Malaysian Cognac-Coconut Shrimp

15-minute meals always get my attention, and if you like  coconut with  shrimp, you'll be grateful for this entree, which elevates it  light-years  beyond the ubiquitous  coconut-crusted frozen  shrimp sold as appetizers  everywhere.

Here, the  toasted coconut is not a crust; it's  only on the shrimp as part of a very scant, very thin  but very delicious glaze  that is spooned over  shrimp and   brown, saffron,  jasmine,  or white rice.  Because we live far, far from civilization and I must grow my own red Thai bird peppers, this dish only appears  on our  table in summer.  I really need to experiment with more readily available hot peppers.

   Thai bird peppers can be  tiny, and if you don't like 'hot', no problem, they're not meant to be ingested here anyway----  use them whole  --- then  simply pluck them out  when serving or better yet, leave them in for color and remind people not to eat them.   But don't just skip using them; they add an important depth of flavor to the dish.

This goes together quickly, so have  all your ingredients next to the stove, and your rice  and sides ready before you begin the shrimp.  Shrimp toughens too quickly  for the cook to be  collecting  what you need as they're cooking.

Use a pound of the largest raw shrimp you can find  -  shell  & clean them well, rinse, butterfly,  and dry thoroughly  on paper towels.  In a small  dry skillet, toast 1/4 cup flaked or chipped coconut, stirring very frequently so it  browns evenly but doesn't burn. Set  aside. Chipped ( flat chips, flaked) coconut is worth looking for.

In a large wok or pan, heat 1-2 TB  veg oil til just  it begins smoking and add the shrimp just briefly- a minute or two, until you think they are about halfway cooked; then remove from the pan.  Add 3 green  onions, green and whites,  cut in 2" lengths, a TB of chopped garlic, a big pinch of salt and  maybe a half dozen little  red Thai bird peppers.  Don't skip the peppers!  Stir just briefly, for less than a minute, before adding 4 TB butter, 6 TB cognac, 2 tsp sugar. Reduce a minute or two, then return the shrimp to the pan and finish cooking   for a couple minutes more.  The sauce should  glaze  the shrimp.  Stir in the  toasted coconut and serve immediately, spooning the sauce over the shrimp.  It's tempting to use a very large pan, but your sauce will  cook off too quickly over a larger surface and there won't be enough; better to use a medium skillet,  cook the shrimp in two batches, then combine them  at the end.

Credit for this recipe may go to Jaden Hair, although I've seen it several places...once a recipe circulates thru magazines and the internet, it's hard to know who invented and who tweaked what. In any case,  it's  simply delicious!

Shrimp and Chorizo Stew

Sausage and seafood in a   one-pot  dinner  in less than 30 minutes, delicious!  Potatoes are pretty much nonexistent  at our house,  so I replace them  with extra kale and shrimp, and the calorie and carb   count drop dramatically.    Be sure to buy Spanish chorizo, not Mexican ~  they are very different in both taste and texture. And don't use bulk  chorizo.

Heat  1/4 c  EV  olive oil  in a Dutch oven- size -pan over medium heat. Add 1 large  diced Spanish onion, 4 cloves  peeled & smashed garlic, & cook til golden, about 15 minutes.  Add 4 oz  sliced Spanish chorizo, casings removed.  2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp kosher salt.  Cook til the oil turns deep red, about 2 minutes.  Add  1 c.  roughly chopped canned whole plum tomatoes, ( reserve the juice) 2 bay leaves, 1/4 tsp each thyme and oregano.  Cook 1 minute.

Add 1 lb russet potatoes, peeled, in 1" chunks, 2 c. water, the reserved tomato juice and 1 tsp kosher salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover & simmer til potatoes are almost tender, about 15 minutes.  Add  1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves roughly chopped.  Cook about 10 minutes, til both the potatoes and kale are tender. Stir in 1 lb medium  raw shrimp, peeled and deveined..Simmer just til they curl and turn pink, about 4 minutes,  Discard the bay leaves before serving.   Great with crusty bread for mopping up the broth.

Creamy White Seafood Lasagna

This easy, creamy lasagna crammed with 2 pounds of seafood was a popular dish  when I was catering. 

Preheat the  oven to 350.  Cook a box of lasagna noodles and put some in the bottom  of  a greased 9 x13 lasagna pan. Cook 1 chopped onion in 2 TB butter til tender, blend in 8 oz.  cream cheese,  12 oz cottage cheese, 1 beaten egg, 2 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper.

Combine 2 cans cream of mushroom soup, 1/3 c. milk, and 1/3 c. white wine. Stir in 1 lb cooked shrimp, halved lengthwise, 8 oz drained, cleaned  crabmeat, 1/2 lb  small cooked  bay scallops.  Combine the two sauces.

Make layers of noodles and  sauce. Sprinkle 1/4 c.  Parmesan cheese over the top layer. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, then top with  14/c.  chopped parsley and 1/2 c. shredded Swiss  cheese and let it melt. Let lasagna stand 10 minutes for better slicing.

 

Butterflied Vermouth Shrimp

We like the subtle vermouth flavor, the quick cooking time, and  the  light, airy barely-there   coating that makes the shrimp crisp til the vermouth hits them, then mellows.

In a cup mix ½ c water, 1/3 c dry vermouth, 1 tsp instant  chicken bouillon, 1/2  t salt, 1/8 t pepper. Butterfly 1 lb jumbo  shrimp: remove shells, hold under running water to remove vein, slice through  the backs  ¾ of the way, flatten.  Drain.  In a  bowl beat 1 egg with a fork. 

Measure ½ c flour on wax paper, Mix shrimp with egg in bowl,  then coat  lightly with flour, hit & miss technique is fine..    Heat 2 TB butter & 2 TB canola or vegetable oil  in skillet over medium til hot… cook in two batches, til lightly browned, - about 2 min each  side- remove as they brown.   They will just be a pretty golden color, not really brown at all.

Return all shrimp to skillet, stir in vermouth mixture, over med high, heat to boiling; cook 1 minute to blend flavors. sprinkle with a little parsely.   Makes 4   entree servings.

Captains Shrimp Delight

When I asked a  fried-chicken chain restaurant owner  for a
 favorite recipe for a cookbook I was compiling, this  one is what he  hand-wrote.    Shrimp?   I was expecting a chicken recipe.   Using  unusual  ingredients--- bottled salad dressings, baking powder, bacon and chili powder-----it was intriguing enough that I  felt compelled to do a little quality  test that very day.    Not only is it good, but   it's an easy   last-minute dish....as long as I keep a bag of shrimp in the freezer, I can put it together in a jif.  I  usually make a half-recipe.

Have your rice  cooked  before you start, this only takes a few minutes to prepare.   Fry 4 bacon strips til crisp, remove and crumble.   Saute  2 lb. large peeled  raw shrimp in the bacon fat for about 4 minutes, until they begin to turn pink.  If making a full recipe,  you will  have to do this in  2 or 3 batches before putting them all together in the pan. Don't try to crowd them all in at one time.   Then mix together 1 cup French salad dressing and 3/4 c Thousand Island dressing together with 1 tsp chili powder.   Add to the shrimp  and stir in 1 tsp baking powder (powder, not soda!). Stir over low heat until  the  sauce  thickens - less than 5 minutes ought to do it.   Stir in the bacon, and a little color with  a pinch of chopped parsley.   Serve with or over rice, if you like. I use yellow rice, Mahatma and Vigo brands are both delicious.