Lemon Pasta with Basil & Coconut Shrimp

Here is another pasta recipe!  :)  I prefer tomato-based sauces because I like the tanginess, however this is a nice change to have once in a while.  The shrimps used for this recipe are HUGE!  They are from Diana's seafood store (http://www.dianasseafood.com/) in Scarborough that I have mentioned before.  I am just looking at their website now and it looks like they are shipping in an order of sashimi grade shrimp this Friday!!!!  NOOOOOOOOOOOOO....the post is from last week and that means they came in last Friday.  What a disappointment!!!  But maybe that means they are in season, so they will come in again soon.  One can only hope.

Lemon Basil Pasta Recipe (Giada De Laurentiis)

Ingredients

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the oil, Parmesan, and lemon juice in a large bowl to blend.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the lemon sauce, and the reserved cooking liquid, adding 1/4 cup at a time as needed to moisten. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with lemon zest and chopped basil.


Chili Coconut Shrimp Recipe (Chatelaine.com)

Ingredients

• 340 g frozen raw jumbo shrimp, peeled
• 1/4 cup cornstarch or all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 cup unsweetened medium desiccated coconut, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil and lightly spray with oil. Thaw shrimp following package directions. Pat dry with paper towels. Stir cornstarch with salt and pepper in a shallow dish. In a small bowl, stir 1/2 cup chili sauce with vinegar. In another shallow dish, spread out coconut. Toss shrimp in cornstarch mixture. Then, shaking off excess starch, dip each in chili-sauce mixture and coat with coconut. Place shrimp on foil.
2. Bake in centre of oven until shrimp is cooked through, about 10 min. Serve remaining sweet chili sauce alongside as a dipping sauce.

• Substitution Tip:

  Can’t find sweet chili sauce? Stir 1/2 cup honey with 2 tbsp each chili-garlic sauce and rice vinegar.
  

Tomato Sauce using Canned Tomatoes

I wanted to post this recipe because it is a very delicious, yet simple and easy tomato sauce recipe, made from canned tomatoes.  I use it a lot!  I am going to make cabbage rolls again this weekend and will use this tomato sauce.  It is from "The Big Book of Pasta." 

Here it is:

Tomato Sauce
5 tbsp olive oil (use the full amount!)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 can chopped tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, sliced
large handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
-or-
large handful of fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper

Heat oil in large pan over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, until soft.  Add the tomatoes and garlic.  Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, or until the oil separates from the tomato.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add in the basil or parsley.

Thyme & Garlic Baked Brie

This was our New Years celebration snack.  On December 31st at 11:40pm, Aki and I got back home and were rushing around trying to get this brie cheese marinated in olive oil, fresh thyme, and crushed garlic before heading out to Nathan Phillip Square to watch the fireworks. 

It was such a silly thing to be rushing around marinating brie cheese as our last activity of 2011, but quite classic I would say.  When we got back we heated up the brie on the stove, and then enjoyed it with a fresh baguette and champagne! 

Happy (belated) New Year!!!

Quick & Easy French Onion Soup

I received french onion soup bowls for Christmas from my aunt and cousins and obviously had to make french onion soup as soon as possible!  I have been making this recipe for a while now, but almost never bother to go the extra step and top it with bread and cheese and bake it.  However, it is so delicious when you do that, and really turns the soup into a hearty meal.  The recipe is very easy and tastes so good!  It is adapted from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 onions, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 2 1/2 cups beef broth
• 1 French baguette
• Shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in sugar. Cook onions over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
2. Add water, wine, and beef broth; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cover soup, and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Cut four 1 inch thick slices of bread from the loaf. Toast the bread slices at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) just until browned, about 10 minutes.
4. Ladle soup into four 12 ounce, oven-safe bowls. Place 1 slice toasted bread on top of the soup in each bowl. Top with cheese.
5. Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 10 minutes, or just until cheese is melted.

Balzac's Coffee

More coffee!!!  We purchased half of a pound of a dark Ethiopian roast from Balzac's coffee in the Distillery District and it is intense!  It is very strong and tasty, and smells so delicious.  I like to justify spending government scholarship money on coffee since:

coffee --> alertness and happiness --> research productivity

Opening a Can of Illy Coffee

Warning:  This is NOT a simple pleasure.  Illy coffee is very expensive (although we did manage to get this can at half price)!!!!  And it is not fair trade.  :(  So, it is not very good on two accounts, but it is SO DELICIOUS it hurts.  Opening the can itself is an amazing experience because you really let out the aroma and deliciousness when you peel off that lid.  Mmmmmm. 

Sheppard's Pie - A Cheap and Hardy Meal

Sheppard's Pie is surprisingly delicious, as well as comforting, warm, and CHEAP!  It is also pretty convenient, as I tend to have all of the ingredients on hand, except for the meat.  This recipe is adapted from "The Cook's Book" by Jill Norman, which I got at a very discounted price from BMV (a used bookstore).

Ingredients:
1 large onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 tbsp butter
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp thyme
2 tbsp basil
1 pound ground meat (they recommend lamb, but I used beef)
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
4 cups stock
1.5 cups frozen peas
1.5 cups frozen corn
3 cups mashed potatoes

Stirfry onion, carrots, and herbs in a small amount of oil and the 3 tbsp of butter.  Add in ground meat and cook until brown, while stirring and squishing out the lumps of meat.  Stir in worcestershire sauce and stock.  Cook until reduced to a sauce-like consistency, which takes about 20 minutes.  Add in peas and corn for the last 5 minutes of cooking.  Place mixture into large glass dish, and top with mashed potatoes.  Bake for 30 min at 375 degrees F.

I didn't actually cook the meat and stock mixture for that long, and had to drain out the stock.  Hence, the Sheppard's Pie fell apart, but was still delicious, and I had saved some time for bigger and better things.  Then Aki came home and made the stock into a gravy and we poured that on top, which was muchos delicious.