Gnocchi with Shrimp, Asparagus, and Pesto

Ingredients

1. 2 quarts plus 1 tablespoon water, divided
2. 1 (16-ounce) package vacuum-packed gnocchi (such as Vigo)
3. 4 cups (1-inch) slices asparagus (about 1 pound)
4. 1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp, coarsely chopped
5. 1 cup basil leaves
6. 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
7. 2 tablespoons preshredded Parmesan cheese 
8. 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
9. 2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
10. 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation

1. 1. Bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add gnocchi to pan; cook 4 minutes or until done (gnocchi will rise to surface). Remove with a slotted spoon; place in a large bowl. Add asparagus and shrimp to pan; cook 5 minutes or until shrimp are done. Drain. Add shrimp mixture to gnocchi.
2. 2. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon water, basil, and next 4 ingredients (through garlic) in a food processor; process until smooth, scraping sides. Drizzle oil through food chute with food processor on; process until well blended. Add basil mixture to shrimp mixture; toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Shrimp Biryani

I got this recipe from an arabic food blog.  It is sooo good. What's in the parenthesis is from me. When I made it, I didn't cook the rice as long because it doesn't take long to cook the kind I bought.  After layering the shrimp and rice, you just want to cook it until it's done.  

Cuisine: Arabic

Category: Arabian Gulf

Serves: 8 persons

Difficulty: Medium

Cost: Medium

Preparation time :     20 minutes

Cooking time :     1 hour, 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups basmati rice or 400 g

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium onion or 250 g, finely sliced (if you want crunchy fried onions, wring out the onions in a towel before frying)

2 medium onion or 250 g, finely chopped

500 g shrimp, peeled, raw, de-shelled & de-veined

2 tablespoons tomato paste

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup fresh dill or 50 g, finely chopped

3 tablespoons curry powder

2 cinnamon sticks

5 whole cardamom pods

3 cubes MAGGI® Chicken Bouillon or 30 g (the bouillon cubes here are bigger so be generous)

½ cup water or 125 ml, hot

2 cups cilantro leaves or 100 g, roughly chopped

6 cups water or 1½ liters

2 tablespoons ghee (or oil)

1 tablespoon saffron, powder (didn't use this as I haven't found it yet and it's very expensive)

pinch of salt

pinch of ground pepper

Preparation

Wash and Soak rice in cold water and set aside for 30 min.

In a large pot, heat vegetable oil, fry sliced onions till golden brown, remove and set aside.

In the same pot on medium high heat fry chopped onions till golden, add shrimp and sauté till pink (about 4-5 minutes), add tomato paste, Garlic, Dill, Spices, Cinnamon sticks, Cardamom pods, MAGGI® Chicken Bouillon , and Water and bring to a simmer. Add chopped fresh coriander leaves and remove from pot and set aside.

In the same pot, bring to boil 1.5 liters of water, place rice and cook until rice is ¾ cooked (andante).

Drain rice in a colander and discard excess water.

Melt Ghee on the bottom of the same pot; add a layer of strained rice, followed by a layer of shrimp and onion mixture and a sprinkle of Saffron powder. Follow this step until all the rice and shrimp sauce is used.

Steam rice and shrimp on med-low heat until rice is fully cooked (about 20 minute).

Gently fluff cooked rice ensuring even distribution of rice and shrimp.

Serve on a large plate, and garnished with fried sliced onions.

Oven Roasted Salmon

Ingredients for Salmon

-16-20 oz salmon fillets, skin on (I just bought the frozen kind from Wal-mart, no skin and it still turned out yummy)
-Salt and Pepper
-3 Tablespoons mayonnaise
-2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
-additional Parmesan cheese
-a few dashes sweet paprika

Salmon instructions

Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a shallow roasting pan with foil. Rinse the Salmon with cold water and dry thoroughly. Place in roasting pan and lightly season with salt and pepper.
Mix the mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese in a small bowl. Spread completely over the Salmon. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese on top and add a few dashes of paprika. Cook for 12-14 min. Remove from oven; carefully slide a wide spatula between the skin and meat to separate from skin and serve!

Ingredients for Mayonnaise

-2 whole eggs at room temperature
-1 to 1 1/4 cup oil
-2 Tablespoons lemon juice
-1/2 tsp dry mustard (I used regular wet mustard)
-1/4 tsp salt
-black pepper to taste

Mayonnaise Instructions

Place eggs in blender or small food processor. Blend eggs alone for about a minute so they will be ready to absorb the oil. Add lemon juice, mustard, and salt, mix in with the eggs. With the blender running, SLOWLY start adding  the oil, a few drops at a time, until the liquid starts to thicken up some; then you can start adding the oil in a small steady stream. Continue blending until all the oil in incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Crispy Tilapia in Tomato Cream Sauce

I don't know how to organize things on here. Will there be like a pasta section, a tex-mex section...etc? or will it be just a bunch of posts? While I wait to find out I thought I would share what Jordon and I had the other night. I'm not a big fish fan but Jordon and I both really like this one.

1 1/3 cups favorite spaghetti sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

3 tablespoons half & half (I used milk and a little butter)

Four 4-5 ounce Tilapia fillets

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt (I used regular salt, just less of it 1/4 tsp or so)

1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 cups Panko crumbs (I used the bread crumbs I had in the pantry. Make sure they are crushed well)

1 teaspoon salt-free Italian Seasoning

Freshly grated Parmesan

.

In a medium sauce pan, over medium-low heat, bring the sauce and garlic to a simmer.  Stirring occasionally, allow to cook until reduced by half.  The sauce will become dark red and thick.  Stir in the cream and heat through.  Keep warm.

Rinse and dry the tilapia fillets and set aside.

In three pie plates or shallow dishes, place the flour, salt and pepper in one, the beaten egg in another, and the crumbs mixed with the seasoning in the third.  Coat each fillet with the flour mixture, dip in egg until covered, and then press on the crumbs.

Heat  a frying pan on medium to medium-high heat until very hot.  (Will depend on YOUR stove.  Mine is very hot on medium.)  Add a little olive oil and fry the fish for 3-4 minutes on each side until crispy-golden and fish flakes easily with a fork.  Remove to a platter and spoon the sauce over.  Garnish with Parmesan.  Makes 4 servings.