Shrimp Quesadillas and Mango Salsa

(please excuse the bite marks, I was hungry)

Ok I'm addicted to shrimp and making tortillas. It's an addiction and I can't stop. This variation is easy I'm sure you've had it before. It's easy peasy corn tortillas + shrimp and a really great mango jalapeno salsa. The salsa is sweet, salty, smoky and spicy. It was a pain to slice the mango - am I doing it wrong? But I gotta say I'm getting better at making tortillas without a press- instead of using my hands and/or a rolling pin I've been using a pot.

Homemade corn tortillas and corn meal crusted shrimp

Home made corn tortillas are not hard to make at all- I would say they're a bit time consuming if you don't have a tortilla press though. I alternated between using my hands and a heavy pan to get them thinner.

Corn meal crusted shrimp sort of worked, but I think the original fish would taste better. A lot of the cornmeal ended up falling off the shrimp anyways so it was just... a regular shrimp taco. Sigh... don't worry there's a better shrimp taco recipe coming with a mango salsa!

Pesce al Sale

Sounds and looks fancy, but it's really so simple. This is a fish baked in salt crust. This is me trying to learn to make new things. I do not really know to make fish that isn't smoked, canned or already cut in a steak. The prospect of cooking a WHOLE fish was really frightening. This was made bearable by the fact that Whole Foods will fillet and de-scale a fish for you. But then you still have to take it home, unwrap and face it's bloody body and bulging eyeballs... all in the name of culinary learning. I'm sorry fish!


Guilt aside, it was good. Also 3 pounds of salt ends up being a LOT of salt- I used my entire box of Kosher salt. It was surprisingly not overly salty! I decided to make some aioli with the leftover egg yolks. Ah, yes another fear: RAW EGGS. But the fear is quelled by the lovely jar full of aioli. I ate some with the fish, but it turned out to be an unpleasant combination... I'll save it for french fries and roast beef sandwiches.

Crab Cakes

I was stuck in LAX for a few hours on my way to JFK and the only thing in the Virgin America terminals was Burger King, Starbucks and Gladstone's. I ended up in Gladstones with a crab cake sandwich. It was bland with very little crab. When I got back home, I had to make a good crab cake. The recipe includes an avocado sauce, but I skipped it.

crab cake + arugula + red onions + egg + balsamic vinegar + olive oil

The previous recipes I've made involve frying the crab cakes, but this one has you bake them. The bread crumbs are tossed with the butter so they're still crisp. I finished mine in the toasted oven for a few more minutes to get a nicer crust.

Pumpkin and Shrimp Bisque

There is nothing more welcoming than a bowl of warm soup on a cold day. This soup is that soup. However you will encounter some unpleasant, fishy smells because you have to roast the shrimp shells. I felt slightly crazy cooking shells, but it turned out delicious so I'll do it again if I need to. I also felt a lot of asian guilt at having to throw out the onion and celery (though I did eat a few spoonfuls, but gave up after getting too many shell bits). Work through the guilt and make this soup. It is good and very easy.

Shrimp shells, it's whats for dinner.

I think I'm getting better at choosing wines to cook with- thanks to all the friendly folks at Trader Joe's. (PS: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!)

Potato and Leek Soup, Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, & Garlic Bread

You know when winter is transitioning to spring when all you want is to curl up with a warm, creamy soup. With Angela's recent corn chowder post I thought I'd follow up with one of my favorite soups: Potato & Leek.

Recipe here, followed to the T: http://pinchmysalt.com/2008/03/19/a-hearty-potato-leek-soup-recipe-for-the-last-days-of-winter/

The only part that wasn't explained well was cutting the leek. How? You cut off 1/4 inch from the bottom stub, and cut off all the dark green part (about 1/2 inch into the light green part of the leek). You only use the white & light green parts, since that's the tender part of it. Chop lengthwise and then chop it up into finer portions. Wash thoroughly using a colander.


I made one change, and that was to add in some white truffle oil that I've been wanting to use. It makes the soup taste different--even more delicious!



