Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Easy weeknight dinner


from Cook This Not That

12 oz shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 14-oz can crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tsp red-pepper flakes - the recipe calls for 2 teaspoons, which was very spicy - next time I'll use a scant 1 teaspoon

4 oz dried spaghetti
1/2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/4 tsp dried oregano or thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Boil a large pot of salted water for the pasta.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the red-pepper flakes, olive oil, onion, garlic, and oregano or thyme, and cook until the onions are soft. Add the tomatoes.

Drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook according to package directions.

Add the shrimp to the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain the pasta, add as much of the sauce as you'd like, and garnish with parsley.

Summer Citrust Shrimp with Parmesan Vermicelli and Grilled Green Beans

Saturday in between baking and decorating a cake I marinated shrimp for dinner. I used the recipe Jeffrey came up with last summer.

Jeffrey grilled skewers of shrimp and a grill-pan of green beans tossed with olive oil and Cavender's Greek seasoning.

I cooked vermicelli and tossed it with softened butter, freshly grated Parmesan, cracked black pepper, and a sprinkling of fresh parsley from our garden. It was really tasty. Something about that shrimp went so well with the pasta. I was hoping we'd have some leftover green beans I could put on a salad this week but we ate every last one.

Shrimp and Gravy for Supper Club

I emailed a friend and mentioned we were hosting supper club. The friend lives in Naples, Florida. Geographically, Florida is southern. Obviously. Every other way, it's really not; I shouldn't have been surprised when she emailed back and asked, "What's a supper club?"


Our supper club gets together about once a month. One couple hosts the dinner party and prepares a meal for the guests, about 20 people.


For our turn, we had Smoked Catfish Pate and fruit and cheese for appetizer. Good thing, too, because everyone arrives about 7:00 and we had so much fun visiting and catching up that it was 8:45 before we sat down at the table to eat. (Bad hosts! Bad! Note to self: next time, ask everyone to get there around 6:00.)

We had a green salad with brown-sugared pecans and sweet and sour vinaigrette.

The main course was Charleston-Style Shrimp and Grits over Asiago-Cheese Grits with Caramelized Onion.

Rhodes's rolls with honey orange butter


were on the table and lemon cheesecake with coffee for dessert.

Shrimp and Gravy
The Husband found this recipe online and we made a few adjustments to it.

3 slices bacon
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup chicken stock
1 green onion, chopped

Fry bacon over medium heat and remove to paper towels to drain. Add the butter to the bacon grease. (I ask you: were any prettier words ever written? Add butter TO the bacon grease!) When the butter melts, sprinkle 3 tablespoons of flour over it and reduce heat to medium low. Cook for about 12 minutes, stirring frequently, until the roux is dark brown. Reduce heat if it starts to scorch.

Add the chopped onions and bell pepper when the roux is dark brown. Increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, toss the shrimp in a large bowl with the seasonings and remaining flour. Pour in to the pan with the onion and bell pepper, stirring frequently for one minutes. Stir in the chicken stock and reduce heat to low. Cook just long enough to thicken the broth, being careful not to overcook. You don't want the shrimp to get tough!

Spoon out grits onto a plate and top with a ladle-full of the shrimp and gravy. Top with crumbled bacon and chopped green onion.

Roasted Shrimp with Peppers and Lemon

Real Simple magazine did a story about weeknight meals with pantry staples - or something like that - and this was one of them.

I love shrimp and this makes enough for leftovers, and that makes me happy.

• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 4 scallions, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 pound frozen large peeled and deveined shrimp, thawed
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cook the rice according to the package directions.

The recipe doesn't mind being tinkered with - when I made it the other day, I used a yellow pepper instead of red. When I realized we didn't have any scallions I and chopped up a pearl onion instead.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the bell pepper, lemon, thyme, scallions, crushed red pepper, 1 tablespoon of the oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper.



Spread on a rimmed baking sheet (reserving the bowl).

Add the shrimp to the bowl and toss with the paprika, the remaining tablespoon of oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.



Nestle the shrimp in the bell peppers on the baking sheet. Roast until the shrimp are cooked through and the bell peppers are tender, 10 to 12 minutes.

(My two cents: The shrimp take no time to cook - like 8 minutes. The strips of bell pepper are nowhere close to being done by then. Next time, I'm going to saute the bell pepper strips first, just a bit, in olive oil. I like them to still have a nice satisfying crunch but I want them cooked, not raw.)


Serve over the rice.

Tip:
To freeze: No need to thaw the shrimp. Just divide all the ingredients among 4 freezer bags and freeze for up to 3 months.
To cook: Transfer the frozen ingredients to a baking sheet and roast at 450° F for 30 to 35 minutes. Serve with cooked long-grain white rice.

The next day, I got to have this wonderful grilled shrimp salad. I chopped the shrimp and a few roasted bell peppers, added them to spinach, and topped it with a vinaigrette. So good!

Summer Citrus Shrimp

That was an extended, unintentional break! We've been cooking lots, it's just... You know how you mean to do something and you keep saying, "I need to do that!" and you keep saying it and then you need to do this, too, and then that, and before you know it all the photos and posts and recipes and funny stories become a towering stack of procrastination at its finest?

That's kind of what happened.

We're back on track now.

Jeffrey came up with this. It is summer on a plate - citrusy and light.

Summer Citrus Shrimp

2 pounds of jumbo shrimp (16-20 count)
2 lemons
1 lime
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1 bunch green onions, with a few inches of green, thinly sliced
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt

Peel and devein shrimp. Squeeze the juice of 2 lemons and 1 lime into a medium bowl - enough to make about 3 tablespoons citrus juice. Add remaining ingredients - all except the shrimp - and mix well. Add shrimp and stir well once more. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.

If you're using wooden skewers, about now would be the time to soak them in water.

Thread shrimp onto skewers.


Grill over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes being careful not to overcook. Serves 4.

Or serves 2 and you can save the leftover shrimp and enjoy over a spinach salad the next day for lunch. Or diced up and folded inside a flour tortilla as a shrimp quesadilla.

Long overdue!

Well to say I have been procrastinating just a bit would be an understatement... Last Friday night, Keetha and I made a trip to our glorious grocery located in beautiful Cleveland, MS. That would be the place that she likes to visit everytime she comes here (Ha! Don't try to deny it girl!). We picked up some shrimp, asparagus, proscuitto, grape tomatos, and a sweet yellow onion. Beginning to get any ideas yet?

Yep. You're exactly right, kabobs on the grill!

We began by placing the deveined and peeled shrimp on bamboo skewers alternating shrimp, onion chunks (we need to find a better way. The onion didn't stay on the skewers very well), and grape tomatos. We then marinated with Lea & Perrins and Cavender's Greek seasoning. What else could we have to compliment this lovely meal, but the now infamous proscuitto wrapped asparagus aslo marinated with Lea & Perrins and Greek seasoning.




Yeah, it was every bit as good as it looks!!

And least I forget, we also had our mainstay of bread, a multigrain take and bake loaf drizzled with honey garlic butter.

Stay tuned people...we have a fantastic meal planned for this Friday night as well.

Yes, back out to the grill again!

Y'all come back now, ya here!