LND: Entertaining Recipes - Shrimp Melts

 

Happy week after Thanksgiving, loyal readers!  I hope you find yourselves well-fed, well-rested, and with plenty of leftovers.  This year, I was in charge of the appetizers for our 35 person Thanksgiving dinner, so I present to you, recipes for entertainment.


Ingredients: English muffins, Shrimp, Mayonnaise, Tarragon, Scallions, Cheddar Cheese, White Wine

To make these delightful morsels bite sized, we searched high and low for miniature english muffins, since we wanted to be classier than cutting the larger-sized ones in half.  We resorted to ordering them from the internet.  Great for presentation, also great if you're happy to have 6 bags of 12 muffins each to satisfy those english muffin cravings.

Step 1: Cook the Shrimp.  I like to buy the giant bags of raw, peeled/deveined shrimp.  It's easy, it's quick, but you don't sacrifice taste or texture by settling for the precooked variety.  I poached the whole shrimp in white wine, water, and tarragon over medium heat.  Fill the pot with enough liquid to fully cover the shrimp, and add a couple tablespoons of fresh chopped or dried tarragon.

Step 2: Slice the shrimp.  Our shrimp were medium sized, so I cut them into thirds.  Put into a bowl and mix with mayo and sliced scallions.  I add enough mayo to coat the shrimp, but not overdo it.  For this recipe we had 2 lbs of shrimp and I used about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of mayo, and 3 sliced scallions.  

Step 3: Halve and toast the english muffins, then set on a cookie sheet.

Step 4: Spoon the shrimp mixture onto the muffins.  Top with grated cheddar cheese.  Place in a 375 degree oven for about 8 -12 minutes, or until the cheese is nicely melted.

Delicious shrimp melts in bite sized portions!  I also enjoy making this is larger quantities and sandwiching between some thick rustic bread for lunches.  Reheat in the toaster oven at work and it's just as good.

Fried Chicken Tenders

I was craving fried chicken last night after I saw a KFC ad on tv, but was too lazy to leave the house.  (Because making fried chicken from scratch is clearly less involved than getting in a car and grabbing a bucket of chicken from the window.)

So there are two ways of going about pre-flavoring meat.  Wet marinades or dry rubs.  Wet marinades typically need to sit/soak for awhile, often overnight.  Dry rubs are good to go.  But I wanted a wet marinade.  So thanks to the internet I found a recipe for a 25 minute wet marinade before frying.  (I was mostly wary of this since even when I have marinated chicken overnight, the flavor rarely shines through the fried exterior.)  And it didn't really work, but I'm ok with that because my chicken was incredibly juicy and tender.

The recipe called for soy sauce, lime juice, sugar, and dark rum.  I opted for soy sauce, lime juice, sugar, sesame oil, and a splash of light rum.

While the chicken soaked I prepared the flour.  On a plate I mixed flour with paprika, chili powder, onion/garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  So with breading/frying, there are a couple approaches.  You can dip in flour, put in an egg wash, then dredge in bread crumbs.  I went for a simpler approach of dredging directly in the flour from the marinade.

From here, I put the tenders directly into a pot of oil on medium heat on my stove.  The goal is to get that sizzle when you first add your chicken, but not have the oil so hot that it immediately burns the flour.  You need enough time for the chicken to cook through without burning the exterior.  I recommend a practice chicken tender that you cut in half when it's cooked to the color you want, and then adjusting the oil temperature/cook time accordingly.

When done frying, put on a paper towel to drain, and serve.  I found that right out of the oil it was incredibly crispy and the inside was super moist.  But when I ate one that had been sitting for awhile, the juice from the inside started to take away the crunch from the exterior.  I'd recommend serving immediately, or being more careful to remove excess liquid before dredging in flour and frying if you want the crunch to last longest.

Swedish Meatballs

No need to buy the frozen bag from Ikea, make your own Swedish meatballs!  The key to the flavoring that differentiates these from their Italian counterpart is nutmeg.  No oregano for these puppies.  So here's how it works.

1. Rip up a slice or two of white bread into small pieces and soak in about a 1/4 cup of milk.

2. Chop 1/4 - 1/2 cup of onion and saute in butter until softened.
3. Combine bread/milk mixture with 1 lb ground beef, 2 egg yolks, onion, 1 tsp nutmeg, salt and pepper

4. Mix, form into meatballs, and brown in a skillet on all sides until almost cooked through.

5. Transfer to an oven-proof dish and bake in a 250 degree oven to finish cooking through.  
6. Add 1/4 cup flour or corn starch to the pan drippings from the skillet to make a roux.  Slowly and in small portions, add a 14 ounce can of beef broth, constantly stirring over low heat.  As the sauce thickens, add 1/4 cup of heavy cream.  I added some salt, pepper, and fresh thyme from my herb garden for flavor.  
7.  Pour the sauce over the meatballs in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.  Then plate and serve!


I'd recommend mashed potatoes, or egg noodles to accompany these meatballs. 

Ground Beef Nachos

Dear blogosphere,

I apologize for my lack of dining/cooking at home.  This past week has been full of restaurants and microwave dinners.  I will make it up to you with fabulous home-cooked amazingness.  But that won't be tonight.

Sincerely,
LND Rookie Week

I was tired, but I told myself I had to make something that utilized the stove and at least one vegetable.  So I went for Mexican.  Nachos.  Simple.  You probably don't even need me to tell you how to make these.  Well, I will anyway, because then I can tell you all about the key ingredient: taco seasoning.  Browning ground beef is half the battle, but the taco seasoning takes it across the finish line (yes, I am mixing my metaphors).

Taco seasoning comes in packets near the rice/pasta/soup section.  The package says to brown the beef, drain the fat, add the package, then add a cup of water.  I leave a little fat and add about 1/2 cup of water.  Then I'll add more water if it's too dry.  Last night's taco beef then saw the addition of corn, tomatoes, and fresh cilantro (the first pruning of my new herb garden!).  Spoon the beef mixture over chips, add some shredded cheese, and a dollop of guacamole (sour cream if you're so inclined).  Straight from the cafeteria to your kitchen! (It's not one of my prouder home-cooking moments.)