Shrimp and Brussel Sprout Pasta

With Zack out of town this week I had two things in mind:

1. Make everything that Zack doesn’t like and I do, and get my fill of it
2. Try not to go grocery shopping, just try emptying the ridiculously full refrigerator.

This recipe accomplished both. I knew I needed to use up the brussel sprouts before they went bad (leeks too but that’s for another recipe). I also really wanted to eat some fish because Zack is never in the mood for seafood. Well, I didn’t have any fish but I had shrimp.

After some googling to see that recipes including those two ingredients existed, I figured I could give it a shot. I’ve only made brussel sprouts one other time and that was in a salad so I knew I’d have to figure that out. I decided to roast them and get everything else ready while they were cooking (who knew they’d take 30 minutes in the oven at 400°F).

I’m not going to lie, this all takes probably an hour or so from beginning to end, and a fair amount of dirty dishes but it’s one of the better recipes I’ve thought of recently. Here’s how it goes. Oh, and trust me, read all this through before you start the recipe so you get the timing right.

Ingredients for the Brussel Sprouts

1 lb brussel sprouts
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoon fresh minced garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Ingredients for Pasta and Shrimp

1/2 box of the pasta of your choice (I went with linguine because it’s what I had)
1 lb of large peeled and de-vained shrimp (I took the tails off but you certainly don’t have to)
1 small yellow onion (or just use 1/2 cup of frozen diced onion, which is what I used)
1 diced green pepper (or 1/2 cup of frozen diced green pepper)
2 teaspoons of olive oil

Ingredients for Mozzarella Cream Sauce

1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2/3 cups mozzarella cheese
3 tablespoons of butter
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
1 large teaspoon of crushed red pepper (I probably used closer to a tablespoon because I like it spicy)

*This recipe serves about 3 adults. If you make a bit more pasta it can easily serve more!

So here’s how the order works:

1. Prep the brussel sprouts and begin cooking the brussel sprouts
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut off the bottoms of the brussel sprouts and quarter them, then mix all the remaining brussel sprout ingredients EXCEPT the parmesan, in a bowl. Pour out onto cookie sheet and sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top. Then put it in the oven. That’s really all you’re doing with the brussel sprouts. They’re going to cook for around 30 minutes and I do recommend stirring them up about halfway in.

2. Begin to boil the water for the pasta

3. In a large saute pan, begin cooking the onion and green pepper in a small amount of olive oil.
When the onion is translucent, add the shrimp and turn it down to low to let the shrimp cook (for about 5 minutes if your shrimp is cooked and frozen, 8 minutes of it’s raw)

4. When the water is boiling,
Put your pasta in the water. At this same time, you want to take the shrimp mixture out of the saute pan and pour it into a large serving bowl.

5. Using the saute pan your shrimp was in, begin your sauce
You want to add the garlic, crushed red pepper, and butter and saute on low until the butter is melted. Then add the cream and parmesan and whisk for about 6 minutes. Then add the mozzarella and whisk slowly until the mozzarella is melted. Around this time your pasta should be done (if you’re cooking linguine).

6. Combine the drained pasta, shrimp/onion/pepper mixture, and the cream sauce.

7. Top with the roasted brussel sprouts and a dash more of parmesan for looks.  

8. Enjoy!

Itunes Infographs

So, I don’t know what made me decide to do this. Love of looking at numbers and charts? Trying to think of music related posts? Wondering what songs itunes is telling me I listen to the most? Which for the record, looks a little something like this…

And if you’ve never heard some of these songs, here’s a little youtube concert for you – 9 Crimes, The War Was in Color, Valerie, Beverly Hills, I Think it’s Gonna Rain Today, and Hook. I have to say, Blues Traveler has some of my favorite lyrics of all time. So well written. If you asked me to guess what my most listened to songs were, I don’t know that any of these would’ve been on the list. Ok Damien Rice would DEFINITELY be on it, but the rest I’m a little surprised.

It’s an odd little mixture. That’s how I am though. I’m an odd mixture. And my friend Julie will laugh when she sees, if she sees, that Beverly Hills is on that list. When it first came out and for months thereafter I was constantly asking if she’d heard it and then playing it for her. I bet I did it at least 15 times. Also to see that I Think it’s Gonna Rain Today isn’t even checked (it makes me cry on the reg, so it’s hard to have it on heavy rotation. Especially at work) and yet it’s on the list? That’s love. I like this list though. It’s a good list if I do say so myself. And it proves how bizarre my musical taste is. I’m a bit shocked there wasn’t a single Les Miserables song (or Broadway song in general) in the Top 5 because I feel like that’s all I listened to for the 4 months leading up to the movie coming out and probably 2 months after I saw it. Maybe I just listened to it more on my ipod than on my itunes. Also I like that my current favorite jam was playing when I took this screencap.

