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.

Ricotta Cheese

For those not taking the edx Science of Cooking class, one of the labs has been making homemade ricotta cheese, which was pretty easy and yummy.  I'm going to add some spices and take some to our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

When prepared with salt, this recipe makes a delicious homemade ricotta cheese. When prepared without salt, it is instead a traditional Catalan cheese called mató, that is usually eaten with honey. You can choose which of these cheeses you want to make by adapting the recipe below.

Materials:

1 stove or hot plate

1 pot

1 strainer

1 whisk

1 thermometer

measuring spoons

cheese cloth

1 large bowl (for water bath)

1 medium bowl (for straining)

Ingredients:

1 liter whole milk

2 Tbsp white vinegar (30 ml)

½ tsp salt (2.5 ml) or honey

Crackers 

Procedure:

1. Prepare a big bowl with ice+water to put the pot in later.
2. Arrange the cheese cloth into four single layers, place it over a strainer, and put the strainer over a bowl as shown in the picture below.

3. Heat the milk while stirring (with salt if you chose to make ricotta, without salt if you chose to make mató). When the milk reaches 198˚F/92˚C, remove the pot from the stove or hot plate, quickly mix in vinegar (no more than a few seconds), and then, let sit and do NOT stir. **This step is critical. If you continue mixing the milk+vinegar mixture, you will prevent the coagulation from happening and will end up with no cheese.**
4. Place the pot in the bowl of ice+water to cool down.
5. When the temperature reaches 97˚F/36˚C, pour the contents of the pot onto the strainer covered with cheesecloth. This allows the whey to pass through, while the curds remain in the strainer. You may occasionally have to stir the curds gently to help the whey drain.
6. Fold the edges of the cheesecloth over the curds, and put everything (strainer+bowl) in the fridge to chill for 20 min or longer.
7. Eat with crackers. Add honey for the traditional version of Catalan mató.

A modest proposal

For a Halloween-themed dessert:

Ingredients:
1 20 oz. bag of assorted Mars candy bars
1 10 oz. bag of M&Ms

Unwrap all the candy bars. Dump them unceremoniously into a heavily buttered 8-inch cake pan. Create the top crust by dumping all the M&Ms on top. Bake at 110 F for 30 minutes. Allow the dessert to rest at room temperature until solid. Serve with a garnish of Karo syrup (optional).

Apple Cinnamon Pork Chops

4 boneless pork chops
2 tbls vegetable oil
1 jar (12 ounces) homestyle pork gravy
1/2 cup raisins
1 tbl honey
1 1/2 tbls cinnamon
dash allspice
1 tart cooking apple, thinly sliced
hot cooked rice

In a large skillet, cook pork chops in oil until browned on both sides; season with salt and pepper. Stir in gravy, raisins, honey, cinnamon and allspice. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until pork chops are tender. Add apple; cook 5 minutes or until apple slices are tender. Serve with hot rice.

Quinoa Burger

2 rounded cups cooked quinoa (see note below for cooking instructions)

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or other variety, if you prefer)

1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese

1 medium carrot, finely grated (OR 1 cup shredded zucchini, squeezed)

3 eggs

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 green onions, including white parts

1 /2 teaspoon Splenda or sugar

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Olive oil for frying

.

To cook quinoa:

1 cup uncooked quinoa

2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

In a medium saucepan bring the 2 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil over high heat. Add quinoa and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 18-20 minutes, or until all water is absorbed and the seeds are tender. Allow to cool for a few minutes.

.

In a large bowl combine the cooked quinoa, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, carrot, eggs, flour, green onions, Splenda, pepper, cumin, salt, and garlic powder.

Heat a frying pan and a couple teaspoons olive oil over medium-low heat. Mixture will be slightly sticky, so using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, drop mixture into pan and lightly flatten to 1/2 inch thick. Fry until golden-brown, about 4 minutes on each side. Makes approx. 10 burgers.

Serve with Tzatziki, or fry sauce, and top with avocado and tomato.

Beef Fajitas

1 Tbl. chili powder
1/2 tsp ground oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp salt
pepper to taste

12 oz. beff sirloin, cut into strips of 1/2 in wide and 2 inches long
1 red onion, cut into strips
1 green pepper, cut into strips ( I like to use two peppers)
1/4 cup shredded sharp cheese
2 med tomatoes diced
2 cups shredded lettuce
1/2 cup salsa
( I like avocado with mine)

Directions:

In a small bowl, stir together the chili powder, oregano, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper.   Dredge the sirloin pieces in the seasoning, coating completely.

In a non stick frying pan, cook the sirloin strips over medium heat until slightly pink, about 8 minutes.  Add the onion and pepper strips and sauté until the vegetables are tender, about 5 min.

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.