Sesame Shrimp Salad

Pity my sister.

All she ever wants when she comes to our house to eat is Caribbean Shrimp. Or lobster (once she got so desperate for it she actually brought her own).

But  does she ever get it? Nope.

We just tease her: a bit of shrimp here, a taste of mango there...

Throw in our generally healthy eating of late (lower carbs at night, for instance), and disappointment for Jane is almost guaranteed.

Not that she eats poorly mind you.  In fact, don't pity my sister.  Envy her instead.

Sesame Shrimp Salad

What You Need

6-8 oz of shrimp per person
1 tsp sesame seeds per 6 oz shrimpAbout 2.5 oz soba noodles (dry) per person
1 tsp serrano, minced per 6 oz shrimp
1/2 lime for every 3 people
Salt
Red bell pepper, sliced thin
1/4 cup shelled edamame per person
1/3 avocado per person
Napa cabbage, sliced latitudinally
Broccoli stems, sliced thin
Crimini mushrooms, sliced
Sriracha
Soy Sauce
Olive Oil

What To Do with It

First, toast your sesame seeds. Put them in a skillet over medium heat, and keep them moving until they start to turn brown, then remove.

Peel the shrimp completely, then put in a bowl. Add the serranos, sesame seeds, lime juice and a couple pinches of salt. Toss until the shrimp are well-coated.

Put water on to boil.

Heat a skillet over medium medium high heat.

Once the water starts boiling, throw in your soba noodles and put the shrimp in the skillet (with a bit of olive oil) and sautee.  Each should cook about 4 minutes.

To plate, put a bit of napa cabbage down as a bed, the put your noodles on top of that. Arrange the rest as you see fit.

Finally, create a dressing by mixing the sriracha, soy sauce and oil in a 2:2:1 mixture (the exact amount will be determined by how much dressing you want, but go for about 1 tbsp per person).

Everybody Likes Italian, Right? Ravioli Primavera with Chicken

Most of us aren't familiar with actual Italian food. Most of us are familar with "Italianesque." Think about anything you eat at Macaroni Grill. It's like eating at Cantina Laredo and saying you've had Mexican food.

Of course, Cantina Laredo has its place, and so does Italianesque. The nice thing about Italianesque is that (i) it's easy and (ii) it tastes good. The problem with it is that a lot of people stop at spaghetti with bottled sauce. The difference between spaghetti with Classico pasta sauce, and something that's worth eating, is about five minutes. But how many times have we all opted for spaghetti from a box and sauce from a jar?

Somewhere in there is a metaphor for life.

So, here's a little something for those of you that want more out of your quick food. Total cooking and prep time: about 15 minutes. It's not Italian, but it tastes good. And since it only takes about 5 minutes longer than cooking spaghetti...well, as I said, somewhere there's a metaphor lurking about...

Ravioli Primavera with Chicken

Ingredients:

Start with some fresh, firm vegetables. I like to use a leek, a carrot, about 1/2 a bell pepper, and some celery.
1 chicken breast
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp. sour cream
Basil (fresh leaves if you've got 'em, flakes if not)
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. butter
corn starch
Cheese Ravioli (refrigerated, or home made, if you own a pasta press)

What to do with it:

Cut the chicken into about 3/4 inch pieces, and the vegetables about half that size. Mince the garlic and shred the basil if you've got it.

Sautee the chicken in olive oil with the garlic. Add some salt. Your water should be on and heating at this time for the pasta.

Once the chicken is about 3/4 cooked, add the basil, wine and vegetables, and keep your stove on medium. (If your pasta isn't in the pot by now, it should be.) Continue cooking until the chicken is done. Now, add the sour cream, and mix it up into the vegetables. Keep cooking on medium heat until your vegetables are just about to the firmness you want.

Add the butter and cook the chicken and veggies until you've cooked away about 1/2 of your your liquid. Throw in some more salt and some pepper to taste. Now it's time for the corn starch.
If you haven't played with corn starch before, the purpose is to thicken whatever liquid you've got. Right now, your sauce should be pretty thin. Add about a tablespoon of corn starch to 1/8 cup cold water and stir until the starch is completely dissolved. Now, slowly add the starch to your chicken and veggies while stirring. Keep an eye on the thickness--this is purely a matter of personal prefernce. Once you've got your sauce to a thickness you want, add the pasta and toss.

The butter adds just enough fat that, when combined with the thickening of the corn starch, makes this taste significantly more rich than it actually is.

You can easily substitute shrimp for chicken but cook the shrimp after your vegetables. Other veggies work as well, but pay attention to how quickly they will cook: if you're going to add mushrooms, for instance, you'll want to add them after the rest of your vegetables.

My First Recipe Success--Caribbean Shrimp with Papaya-Brie Quesadillas

When my wife and I lived in Austin Texas and I was in law school, we didn't have a lot of money. We allotted ourselves $7.50 each for lunch for the week. If we watched the sales, we could buy Michelenas frozen entrees for 99 cents each, and either have a coke or a V-8. We used to give ourselves $200 per month for groceries and $40 per month for entertainment.

Obviously, if we wanted a meal at a nice restaurant, we had to save for two months or more. Or we could cook a meal at home for $10 to $20. This is when we started experimenting with cooking, and a dish I call Caribbean Shrimp was the first success. More specifically, it's shrimp on a bed of coconut rice with mango-habanero salsa.

Ingredients (these are rough approximations--I never use measuring utensils)
20 medium shrimp, deveined and peeled
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp cayenne
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
salt & pepper
1/3 cup coconut flakes
white rice
1 mango
1 habanero

What to do with it all
Combine olive oil, cumin, paprika, cayenne, garlic and about 2/3 of the cilantro. Add salt & pepper to taste. Throw in the shrimp and marinate.

Peel & dice the mango and mince 1/2 the habanero (or more, but it's hot). Puree the mango, habanero and the remaining cilantro in a food processor or blender. Heat in a microwave for 2 minutes. This spreads the heat evenly from the habanero.

Add coconut flakes to white rice.

Now skewer the shrimp and throw on the grill and cook the rice.

Serve by plating rice, adding shrimp, and mango salsa on top.

You should have some salsa left over. If you're into dessert, you can make Papaya-Brie Quesadillas. These are pretty simple: slice up a papaya and some brie, place on a flour tortilla, and add some salsa. Either fold that one over, or place another on top. Make certain that you butter the outside of the tortillas, and heat in a cast iron skillet until golden brown on the outside.