Anyway, looking at this list prompted me to do a little infographic to see what my taste really looks like. Of my roughly 2,000 songs, the breakdown looks a little something like this…

Yes, that’s 1 single “Disco” song – It’s called Instant Replay by Dan Hartman. It’s on a mixtape that I uploaded so I don’t even know if that really counts. It wasn’t a big surprise but I will say that if you broke down that “Soundtrack” category Pop would have a LOT more. Also I think the “Folk” and “Singer/Songwriter” should’ve been in the same categories (I should mention only my Simon & Garfunkel CD made it into that category). I mean, Jewel, Alanis, Taylor Swift, and most of the bands I listen to, could be classified as singer/songwriter but they got mixed up with Pop, Folk and Rock. It is what it is. I guess it could be said that Simon & Garfunkel deserve their own category though, right?

You should also know that the 400+ Soundtracks consist of 10+ Musicals and 29 Movie/TV Soundtracks. And by TV Soundtracks that really just means theme songs (because what girl my age doesn’t have the Friends theme song or the Fresh Prince of Bel Air) and Glee. In fact, Glee alone consists of over 100 songs. I know. Guilty pleasure much? It’s funny, I always thought I had more Britney Spears songs and Destiny’s Child and Madonna… yeah, they’re all Glee versions. It’s something I don’t like to admit but it’s true. And really, I’m unabashedly proud of my itunes playlists. Guilty Pleasurse don’t really exist in my world. And maybe Glee talking about Guilty Pleasures on their show was what really prompted me to look into this infograph stuff. My friends think I’m crazy but I think secretly they love that I have all their guilty pleasures on my itunes, so they don’t have to. Oh and of the Broadway musicals, 3 are Les Miserables. Why do I need 3 versions of One Day More? Well, I don’t know…

The other thing I looked up was what artists had the most songs on my itunes and it broke down a little something like this (not including Glee or Les Mis)…

Mostly typical I suppose for someone like me, but hey, it is what it is. And it’s interesting to see. Anyway, I just thought this was a fun little look at the breakdown of my musical loves. Maybe this will prompt you to look through your itunes and see how the numbers breakdown. It’s fun, I promise. If you’re weird like me. And seriously, listen to Kacey Musgraves. I’m uber obsessed.

Irish Brown Bread

I know, Baccala certainly doesn’t sound Irish, and to be perfectly honest my maiden name isn’t Irish either (my dad there in the middle of that picture below practically screams 80s Italian). But my heart? My heart is Irish. My grandmother was a generation removed of being “off the boat” Irish but for all intents and purposes, she was super Irish. She was also a pretty awesome lady in general. She was my first babysitter, taught me most of the cooking and crafting I know, and was an all around fun lady!

That’s her in the middle with me in her lap

There’s not a day that goes by I don’t think about her. Most of my recipes are some derivation of her recipes and she’s the one that took me to Ireland (along with some other family members). With that in mind, around St. Patricks Day I always think about her and among my many cravings for her various recipes (tacos, pineapple stuff), one of them is her brown bread recipe. A lot of people think they’ve had brown bread when what they really mean is Soda Bread. My grandmom made both, but let me tell you folks,

First of all, Brown Bread? No raisins. Brown Bread? Not horrifically dry or scone-like. Brown Bread? Coated with delicious butter. There’s hardly even a comparison. And when you go around Ireland tasting the goodness and heartiness that is Irish cuisine, there wasn’t a single meal I ate that didn’t come with a side of this delicious bread. Nobody wants soda bread when the other option is this bread!

It’s impossible to duplicate, I’ve decided. We’ve made a few different attempts at it but they just aren’t the same. Maybe it was her Irishness that made it more delicious? I don’t know. My husband was a breads and pastry major when he was in cooking school so I had him try his hands at it a few times and he came as close as anyone I know outside of Ireland, but then we lost the recipe he used. So again, I sought out to try and find one that was close to hers. The recipe I tried this time was from looking through my grandmothers cook books and finding what I thought she used. It was close but it lacked something. Like, maybe it wasn’t salty enough? Maybe had we used a saltier butter spread on top it would’ve been ok because the texture was SPOT-ON! It just wasn’t quite the flavor I was looking for. It was SUPER close though. Like, minimal ingredients off. I knew I was close. I felt like it was missing a wheat germ or something. Then I decided to call in the big guns and sent a message to my Grandmothers best friend Margaret, who is in fact, off the boat Irish, and quite the lovely lady. Low and behold, she’d had my Grandmothers recipe and got it from my very own Aunt! Der! Why I hadn’t thought of this sooner, is beyond me…. But, the important thing is that it was found and I have it and I can make it whenever my heart desires now! And now, I shall share it with the world in hopes that everyone can try the deliciousness that is my Grandmothers brown bread recipe:

Irish Brown Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups ground whole wheat flour (best to use stone ground whole wheat)
2/3 cup wheat bran
1/3 cup wheat germ
1 and 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cup buttermilk (or a little more as needed to make gently pliable dough)
Directions:
1. Mix dry ingredients by hand

