GARLIC SHRIMP & CRISPY KALE PASTA

What You’ll Need:

• 1 1b uncooked large shrimp/prawns with shell on
• 1/2 cup cooking Sherry
• 1 lemon
• 10 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• salt to taste
• 3 bunches of dark organic kale, coarsely chopped
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• more salt/pepper to taste
• 1 1b angel hair pasta
• olive oil &/or butter (to add to pasta after cooking so it won’t stick, add to your liking)
• Everyday Seasoning or 21 Season Salute (from Trader Joe’s) or multi herb seasoning similar
• Parmesan cheese to taste

What To Do: 

• Combine shrimp/prawns, Sherry, juice from 1 lemon, 7 cloves chopped garlic, olive oil, crushed red pepper and a sprinkling of salt in bowl and marinate for 20 minutes minimum (the longer the better).
• Prepare salt water on stove to begin cooking process for pasta.
• Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in large skillet over med-high heat; Add kale for about 5 min, stirring occasionally; sprinkle with apple cider vinegar (or a little lemon juice) and season with a little salt, pepper and everyday seasoning or 21 Season Salute; continue cooking and stirring occasionally until kale is crispy (about 15-18 min total); lower heat for the last couple of minutes and add 3 garlic cloves, chopped.  Turn off heat and cover to keep warm.
• Bring med-large skillet to med-high heat; Pour in shrimp/prawns and it’s marinade juices; Cook until underside of prawns have turned pink; Flip prawns over and cook other side until color is pink. Don’t overcook shrimp.
• While shrimp is sautéing, cook and drain pasta and add olive oil &/or butter to moisten. Season with salt/pepper and parmesan cheese to taste.
• On each plate, first place pasta, then a helping of kale, and top with shrimp/prawns; After doling out helpings, pour remaining juice in pan over each serving equally; Season with parmesan cheese or salt to individual liking. (Serves 4)

TURKEY GUMBO

What You’ll Need for Turkey Broth:

• 1 turkey carcass
• 3 ribs celery, cut into 4-inch pieces
• 2 medium onions, quartered
• 4 quarts water, or enough to cover the carcass
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 4 bay leaves

What You’ll Need for Gumbo:

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup flour
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1/2 cup chopped bell peppers
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 pound smoked sausage, such as andouille or kielbasa, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3 quarts Turkey Broth
• Reserved turkey meat from broth
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
• 3/4 lb prawns (optional)
• white rice

What To Do for Turkey Broth:

1. Place the carcass in a large stockpot. Add the celery, onions, water, salt, peppercorns, and bay leaves.
2. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours. Remove from the heat. Skim any fat that has risen to the surface.
3. Strain through a large fine-mesh sieve. Reserve any meat that has fallen off the bones and pick off any meat that may still remain on the carcass.
4. Reserve the onions and celery for gumbo. Use right away or store the broth in quart containers in the freezer.

What To Do for Gumbo:

1. Combine the oil and flour in a large cast-iron pot or enameled cast-iron Dutch oven, over medium heat. Stirring slowly and constantly for 20 to 25 minutes, make a dark brown roux, the color of chocolate.
2. Season the onions, bell peppers, and celery with the salt and cayenne. Add this to the roux and stir until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage, the dried thyme and oregano, and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Add the reserved turkey meat and the reserved onions and celery and cook for 15 minutes. Add the parsley and green onions.
3. Serve in soup bowls with rice. (Filé powder can be added at the table according to personal taste.)
4. Note: If you want to make a Turkey Gumbo and don’t have a carcass, roast 3 1/2 pounds of turkey wings until browned and use them for your broth instead and add roasted turkey to the gumbo.

*** This delicious recipe is courtesy of Emerils.com.***

PERFECT BUTTER PIE CRUST

What You’ll Need (yields 1 9-inch pie crust):

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled extra cold and diced
• 1/8-1/4 cup ice water

What To Do: 

1. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt.
2. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Can use a pastry blender or pulse in food processor until it resembles coarse crumbs. **TIP: To make butter extra cold, freeze first and add to flour & salt using a cheese grater!
3. Transfer flour, salt and butter mixture into large bowl & gently toss ice cold water into crumbs 1 tsp at a time with a fork just enough for the dough to be able to hold it together and no more. **TIP: Use water that has been chilled in the freezer until ice crystals form. **TIP: Do not use food processor to incorporate water – it’s too easy to overwork the dough, and too much water will make the crust tough.
4.  Make hands cold by running under very cold water, pat dry and form the dough into a flattened ball. The dough should have small bits of butter… this makes the crust flaky.
5. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 4 hours but not more than overnight.
6. As you are ready to roll out the dough, realize you may need to roll out the dough twice. The first roll-out is usually crumbly, uneven, and has large breaks. Gently gather in edges to form another ball, flip it smooth-side up, and roll out again. A smooth, round, even crust should be easier the second roll out and fit into a 9 inch pie plate. Use a dusting of flour on the rolling pin and work surface through rolling process if necessary. Don’t over-flour.
7. Use an extra large spatula and transfer to pie plate.

** Note: This recipe yields only ONE 9-inch pie crust. Repeat ingredients and instructions for dough/crust to place on top of pie filling.  Pinch sides together and poke holes in top dough before baking. Or, if you really want to get creative, cut top dough into strips and place in criss-cross pattern as shown in the demo photo. Enjoy!  And Happy Holidays!!

