Erin's Easy Eats

Coconut Macadamia Shrimp with Warm Salsa

May 22nd, 2008 by Erin

I love coconut shrimp.  I have tried for years to recreate the recipes that you get from the freezer or from a restaurant, and am always left wanting.  But no longer.  This all sounds quite melodramatic, but you really must realize that I have made so many bad coconut shrimp recipes that finding a good one was like having a party in the kitchen.  We have also proclaimed this recipe “Hell’s Kitchen worthy” if we used bigger shrimp, left the tails on, and did some pretty presentation where they stood up and said hello in a little puddle of salsa.  I really do love that show.

Warm Tropical Salsa

• 3/4 cup orange marmalade
• 1 TBSP fresh lime juice
• 1 TBSP orange juice
• 1 1/2 tsp horseradish (trust me here, I thought it’d be gross, too)
• 1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 cup diced fresh mango
• 1/4 cup canned crushed pineapple, drained
• Small bunch chopped fresh cilantro

Stir together first 5 ingredients in a small saucepan; cook over medium-low heat 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Lower heat and stir in mango, pineapple and cilantro. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Coconut Macadamia Shrimp

• 1 pound unpeeled, uncooked fresh large shrimp
• 1/2 cup self-rising flour
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp cajun seasoning
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup finely chopped macadamia nuts (I did mine in my mini-food processor)
• 1 cup shredded coconut (I also ran this through the food processor just briefly, still shreddy though, and not emulsified)
• 1/2 cup Japanese breadcrumbs (panko)
• Vegetable oil

Peel shrimp, leaving tails on; devein, if desired. Stir together flour and next 3 ingredients in a medium-size shallow bowl. Whisk egg in another bowl. Stir together coconut, macadamia nuts, and breadcrumbs in a third medium-size shallow bowl.

Dredge shrimp in flour mixture; dip in egg. Dredge in coconut mixture, being sure to press coconut mixture onto shrimp. Place shrimp on a large baking sheet. Pour oil to a depth of an inch and a half or so in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven. Over medium-high heat, fry shrimp, 5 to 6 at a time, 1 to 2 minutes or until golden. Take care not to overload the skillet or it will bring the temp of the oil down. Drain shrimp briefly on a paper towel-lined baking sheet.

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Shrimp and Ravioli in Lemon Cream Sauce

April 9th, 2008 by Erin

This meal is all about cheating. It is so good though, that no one cares. It’d make a great dinner if you were trying to impress guests and didn’t really have time…  It took just long enough for me to boil the water and cook the ravioli through.  Because I totally cheated and used pre-made Alfredo sauce, the shrimp and cream sauce were done in about 10 minutes total.

• 1 package refrigerated 4 cheese ravioli
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 10 oz. Alfredo sauce (either make your own, or buy refrigerated or jarred… depending on how much time you want to invest here)
• 1 Tbs lemon juice
• 1 tsp. grated lemon peel
• Chopped fresh parsley
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thinly
• 1 clove garlic, pressed through garlic press (or chop it finely but then go to the store and buy a garlic press the next day, really)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbs olive oil and 1 Tbs butter in a non stick pan. Add shrimp and garlic and peppers, turning until shrimp are just cooked through. Add Alfredo, lemon juice and peel, parsley, and cooked pasta. Stir to combine, serve.  (My Alfredo sauce was a little thick, so I added some cream, because I haven’t used enough cream in the last two days.)

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Shrimp with Tomato Cream Sauce

March 18th, 2008 by Erin

This is another recipe from The Pioneer Woman. I have yet to make food from her blog that is bad. Really. Her chocolate cake alone convinced my husband to marry me (although he’ll say otherwise) so um, yes!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 c. white wine
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 3 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
• 3/4 lb. penne, cooked to package directions

Sautee shrimp in about 1/2 Tbs butter and 1/2 Tbs olive oil until opaque. Remove from pan. Add onion and garlic to pan, add another Tbs or so of butter and olive oil, and cook until onions are just soft. Add wine. Let cook for just a second, and add tomato sauce. Turn heat down, add cream. Chop shrimp into bite sized pieces, add back to sauce. Add salt and black pepper to taste, add parsley and basil. Stir in pasta, and devour.

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Shrimp and Orzo with Cherry Tomatoes

February 4th, 2008 by Erin

This recipe is from Cooking Light. Light, and easy, and another one that rates high on the “amount of dishes to be cleaned.” The flavors are very simple, but well balanced. If you find it lacking for any reason, I think you should try a squeeze of lemon juice to the shrimp before you cook them.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh pecorino Romano cheese
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

Cook orzo to package directions. Season shrimp with salt and pepper. Heat non-stick pan to medium high, add about 1 Tbs of oil. Cook shrimp 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. Remove from pan. Add remaining oil, garlic, red pepper, and onion to pan. Cook 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook an additional 3 minutes. Stir in pasta and shrimp, cook 1 minute, add chopped basil and cheese.

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Shrimp Scampi (bonus bread recipe!)

January 23rd, 2008 by Erin

The husband used to make this in mass quantities when he worked at the old-folks home, but he wasn’t allowed to use wine. I certainly like our combined version with a little spice and some alcohol to boot. Shrimp, in any form, can never be bad. I <3 shrimp. Plus, I made great rosemary bread in the bread machine the other day and it tastes great with the scampi sauce.

Ingredients:
1 lb shrimp, tails and peels removed
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1/4 c. white wine
3/4 c. chicken broth (or veggie would work, too, or even water in a pinch but not my 1st choice)
4 Tbs butter
1 red bell pepper, chopped *very* fine (well, not food processor fine, but small)
pinch red pepper flakes

Melt butter in non-stick pan. Add red pepper flakes, garlic, and shrimp. Stir until shrimp is mostly cooked through. Add wine and allow to mostly cook off. Add red pepper and broth, stir to combine, continue cooking 3-5 minutes to allow flavors to combine. Serve over your pasta of choice (we like angel hair or thin spaghetti.) Tonight, we added some chopped chives for color (ooooh, pretty.) Leftovers might need some salt as the noodles tend to absorb that.

Bonus rosemary bread recipe:
This tastes a lot like the bread you get at Macaroni Grill. Serve it up with some olive oil. I’m sure you could also make it “the old fashioned way” but I love my (Bob’s) bread machine.

Ingredients:
1 cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Add ingredients in order directed by machine manufacturer. Set to 1 1/2 lb. white loaf. Start ‘er up.

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