Roasted Shrimp Cocktail

Shrimp lovers, let's make a bet.

Make this recipe and you will never again  be as excited about boiled shrimp cocktail. Not to take the wind out of your sails for boiled shrimp, but the simple step of tossing these with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasting gives so much more flavor than boiling in water and serving ice cold.

This is one of my favorites for an appetizer or cocktail party because it's easy and fancy all at the same time.

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

Roasted Shrimp Cocktail
Adapted from Ina Garten
Recipe Notes
One thing that makes this recipe incredibly easy is if your shrimp are already peeled (tails left on) and deveined when you buy them.  My go to store for this item is Costco.  In their freezer section, they have large 15- 20 count shrimp (and they also carry larger shrimp) in 2 1/2 pound bags for $9.99 a pound.  This is such a steal for the fact that they are high quality shrimp and they are already peeled a deveined. You can look up homemade cocktail sauce recipes, but I like the prepared cocktail and remoulade sauce from Central Market that can be bought in the seafood section (literally in the seafood section, on ice, next to the fish). 
Ingredients
2 lbs. large shrimp (15-20 count), peeled and deveined with tails left on
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
To Serve:
Cocktail Sauce
Remoulade Sauce
Step by Step
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place shrimp on a baking sheet.  Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and spread in one layer.  Roast for 8-10 minutes, just until pink and cooked through.  Set aside to cool.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 6 to 8 servings. 

Panko Crusted Salmon

This is not a new dish to my kitchen, but I finally was able to take a picture of what has become my favorite salmon recipe.  My favorite part is that is feels a bit fancy, but could not be easier to make. Panko breadcrumbs have such a great crunch and the herbs give it such fresh flavor.  Panko is a Japanese bread crumb that stays crunchy when regular bread crumbs can become soggy and gives you a good crunch without frying. This is such a great quick one.  

Thanks to my friend Mary for passing this one on!

From my little kitchen to yours... enjoy.

Panko Crusted Salmon
Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil

2 pieces, thick boneless salmon fillets

1 tablespoon honey mustard

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped

1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

1 tablespoon parsley

1/4 teaspoon paprika

2 lemon wedges

Step by Step

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Set salmon on a foil lined baking sheet, skin side down.  Sprinkle heavily with salt and pepper.  In a small bowl, mix the rosemary, bread crumbs, parsley and paprika.  Spread a thin layer of honey mustard on each fillet.  Top salmon with a packed layer of the bread crumbs.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  

Roast the salmon for 10-14 minutes.  Test salmon to make sure it is firm all the way through and starts to flake when poked with a fork.  Squeeze lemon juice on each fillet and serve.

Makes 2 servings. 

Crunchy Shrimp with Asian Sauce

I just love chinese food, but have never been to really replicate my favorite take-out dishes at home.  When my friend Rachel told me about this recipe, I knew I wanted to try it immediately and I was so excited to have a new yummy dish with an Asian flare.  The best part would definitely be that this is a much healthier version of Chinese food as well.  You can make it with brown rice too for even a healthier twist.  This dish was extremely easy to throw together and so good we will be making it again and again.  When Rachel sent me this recipe, there were no measurements included for the sauce so  I added below exactly what I did in case you like to follow a recipe exactly, but feel free to change it up because you really can't mess it up! Enjoy!

Crunchy Shrimp with Asian Sauce
Recipe Notes
When lightly frying the shrimp, a lot of my panko bread crumbs fell off.  This will probably happen to you too, but just remove the crunchies that fall of when you take the shrimp out of the pan.  When spooning the shrimp onto the rice, spoon the crispies onto the rice as well.  If you leave them all in the pan while making the sauce, they will 2 become soggy and you will lose that good crunch.  I thought serving the sauce on the side worked best for two reasons... Everyone likes to pour a different amount of sauce and that keep the bread crumbs crunchy until right before eating.  Also, the sauce is quite salty so you do not really use it all.  You can also try this breading method with other meats like chicken or pork if you are not a shrimp fan.
Ingredients
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs, mixed with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper
1 1/2 cups of shrimp (about 25 medium sized shrimp_
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 a bunch of green onions, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup of chicken broth
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1 cup of button mushrooms, roughly chopped
steamed rice
Step by Step
1.  Dip shrimp in egg white and then into bread crumbs to coat each shrimp evenly.
2.  Heat olive oil over medium to high heat in a large saute pan or skillet.
3.  Lightly fry shrimp for about 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until shrimp are cooked through and bread crumbs are browned.
4.  Remove shrimp and crunchy bread crumbs from pan and cover with foil to keep warm.
5.  In the same pan, add green onions, chicken broth, soy sauce and mushrooms.  Let sauce come to a slight boil and stir.  Turn down heat and allow to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
6.  Spoon shrimp and crunchies on top of steamed rice and serve with sauce on the side.

