Easy Roasted Shrimp with Garlic and Chorizo

This recipe is so simple! It's a great snack hors d'oeuvre from Blue Ribbon cookbook. They have you just toss it all together and bake it at once, but I think it would do better with a little time to marinate. We had it in the winter, but I think this would be a great summer dish to eat outside with some rose. 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

8-10 medium size shrimp (or fewer if you can find jumbo shrimp), peeled and deveined - leave the tail on for looks

1 small dried Spanish chorizo, cut into 1/4" half moons

2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

olive oil

salt and pepper

fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Smoked Shrimp

My brother-in-law Austen always buys me cook books for Christmas, and I love it! (Keep it up, Austen!) I know I've mentioned Home Made before, but it's full of interesting recipes and methods, one of which is creating smoker out of kitchen staples. Jamie and I had friends over for football on Sunday, and in addition to the usual wings, I tried making smoked shrimp. They were so smoky! It really works. The recipe calls for rosemary salt to go with them, but I'd actually next time serve them with a sort of BBQ-cocktail sauce hybrid. I just bought frozen shrimp and thawed them while I brined them - it worked perfectly. I can't wait to try the homemade smoker with other things. Ribs? Fish?

Ingredients:
1 package frozen shrimp, uncooked

Happy March!

Sorry for the lack of posts recently - Jamie and I were in Hawaii for our friends Bryce and Maria's wedding. It was so much fun and beautiful.

And for a little foodie bit, if anyone's ever in Oahu you've got to stop at Leonard's for Malasadas (a delicious, sugar covered donut) and stop at Romy's on the North Shore for some garlic butter shrimp - yum!

Leonard's Malasadas - thanks Rachel!!

 Romy's in Kahuku

Indoor Clambake

I've been dying to try this all summer. The Lobster Place and Clamman both have pre-packaged, all ready versions, but I was tempted by the chorizo, onions, and garlic in Martha Stewart's recipe. It was a great, fun, and surprisingly easy meal. Good for a special occasion, or, in my case, just having girls over for dinner. The dipping sauce is delicious and much healthier than just a bowl of melted butter. So summery and festive!

The mussels were tender and delicious and the lobster was cooked perfectly. The little knuckles just melt in your mouth. The timing on this recipe is what makes everything cook perfectly. When cracking into the lobster claws, prepare to get a little messy. The corn tastes great dipped in the sauce and sprinkled with salt.

(for 4 people)
Ingredients:
1 onion, quartered
3 garlic cloves
1/2 bottle of pale ale beer (I used Brooklyn Summer)
1/2 cup water
3/4 lb new potatoes