Saturday, August 04, 2007

d is for delicious

Shrimp Verdura Alfredo

As you may have noticed, I really enjoy cooking. I love food…and more so, love preparing food for those I love. I like experimenting, just as much I like eating, and have been pretty fortunate in my experiments going all right. Except for the horrific ham incident of 2004 (or maybe '05). Luckily, Mom, Lonny and I were smart enough to toss whatever it was I concocted and probably ate frozen pizza instead. It was so tragic that I have pushed almost all recollection of it from my mind. I just know it happened and involved leftover ham.

Tonight was another experiment, but nothing too daring. Just trying to work with what we had left in the house. And it turned out pretty yummy…especially my alfredo sauce, which according to Mike has been my best to date.

I call it Shrimp Vedura Alfredo, and it may even be considered a 30 minute meal. It was very fast, taking just a little longer than it takes to boil water and then cook pasta.

Shrimp Verdura Alfredo (serves 4, or 2 very hungry people)
Pasta
a handful of spaghetti
• dash of sea salt for the water

Sauce
2 tbs butter
• 2 tbs flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• dash of pepper
• 1.5 cups of skim milk
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan

"the meat"
• 3 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 2 tbs of olive oil
30 small shrimp
• half a bag of frozen veggies (I used a stir fry mix)

1. Set pot of water to boil.
2. In a pan, saute garlic in 1 tbs of oil until it starts to brown.
3. Add shrimp to garlic and saute until cooked/heated through.
4. Add veggies to pan with additional oil, and saute until everything is evenly heated at a med-low heat (to buy yourself some time).
5. Add pasta to boiling water.
6. As pasta & "the meat" is cooking, melt butter in small saucepot.
7. When melted, slowly add flour, salt and pepper while whisking constantly. You want it smooth, no lumps.
8. As rue begins to bubble and brown, slowly add milk while still whisking. You want everything to combine before you add more milk.
9. Once all milk is added, you will want to cook this until the sauce starts to thicken. While you are whisking, you can slowly add parmesan until it is integrated in.
10. Once the sauce starts to bubble & thicken, you will need to cook it for about a minute longer then it is ready to serve. Make sure to taste it! You want it to taste like something other than milk, so if it's bland add more cheese or salt.
11. Drain pasta, plate and Buon Cibo!


Here's some links to some other delicious food I've "showcased."
Lasagna Rozale Click on the link for Posie Gets Cozy, you will not be sorry!
Mini Spinach Quiche
Chicken Mushroom Quesadilla, but on Rice
Eggplant Parmesan
Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream
Stuffed Zucchini

If you have any delicious recipes, please send them my way (or me their way, whichever works). As part of my 101 Things in 1001 days, I am aiming to try one new recipe a week and am definitely looking for great food to add to the recipe box. We've had it for 3 years and is yet to be really used…I think there may be one or two recipes cards filled out in it. My goal is by the end of my 1001 days to severely cut down the recipes I've torn out of magazines, and to get the good ones (the tested, tried and true ones) into the recipe box. It's a huge undertaking (I have 10 color coded folders filled with clipped recipes that just looked good) but it needs to be done. Sooner, rather than later. Or Mike will be proved right when he teases me for my obsessive magazine page tearing out.

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