Shrimp Stuffed Blue Fish

By now, you may be deciding between a few different stuffing recipes for your Thanksgiving day dinner. Stuffing is one of those things that makes everything taste better. And it doesn't exclude fish. Turkey, better stuffed, ravioli-stuffed with creamy cheese, stuffed cabbage, pierogis stuffed with potatoes, crispy empanadas, the list goes on and on...And now you can add shrimp stuffed blue fish to the list. The sweetness of the shrimp combined with the blue fish makes it one meal, that you will make again, sooner that you thought, it's filling, without leaving you heavy and just delicious! This makes 2-3 servings. Enjoy!

• 1 1/2 pound whole bluefish, butterflied, (leaving the head and tail on, I think it helps with keeping the stuffing in)
• a little less that 1/2 pound raw shrimp, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons whipped cream cheese (you can use whipped cream cheese with chives and skip adding the fresh chives, if you like.)
• 1 teaspoon mayonnaise
• 1 heaping teaspoon minced chives 
• garlic powder
• 1 sun-dried tomato, packed in oil, minced
• a little squeeze of lemon juice
• sea salt
• fresh ground pepper
• a pinch of Vegeta, or any all purpose seasoning, that you like
• olive oil
• lemon slices and wedges

Combine the shrimp, cream cheese, mayonnaise, chives, sun-dried tomato, squeze of lemon juice, garlic powder, sea salt, pepper and a touch of all purpose seasoning in a bowl and set aside. Very lightly coat the bottom of a heavy bottomed baking pan with olive oil and place the fish inside. Lightly salt the inside of the fish and spread the shrimp mixture inside of the fish and top with a few slices of lemon. Place in a 350 degree pre-heated oven. Bake for 45 minutes. Enjoy with a simple baby arugula salad or orzo tossed with olive oil, sea salt and minced chives.

Spanish Style Garlic Shrimp

October has arrived! One of my favorite months of the year! Where ghouls and ghosts abound and when extra protection from vampires is needed. And I've come up with the perfect dish to be enjoyed while protecting yourself from those pesty bloodsuckers. You don't have to fear Dracula coming near you, when making this garlic shrimp, actually, loved ones may not want to come near either, lol. So enjoy this with a fellow garlic lover, maybe when the sun is out, just in case ;) Enjoy!

  

• 1 pound shrimp, (any size) deveined and patted dry
• 7 large cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
• a few saffron threads
• 1/2 teaspoon Vegeta
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• sea salt, if needed

In a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pan, combine 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, the butter and the garlic. Let this barely saute on the lowest heat possible, for 20 minutes, stirring often. You don't want the garlic to burn, you want it to get so soft, that the garlic becomes sweet. Stir in the shrimp and increase the heat slightly, to a regular low heat. Stir often for about 5 minutes, until the shrimp is cooked through and are opaque. Adjust the seasoning as needed. Serve nice and hot with crusty bread to dip into the garlic paprika scented olive oil. This is a nice appetizer or can serve 4 as a meal, when paired with buttered orzo and a nice salad. Enjoy!

Shrimp & Grits

This isn't really the traditional shrimp and grits recipe with bacon and green pepper sauteed with the shrimp, this is more of a shrimp scampi and grits. And the grits have Parmesan and ricotta cheeses folded in it instead of the Cheddar cheese. I know, I know I am typing as fast as I can so you get the ingredients you need to make this tonight, lol. It's really good especially when the wine and butter garlic sauce meets the cheesy grits on your fork! What's good about this dish is it's quick enough for dinner when you are in a rush and nice enough for company, especially when paired with a caesar salad with chunky croutons and a flourless chocolate torte for dessert. Enjoy!

