Cajun Shrimp

Magnolia Table – Volume 2
Joanna Gaines

This one is a winner!  We LOVED this recipe.  O-M-G!  The flavors were amazing.  I can’t rave about this enough and I have a feeling this will fast become a favorite in this house. I’m debating adding sausage to it the next time just to see how the flavors contrast.  But this was perfect just the way it is.  I’m seriously debating doubling this recipe the next time I make it.  THAT’S how much we enjoyed it.

---

Ingredients:

1½ pounds baby red or multicolored potatoes, halved
2 tablespoons of olive oil
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 ears corn, husked and cut crosswise into 1-inch rounds
3 garlic heads, tops sliced off to expose the cloves, plus 4 garlic cloves minced
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 large lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

---

 

1. Preheat the oven 425ºF. Line a sheet pan with foil.
2. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and ½ teaspoon each of the salt and pepper.  Stir to coat.
3. Spread the potatoes evenly on the prepared sheet pan.  Roast until the potatoes begin to brown and soften, about 25 minutes.
4. Meanwhile in the same bowl, combine the corn and garlic heads with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.
5. Add the corn and garlic heads, cut sides up, to the pan with the potatoes and roast for 15 minutes more.
6. In a small bowl, stir together the minced garlic, melted butter, and Old Bay.
7. Remove the pan from the oven and spread the shrimp over the vegetables. Drizzle the butter mixture over the shrimp and vegetables and roast until the shrimp are pink and no longer translucent, 5 to 7 minutes more.
8. Sprinkle the shrimp and vegetables and the parsley and serve immediately with lemon wedges.

 

Pollo Fritto

Giada’s Family Dinners
Giada de Laurentis

 

Pollo fritto, which is not an exotic name, it’s just Italian for fried chicken.  And who doesn’t love fried chicken.  I’m a fan of all chicken, but there’s something about it when it’s fried that makes it extra special.  This chicken is light, crunchy, and really good. Do I recommend it?  Yes.  Should I make it more often?  Yes.  Will I make it more often?  I sure hope so!

---

Ingredients

¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from about two lemons)
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (3½-pound) frying chicken, cut into pieces
Approximately 2 cups olive oil, for frying
1 cup all-purpose flour
Lemon wedges

---

 

In a large, resealable plastic bad, combing the lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Add the chicken pieces and seal with bag.  Gently shake the bag to ensure the chicken is coated with the marinade.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day, turning the bag occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 200°F.  In a large cast iron frying pan or other heavy frying pan, add enough oil to come ½ inch up the sides of the pan.  Heat the oil over medium heat.  Meanwhile, drain the marinade from the chicken and pat the chicken dry with paper towels.  Dredge half of the chicken pieces in the flour to coat completely; shake off the excess flour.  Add the coated chicken to the hot oil and fry until it is golden brown and just cooked through, turning occasionally, about 25 minutes.  Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate to drain the excess oil.  Then place the fried chicken on a baking sheet and keep it warm in the oven while frying the remaining chicken.  Repeat coating and frying the remaining chicken.

Arrange the fried chicken on a warm platter and serve with the lemon wedges.

 

Fabio’s Mom’s Meatballs

Fabio’s Italian Kitchen
Fabio Viviani

Admittedly, I am not a big meatball person.  Was never really a fan.  Even growing up, my mother never really made meatballs very often.  It just wasn’t a big thing in our family.  In my experience meatballs were always somewhat dry, kind of flavorless and just blech.  So I was never really inspired to attempt meatballs until I came across this recipe.  Fabio’s Mom is a genius.  This meatballs are tasty, moist, and throughly enjoyable.

Once the meatballs are prepared and ready to be cooked, you just throw them into a sauce recipe of your choice and allow them to cook.  The recipe suggested in the book was Fabio’s Tomato Sauce, but you can use any sauce recipe you like.  They can be adapted to any sauce.

---

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
4 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmigiana Reggiano cheese, grated
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, mined
2 shallots, minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 cups Fabio’s Tomato Sauce (or any sauce of your choice)
Fresh parsley, chopped for garnish
Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

---

1. Place all the ingredients except the tomato sauce, the parsley, and the extra-virgin olive oil in a medium-size bowl and mix thoroughly by hand until they are completely combined and the mixture is uniformly firm.
2. Coat your hands in olive oil, and form balls slightly bigger than a golf ball
3. Heat the tomato sauce in a saucepan over medium heat, then drop the meatballs into the sauce and add enough water to allow the sauce to reduce and simmer but not so much that the sauce is totally liquid. Cook for about 10 minutes on one side, then turn the meatballs over, add some more water, and cook for another 10 minutes, using a spoon to cover the meatballs with the sauce as they simmer.  Remove from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes.
4. Serve with chopped parsley, salt and pepper, more Parmigiano-Reggiano, and a frizz;e of extra-virgin olive oil, of course!

Welcome to Dinner

Hope You’re Hungry

 

 

Those they know me, know that I enjoy cooking.  It relaxes me.  So after a stressful day, one of the ways I like to unwind is to find a recipe in one of my cookbooks and take it for a spin.  Over the years I’ve cooked for friends and while they’ve enjoyed my cooking, many have also expressed an interest in the recipes I choose, my dinner prep and photos to go along with it.  So here goes nothing!

---

---

---