Roasted Shrimp Cocktail

Now, this is more of a New Year's dish!  Low in fat, low in calories, high in protein and still quick, easy and elegant!  This is adapted from Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa)'s recipe.  This has become our "go to" for something light after a day of overeating (i.e. the day after Thanksgiving and New Year's Day night after we had totally overdone it on football snack food--watching all the Bowl games on New Year's Day is a very big deal with my husband's family).  It took me awhile to develop an appreciation for shrimp cocktail, but now I absolutely love it!  Although those assembled trays you can buy from the grocery store are pretty good, I think if I'm going to spend the money on shrimp, I want it to be great and a few extra minutes roasting them yourself achieves that!

They are great right out of the oven but also excellent leftover and cold right from the fridge.  How versatile! 

Roasted Shrimp Cocktail 
2 pounds peeled, de-veined raw shrimp, tails still on (we use 31-40 count size, defrosted from frozen are fine )*
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
your favorite prepared cocktail sauce
fresh lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Spread out shrimp in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.  Sprinkle evenly with salt.  Roast at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes, or just until pink and firm and cooked through (The beautiful thing about shrimp is that they're pretty easy to tell when they're done.  They change color!).  Allow to cool and serve with cocktail sauce and fresh lemon juice, as desired.

*Note: In the United States at least, shrimp are sold by "count."  This meaning the number of shrimp that make up a pound.  The higher the count, the smaller the size of shrimp (and less expensive).  31-40 count shrimp are considered "large size."  You can feel free to substitute a different size of shrimp according to your preference and access, just adjust the cooking time accordingly.

Challa, or Jewish Braided Egg Bread

I would never claim to be a baker.  I am far too impatient and too imprecise for calculated measurements.  Hopefully, when I say that it should give anyone who may feel a little intimidated by baking to know that I have been turning out loaves of challa bread like it's going out of style.  For those of you unfamiliar, challa is a traditionally Jewish egg bread that is typically in a braided style.  This recipe (adapted from one I had found on AllRecipes.com) appears to be foolproof.  It takes a bit of time (mostly unattended), but is unbelievably simple and you will feel so accomplished when you turn out your very own loaves.  Since this recipe makes two huge loaves, you can share one as a gift with someone (include a bottle of syrup--day old challa makes unbelievable French toast--and you will have a friend for life!).  Push off the New Year's diet for a couple more days and ring in 2011 with delicious, white carbs.  You only live once, right?


Challa Bread
makes 2 large loaves

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup honey or 2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon salt
8-10 cups white unbleached flour (can substitute up to a couple cups of whole wheat flour)

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine water, yeast and honey (or sugar).  Allow to sit for a few minutes (3-5) or until yeast starts to bubble and looks creamy.  Beat in 3 of the 4 eggs, and vegetable oil.  Once thoroughly combined, stir in salt and flour, one cup at a time, until dough is thick enough to turn out onto a floured surface.  Knead, continuing to add flour as needed, until dough is smooth and elastic and no longer sticky (about five minutes).   Return to bowl, cover with a clean, damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 1/2 hours).

After dough has risen, punch down and turn out onto floured surface again.  Divide dough into two equal sized chunks and knead individually (adding more flour as needed to keep dough from being sticky, about five minutes each).  Divide each half into thirds and roll each third into a long, evenly thick, rope (about 1-1 1/2 inches thick and about 15-18 inches long).  Pinch the ends of each of the three ropes together and braid together.  Pinch the other ends together.  At this point, you can leave as a long braid or curl the braid around in a circle to form a wreath, either shape is nice.  Transfer braided dough to a greased baking sheet.  Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise for an additional hour   Repeat with other half of dough.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  After braids have risen about an hour, beat the remaining egg and brush over the surface of the braids.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes (a lot of recipes I've seen call for much longer baking times, but I have found every time I've made this recipe the loaves are done after about 20 minutes of baking time, so keep a close eye on them after that).  The loaves should be a rich golden brown color and make a nice hollow sound when thumped on the bottom.

Ideally, you should let your bread cool completely before slicing, but we can never wait and tear off pieces (and burning our fingers in the process) to eat it almost immediately.  Leftover bread makes the best French toast you've ever had...

Happy New Year!

Farewell, 2010!  Hello, 2011!

Lame.  Lame.  Lame.  As I think about how much I've slacked off in blogging the last few weeks it makes me feel, well, lame.  I "resolve" to change that soon.  Recipes to come, just not tonight.

Hoping you all have had a very blessed Christmas season filled with opportunities to observe the wonder that is God made flesh for us.  Wow.  It really is a mind-blowing when you ponder that every circumstance surrounding the birth of Jesus was intentional.  In the midst of the craziness of travel and presents and family get-togethers and baking etc., I've been trying to reflect on the amazing thing that Christmas truly is.  Thank you, Christ, for coming and bringing us the opportunity for true and eternal life through you. 

And, in the spirit of new beginnings and rebirth, I am looking forward to being more intentional and mindful in all areas of my life.  What are your resolutions?

Wishing you a very Happy New Year!  See you soon...

Little Lemon Meringue "Cookies"

I admit, I have a bit of a hard time calling meringues cookies.  But, especially when you're dealing with lemon meringues, you have to call them something (otherwise, someone might be fooled into thinking this was a recipe for pie, right?).  Anyway, whatever you call these, I thought they would make a lovely (and surprisingly simple!) addition to a cookie exchange.  It's nice to have something that's light and guilt-free (about five calories a pop!) but still a little sweet in the midst of so many holiday treats.

