to take the whole pot off the stove and just let the shrimp sit a while in that same water you cooked it in to suck up all the spicy shrimp boil goodness. A very important step if you don't want bland flavorless shrimp sitting on top of your salad. Gotta have some heat, as far as we're concerned.

Just the day before, Michele had picked up some fresh salad greens and a red bell pepper from the Austin Farmer's Market at the Triangle. Well, by gawd, we were off to the races.

I then pulled out a leftover onion and a tomato from the crisper in the fridge, and diced those suckers up.

Before laying the shrimp on top, we tossed the salad in a simple italian dressing that Michele had mixed herself from one of those packets you buy at the store.

This was a reeeeeeal good lunch.

Leslie Boyd's Paella

A few nights ago, we had the best paella we've ever eaten in our lives...again. It had been several months since Leslie & Michael Boyd invited us over to sample this old family recipe, and we were extremely lucky enough to be invited over to eat it all over again. Leslie says she'll be e-mailing me the recipe....can't wait to share it here.

And now, here's the next weekend news anchor team:

This handsome couple? It's Alexa McCauley & Pablo Boyd, who got along famously as the adults shoveled Leslie's magical paella into their mouths.

UPDATE 3/21/08:

Hey y'all! I am sorry it has taken me so long to get this recipe to you. We loved the recipe blog. So now, you must add my recipe! And the picture of Alexa and Pablo is simply priceless!!! Thank you so much for coming over...we must eat together again very soon! Happy Easter! Love, Leslie

Paella a la Chilena (or Chilean Paella)

Recipe from Leslie “la Chilena” Boyd (based on my Chilean grandfather Emilio's family recipe). You can substitute scallops for shrimp, and use pork fillets for the sausage, if you like. Play around with it to suit your taste! You know it is done when all the mussels have opened, and there should a nice crispy layer of saffron-infused rice along the bottom of the pan. Feeds up to 10 people….Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 20-25 mussel shells (about 1 ¼ lbs.), thoroughly rinsed & cleaned
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 8-10 chicken legs
• 1 lb. Beef sausage, cut into 1-inch thick slices
• 2 onions (large, chunky pieces)
• 3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 cups white rice (Arborio is preferred)
• 3 cups hot chicken broth
• 1 phial saffron filaments (4-6 threads), infused into the hot chicken broth
• 1 ½ -2 green or red bell peppers (large, chunky pieces)
• 2-3 cups large mushrooms, halved
• 1 ½ -2 lbs. shrimp, shelledSalt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 325°F

Rinse and clean mussel shells thoroughly; refrigerate until ready to use later.

In a frypan, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil.

Fry chicken legs until golden brown, and sausage slices; reserve.

Heat remaining oil.

Sautee onion and bell pepper in hot oil for 5 minutes.

Add garlic and rice; make sure rice is well coated with oil.

Pour in chicken broth with infused saffron.

Transfer into a large oven-proof dish.

Add mushrooms, reserved chicken legs, and sausage.

Bake in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes.

Mix in shrimp and reserved mussels.Bake for 15-20 minutes more. Make sure all mussels have opened. Discard any unopened mussels after cooking.

Linda Mullen's EZ Classic Lasagna

Back when Michele and I worked at KVUE-TV, a co-worker of ours shared this fantastic and incredibly easy recipe for a quite tasty lasagna. It's one of our favorite and most-used recipes.

Ingredients

16 oz cottage cheese (small curd)
1/2 cup grated parmesan
2 eggs
2 (26-oz) jars pasta sauce (your favorite)
1 (1 lb) package lasagna noodles
4 cups grated mozzarella cheese
Italian seasonsing (basil, oregano, thyme, etc.)
Optional - 1 lb. sausage or gournd beef, cooked and drained

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Combine cottage cheese, parmesan, eggs and seasoning (add salt and pepper to taste). On bottom of a 13x9x2 greased baking dish, spread 1 cup of the sauce. Top with a layer of uncooked noodles, then cottage cheese mixture, meat and finally mozzarella. Add more sauce - spread it out and repeat layers as many times as you have "stuff" left. End with a layer of mozzarella. Cover with foil. Bake 1 hour or until bubbly (I like it when the cheese browns a little, as in the picture above). Let stand covered 15 minutes before serving.

Number of servings: Linda says "8 big" but Michele and I beg to differ. (Burrrrp.)

La Madeleine's Tomato-Basil Soup

• 4 cups fresh tomatoes , cored, peeled, and chopped (8-10) or canned whole tomatoes, crushed
• 4 cups tomato juice (or part vegetable or part chicken stock)
• 12-14 basil leaves , washed fresh
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 lb sweet unsalted butter
• salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• lemon juice (optional)

Combine tomatoes, juice/and or stock in saucepan. Simmer 30 minutes.

Puree, along with the basil leaves, in small batches, in blender, food processor (or better yet, one of those handy hand-held food blenders, right in the cooking pan). Return to saucepan and add cream and butter, while stirring, over low heat. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with your favorite bread.

Croissant Bread Pudding

I got this recipe from Barefoot Contessa on the Food channel. It's Ike's favorite, so we cook it just about every Christmas. This is a very easy desert to make.

• 3 extra-large whole eggs
• 8 extra-large egg yolks
• 5 cups half-and-half
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 6 croissants, preferably stale, sliced horizontally
• 1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks, half-and-half, sugar, and vanilla.

Set the custard mixture aside. Slice the croissants in half horizontally. In a 10 by 15 by 2 1/2-inch oval baking dish, distribute the bottoms of the sliced croissants, then add the raisins, then the tops of the croissants (brown side up), being sure the raisins are between the layers of croissants or they will burn while baking. Pour the custard over the croissants and allow to soak for 10 minutes, pressing down gently.

Place the pan in a larger one filled with 1-inch of hot water. Cover the larger pan with aluminum foil, tenting the foil so it doesn't touch the pudding. Cut a few holes in the foil to allow steam to escape. Bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 40 to 45 more minutes or until the pudding puffs up and the custard is set. Remove from the oven and cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Kong Jjang (Korean Black Bean banchan/side dish)

From Ellie Won / Kitchen Wench:

Ingredients

• 1 pk black beans with green centers (approx 350g)
• 1 cup light soy sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1-2 tbsp white sugar
• 1/2 - 1 tbsp Korean malt syrup
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1. Wash the beans to remove any dust or debris, then rinse them under clean water and drain them.

2. Combine soy sauce and water in a pot, then add the beans and boil without the lid on for about 15-20 mins, or till the beans are half cooked and the liquid reduced to about 1/3 of a cup.

3. Add 1-2 tbsp of white sugar, continuously stir as you continue to boil the beans till most of the liquid has evaporated.

4. Remove the pot from the heat and add the malt syrup and toasted sesame seeds, stirring to evenly coat. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container in the fridge.

Here's the tomato picture that I'll use for the background on this blog. I had to post it here so the background will work. Okay, on with the recipes.... Bon Appetit!