Let’s cook!

Roasted  Jumbo Shrimp with Crabmeat Stuffing

For the shrimp:

15 – 20 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails left on

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons olive oil

For the crabmeat stuffing:

12 oz fresh spinach

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 lb crabmeat

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

salt and white pepper to taste

dash of Tabasco saucec

dash of Worcesterhire sauce

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

To prepare the stuffing, bring a small saucepan of water to a boil, add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes.

Drain the spinach, gently squeeze dry, and set aside. In a small bowl, mix the flour and butter together using your fingers.

Pour the cream into a small saucepan, bring to a boil, then remove from the heat.

Add the flour/butter mixture to the pan and whisk until is has thicken.

In a large bowl, mix together the crab, cooked spinach, and cream sauce.

Add the Parmesan, nutmeg, salt, pepper, garlic power, Tabasco, and Worcestershire.

Mix well and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, deeply butterfly the shrimp cutting them in half along the vein side while leaving the tail attached.

Flatten out the shrimp and arrange cut side up on the baking sheet.

Place 1 tablespoon of the crab mixture on top of each shrimp.

Pour the wine into the pan.

Drizzle the olive oil over the shrimp.

Place the shrimp in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.

Transfer 4 – 5 shrimp to each plate and spritz with lemon. I served corn with this.

Here is the close-up:

Happy Cooking!

Let’s Cook! 

Spicy Corn Dip

2 cans (11oz) Mexi-corn

16oz sour cream

1 cup Duke’s Mayonnaise

1 whole lime, juiced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

4 stalks green onions, chopped

1 teaspoon cumin

1-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

2 bags of Frito Scoops

Mix together corn, sour cream and mayonnaise into a storage cotainer.

Add lime juice.

Add the chopped green onions and cilantro.

Add the cumin and cayenne pepper.

Mix in shredded cheese. Top the dish with more cheese.

Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight. Serve with Frito scoops and enjoy.

Due to the travel schedule over the next few days, Thomas will be taking Thanksgiving off from posting, but he’ll be back this weekend with some great recipes.  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone–hope you enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

Let’s cook!

Fried Green Tomatoes

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 cup buttermilk

4 large unripe tomatoes

1/2 cup vegetable oil

hot sauce, for serving

ranch dressing, for serving

In a large bowl combine the cornmeal, flour, garlic, and cayenne pepper.

Pour the buttermilk into another bowl and season with salt and pepper. Slice the tomatoes into 1/2-inch thick slices.

Dip the tomatoes in the buttermilk.

Now dredge into cornmeal mixture, coating both sides well.

In a large cast iron skillet over medium heat add vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add tomato.

Cook on each side for 4 minutes and turn over using tongs.

Carefully remove the tomatoes and let them drain on paper towels for 5 minutes. Here is how I plated this dish.

Here is the close-up:

I served the tomatoes with ranch dressing and hot sauce but you could also do any type of sauce or dressing to your taste.  The tomatoes were a hit, and it was worth the extra effort put into the appetizer portion of the meal.  Be sure to try the recipe and let me know how you like it.  One bit of advice, the best results are with a fryer if you have one, and if not, the oil in the pan will do in a pinch (as shown above).

Happy Cooking!

Yetter’s Chicken Wonton Cups:

2 cans of cans of chicken breast

Half a package of wonton wrappers

Large bag of shredded mexican cheese blend

1 small bottle of ranch dressing

1 green bell pepper diced

1 red pepper diced

1 jalapeno diced

taco seasoning

cayenne pepper

Tabasco sauce

Olive Oil

Preheat your oven to 350 and take each wonton wrapper, coat in olive oil. Place the wonton wrappers into muffin tins to form a bowl.

Bake the wonton wrappers for about 5-8 minutes and watch them for slight browning on the edges. Take them out and set aside.

Now mix into a large bowl the two cans of chicken and bottle of ranch dressing.

Mix the bag of cheese and taco seasoning and cayanne pepper  in a bowl–just enough to make the cheese look dirty.

Now time to fill the wonton shells in the following order: scoop of chicken/ranch, cheese, diced peppers, and small piece of jalapeno with a shot of tabasco sauce on top.

Put the filled shells back into the oven and cook until lightly brown/cheese is melted and bubbly.

Here is the finished wontons on a serving platter:

Brooke’s Cheese Cups:

1 1/2 cups of grated white cheddar cheese (buy the block and grate it yourself it melts better)

1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella

1 package of pancetta

1 regular block of cream cheese

3 boxes of phyllo cups

small bunch of fresh chives for garnish

Slice your pancetta and then cut into cubes.

Now take the cubed pancetta and saute in pan until light brown and almost cripy. Preheat your oven to 375.

I rest the sauted pancetta on several paper towels to absorb the greese. Now mix all the cheese together with pancetta and be ready to get your hands dirty since you will be mixing it with your hands.

Once the cheeses and pancetta are mixed well, form into a ball and add to a freezer bag–push down to one corner , as you will cute the corner of the bag in order to pipe the mixture into the phyllo cups. Remove the phyllo cups from the box and put them onto a cookie sheet. Take your cheese bag , snip the corner, and pour in enough cheese mix to fill each cup.

Bake the cheese/pancetta filled phyllo cups until cheese is melted–about 15 minutes. Then garnish each cup with fresh chives.

Ok here is the general setting we did for the party. I hope you all enjoy and guys trust me just make one of these the next time you have a party. It is really an easy task to help in the kitchen for any party!  There is no bigger compliment to your food than having empty serving dishes at the end of the night.

Happy Cooking!