Sunday, March 11, 2012
Chipotle Shrimp with Mushrooms and wild rice
Ingredients:
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup sour cream or Greek-style yogurt
1 canned chipotle chile in adobo
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of cayenne
2 tablespoons butter, divided
8 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
Salt to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 pound medium shrimp (36-40 count), peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 cups cooked wild rice (see note)
To make the chipotle cream sauce, in a blender add the half-and-half, sour cream, canned chipotle chile, ground cumin, oregano, ground allspice and cayenne. Blend until smooth and light pink.
In a large skillet, on medium-low heat melt one tablespoon of butter. Add the mushrooms and the onions, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. While occasionally stirring, cook until onions are translucent and mushrooms have released are soft and released some of their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.
Remove mushrooms, onions and garlic from the skillet with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl.
Leaving the skillet on medium-low heat, add the remaining tablespoon of butter and lime juice to the skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a few minutes on each side until the shrimp is pink. Turn off the heat.
Return to the skillet the mushrooms, onions and garlic. Pour in the chipotle cream sauce and add the cilantro. Stir well to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more salt to taste.
Serve over warm cooked wild rice.
Yield: 4-6 servings
Note: Cook the wild rice according to its package directions or your preferred method. If you’ve never cooked it before, here’s what I do: I use a 4-to-1 ratio of water to wild rice, along with a tablespoon of butter and salt. I bring it to a boil uncovered, then cover the pot and let it simmer for about 50 minutes to an hour or until many of the kernels have popped and turned white, and it’s slightly soft enough to eat but still a little chewy.
olive oil granola
Olive Oil Granola
YIELD: about 6 cups
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour
ingredients:
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cups raw pistachios, hulled & coarsely chopped
1/3 raw sunflower seeds, hulled
1/4 cup pepitas
1/2 cup coconut flakes (sweetened or unsweetened, your preference)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon + 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 cup chopped dried cherries
1/3 cup dried apricots coarsely chopped
directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, combine oats, pistachios, sunflower seeds, pepitas, coconut flakes, maple syrup, honey, olive oil, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and cardamom. Spread mixture on a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden brown and well toasted.
Transfer granola to a large bowl and add dried cherries & apricots, tossing to combine. Serve atop greek yogurt, fresh ricotta, or anything you'd like.
Homemade Frozen Pizza
Homemade Frozen Pizza
YIELD: 3 (9-inch) pizzas
TOTAL TIME: 24 hours
ingredients:
For Crust:
2 1/4 cups bread flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon whole fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
7/8 cup (7 ounces) cold water
Cornmeal, for dusting
directions:
Stir together the flour, salt, and instant yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the oil and the cold water and stir on low speed until the flour is all absorbed. Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes, or as long as it takes to create a smooth, sticky dough. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. The finished dough will be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky.
Transfer the dough to floured work surface. Lightly oil a baking dish or platter. Cut the dough into 3 equal pieces, and gently shape each piece into a ball. Arrange the dough balls on the prepared dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. At this point the dough balls can also be frozen; simply wrap each ball individually in plastic wrap and place inside a zippered freezer bag. Transfer to the refrigerator the day before you plan on baking them.
Remove dough from refrigerator and let rise at room temperature for 2 hours.
At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone either on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F, allowing the baking stone to heat for at least 30 minutes.
On a lightly floured work surface, gently press and stretch the dough into disks about 9 inches in diameter. Generously dust a peel or the back of a sheet pan with semolina flour or cornmeal. Lay the stretched dough on the peel or pan, making sure there is enough semolina flour or cornmeal so it doesn't stick. Gently slide the crust on to the hot stone (or bake directly on a sheet pan). Bake until crust just starts to puff, about 3 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough balls.
Once crusts are cooled, arrange them on a baking sheet that has been lightly dusted with cornmeal. Top with desired toppings. Place pizzas in the freezer, uncovered, until completely frozen, 4-6 hours, then wrap in a double layer of plastic wrap and place inside a large zip-top freezer bag, removing as much air as possible. I also found that using a 9-inch cake round covered in foil worked well as a sturdy base for the pizza.
To bake, preheat oven to 425ºF. Transfer frozen pizza to a pizza pan or baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly and starts to brown.
