Friday Night Dinner

Friday night I decided to cook dinner & sent out a text to a few of my girlfriends to come over, and before I knew it I had four hungry girls knocking on my door! The menu included: spicy lemon garlic shrimp, walnut salad, and artichoke pesto served on garlic bread. I had been drooling over that shrimp and pesto recipe all week...... I just drooled over my keyboard thinking about it again. Dinner was a success...how do I know? Well let me tell you, the only way to tell if your dinner was a success is if everyone over eats and leaves your house full and uncomfortable! Success! Sorry this blog post will be long because I will just post all three recipes in one....not really sure why I just apologized since you aren't obligated to read it..wait yes you are.

Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp:

I'm starting to learn that you can cook shrimp so many different ways, and I want to try all of them! Anyway, like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it. NAME THAT MOVIE! If you said Forrest Gump please tap yourself on the back. Overall, the sauce on the shrimp was delicious, and I promise you that all etiquette will be thrown out the window and you will lick your plate clean.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Raw Shrimp, Deveined, Shells On
• 2 sticks Cold Unsalted Butter Cut Into Pieces
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 4 cloves Garlic, Peeled
• 1/4 cup Fresh Parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
• 1 whole Lemon, Juiced

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse frozen shrimp to separate, then arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet.

In the bowl of a food processor, add cold butter, garlic, lemon juice, salt, parsley, and red pepper. Pulse until combined. Sprinkle cold butter crumbles over the shrimp.

Bake until shrimp is opaque and butter is hot and bubbly

Artichoke Pesto

This pesto makes a great appetizer. Toss some warm bread in the oven & put this pesto spread on it...mmm mmmm mmm. Please don't literally toss the bread in the oven...just making that clear.The frozen artichoke hearts were hard to find, but our lil friend TRADER JOE had it....always can count on that guy!

Ingredients

Before the freezer:

• 1 (8-ounce) pack frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
• 1 cup fresh parsley leaves, packed down
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

After the freezer:

• 2/3 cup grated Parmesan (2 teaspoons per cube)
• 1 (12 to 16-inch) ciabatta loaf, cut into slices
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Directions

In a food processor combine the artichoke, parsley, walnuts,lemon zest and juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Run the machine to finely chop all the ingredients, stopping the machine a few times to scrape down the sides. Then, with the machine running, drizzle in 1/2 cup extra virgin oil. Spoon the pesto into the cups of an ice cube tray. Tapping the tray gently on the counter to remove any air bubbles.

When ready to serve, thaw the pesto. Mix in the Parmesan. Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Drizzle the ciabatta slices with the 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. Grill until toasted, about 5 minutes. Spread the artichoke pesto over the toasted slices and serve.

Walnut Salad

This is  my favorite salad, I've been making it for years. Very simple but very good. Be careful not to forget your walnuts in the oven when toasting them...uhhh not saying I did that or anything.

 Ingredients

• 4 ounces walnuts, whole
• 1 Tbsp melted butter
• 1 Tbsp sugar

• 2 Tbsp honey mustard
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1 lb mixed salad greens, including fresh baby spinach
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1-2 inch thin slices

Method

1 Preheat oven to 300°F. Place walnuts in a bowl, pour melted butter over them, sprinkle with sugar, and gently toss until the pecans are all well coated with a dusting of sugar. Place them in a single layer on a parchment paper or Silpat lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool to touch.
2 Whisk together the honey mustard, garlic, red pepper flakes, and balsamic vinegar in a medium sized bowl. Slowly drizzle the oil into the mixture, whisking constantly until completely incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3 Place lettuces and baby spinach in a large bowl. Add the goat cheese, dried cranberries, red bell pepper, and pecans. Toss with 1/4 cup of the dressing.





 

THAT'S IT FOLKS...HAPPY COOKING!