What pairs well with a hearty soup? Hearty food!! So I decided to complete the dinner with some simple Bacon Wrapped Shrimp & Garlic Bread:

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp: wrap uncooked bacon around peeled, raw shrimp and secure with a toothpick.


Grill on BBQ in medium to medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes. When the bacon is done, the shrimp will be done. (In the below picture the bacon is done but perhaps slightly undercooked for my taste.)


Garlic Bread:
Find the freshest french sweet bread you can find.
Make garlic butter sauce--mix 4 tbsp butter, melted + desirable amount of garlic spread + salt if butter is unsalted + dried oregano or basil

If you want crispier garlic bread:
1. Cut baguette in half horizontally.


2. Spread garlic butter sauce as desired, and add freshly grated parmesan cheese if desired
3. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until desired crispiness is reached (this really depends on the size of your bread)


If you want softer garlic bread:
1. Make several vertical cuts, short lengthwise, but leaving the bread still intact at the ends.


2. Spread garlic butter sauce as desired, and add freshly grated parmesan cheese if desired
3. Wrap completely in aluminum foil


4. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until desired doneness is reached


Serve together and it makes for a surprisingly filling and delicious meal.

Shrimp Creole & White Chocolate Chip cookies

One of my favorite things to eat is the jambalaya at Disneyland. I don't remember the name of the "cafe," but it's so freaking good. I love the seasonings and oh yeah, the cream. This is kinda like that, minus the cream, so I'm going to call it healthy. Here's the recipe. I agree with the reviewers- this would taste better with rice. It's not very soup-y so it doesn't really flavor the noodles enough. (Although if you added cream it'd probably be awesome as a pasta dish)

I ended up buying "cajun seasoning" and I'm not sure what's in it, but it's good. I put it on fries and chicken too. I omitted the mushrooms- that just didn't seem right. And even though I followed the recipe, it wasn't "super-hot," I think I'll add more red pepper flakes next time or some Tabasco.


I was also craving white chocolate macadamia nuts. There's a store in Westwood called Diddy Riese and it's famous for its cheap cookies and ice cream sandwiches (and hot dogs too). As much as I love cheap and ice cream sandwiches, I am not in love with their white chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookie- it's not chewy or crunchy. It has this perma-stale texture to it. BLEGH. I was so happy to find this recipe. This is truth in advertising- you will make chewy, buttery cookies.

And the recipe makes a TON. You probably notice dark brown specks? This is what happens when I mix by hand and get lazy. Yep... I decreased the amount of white chocolate chips + macadamia nuts because I like more dough in my cookies. Also I chopped up my macadamia nuts to sort of match the size of the chips.

Macaroons are coming! I'm determined to make macaroons this month.

Scallops and Gougeres

I was craving some scallops so I picked some up from the frozen aisle at Trader Joe's. I used this recipe for Butter-Fried Sea Scallops with Thyme and White Wine. This was my first time cooking scallops and it turned out very well! I was really scared of overcooking them, but they had a nice crust on the outside and were very tender. There are only a few ingredients and it took less then half an hour to make. I put a little bit more white wine in and served it over some pasta.


After some online searching... I've realized what's wrong with my camera! It can only macro-focus starting at 10 cm from the subject )= omgz. So don't get a nikon coolpix s560 if you want to take pictures of things up close.


Next up is a SUPER DELICIOUS recipe from David Lebovitz. I haven't made my own ice cream yet, but when I do I will buy his book! I was craving some Brazilian cheese bread (not sure what it was called, wikipedia thinks it is Pao de quijo) so I used David's recipe for Gougeres. I used parmesan and it was SO EFFING GOOD. I want to try a different cheese next time with some different herbs because these were mild. Gruyere and thyme?



They cooked perfectly, no problems puffing at all. They were crisp on the outside, and a soft eggy texture on the inside. Also, if you don't have a Silpat yet you should get one because it is the best silicon baking mat. I got mine from amazon.

This is me trying to get a CLEAR photo of the inside. )=