2. Add buttermilk & mix with hands. Add more buttermilk if necessary to moisten the flour

3. Kneed about 10 times

4. Scoop into well greased, round 1 1/2-2 quart casserole that has a lid (I couldn’t do this because I don’t own one so I just cooked it on a dusted with flour baking sheet)

5. Make a 1/2 inch deep cross in the center

6. Cover & bake – middle shelf – 400 degrees for 50 mins (if you aren’t cooking it in that casserole dish with a lid, around the 30 minute mark, cover the bread with some aluminum foil)

7. Remove from oven and let cool for at least an hour and a half (or make two so you can eat one hot, quickly and one later. The reason to do this is because if you don’t let it cool, the bread tends to be really crumbly and more difficult to eat. While it’s hard to resist when it comes out of the oven, it’s for the best, I promise. And you can always re-heat it when it’s time to eat it, if you want to eat it warm)

8. Enjoy with family & friends (that’s totally in my grandmothers recipe! Ever the entertainer and baker of food for others!)

Oh also, if you’re smart, you’ll make it with a delicious lamb stew, Colcannon, or some kind of Shephards Pie! All are delicious. I went with the lamb stew 🙂 I’ll share that recipe with you soon! Just have to type it on up.

Macaroni And Cheese, Two Ways

I’ve made a lot of macaroni and cheese in my life. Lots of it. Like this one (not a fan of the onion), recently this one (too many breadcrumbs), and the most reliable standby:

Don’t hate, you know it’s amazing. As fun as it is to try new recipes, or box made recipes, my favorite, and the best I’ve ever tasted, is brought to us by this woman (and this cookbook, which I’ve had since college):

Diabetic or not, this woman can cook. You can find the recipe here (of course Oprah would have the recipe). The only thing I do differently when I made it is that I just buy an 8 oz bag of cheese blend. And actually, I usually buy 2 because I almost always use more cheese.  The other thing, is that since I serve macaroni and cheese as a side dish, I just make half a recipe because unless you’re feeding an army, you don’t need that much. Usually I’m only feeding 2 people (and I still have plenty leftover). If I’m making it in general, it’s more for family/friend gatherings, but I didn’t have any upcoming gatherings and still wanted to make it, so in order to rationalize it, I told myself I’d try it a few different ways! That’s always a good excuse to make too much food: experimentation!

I decided to still only make the half recipe and instead of using elbow macaroni, I had to use shells because it was all I had. Oh, and I also only had some cheddar, parmesan and mozzarella, so I just used that. I can’t say it tasted all that different.

So here’s what I did: Pulled Pork mac-n-cheese, and seafood (mostly crab) mac-n-cheese. Here’s how I did it:

I basically made the half recipe to the point right before baking it, and then started the process, so basicallly I used half of the recipe I made for each macaroni and cheese style below.

For those bad at math, the amounts look a little something like this (baking instructions are the same)

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 pound elbow macaroni (or bowtie, or shells, or penne, you can use what you have)
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) plus 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) shredded Muenster cheese
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) shredded mild Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack
• 1 cups half-and-half
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) Velveeta , cut into small cubes
• 1 large eggs , lightly beaten
• Dash of seasoned salt and ground black pepper

Remember, prepare according to these directions (and later, bake according to these directions also)

Also, I cooked these in the same 9×11 pan, and separated them with some aluminum foil. It worked totally fine.

Pulled Pork Macaroni and Cheese 

Take half your macaroni mixture (prior to the baking steps)
Mix in 2 cups of pulled pork (we used a rack of leftover ribs) – we also added about 1/4 cup of Mermaid BBQ, because why not? Also, I’m mentioning this now because I regret not doing it, but this would’ve been made that muh more awesome if we’d topped it with some French’s Fried Onions! Man that would’ve been delicious! They make so many things better. This would’ve been one of them. At least we know for next time.
Mix all the ingredients together, then top with about 1/3 cup of cheese and bake according to the website (35 minutes at 350 degrees).

Seafood Macaroni and Cheese

I used 1 cup (1/2 of a 1lb container) of lump crab meat** And 1 cup of cooked shrimp meat (no shells). I like to buy seasoned peal and eat shrimp, and then peal it. If you aren’t using seasoned shrimp, that’s ok, just use the plain cooked and pealed shrimp and add more Old Bay. How much Old Bay? Well if you’re using steamed shrimp, I’d just add a heaping tablespoon to the crab meat. If you’re not, you probably want 3 heaping tablespoons of Old Bay combined to the crab and shrimp mixture.
Mix all the ingredients together, then top with about 1/3 cup of cheese, and 3 handfuls of crushed Old Bay Crab Chips (if you’re not from around here, you can still buy them here). Then bake according to the website (35 minutes at 350 degrees).

** Use the lump. Do NOT buy the special. I will be personally offended if you use the special. Special is only even remotely acceptable in dips and broth. Also, special note, make sure you feel around all the piece of crab meat to make sure there are no shells. Usually the lump is clean but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Your intestines will thank you later.