Easy Shrimp and Scallop Paella

For as long as I can remember, I have loved Paella. Well, really, what's not to love, seafood, smoked pork, rice. I fell even more in love with Paella one summer several years ago when I took a week long course for school administrators on teaching students learning to speak English. Our amazing instructor spent one afternoon demonstrating to us what highly effective teaching of these students is like. She taught us the legend of Paella speaking entirely in Spanish. Yep, I took one year of Spanish in middle school. Yep, I remember almost none of it. And yet, while I can't recount it in Spanish, I easily understood it from this great teacher and learned a few new Spanish words as well.

Here's the legend. The men of Spain were called to war. While away from their wives, they had to learn to cook on for themselves.  They were near the sea, so they began by eating seafood, mariscos. After a while, they became bored with eating mariscos for every meal and found wild chickens, pollo. They ate pollo for a while, but soon became bored with it. As they searched their surroundings, they found wild boar and used it to make meatballs, albondigas. Soon they became bored with eating just meat and found rice, arroz. But the only tools they had for cooking arroz were their shields. They filled them with arroz, mariscos, pollo and albondigas. Eating this delicious dish they grew not only strong but fat, gordo.

When one gordo soldier returned to his wife, she refused to let him enter the house. If he had in fact been away at war he should be returning weak and thin. Surely, if he had been at war, he had been taken care of by another woman. The soldier husband tried to explain how he had learned to cook at war, but she wouldn't believe him. To convince her, ella, he cooked for, para, her, ella. She was impressed and convinced that el gordo had learned to cook for himself, so she let him come back home. The dish for her, para ella, Paella, saved their marriage.

This recipe has more of a Cuban twist using annatto instead of saffron. I think it has more flavor, but you certainly could use saffron if you prefer it. I also know that many Paellas include green peas, but I can't stand them so I use green olives, which I think add a much better flavor. It also doesn't have any chicken, but I think the seafood is the best part.

I don't promise that this Paella will save your marriage, it is quite delicious and easy. You should try it soon.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

8 ounces 1/2-inch cubes smoked sausage (about 1 3/4 cups)

2 cups chopped onions

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 teaspoon annatto

1/2 teaspoon hot Spanish paprika or hot Hungarian paprika

3 1/4 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth, divided

1 1/2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain white rice

1/2 pound uncooked peeled deveined large shrimp

1/2 pound uncooked scallops

1/2 cup pimiento-stuffed green olives, halved

Directions

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add smoked sausage, onions, and bell pepper, and sauté until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Stir in annatto  and paprika, then 3 cups broth and rice. Bring to boil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until rice is almost tender, about 15 minutes. Nestle shrimp and scallops into rice, top with olives, and drizzle with 1/4 cup (or more) broth to moisten. Cover and cook until shrimp and scallops are just opaque in center, about 6 minutes. Season to taste with more salt and pepper.

Pork and Mango Skewers

In the words of Neil Diamond, "Hello again, hello!" It's been weeks since I've posted, but for a great reason. I accepted a new full time position with a great local company, Priority One Financial Services. It's a great place to work. In fact it was named as one of Tampa Bays Best Places to Work by the Tampa Bay Times. I'm having a great time learning about boat and RV financing, but the hours have created a challenge for cooking dinner. It's one of my favorite things to do in the whole wide world, but I'm working until 7:00 PM. Even though Pup Daddy and I are used to eating fairly late, my usual habit of sipping a glass of wine for an hour before starting dinner would leave us eating at 9:30. This would be a real problem because we are asleep by then! Over the last several months I have gotten out of the habit of planning our meals for the week and shopping for groceries on the weekend. I've enjoyed deciding day to day what I wanted to eat, but now planning ahead is a must. I'm going to try to make more slow cooker meals. I'm also looking for recipes that I can prep in the morning and leave in the fridge for Pup Daddy to put in the oven when he gets home from work. I hope I'll have some great new recipes to post in the next few months.
 
When I made these pork and mango skewers, from FineCooking.com last night, it was Saturday, so I didn't think about prep ahead. You could definitely get them ready ahead of time so all you have to do when you come home is fire up the gas grill and cook them. You can find the prep ahead directions at the end of the recipe. The marinade for the pork is slightly spicy and very delicious. The mango adds just the right amount of sweetness and tanginess (is that word?) You could substitute just about any fruit you can think of. You could also swap out the pork for chicken or fish.
 

Start by soaking your wooden skewers in water for at least a half an hour. Next cut your pork tenderloin into 1 inch chunks and marinating it in the first eight ingredients for 1 - 8 hours. Peel and cut your mango into 1 inch pieces. Thread them onto your skewers and cook on your gas or charcoal grill.
 
 
You should try these soon.