Little Lemon Meringue "Cookies"
3 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon peel, finely grated

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper (silicone baking mats would be lovely as well--maybe someday I'll have some of those! sigh).
In a medium bowl with mixer on high speed, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until soft peaks form.  With mixer still running, sprinkle in sugar gradually (about 2 tablespoons at a time) beating until peaks are stiff and glossy when beaters are lifted.  Gently fold in lemon peel.
Spoon egg white mixture into a decorating bag (or a quart sized ziploc bag with a tiny corner snipped off) fitted with a star shaped decorating bag.  Pipe meringue into small stars about a 1/2 inch apart onto prepared cookie sheets.
Bake meringues about 1 1/2 hours until crisp but not browned.  Turn off oven and allow meringues to stand in hour 1 hour longer to dry.  Cool completely.
Peel from sheets and store in an air tight container.

Indonesian Peanut Chicken

When my first son was born, some friends of ours were very kind and brought us a really delicious dinner, Indonesian Peanut Chicken.  We were very impressed and I told them I must have the recipe.  Little did I know, I already had it in my Betty Crocker cookbook!  Now, my extremely weathered cookbook falls open to the page with this recipe on it.  I have modified the recipe a bit and in doing so, shortened the cook time (always a plus in my book!).  The other night, we served the exotic peanut chicken over rice noodles, but usually eat it with rice.  However you do it, it's a fast family-pleaser.  Serve it with a steamed green vegetable (broccoli, green beans, peapods) and call it a day!


 Indonesian Peanut Chicken 
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in bite sized pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion (about 1 med.)
1 chopped red bell pepper, reserving 1/2 cup for garnish
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 chopped peanuts
hot cooked brown or white rice (or rice noodles as pictured)
Note: can substitute 1/4 cup chili sauce for ketchup and spices cinnamon through cayenne (usually found in condiment aisle by ketchup).

Season chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  In large skillet over medium high heat, brown chicken in oil until cooked through.  Remove from skillet.  Add onions and bell pepper until tender.  Stir in peanut butter, ketchup and spices.  Gradually add chicken broth, stirring, until peanut butter is melted.  Add chicken back into pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer about 5 minutes stirring occasionally, until chicken is heated through and sauce begins to thicken.  Serve over rice and sprinkle peanuts and fresh red pepper over top for garnish.

Date Nut Bread

This recipe came from my Mother-in-Law who got it from her Mother (thank you, Jay's Grandma Bevy!) who got it from...I don't know where.  My Mother-in-Law rediscovered it over Thanksgiving weekend while going through her recipe file as we were discussing dishes that have gone out of style (i.e. Raisin Sour Cream Pie, my Father-in-Law's favorite, which someday I'll have to attempt).  She made a couple loaves that my four year old and I liked so much we nearly made ourselves sick eating too much.  Oops.  There's no denying this is a great quick bread recipe.  Even better news was that unlike a lot of other quick bread recipes (banana, pumpkin, etc.) that rely on tons of oil, this one has a mere three tablespoons.  The guilt is already lifting! And, to make for an even clearer conscience, I worked on the recipe and cut the sugar down by a quarter and substituted half whole wheat flour and it did not lose any of its original deliciousness (darn).  Get your hands on some dates (the warehouse clubs--Costco and Sam's usually carry extremely affordable and delicious containers of whole, pitted dates) and try this recipe!

*And, once you have your dates, proceed to snack on them in a multitude of ways.  We are fond of sticking whole roasted almonds inside them (instant dessert!), filling halved dates with homemade cream cheese spread (chopped apricots, cinnamon, chopped toasted pecans and a drizzle of honey in softened cream cheese), or for a rather decadent appetizer, wrap whole dates with bacon and bake until the bacon is crispy!

Date Nut Bread
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup hot water
3 tablespoons melted shortening (I substituted canola oil)
1 cup sugar (I used 3/4 cup)
2 beaten eggs
2 cups flour (I used half whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
dash salt
1/4 cup roughly chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

Pour hot water over dates and let stand until ready to use.  Mix sugar and shortening (oil) in a large bowl.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.  Sift dry ingredients together and add alternately with the dates and water mixture to the sugar, shortening and egg mixture.  Gently stir in nuts.  Bake in a greased loaf pan at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until browned and a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to fully cool on a wire rack. 
Great sliced and spread with cream cheese!

Italian Turkey Soup

 Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend!  We had a very delicious holiday that I managed to forget to take pictures of EVERYTHING.  Guess I was too busy enjoying the weekend.  Oh well. Last night, we had a previous recipe, Chicken Wild Rice Soup (but with turkey, of course!). I'm not sure how many of you still have leftover turkey, but this recipe for Italian turkey soup another very un-Thanksgiving recipe to maybe help use up the last of it.  And, in case you don't, it's also good with chicken or ground turkey!

 Italian Turkey Soup 
Serves 6-8
1 20 oz. package lean ground turkey or 2 cups leftover shredded cooked chicken or turkey
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
6 cups chicken broth (about three 15 oz cans), or turkey broth
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes with basil and garlic (undrained)
1 15 oz. can white beans drained and rinsed
1 8 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (or a couple big handfuls of fresh spinach)
2 cups frozen or refrigerated cheese tortellini or mini ravioli
2 tablespoons pesto (optional)
shredded parmesan cheese for garnish

In large soup pot, brown ground turkey (or if using precooked meat, skip to next step).  Season with salt, pepper, garlic and herbs.  Once turkey is browned, pour in chicken broth, can of tomatoes and beans.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes over medium-low heat.  Add tortellini and simmer another 7-8 minutes or until tortellini is cooked through.  Stir in spinach and simmer a couple more minutes until spinach is heated through.  If using, swirl in pesto right before serving. Pass shredded Parmesan cheese for sprinkling on top.