Every few months, our neighborhood has a morning get together for coffee and conversation.  It’s a great chance to catch up and see one another Read more…

When we used to visit my uncle and his family in Marble Falls, Texas near San Antonio, we would occasionally go into the city to eat some  “good Mexican food.”  Read more…

This is what you call a “floating recipe”.  Meaning that it comes from a friend, who got it from her neighbor who got it from…who knows anymore?

Anyway, I was at my friend’s house for lunch last week, and she served this delicious, bright, easy-to-make salad.  This is just one of those great combinations of ingredients that afterwards, you can’t wait to eat again.  I asked her for the recipe while my mouth was still full (and she’s the amazing kind of friend that sends it right away).   I made it the next day for my family—and ended up sharing it with our neighbors—who asked for the recipe while their mouths were still full…and now I’m casting it even further into the universe because this really should belong to everyone—it’s just that good.

Shrimp Salad with Lime Vinaigrette

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 pound large cooked shrimp
1 avocado, in large dice
1 cup fresh or canned corn
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped red onion
½ cup fresh lime juice
¼ cup honey
1 garlic clove, pressed or chopped
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup olive oil

Combine the shrimp, avocado, corn, cilantro and onion in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, honey, garlic clove, salt, pepper and olive oil and whisk until well combined.

Pour the vinaigrette over the salad (you may want to go a little at a time and taste as you go—I used most, but not quite all of the vinaigrette) and gently toss to combine.  Cover and chill for at least an hour before serving.   Don’t chill overnight, the whole thing will taste like shrimp and the avocado will fall apart.

Living in Florida, Mardi Gras comes and goes some years with hardly a mention, even though my dear husband is New Orleans born and bred with a slew of wonderful Louisiana relatives who really know how to cook, eat and party. At least this year, I was treated to a slice of King Cake by a good friend who also hails from there—but that was it for Mardi Gras for me this year.

I was thinking about that yesterday, craving something New Orleans-y, and thought of this great pasta recipe, which I adapted from quintessential New Orleans chef Emeril.  I do love the classic Jambalaya made with rice, but we’ve also grown to love this pasta version. This is a good recipe to make when you need to feed a crowd.  And once I’ve made it, I can leave it on the stove while I watch the news, and then it reheats nicely while I’m tossing the salad or slicing some bread to go with it.   If you’re not feeding a crowd, it’s also great as a leftover.  So there you have it…Laissez les bon temps roulez!

Jambalaya Pasta

Preparation Time:  30 minutes of chopping, peeling, etc.
Cook Time:  30 minutes
Total Time:  1 hour (unless you’re a lot faster than I am)

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

1 pound farfalle (bowtie) pasta
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 pound peeled, deveined large shrimp
2 tablespoons of Emeril’s Essence or other Cajun seasoning
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch dice
¾ pound andouille sausage, cut into ½ -inch dice
1 medium onion, finely diced
½ green bell pepper, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chicken stock
1 (14.5) ounce can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon freshly chopped thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
½ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus additional for passing separately

Cook the farfalle in boiling, salted water according to package directions until it is al dente (tender but still firm to the bite).  Remove the pot from the heat.  Add the shrimp to the pot, cover and let stand until the shrimp are pink and firm, about 2 minutes.  Drain the pasta and the shrimp, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.

While the pasta cooks, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauté pan.  Season the chicken with 1 tablespoon of the Cajun seasoning and 1/8 teaspoon of the salt.  Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 3 minutes, stirring and turning to brown all sides.  Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Put the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the pan and add the sausage, onion and green pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally until the sausage is browned and the onions are translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the garlic to the pan and sauté for another 30 seconds.  Add the chicken stock to the pan and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Add the diced tomatoes, thyme, the remaining tablespoon of Cajun seasoning, and ½ teaspoon salt.  Cook for 2 minutes.  Add the cream to the pan and cook for another 2 minutes.  Add the chicken, the shrimp and pasta, and the reserved one-cup of pasta cooking liquid.  Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp and chicken are fully cooked through, and most of the pasta cooking water has evaporated. The pasta should have a nice, creamy texture.  Remove from the heat, stir in the basil and the Parmesan.  Toss to combine and serve.

Note:  This recipe has a bit of kick to it—medium to spicy in my book.  You can reduce the spiciness of this by using a less spicy sausage (a kielbasa would also be good) and/or lightening up on the Cajun seasoning.

I love to watch Ina Garten as the Barefoot Contessa.  I love her gentle, calm and confident manner when she’s in her kitchen showing us what to do.   The way she cooks matches her simple, carefully refined recipes.  Her reassuring voice tells me that I can do this too.  And I like the segments when she sits serenely at a modern desk cleared of clutter, but for her chic chrome lamp, her laptop and her oh so tasteful coffee cup.  She helps me to imagine a life defined by comfortable discipline and organization. She makes her days seem to be rich with all the time in the world to thoughtfully consider and perfect her recipes—which she then presents to her guests—and to those of us watching—with grace and good humor.

My parents were in Paris in the late 1940s (because my father worked at the U.S. Embassy there…) for a while just after Julia and Paul Child had left Paris for Marseilles.  My mother used to sigh “I was so sorry to have just missed Julia—everyone said she was so much fun.”  She saw a missed opportunity for a friendship with a fascinating woman—and even though our paths haven’t neared crossing, that’s how I feel about Ina.  Sigh.

I just bought Ina’s new Barefoot Contessa cookbook, Back to Basics.  And now, one of my new favorite things to do is to roast shrimp.  Ina’s wonderful recipe suggests the dish as an appetizer served with cocktail sauce (which was very good…) but my family also likes it this way—for dinner, with a simple chili mayonnaise dipping sauce, roasted potatoes and a green salad.

Roast Shrimp with Chili Mayonnaise

Serves 4

Ingredients for the Shrimp
2 pounds of shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails left on
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Kosher Salt and Coarse Ground Pepper to taste

Ingredients for the Sauce
¼ cup chili sauce
½ cup mayonnaise
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Arrange the shrimp in one layer on a baking sheet (for easier clean up, you can cover the baking sheet with foil if you like).  Drizzle the olive oil over the shrimp and then sprinkle the shrimp with the salt and pepper.  Roast the shrimp for about 10 minutes, just until they are pink and cooked through.

For the sauce, combine the ingredients (can be made ahead) and serve as a dip with the shrimp.