**Source of ingredients & photo is a combination of recipes and techniques from AllRecipes.com.

CHERRY TOMATO-KALE PASTA with GARLIC SCALLOPS

What You’ll Need:

• 1 lb pasta (angel hair, spaghetti, linguini, linguini fini) – Choose your favorite!
• 1 lb sea scallops (rinsed and cleaned)
• 8 cloves garlic, chopped (4 for cooking with scallops, 4 for the tomatoes)
• olive oil
• crushed red pepper to taste
• salt & pepper
• 1 large bunch of kale, spine removed and coarsely chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 16 oz cherry tomatoes (I like using a mix from Trader Joe’s of red, yellow & orange)
• “Everyday Seasoning” from Trader Joe’s (in the grinder) or equivalent multi herb seasoning
• salt of garlic salt
• Parmesan cheese
• 8-10 leaves fresh basil to taste

What To Do:

– Boil salted water and cooking pasta according to directions; and add olive oil after cooking; combine to thoroughly coat pasta with olive oil.

– Bring about 2 Tbsp olive oil to medium-high heat. Add scallops and brown on all sides until cooked through. Throw in crushed red pepper to taste. Add 4 chopped garlic cloves to scallops about 2 minute before total cooking time is complete.

– In the meantime, heat 1-2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet and add kale. lemon juice, salt/pepper and some Trader Joe’s “Everyday Seasoning”. Cook about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

– Cut cherry tomatoes in half; heat another 2 Tbsp olive oil in large medium-sized skillet under medium heat and add tomatoes to pan with kale. Add a little salt & pepper to the tomatoes and cook about 5 minutes. Add 4 chopped cloves of garlic to tomatoes about 2 minute before total cooking time is complete.

– Combine cooked pasta and tomatoes mixture and toss with Parmesan cheese and fresh, sliced basil. Salt as needed. Add more olive oil to loosen pasta as necessary. Enjoy!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH & ITALIAN SAUSAGE RISOTTO

What You’ll Need

• 1 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 to 1.5 lb sweet Italian Sausage
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• salt/pepper to taste
• 1 c shallots, chopped
• 1.5 c Arborio rice
• 1 c dry white wine
• 4-6 c chicken broth
• 1/4 c butter
• 1/2-3/4 c Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 c fresh basil, sliced

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss butternut squash in 2 Tbsp olive oil and add salt/pepper to taste.  Place squash in baking pan and roast for 25-30 min.  Set aside.
2. In the meantime, BBQ sausages on grill over medium heat, turning frequently until cooked through. Slice and set aside with squash.
3. In large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat; add shallots for 2 minutes; Add rice and stir constantly until rice is a little shiny/”glassy” in appearance; be sure not to overcook/burn.
4. Turn to med-high heat and add white wine and cook down until liquid is almost gone; repeat until rice is “al dente.”
5. Stir in butter, Parmesan cheese, squash and sausage to warm through; garnish with basil. Serve immediately.

MAC & CHEESE with a LITTLE KICK

What You’ll Need:

• 16 oz. macaroni pasta
• 8 Tbsp butter
• 8 Tbps flour
• 2 c cream
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tsp salt
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• 4 c shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup-3/4 c spicy jalapeño dip (purchased at favorite deli)
• 1/2 c panko bread crumbs, buttered

What To Do:

1.  Pre-heat oven 400 degrees fahrenheit.
2.  Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions; set aside.
3.  In a large saucepan melt butter.
4.  Add flour mixed with salt and pepper, using a whisk to stir until well blended.
5.  Pour milk and cream in gradually; stirring constantly.
6.  Bring to boiling point and boil 2 minutes (stirring constantly).
7.  Reduce heat and cook (stirring constantly) 10 minutes.
8.  Add shredded cheddar little by little and simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese melts.
9.  Add desired amount of jalapeño dip.
10.  Turn off flame (very important not to burn down the house)
11.  Add macaroni to the saucepan and toss to coat with the cheese sauce.
12.  Transfer macaroni to a buttered baking dish.
13.  Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
14.  Bake ~20 minutes until the top is golden brown. You may broil at very end to finish browning process

This recipe was slightly altered (jalapeño dip added), but originally derived from Food.com.

KOREAN FLANK STEAK

What You’ll Need:

• 1/4 c soy sauce
•  2 Tbsp rice unseasoned vinegar
• 1 Tbsp peeled grated fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tsp Sriracha sauce (or to taste)
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp Asian sesame oil
• 1 to 1 1/4 lb flank steak
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

What To Do:

– Stir ingredients together and place in gallon zip-lock bag with steak.  Marinate for at least 30 min.

– Oil grill rack, and grill steak 6-8 min on each side for medium rare.  In the meantime, take marinate and boil for 7 min.  Set aside for drizzling at serving time.

– Transfer steak to cutting board, drizzle with 2 Tbsp cooked sauce, let stand uncovered for 5 min.

– Thinly slice steak across the grain.  Serve with remaining cooked sauce, scallions, and toasted sesame seeds.  Excellent over white rice and/or with soft leaf lettuce.

– This delicious recipe is courtesy of Epicurious.com.