Ingredients
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
2 Tbs. canola oil; more for the grill
2 tsp. dark brown sugar
2 tsp. pure ancho chile powder
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
1 lb. pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 medium ripe mangos, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1-inch cubes
8 skewers, 10 inches or longer, soaked in water for 30 minutes if wooden
1 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
In a medium bowl, whisk the orange juice, lime juice, oil, sugar, ancho powder, garlic, pepper flakes, and 1/2 tsp. salt.
Add the pork, toss to coat, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.
Thread the pork and mango cubes onto the skewers, alternating them and beginning and ending with a piece of pork. Each skewer should have about 5 pieces of pork and 4 pieces of mango.
Prepare a medium gas or charcoal grill fire. Scrub the grill grate with a wire brush and then wipe clean with a paper towel dipped in oil. Cook the skewers, turning once, until the meat is browned on the outside but still slightly pink in the center, about 8 minutes. Serve garnished with the cilantro.

Prep Ahead Directions
Soak skewers for 30 minutes to overnight. Cut pork into cubes and thread onto skewers. Marinate pork on skewers for up to 8 hours. Just before cooking, peel and cut mango into cubes. Thread them onto skewers. Grill and and remove pork and mango from skewers to serve.

 

Kickin' Collard Greens

I'm a southern girl, born and bred, and I love southern food. That includes collard greens. I was blessed this week to have one of Pup Daddy's colleagues give us fresh collards from her home garden. Pup Daddy even found this recipe for them on AllRecipes.com. Even though I'm from a southern girl and love collards I've never made them before and thought it would be very difficult. I was so wrong. It does take some time...prepping the greens and cooking them on low heat for quite a while, but they are not difficult. This recipe is so delicious. You should try it soon!

Directions
1 tablespoon olive oil

3 slices bacon

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

3 cups chicken broth

1 pinch red pepper flakes

1 pound fresh collard greens, cut into 2-inch pieces

 

Ingredients

 

 

Pour in chicken broth, and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until greens are tender. (I cooked mine about an hour and a half.)

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Yep, I'm still looking for ways  use up the abundance of Romaine from my garden. These lettuce wraps were a great way to use up about 6 leaves. Even though I didn't use up much lettuce, they were easy and delicious. Served with some Basmati or Jasmine rice they are a perfect light meal.
 






Ingredients
6  Romaine, Boston, bibb or butter lettuce leaves
1/2  pound  chicken breast, cooked and finely chopped
1/2  large onion, chopped
1 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon sodium soy sauce
1 TB cup hoisin sauce
1 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1/2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 teaspoons Asian chili pepper sauce (see Note)
4 oz sliced water chestnuts, drained, finely chopped
2  green onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
 
Directions
Rinse lettuce leaves, keeping them whole. Set aside to drain.

Cook onion, garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar and chili sauce in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, water chestnuts and green onions. Cook until onions begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.

Stir in sesame oil. Arrange lettuce leaves on the outer edge of a platter. Spoon meat mixture in center. Allow diners to spoon meat mixture into lettuce leaves and eat like a taco.

Dipping Sauce
Combine 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar, 1 TB Asian chili sauce, 1/3 cup sugar or Splenda, 1 TB grated fresh ginger.
 

Real Deal Pizza

For as long as I can remember Friday night has been pizza night at our house. It started with Pizza Hut delivery when my son Brandon was little. I looked so forward to the warm cheesy pizza it even effected how I gave my weekly spelling tests to my students each Friday. I would give students the word to be spelled and then illustrate the word with a sentence that somehow referred to pizza. It was quite a challenge for me as well as both fun and dread for my students. We have gone through many different favorite pizza places over the years, but for quite a while, I've been trying to find pizza recipe that really tastes like one I could get at a good pizza joint.

Yippee! I finally found it on one of my favorite food blogs, Table for Two, by Julie Chiou. The original recipe is from Cooks Illustrated, a highly respected food magazine. This recipe has a couple of important secrets. First, the dough is made cold with ice water and refrigerated for 24 hours before making the pizza. It makes a nice thin dough with crispy edges. The recipe makes enough dough for two 12 inch pizzas. If you only want to make one pizza you can freeze the extra dough. The other secret is a screaming hot pizza stone. Heating the stone for an hour in a 500 degree oven means the pizza cooks quickly and the crust doesn't get too tough. I realized a few things after making this pizza the first time. First, I needed a pizza paddle. With the pizza stone so hot you have to have a way to slide the pizza on to it. I tried sliding it off of a cookie sheet but the dough stuck. I did get it on to the stone but not with out a bit of cursing and a funky looking pizza. Also I realized that I was using too much cheese and not enough sauce which made for a dry topping. Finally, I cooked the pizza way too long and the dough came out tough. My second attempt came out perfect (though I still need a bit of practice transferring the pizza from the paddle to the stone.) This recipe is for pepperoni pizza, but you can of course use the toppings of your choice. Pup Daddy and I have been talking about it all week. I can't wait to eat it again tomorrow night.