Shrimp Tacos

These have become an instant favorite.  And I have to say I am extra excited to post this because it is a quick and easy recipe I came up with myself! I still get such a kick out of creating a dish that is delicious that I didn't follow a specific recipe.  You can easily throw this together for a weeknight dinner and it is very budget friendly.  Another great perk is that this is a very healthy dinner as well especially if you are craving Mexican food.  We loved these so much that I made them two nights in a row.  The shrimp have so much flavor and the tacos taste like they could have come from your local taqueria.  Enjoy!

Shrimp Tacos
Serves 2
Recipe Notes
This recipe calls for jarred tomatillo sauce.  This is simply a Mexican green salsa that can be found at any grocery store.  It is usually found near other salsas and dips.
Ingredients
6 corn tortillas
1 1/2- 2 cups uncooked, peeled and deveined shrimp (about 25 medium sized shrimp)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 an avocado, sliced
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 cup store bought tomatillo sauce (also known as mexican green sauce)
Step by Step
1.  In a medium sized bowl, toss shrimp with salt, chili powder, garlic powder and pepper.  Toss to coat shrimp.  Squeeze 3/4 of a lime over shrimp.
2.  Heat olive oil over medium heat in a  nonstick skillet.
3.  Add shrimp and cook for 5-10 minutes until shrimp are opaque and cooked through.  Toss a few times to let shrimp cook evenly.  Squeeze the last 1/4 of the lime onto the shrimp.
4.  While shrimp are cooking, heat a large skillet over medium to high heat. Place corn tortillas on dry pan one at a time until lightly browned.  Turn and brown the other side.  Keep warm in foil until all tortillas have been heated.
5.  Add 3-4 shrimp to each corn tortilla.  Top with 1-2 teaspoons of tomatillo sauce followed by avocado slices and cilantro. Serve Immediately.

Salmon with Tomato Avocado Salsa

So it is officially time to get more quick, easy and healthy dinner recipes on the Little Kitchen!  Sorry, I have not been ignoring your requests it's just that it is so much fun to make cupcakes and pizza!  So I thought this week I would feature a couple delicious and healthy weeknight meals. I combined a couple of recipes to come up with this one and I have to say it turned out pretty darn good.  I used a simple technique for the salmon and paired it with a tomato avocado salsa I found from Emeril Lagasse.  We really enjoyed this and salsa on top makes it a perfect dish for a hot day when you can get great corn and tomatoes at the grocery store.  You could also use grilled chicken if you are not a big salmon fan or throw this salmon on the grill instead of broiling.  Enjoy!

Salmon with Tomato Avocado Salsa

Serves 2

Adapted from Emeril Lagasse in Food Everyday

Ingredients

2 salmon fillets, skin removed (about 6 ounces each)

salt 

pepper

garlic powder

1 ear of corn, husks and silk removed

1 vine-ripened tomato, core removed and cut into small chunks

1 avocado, halved, pitted and diced

1/4 small red onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Step by Step

1.  In a large pot of boiling water, cook corn until tender, about 4 minutes.

2.  Remove from water and cut corn cob in half (see picture below).

3.  Using a sharp knife, slice downward to release corn kernels.

4.  In a medium size bowl, combine corn kernels, tomato, avocado, onion, parsley, 1 tablespoon olive oil, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Toss to combine and set aside.

5.  Preheat oven to broil.

6.  Brush both sides of salmon with olive oil.  Heavily sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder on one side of salmon.  Place salmon fillets, seasoned side up on a heavy cookie sheet cover with foil.

7.  Broil salmon for about 10 minutes per inch of thickness (broil about 5 to 7 minutes for thinner steaks).  When salmon is golden brown on top, remove from oven.   

8.  Top each piece of salmon with half of the tomato avocado salsa and serve.

Tip for cutting corn off the cob: I don't know about your experience with corn in the kitchen, but any time I try to remove the kernels, I end up with most of them sprayed around the kitchen.  Cut the corn in half first and the kernels will not fly as far.