• 1 pound shelled and deveined shrimp
• 7 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup Moscato wine
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup stone ground corn grits
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1.2 cup ricotta cheese
• freshly ground pepper
• sea salt

In a dutch oven, saute the garlic, 1 tablespoon butter and the olive oil. Heat this on low heat, stirring often and make sure you don't burn it. Once your garlic is soft, stir in the shrimp until it turns pink around the edges. This happens quickly. Next add in the wine and let it come to a boil and flip the shrimp over. Increase the heat and add in the parsley and one tablespoon of butter. Stir and make sure the biggest piece of shrimp is cooked through and opaque. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. Meanwhile, you can make the grits according to package. Once they are done, keep the heat on low and stir in one tablespoon of butter, the Parmesan and ricotta cheeses. Season with salt and pepper according to taste. This serves about 4 people. Spoon the shrimp alongside the grits with lots of wine butter sauce. Serve with fresh ground pepper.

Shrimp Toast

 Lately my Saturday morning ritual usually looks like this, I get up and run down to get a coffee and get the weekend edition of The Wall Street Journal, and I dive into the "Off Duty" section. I can't manage to read it fast enough. This past weekends' edition had an article on shrimp toast, how cool it's becoming, cropping up in the chicest restaurants. And did it have me craving shrimp toast in the early hours of the morning! lol I'm not sure if everyone is a fan but the first time I ordered it, I did it out of pure curiosity. Crispy bread, creamy shrimp and a hint of onion, it was interesting, I liked it. The second time, I don't even know how it was physically possible, but I bit into the crispiness of the shrimp toast and had a mouthful of oil. (growl and grumble) So the article inspired me to make it at home, here's my spin at it. I think it came out really good and I'm so excited to share this recipe!

• 1/2 pound of shrimp, quickly poached, cooled off and finely minced
• a 4 inch piece of a celery stalk, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon finely minced red onion
• 2 pale sections of scallions, finely minced
• 1/2 cup whipped cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• a dash or 2 of Worcestershire sauce
• Sriracha sauce *optional
• a pinch of 2 of Vegeta, or any good all-purpose seasoning
• 10 slices of potato bread
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• panko bread crumbs
• canola oil

Combine the shrimp, celery, scallions, red onion, cream cheese, mayonnaise and seasonings. Taste and add more seasonings if needed. Take 2 slices of potato bread at a time and cut the crusts off with a sharp knife. Set the crusts aside for bread crumbs, or the birds. Daisy had some treats that day. ;) Spread a heaping tablespoon on one side of the slice of bread, top with the second slice and repeat with the rest of the bread and shrimp spread. Take a sharp knife and cut diagonally across the "sandwiches." creating triangles. If any filling falls out, stuff it back in. Set up a breading station for yourself. A dish for the eggs, one for the panko bread crumbs, one for the toasts that are ready for the oil, and one lined with paper towels. Carefully dip your shrimp triangles in the beaten egg and then into the panko bread crumbs, packing on the breadcrumbs so it sticks. They are so delicate, especially when dipped in the egg, so you have to work quickly. Fill a large non-stick pan with about a 1/4 inch of oil on the bottom. Heat your oil on medium heat, and throw in a bread crumb or 2 until it sizzles, once it does, you are ready to put in your shrimp triangles. Fry them until light brown and then flip them over, grab some tongs and stand them up on the sides, so they fry up also. Just be careful, this is why I had only 2 in the pan at most. Once browned on all sides, drain on paper towels. I served this with an avocado topped with peanut sauce and it was really good when eaten together! This makes 10 shrimp toasts.

Here is the recipe for the peanut sauce if anyone is a peanut sauce fan...

• 3/4 cup chunky peanut butter
• 1/2 cup of low sodium room temperature chicken broth
• 2 soy sauce packets or 2 teaspoons
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon honey
• a dash or 2 of Worcestershire sauce
• a sprinkle of ground ginger
• a sprinkle of 5-spice powder
• Sriracha sauce, to taste
• 1 tablespoon cilantro leaves finely chopped and some leaves saved for garnish
• an avocado or 2, sliced

Combine all of the ingredients, taste and add seasoning as needed, spoon over the avocado slices and top with cilantro leaves. Enjoy!