Ingredients

Crust

3 cups bread flour

2 tsp. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. instant yeast

1 1/3 cup ice water

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup cornmeal

 

Topping

1 cup of your favorite marinara sauce, homemade or store-bought

2 cups shredded, whole-milk mozzarella cheese

Pepperoni slices
 

 Directions:

To make the dough, combine the flour, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse to combine.

 

With the machine running, add the ice water through the feed tube and process until the dough is combined everything is incorporated, about 10 seconds. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

 

Add the salt and vegetable oil and process until the dough forms a smooth, tacky ball that doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl anymore. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead for 1 minute on a lightly oiled or floured work surface then transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 24 hours or up to 3 days. (AFTER the refrigeration process, the dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, put in a freezer bag, and frozen for later use.)

 

1 hour before making the pizza, preheat oven to 500 degrees and adjust the oven rack to the 2nd highest position. Place your baking stone on top.

 

Remove the pizza dough from the fridge and divide in half. If you plan on freezing the other half of your dough for later use, this is the time to do it.

 

Form your dough into ball and lightly oil it. Cover and let rise for 1 hour.

 

Transfer your dough to a floured work space and flatten to an 8-inch disc. Using your hands, gently stretch the dough to a 12-inch circle. You may need your rolling pin at this time to help you get the crust thin.

 

Take the cornmeal and spread it over a pizza peel then place your pizza dough on top. Gently stretch it to 13-inches. Start layering your toppings, leaving a 1-inch border from the edge: marinara sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni.

 

Carefully transfer the pizza onto the pizza stone and bake for 10-12 minutes until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly and melted.

 

Let cool for about 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

BBQ Shrimp and Parmesan Grits

Two of my favorite foods, shrimp and grits. They are perfect together which is why they are a southern favorite. For many years Pup Daddy swore he did not like grits. He was completely amazed when we had stone ground grits at The Farmhouse at Serenbe in Georgia. At this tiny farm restaurant everyone gets the same meal and the day we ate there the meal was fried chicken with grits and roasted veggies. He was quite certain he wasn't going to like the grits. What he found out was he had only ever eaten instant grits and that they are nothing like the real thing. Stone ground grits  do take longer to cook, usually about 45 minutes. You can use quick cooking grits if you must, but I don't recommend instant. If you make the grits with milk instead of water they are deliciously creamy!

The BBQ shrimp aren't cooked on the grill and don't have any BBQ sauce in them so I'm not sure where the name comes from. This is a New Orleans recipe that I found on the Food Network website. They are super simple and delicious. You should definitely have some great bread with this meal to sop up the sauce from the shrimp.

Ingredients

Grits
3/4 cup stone ground grits
3 cups milk
3 TB butter
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper

Shrimp
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons), rinds reserved and slice
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
11/2 teaspoons hot sauce, such as Tabasco
1 pound (about 30) medium to large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Freshly ground pepper

 

Directions

 

Grits

Put grits in a large bowl and cover with 3 cups of water. Let sit for several minutes to allow any chaff to rise to the top. Remove it with a strainer. Then pour grits and water through the strainer. Put grits in a medium sauce pan with milk and bring to a simmer. Simmer grits for about 45 minutes, stirring frequently until the grits absorb the milk.Add butter and Parmesan. Stir until both are melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

Shrimp

Heat a 12-inch skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium-high heat. Add butter, and cook until melted and foamy. Add garlic, rosemary, and lemon juice and rinds. Stir in Worcestershire and hot sauces, and bring to a simmer. Season shrimp with salt and pepper; add to skillet. Cook until pink and firm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with pepper.  

Creamy Chicken and Avocado Enchiladas

If you like chicken enchiladas, you will love this recipe! It's creamy, tangy and a great way to use up left over chicken. Make the filling with cooked chicken, onions, sour cream, jack cheese, salsa verde and avocados. Top the enchiladas with a cheese sauce made with chicken broth, cream, cream cheese and green chiles. Just bake for about 45 minutes.

You will want to eat the whole enchilada!

Ingredients
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup sour cream
2 cups jack cheese, shredded and divided
1/2 cup prepared salsa verde
1 avocado, sliced
4 large flour tortillas
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
3 oz cream cheese
1 can green chiles
salt and pepper

Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine chicken, onion, sour cream, salsa verde and 1 cup of cheese. Make cheese sauce by heating chicken broth, cream and cream cheese until reduced by about half. Add the other cup of cheese and stir until cheese melts. Add green chilis. Lightly cover the bottom of a 10 X 10 baking dish with cheese sauce. Place on cup of filling in each tortilla, top with 1/4 of avocado and roll up. Put enchiladas in baking dish and cover with remaining cheese sauce. Top baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Let enchiladas cool for about 10 minutes before serving.