Meal: Mussels Marinara with Linguine, Garlic Bread, and Tossed Salad

Mussels Marinara with Linguine: This reminds me of a great east coast Italian restaurant I once visited.

Ingredients
3 cups Basic Marinara
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 pounds mussels (about 80 mussels), scrubbed and debearded
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 lb cooked linguine noodles
1 loaf frozen garlic bread, cooked according to package directions

Tossed Salad
1 head romaine lettuce, washed and torn into pieces
1 roma tomato diced
1 small cucumber, diced
favorite salad dressing

Bring Basic Marinara and pepper to a simmer in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add mussels to pan; cover and cook 5 minutes or until shells open. Discard any unopened shells. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve over hot linquine noodles.

Serve along side with warm garlic bread and tossed salad

Cookinglight October 2007

Meal: Shrimp Fra Diavolo and Caesar Salad

Shrimp Fra Diavolo: Italian for “brother devil,” if you want the dish to be spicier you can increase the crushed red pepper to 3/4 tsp.

Ingredients
8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups sliced cremini mushrooms (about 10 ounces)
2½ cups Basic Marinara
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
Parsley sprigs (optional)

Caesar Salad recipe

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; keep warm.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms to pan; sauté 6 minutes. Add Basic Marinara, red pepper, salt, and black pepper; bring to a simmer. Cook 5 minutes. Add shrimp; cook 3 minutes or until shrimp are done. Serve over pasta. Garnish with parsley sprigs, if desired.

Cookinglight October 2007

Meal: Shrimp Risotto with Baby Spinach and Basil

Shrimp Risotto with Baby Spinach and Basil: This is great satisfying one dish meal.

Ingredients
6 cups (about) low-salt chicken broth
1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 large garlic cloves, minced
11/2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain white rice (about 9 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 6-ounce package baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Additional grated Parmesan cheese

Bring 6 cups broth to simmer in medium saucepan. Add shrimp. Turn off heat, cover, and let stand until shrimp are just opaque in center, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to small bowl; cover with foil to keep warm. Cover broth to keep warm.

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and stir 1 minute. Add rice and stir until edge of rice is translucent but center is still opaque, about 2 minutes. Add wine and cook until wine is absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Add 3/4 cup chicken broth. Simmer until almost all broth is absorbed, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Continue to add broth, 3/4 cup at a time, until rice is just tender and mixture is creamy, stirring often and allowing almost all broth to be absorbed after each addition, about 25 minutes total. During last 5 minutes, add spinach in 4 batches, stirring and allowing spinach to wilt after each addition. Mix in shrimp, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and basil. Season risotto to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon risotto into shallow bowls and serve, passing additional cheese separately.

Bon Appétit March 2003

Meal: Gouda Risotto with Shrimp, Arugula, and Mushrooms

Gouda Risotto with Shrimp, Arugula, and Mushrooms:
I made some adaptations to a Cooking Light magazine recipe in order to make this a one dish meal and include flavors that I enjoy eating.

Vegetarian modification: Prepare the dish as directed but omitting the shrimp.

Ingredients
Risotto:
2 cups water
2 (16-oz) cans fat-free chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter
⅓ cup chopped shallots
2 cups Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups (6 oz) shredded Gouda cheese
5 cups chopped Arugula

Mushrooms:
1 tbs olive oil
2 cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps
2 cups sliced button mushrooms
2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
2 cups sliced oyster mushrooms
⅓ cup chopped shallots
¼ cup dry white wine
1½ tsp chopped fresh thyme
1½ tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ cup (1 oz) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Shrimp:
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and cleaned
2 tsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Risotto:
Combine water and broth; set aside. Melt butter in a large nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Add ⅓ cup shallots; cover and cook 2 minutes. Add rice; cook 2 minutes, uncovered, stirring constantly. Stir in ½ cup wine; cook 30 seconds or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add ½ teaspoon salt and broth mixture, ½ cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth mixture is absorbed before adding the next (about 20 minutes total). Stir in Gouda; cook just until melted. Stir in arugula; cook just until arugula is wilted.

For the Mushrooms
While risotto is cooking, heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, and sauté 5 minutes or until beginning to brown. Add ⅓ cup shallots, ¼ cup wine, chopped thyme, chopped rosemary, and minced garlic, and sauté 1 minute or until wine is absorbed. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper.

For the Shrimp
Just before adding the Gouda to the risotto, heat 2 tsp of olive oil in a small skillet. Add shrimp and saute until shrimp turns pink and is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide risotto evenly among 6 bowls; top with mushroom mixture and shrimp. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Meal: Clam Chowder, Crusty Bread and Apple Cobbler

Clam Chowder:
This soup recipe is a combination of a good chowder recipe and a good potato soup recipe which equals one great clam chowder. Baking the potatoes in the oven may seem like a longer step but the flavor is unbeatable.


Ingredients
4 8-ounce bottles clam juice
1 1/2 pound red potatoes
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
3 slices bacon, finely chopped
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery with leaves (about 2 large stalks)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 or 3 6 1/2-ounce cans chopped clams, drained, juices reserved
1 cups half and half
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper




Preheat oven to 400°. Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 30-45 minutes or until tender. Cool and coarsely mash.

While potatoes are baking, melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until bacon begins to brown, about 8 minutes. Add onions, celery, garlic and bay leaf and sauté until vegetables soften, about 6 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 2 minutes (do not allow flour to brown). Gradually whisk in clam juice (including reserved juices from clams.) Add mashed potatoes, clams, half and half, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Simmer chowder 5-10 minutes to blend flavors, stirring frequently. Serve in hearty sized bowls with fresh crusty bread.

Apple Cobbler:
This is a speedy version I came up with when I wanted dessert fast and hot.

Ingredients
2 large apples, cored and sliced (skins remaining)

3 tbsp butter*

4 tbsp brown sugar*

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/4 cup rolled oats

Preheat oven to 400 °. Place apples in a shallow oven proof and microwave safe casserole dish. Top with 1 tbsp butter* and 2 tbsp brown sugar.* Cover with wax paper and microwave for 4-5 minutes. While apples cook in microwave, combine remaining brown sugar, cinnamon and rolled oats in a small bowl. Cut in the remaining butter until it resembles course crumbs.

When apples are slightly soft remove from microwave. Top with butter mixture and place in oven. Bake for 10 minutes or until bubbly.