Next Up: Baked Goat Cheese

Barbecue Shrimp – So Good, and So Not Barbecued

No one’s really sure why this magnificent dish is called barbecue shrimp, but since it was invented in New Orleans, let’s just assume they had a great reason, and move on to more important issues, like making and eating a huge plate of these.

There are countless ways to make this dish, almost all containing copious amounts of butter, along with garlic, black pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. This is not something you’d serve to your friend with the bland palate. By the way, can’t believe you’re still friends with that bland palate dude.

Anyway, feel free to adjust and adapt to your heart’s content. My version is fairly light, which is kind of funny to say, since I call for half a stick of butter, but I’ve seen versions that were basically deep-fried in the stuff. So, you know, compared to that, this is like spa food.

As far as seasoning goes, be careful with the salt. The Worcestershire is pretty salty, so you may not want to add it all to the shrimp stock like I did. I used about 3 generous tablespoons, since I like mine pretty salty, but it’s probably safer to just add 1 or 2 tablespoons, and then taste/adjust later on.

Other than that, and finding some colossal shrimp (the bigger the better), this recipe is a breeze. It may not have anything to do with barbecue, but like its namesake, it’s incredibly delicious and another great culinary gift from the south. I hope you try some soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 servings:

1 1/2 to 2 pounds colossal shrimp

1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp Old Bay seasoning, optional

4 tbsp cold butter, cut in cubes

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp minced fresh rosemary

1 1/2 cups shrimp stock (using reserved shells, sauteed in 1 tsp butter, and simmered with 2 cups stock or water for 20-30 min)
juice of 1 lemon
hot sauce to taste 

2-3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, or to taste

lots of white rice

View the complete recipe

Next Up: BBQ Shrimp

Happy Mother’s Day!

I want to wish all the moms out there a very happy Mother’s Day! I’m blessed to have two great moms in my life, my mother Pauline, and my mother-in-law Peggy. Both continue to be my biggest fans and supporters, and as I’ve said before, this blog wouldn’t exist without them.

To honor them, and everyone else out there who nurture and take care of others, I give you this inspired performance by future rock star, Teal Greene. While I chose this because of Teal’s heartfelt lyrics, I have to admit his wardrobe choices of baggy, long underwear, sunglasses, and San Francisco Giant’s cap  sealed the deal. Enjoy!

Chilled Sugar Snap Pea Soup – Ain't Nuthin' But a "P" Thang, Baby!

I’ve never been a big cold soup fan. Where I’m from, cold soup gets sent back, but over the years I’ve grown to appreciate things like gazpacho, vichyssoise, and…that’s about it. Well, thanks to this gorgeous chilled sugar snap pea soup, my repertoire just expanded in a very delicious way.

Traditionally (from what I hear), chilled pea soups are made with English peas, but thanks to the very user-friendly sugar snap, not only is there no shelling involved here, but I think they impart an even sweeter flavor. Speaking of sweet flavor, you’re going to want to contrast that by garnishing with some sour cream or crème fraiche. If you can’t get or have that, then use a few drops of lemon juice or rice vinegar to balance the flavors. 

As far as the mint goes though, I’d make every effort to obtain some, as I can’t imagine another herb pairing as well. Lastly, the Snoop Dogg reference in the title foreshadows a Snoop Dogg reference made during the garnishing portion of the video. For more information, ask your kids. I hope you give this lovely, spring soup a try soon. Enjoy! 

Ingredients for about 6 cups of soup:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup sliced leeks

4 cups chicken broth

salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste

1 pound sugar snap peas

2 mint leaves

crème fraiche or sour cream, and more fresh mint to garnish

View the complete recipe

You Can Count on Monte Cristo Benedict for Mother’s Day Brunch

I always get a ton of food wishes this time of year for creative brunch ideas, and I was thinking about doing some new type of eggs Benedict, when I happened to see a photo of a Monte Cristo sandwich. At first, it just made me want a Monte Cristo sandwich, but after that wore off, I started thinking about how I’d seen these topped with fried eggs before.

Long story short, I decided to simply make an open-faced version of the famous stuffed sandwich, and top it with poached eggs, and hopefully a new American brunch classic was born. Of course, I'll let you decide, but there was nothing I didn’t love about this plate of food. Okay, the salad was kind of phoned in, but the rest was awesome.

The base is a variation of our famous Restaurant Style French Toast recipe, which marries perfectly with the ham, cheddar and havarti. It was so tasty you really don’t even need the poached eggs. Actually, forget I said that. Do the eggs. If only so you can pop those yolks, and watch them run. Besides the eating, that has to be the best part.

I’ve also re-posted a poached eggs demo below, since poaching your eggs ahead of time is the only way to go, especially if you have a larger group. By the way, you can hold the Monte Cristo bases in a warm oven while you pull the rest of the meal together. I hope you give this new Benedict a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

For the batter:

2 large eggs

1/4 cup cream

1 tbsp sugar

pinch of salt
pinch of cayenne

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp allspice

4 thick slices of French bread
1 tbsp butter

8 slices ham

4 slices cheddar cheese

4 slices havarti cheese

8 poached eggs

chive to garnish

How to Poach Eggs 

 

View the complete Poached Eggs recipe

View the complete Monte Cristo Benedict recipe

Lemon Bars for a Lasting Mother’s Day Impression

Mother’s Day is coming up, and since so many of you brave souls will be attempting a celebratory brunch, I thought I’d post this much-requested lemon bars recipe, in case things don’t go as smoothly as anticipated. 

Preparing brunch can be tricky anytime, let alone under mom’s watchful (aka “extremely concerned”) eyes. Can someone please get her a mimosa and walk her into the garden?

So, even if a few poached eggs break, or the toast gets a little too golden-black, no worries! If you finish the meal with these gorgeous, and absolutely impossible to mess-up lemon bars, she'll be as proud as she will be impressed. Our moms may have taught us the importance of a good first impression, but its America’s restaurateurs who discovered the importance of a delicious last impression. There's nothing like a well made pastry to make one forgive a tough steak.

Other than a baking dish, there’s no special equipment or techniques required. Both the shortbread base and the lemon custard take only minutes, and are simply hand-mixed in a bowl. 

Basically, if you can move your arm in a circle, and effectively set a timer (there’s one on your phone), your lemon bars should look just as good as these (maybe better – see meringue note below). Anyway, whether you’re going to make these for Mother’s Day or not, I hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 16 Small Lemon Bars:

For the shortbread crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup room temp unsalted butter (1 stick)

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

Bake crust at 350 degrees F. for 22 minutes

For the lemon layer:

2 large whole eggs

1 large egg yolk

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp grated lemon peel

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 minutes

Garnish with powdered sugar; or top with *meringue (the extra egg white whipped with 1 tablespoon of sugar) and brown with torch.

*My Meringue
If you decide to turn these into lemon meringue bars, do yourself a favor and actually measure the sugar. I couldn’t be bothered to check a recipe, so I only tossed in a teaspoon of sugar, and it should be closer to a tablespoon. The technique is the same; beat the extra white to the ribbon stage (where drips of white stay on the surface for a few seconds), and then add the sugar and continue whipping until you have nice, glossy peaks. My “by eye” batch worked fine, but it was a little too dry, and not quite sticky enough. Be advised.

View the complete recipe