Shrimp Avocado Sandwich

I made a few more shrimp than I needed when I made the lemon pasta earlier this week. I suppose they aren't really extra. There are never extra shrimp. There are just reserved shrimp. 

So these reserved shrimp needed something creamy, and crunchy to pair with. At the grocery store, a nice display of avocados decided the day.

Shrimp Avocado Sandwich

for 1 sandwich

6-8 shrimp, cooked

1/4 avocado, sliced

1 long roll

2 slices provolone

a couple ribs romaine lettuce

2 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tbsp Pineapple Balsamic

2 tbsp Spanish Olive Oil

Slice your roll in half and brush with the olive oil. Toss under a boiler for a couple minutes until it gets nice and brown. I used my toaster oven and that worked just fine. 

Whisk the mayonnaise with the Pineapple Balsamic and spread over the toasted bread. If you want melted cheese, assemble everything but arrange the cheese on top and stick back under the broiler. I just wanted to eat it, so I folded it up and did just that.

Perfect crispy bread. Nice creamy avocado. Mmmm, shrimp.

Lemon Shrimp Tagliatelle

I really love lemons. Lemon-filled donuts are my favorites, lemon meringue, lemonade, limoncello.... Our Lemon Pasta is like the icing on the lemon poppy seed cake of my food life. So making lemon shrimp with Lemon Pasta is just the best thing I can think of. Unless it's lemon chicken with Lemon Pasta.

Lemon Pasta with Shrimp

6-7 capers
10-12 large cooked shrimp, thaw if frozen
4 tbsp Spanish Olive Oil
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
pinch of smoked paprika
Lemon Pasta for 2-4 people
Lemon wedges for serving

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Rinse well and toss with a little olive oil. Set aside somewhere, but keep it warm.

In a medium saute pan, heat the olive oil up to medium-high. Add the capers and shrimp. I remove the tails, but you don't have to. Sprinkle a little salt and paprika on them. If you want them to have a crispier edge, don't stir them at all and cook for 3-4 minutes per side. If you like them more tender, stir them occasionally and only let them go for 2-3 minutes each side.

In the last minute, add the parsley so it crisps and a little dusting of pepper.

Add the shrimp to the cooked pasta. Make sure you drain all the olive oil from the pan, it is now your sauce!

Serve with lemon wedges if needed.

Totally NOT Vodka Sauce

Now this is the only think I've cooked this month. It fills the need, but PB&J does not count as cooking.

I've just been too tired to cook. Sleepy cooks burn things. And forget to buy ingredients. Which is great for this recipe, because I had everything I needed somewhere in my cabinet. (or the store here...)

So I needed something that would be fast, tasty, and above all, something that would produce enough leftovers that I wouldn't go hungry at work again today.

This pasta came together so fast. And it ended up looking like vodka sauce. But vodka sauce only wishes it is this good!

Totally NOT Vodka Sauce (even if it's pink)

8oz fettuccine
1 can peas
1 cup milk
3/4 cup jalapeno cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Piquillo Pepper Tapenade*
4 tbsp Spanish Olive Oil
Black Pepper
1 tbsp crushed garlic
pinch of powdered ginger

Cook the pasta. Drain and put back in the pan.

Heat the olive oil in a small sauce pan and add the garlic and the ginger. Stir around, about a minute. Add the cheese shreds. If you can't find Jalapeno Cheddar, feel free to use regular. But then sub in the Jalapeno Olive Oil for the Padilla.

Stir the cheese around until it starts to melt. Add the milk to keep it from burning and increase the heat to medium high. Stir it occasionally, scraping the sides. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Add in the Piquillo Pepper Tapenade (* available in our store) and the black pepper.

Stir into the noodles.

This sauce really ends up pink. Really. Egg noodles suck sauce right in, those pale bits are where the sauce didn't stick!

Pork Steaks and Fennel

The recipe is measured for one serving. Mostly because my husband gave me a funny look when I told him we were having fennel for dinner.

So he's having a frozen pizza. And I'm having tasty, tasty fennel. And pork steak! You can scale up the recipe with ease from here. If you don't have the Southwest Seasoning Blend, come see me at the store! Or just use a spicy oil, like the Chipotle.

But seriously, come see me at the store. This weekend is supposed to be beautiful!

Pork Steaks with Fennel

1 sirloin cut pork steak
1 large fennel bulb, cut into wedges
1 tbsp Southwest Seasoning Blend
1 tbsp Spanish Oil
1/2 cup vegetable stock, low sodium

Heat the oil to medium-high heat in a nice heavy bottomed pan. Rinse your pork steak and pat dry. Rub about 3/4 of the seasoning blend all over the pork and place it in the pan. Add in the fennel slices and sprinkle the rest of the seasoning blend over them.

Brown everything quickly, say a minute on each side, fennel too.

Now it is time for the vegetable stock. Gently pour the stock in the pan. Cover and reduce the heat to medium. Let it cook for about 10 minutes, flipping everything once.

I suppose that this is technically braising. I just cook things, I don't try to define them.

Rosemary Beef and Eggplant

I wanted something to warm myself up during this recent cold snap. Looks like it will get a little warmer next week, but right now it feels like November!

Rosemary Beef and Eggplant

1 tsp Rosemary or Garlic Olive Oil
2 tbsp Spanish Olive Oil

1 large eggplant, diced

1/2 lb ground beef

1 tomato, diced

1/4 cup shredded cheese

1/4 cup Rose Romano's Red Pepper Sauce*

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400degrees. 

Peel and dice the eggplant. Rinse and toss with the Rosemary olive oil. If you need more than one tsp, add something basic, maybe the Spanish Blend. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 40 minutes.

While that is cooking, brown the beef in a large nonstick saute pan, the fat in the beef should keep it from sticking. Keep it warm until the eggplant is done.

Transfer the eggplant to the pan and add the tomato. Saute for about 4-5 minutes, until the tomato is nice and soft. Add in the sauce and stir. Sprinkle with cheese and cover until the cheese starts to melt.

Serve with a nice crusty bread.

*The sauce I linked to is a very nice product. The makers were nice enough to send us a sample. If anyone tries this, let us know yea or nay if we should carry it!

Cinnamon Pear Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I made these last night but forgot to post them. Sorry! On the plus side, my mom loved them with her lunch today!

Cinnamon Pear Roasted Brussels Sprouts

2-3 cups brussels sprouts, halved
3 tbsp Olive Oil (I like a Spanish Blend)
3-4 tbsp Cinnamon Pear Balsamic
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375degrees.

Combine the Balsamic and the salt and pepper together. Whisk in the Olive Oil. You could also do this in a closed container and shake it.

Pour the sauce over the brussels sprouts, stirring to coat. Spread the brussels sprouts in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in the oven.

Roast for 25-30 minutes turning once. They should be just browning, not crispy. If you want them crispy, cook an extra 10-20 minutes, checking every five minutes.

And if you want them really crispy, use only 2 tbsp each of the balsamic and oil. Really make sure to check every ten minutes. The dryer they are, the faster they will go from crispy to dead.

I'm going to be making these for Thanksgiving too. Or at least pre-making them. Roasted veggies freeze really well!