Delicious Accidents

Roasting food always brings out the sweet flavor of the ingredient…or so that’s what Ina Garten says because she loves to roast stuff.  I decided to try her roasted shrimp scampi recipe from her latest cookbook – Back to Basics.

The recipe calls for 2 lbs of shrimp, but I had to cut back since there are only two of eating.  Also, I didn’t want to serve this with pasta, but instead opted for something light such as sauteed baby broccoli with toasted pine nuts.

Anyway,  here’s the recipe…I’ll have to update later with our review since I haven’t started cooking yet.  This is the original recipe so feel free to adjust:

• 2 lbs of shrimp in the shell
• 3 tbls of evoo
• 2 tbls of dry white wine
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 12 tbls of butter (yipes, I used nowhere near that)
• 4 tsp of minced garlic (4 cloves)
• 1/4 cups of minced shallots
• 3 tbls of minced fresh parsley
• 1 tsp of minced fresh rosemary
• 1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper
• 1 tsp of grated lemon zest
• 2 tbs of squeezed lemon juice
• 1 extra large egg yolk (i skipped this)
• 2/3 cup of panko (i used plain breadcrumbs)
• lemon wedges for garnish

1. mix shrimp with olive oil, wine, and salt and pepper
2. mix remaining ingredients
3. cover a gratin dish with a single layer of shrimp, pour remaining marinade over the shrimp
4. spread butter mixture over the shrimp
5. bake 10-12 minutes or until hot and bubbly
6. if you like a darker crust, simply place the dish under the broiler for 1 minute
7. serve with lemon wedges

Here’s the recipe for sauteed baby broccoli

1. toast 1/4 cups of pine nuts
2. in a heated pan, heat up 1 tbl of olive oil
3. toss in pieces of baby broccoli until it’s cooked through – about 5 minutes
4. toss in pine nuts and sprinkle on some grated parmesan

I like Okra.  Unfortunately the only time I eat okra is when it’s deep fried or in gumbo.  I wanted something fresh and lighter, since I’m trying to get us to eat heathier.

We went to Central Market yesterday and I found some really good fresh okra.  Of course I bought them not knowing what to do with it.

I found this recipe on Allrecipes and adjusted it to my taste.  Brian even liked it, go figure.

This recipe serves 6 and is fairly simple to make:

1 lb of fresh okra
1 cup of uncooked rice
1/2 chopped onions
1 leek chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
salt and pepper
dash of red peppper
dash of thyme (use
2 cups of chicken stock

1. saute the onions, garlic and leeks until wilted
2. add the sliced okra and chicken stock and let simmer for 15 minutes until okra is cooked through (breaks apart)
3. add the rice, salt, pepper and thyme reduce heat to low.  Let cook for 20 minutes or until rice is cooked through.