Black Pepper and Parmesan Shrimp

A few years ago, Deedy found a salad dressing called "Black Pepper and Parmesan Dressing". Unfortunately, it's been a long time since we've seen this particular dressing. We like to marinate shrimp with this dressing and throw it on the BBQ. I bought a mixer last year that came with a recipe book and lo-and-behold, a recipe for the dressing. It's not exactly the same, but it's definitely our favorite way to cook shrimp.

Not all shrimp work with this. We always look for the shrimp that is cleaned, uncooked, with the shell on. Some shrimp we get with the shell on, the shell is too soft. Others are just right. The shells, after cooking, are nice and hard and easy to peel off of the shrimp. The other problem is that not all people we've shared this with have had shrimp with the shells on. So they chomp away, make wierd faces, spit out shrimp parts, and wonder what in the world is the deal.

For the shrimp, we've found the best ones at Trader Joes and Safeway in the seafood section.....frozen.

Here's our favorite recipe:

Ingredients

2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
1 oz Reggiano Parmesan, cut in 1/2" or smaller cubes
1 shallot, about 1oz, peeled, cut in 1/2" or smaller pieces
1 clove garlice, peeled and smashed
1/2 tspn kosher salt
1 tbl Dijon-style mustard
1/4 tsp Wocsestershire sauce
2 tbl light mayonnaise
1/4 cup wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup canola or other flavorless vegetable oil

Directions

Place the whole peppercorns in a blender jar. Blend for 10 seconds. Some peppercorns will be pulverized, some will be cracked and crushed; remove and reserve. Place the Parmesan cubes in the blender jar; blend for 20 seconds; scrape sides of blender jar. Add shallot, garlic and salt. Blend for 10 seconds; scrape sides of blender jar.

Add remaining ingredients in order listed; blend for 10 seconds. Add reserved black pepper; blend for 5 seconds. Transfer dressing to a resealable container and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer to allow flavors to develop. Keeps for one week in regrigerator.

BBQ Part

This is the part that's not in the book. We cook the shrimp directly over hot coals that has a few pieces of hickory or misquite that's been soaked in water. The shrimps cooks fast, but with the shells on, it protects the meat from burning. So, don't worry if the shrimp gets black. That's only the shell. The shrimp will cook in minutes, turning once or twice. Put the shrimp in a bowl and serve hot.

Make sure you've got wet towels nearby, your hands will be dirty while eating these.

Chicken, Shrimp, Andouille Gumbo

Deedy and I worked in the kitchen together making this gumbo I got from bon apetit. The original recipe was for 16 people, we cut it in half. I think what we cut it down too would feed 16 people. Holy smokes this makes a lot of food. The pot we used was close to overflowing. Fortunately, it's incredibly tasty. Word of warning....it's pretty spicy! As much food as this recipe makes, and the little amount of Cayenne, garlic, and onions, this thing was pretty hot. It was great on a cold winter day, although Deedy thought it was peaking her ability to eat it.

I loved it :)

If you make this, make sure you've got a big pot. Great for a party with lots of people. Make sure to have plenty of rice on hand to serve this with.

Ingredients

1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup all purpose flour
6 large onions, chopped (about 12 cups)
6 red bell peppers, seeded, chopped (about 7 cups)
8 celery stalks, chopped (about 3 cups)
16 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chopped fresh thyme
6 bay leaves
2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes with juice
4 8-ounce bottles clam juice
4 cups low-salt chicken broth
4 pounds andouille sausage, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
3 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 16-ounce packages sliced frozen okra

4 pounds peeled deveined medium shrimp
Minced fresh Italian parsley
Steamed rice

Directions

Heat oil in heavy 13-quart pot over medium-high heat until very hot and almost smoking. Add flour and stir constantly until mixture is dark reddish brown, about 5 minutes. Add chopped onions, chopped bell peppers, and chopped celery and cook until onions are soft and brown, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes. Add garlic and cayenne and stir 2 minutes. Add wine, thyme, and bay leaves; bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes with juice, clam juice, broth, sausage, and chicken; simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Add okra and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Do ahead Gumbo base can be made 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Bring base to simmer before continuing.

Add shrimp to pot and cook shrimp until just opaque in center, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Season gumbo to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with minced parsley and serve with steamed rice alongside.

Pasta Night

Every once in a while, I get together with my sisters husband, Dale, and we cook everybody pasta. I have done this at home several times before doing this with Dale. I got the idea after going to KC's Golf Club in Redding for Pasta Night....hence the name. Each person's pasta is made just for them, so there are no two bowls of pasta that are a like.

It was a cool idea to cook the pasta for each person right there and it looked simple to do. It takes time getting the ingredients all cut up, but that's part of the fun. Dale and I are on the phone while we go shopping, trying to figure out which grocery store has the clams and mussels in stock and which store has the best pasta sauce to use. Pasta Night turns into quite an event with most of the activity happening before dinner even starts.



The challenge with this dinner is not putting too much in the pot when you're cooking. It adds up quickly and people will be more than stuffed when done.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

Whatever you want......really.

This is our typical list:

4 mussels per person, steamed
3 clams per person, steamed
3 uncooked shrimp per person (shelled and deveined)
BBQ'd chicken breasts. Use whatever marinade you like.
Sausages - I like the specialty ones with apple, artichokes, garlic. Whatever sounds good.
Basil - chopped.
10-15 Roma tomatoes - seeded, chopped.
1 Bulb of Garlic - chopped
Tomato Sauce - I like basil and tomato. Use your favorite
Can of chopped or stewed tomatoes with seasonings
Sliced mushrooms
Capers
Zucchini - chopped
Green onions
Red and or White wine for cooking
Parsley
Olive oi
Cooked Pasta - vermicelli, fettucini, whatever you want. We add a little bit of olive oil to the pasta so it won't stick.

grated Paramesean cheese

Cooking

Have whoever you're cooking for say what they want, then cook it. We usually start off heating the olive oil in a small wok style cooking pan. We'll add the shrimp and garlic and cook the shrimp until it's pink. While the shrimp is cooking, toss in the zucchini. When that's close to done, start adding whatever your customer wants. At the end of the cooking, we'll add in the mussels and clams then the pasta. Stir it all together and put into the bowl.