Shrimp Flip!

I got this recipe from a Twitter friend--this was a favorite family recipe of his. His recipe originally called to flour the shrimp and fry it in 1/2 cup olive oil, which I'm sure would be marvelously delicious as well! As for me, I prefer my fried shrimp with cocktail sauce. If I'm going to have a wine sauce, I want my shrimp naked. That is the wonderful thing about cooking. You can ALWAYS change a recipe to how you like it.

I was so excited when I was cooking this recipe, because as I was cooking the shrimp I flipped it! You know what I mean, that fancy chef flip! I did it right on my first try, and I was so excited that I called J. up to the kitchen to watch. Of course as soon as he got to the kitchen, I threw shrimp across the room. Luckily we only lost 1 or 2. Sigh.

Note--next time you order a shrimp dinner and are complaining because it's taking so long--Don't. Instead remember that somewhere in the back of that Red Lobster someone is taking the poop pipe out of each teeny tiny little sea insect so that you can eat it. Mmm Delicious.

Note Squared--If you do make this at home, I recommend buying your shrimp already deveined. It is usually a few cents more expensive, but much less gross.

Herb's Shrimp in Wine Sauce

Adapted from KayDub

1/2 cup white wine

2 tsp tomato paste

4 Tbsp warm water

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Dash cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Butter

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 lb shrimp

1 green onion, chopped

2 tsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp chopped parsley

In a small sauce pan, whisk together tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, cayenne, and wine, in saucepan. Simmer for about 5 minutes to reduce.

Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until it starts to turn translucent. Add shrimp and saute until almost completely cooked thru. Add onion. Add sauce to shrimp. Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute longer to finish cooking shrimp. Garnish with parsley and lemon juice. Serve warm with New Potatoes and Roasted Garlic (seriously this was goooooood).

This would also be really good served over linguine or with some thick, crusty bread to sop up the sauce.

Is This Seat Taken?

One of my coworkers, JB, is famous for her cheesecakes. She has brought some to work, and my technicians just go crazy for them. She mentioned on Thursday that there was a contest that she was thinking of entering, but it was in Modoc and she just wasn't sure if she should go.

"Modoc," I said, "It's not at the winery is it?"

"Yeah, Wilson Wines, or something like that?"

"Ohhhhhhh we are SOOOOOOO GOING!!!!"

That was the end of that. I've been wanting to visit Wilson Wines for awhile now, but hadn't made the 40 minute drive yet. Then she told me the kicker...you get a free bottle of wine for every cheesecake you enter! Well, I had never made a cheesecake before but I had several recipes in my binder just waiting to be tried. Here's the perfect reason! So, in typical Haley style, I entered a food contest without ever tasting my entry :).

I definitely learned a few things about cheesecake making--the main thing being that you should ALWAYS butter a round of parchment paper and put that on the bottom, between the crust and the pan. Otherwise, you will be taking the pan with you to the contest. Also, let your ganache cool a little bit before pouring it onto the cake, otherwise you will have a mess in your fridge.

The day was so much fun. The winery itself was a small farm, with a little cookout patio area. They have a stage, where they host live music in the summer. Apparently, they have Bring Your Own Meat Fridays where they put grills out and you come and BBQ with a bunch of people. I think J and I will definitely try that sometime next year! JB and I were sitting alone at a table and we kept having people come up to our table and ask if they could sit with us in the extra two chairs. We met so many people this way! Suddenly I was Miss Social Butterfly, chatting about wine and food. I was completely in my element. It just makes me even more confident that I am finding my purpose in this world--food. I can't wait to see where this path leads!

Hey look, I actually remembered to take a picture!

Nutella Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache

Adapted from The Picky Apple

Crust:

3 cups Oreo crumbs, divided

2 Tbsp white sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

Filling:

24 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 egg yolks

1 whole egg

1/2 cup milk

1 jar Nutella

Ganache:

1 cup heavy cream

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 Tbsp butter

1 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

Heat oven to 350.

Combine 2 cups crumbs with butter and sugar. Wrap springform pan in foil. Pat into the bottom of pan and bake for 15 minutes.

In bowl of mixer, beat cream cheese. Add sugar, flour, salt and vanilla until just combined. Add eggs, beat on low until just combined. Add milk and Nutella, beat until Nutella is completely mixed in.

Pour filling into springform pan.

Reduce heat to 300 Degrees. Place pan on cookie sheet and then place in oven. Bake for 1 hour, turn off oven and let bake for another 45 minutes, until center appears set when shaken lightly. Remove and cool on wire rack.

Bring cream to a boil. Pour over chocolate chips. Stir until smooth and shiny. Spread evenly over top of cheesecake.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight is better, to set.

Before serving, remove sides and bottom of pan. Carefully remove round of parchment paper from bottom of cake and place on serving dish.

Press remaining crumbs all around the cake to form the outside crust. Sprinkle toasted hazelnuts on top of cake (This is the perfect step if you, hm, have any cracks or have accidentally smudged the ganache. That's why I saved it for AFTER the refrigeration step. This ganache is soft enough to push the nuts into it.)

Note: Don't be surprised if you see me use some of the wines I bought today in my recipes. I only bought 4 bottles (and was given a bottle of Cranberry for entering a cake), but I will be going back to get more. I have no agreement with WW to use their wines, but they have several fantastic reds on their list. And the blackberry is to DIE for...Seriously, go check them out here.

Trying New Things

I've been looking forward to making this recipe since I found it. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I found this French-seeming recipe when I was reading "My Life in Paris." Maybe it's because I've never cooked with leeks before. What ever the reason, I knew I had to try it.

It wasn't difficult to make, though be very careful when prepping the leeks. It's hard to julienne those suckers! Also, they are very sandy, so be sure to rinse them in a big bowl of cold water before you cook with them.

Surprisingly, J. really liked this. I wasn't sure if he would, it's a little out of his comfort zone. We both felt that the angel hair was a little too delicate and mushy. Is there such a thing as al dente with such a teeny pasta? Next time I try this I will go with something sturdier, like vermicelli or even fettuccine.

Drunken Angel Hair with Leeks and Cream

From Serious Eats

3 leeks, whites and light greens sliced into julienne

1 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup water

1 bottle of white wine, 3/4 cup reserved (I used Oliver Gewurztraminer)

1 pound angel hair pasta

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1 Tbsp chervil, chopped (I used parsley, my store didn't have chervil)

Salt and fresh ground pepper

In a saute pan, melt the butter in 1/4 cup water on medium-high heat. Add the leeks and cover with a lid, turn heat down to low. Cook about 20 minutes, until soft. You might need to add more water if the pan gets dry.

Boil a large pot of water. Add a full bottle of wine, minus 3/4 cup, and a handful of salt. Add pasta to water and cook until al dente.

In pan with leaks, add 1/2 cup of wine, allow to reduce slightly. Add cream and heat through. Add the pasta and some pasta water, toss to combine. Add the final 1/4 cup of wine, chervil and Parmesan. Grind lots of black pepper on the top.