Happy Cinco!

Tomorrow is one of my favorite strange holidays of the year, Cinco de Mayo! If you haven’t read the history of this holiday, it’s super-weird. I always thought it had something to do with Mexican independence, but no.

Officially, it gets its date from a battle between the French and the Mexican armies in 1862, but in reality, it’s basically an American-made holiday.

Go figure.

It’s one of my favorite holidays though because it gives me a solid excuse to make really good margaritas and eat Tex-Mex without abandon.

These tacos combine both of those things into one delicious dish.

Margarita Shrimp Tacos

Yield: Serves 4.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound medium shrimp, shelled and cleaned
2 ounces (one glug) Tequila
2 limes, juice only
1 lemon, juice only
2 Serrano peppers, minced
Small handful of cilantro
1-2 Teaspoons olive oil or butter
Flour Tortillas

Other Taco Fixins:
Guacamole
Salsa
Lettuce
Cilantro
Cotija cheese

Directions:

1) Clean shrimp by removing shell and slicing down the back of the shrimp with a small knife, washing out any dirt or crud in the vein.

2) Add shrimp to a plastic bag along with marinade (tequila, limes, lemon, cilantro, serranos). Let marinate for 15-20 minutes.

3) While shrimp marinate, prepare other toppings.

4) Drain shrimp. It's fine if some cilantro and pepper stick to the shrimp.

5) Heat butter or oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the shrimp.

6) Cook for 2 minutes per side until shrimps are slightly pink and firm.

7) Roughly chop shrimp and serve in tacos with fixings.

Prepping the Shrimp

Since I live in a landlocked state, I don’t mind using frozen shrimp on the rare occasion I want to make something shrimpy. These days you can get very good quality frozen shrimp.

For this recipe, I definitely wouldn’t recommend the cheap small ones. You want nice big, meaty shrimp.

My shrimps were frozen...

If you’ve never cleaned shrimp before, just peel off the shells and pull off the tails. Then take a small knife and run it down the back of the shrimp. Wash out any mud or other stuff that’s in that vein down the back of the shrimp. You’ll get quick at it after a few times.

I can clean a pound of shrimp in a few minutes without a problem.

Once your shrimp is cleaned, add in the marinade ingredients. I basically made a margarita in a bag with some lime juice, lemon juice, and tequila.

A swig of tequila...

I also added some cilantro and Serrano peppers to the bag. The peppers give just enough heat to the shrimp.

A quick marinade here...

The key thing to remember about the shrimp is you don’t want to let them marinate for more than 20 minutes or so. If you do, the shrimp will actually cook completely in the citrus juice, kind of like when you make ceviche.

15-20 minutes of marinating time is plenty for the shrimp though. The marinade is really strong and shrimp have a pretty light flavor so you don’t want to overpower them completely.

Other Fixings

While the shrimp marinate you can prep the other ingredients. I made a quick guacamole, chopped up some lettuce and cilantro, and crumbled some Cotija cheese for my tacos.

Need some fixins'!

Cooking the Shrimp

When you’re ready to cook the shrimp, drain off all the marinade. It’s totally fine if cilantro and Serrano is sticking to the shrimp as it cooks. Consider it extra flavor.

When you’re ready to cook, add a small amount of olive oil or butter (like 1-2 Teaspoons) to your pan over medium-high heat. Then toss in the shrimp and cook them for about 2 minutes per side.

They should turn nice and pink.

Don't overcook them!

When the shrimp are done, you could definitely stick them in some tacos just like that.

I’ve learned though that shrimp work a bit better in tacos if you very roughly chop them up. A big shrimp is a bit much for a taco bite. They are a lot easier to eat if they are roughly chopped.

Makes for easier tacos.

I think you know the story from here. Pile a spoonful or two of shrimp in a tortilla with some Cotija cheese, salsa, guacamole, lettuce, and cilantro.

Yum.

If you’re looking for a quick Cinco de Mayo dish, look no further than the stuff you already have around (margaritas).

This dish is so quick and tasty it’ll give you plenty of time to remember why we celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Namely, because something random happened many years ago on that date.

And because margaritas are good.

Sophisticated bachelor!

I had an alternate name for this dish but it was way too long to actually publish: Shrimp Scampi For Bachelors Who Want To Stay Bachelors or For Bachelors Who Want To Find Everlasting Love.

See? Too long.

But accurate!

Shrimp scampi is freakin’ delicious and I can pretty much guarantee that if you made this for a special person, they would love you (unless they don’t like shrimp… or butter). I can also guarantee that due to the high levels of shallots and garlic in this dish, if you wanted to stay single forever, you could just eat this dish alone every night before you went out. If you eat it together with someone though… no harm done!

Shrimp Scampi For One

Yield: Serves 1,

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1/4 pound 21 count shrimp, about 6
1 large shallot, minced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons cream
Splash of white wine (optional)
1/8 Teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Parmesan cheese (optional)
Salt and pepper
Spaghetti
1/4 Cup reserved pasta water

Directions:

1) Cook pasta according to package. Reserve some of the cooking water for the sauce later. Drain the pasta and set it aside.

2) Mince garlic and shallots and clean the shrimp if they aren't already cleaned.

3) Add butter to pot over medium heat. Once hot and melted, added shallots and garlic and cook for a minute until soft.

4) Add shrimp along with a splash of white wine, and the crushed red pepper. Cook shrimp about 90 seconds a side until they are just cooked. Try not to overcook them.

5) Add cream to the shrimp and stir. The sauce should reduce nicely.

6) Add pasta back into the pot and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. If sauce is too thick, add a bit of reserved pasta water to thin it out. Don't make it too thin though!

Serve immediately!

Prepping the Shrimp

These days you can buy shrimp in various states of readiness. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of the already prepped frozen kind. I think that buying shrimp that are still in their shell and cleaning them yourself results in the best tasting shrimp although it’s a bit more work. It also happens to be cheaper.

In general, for recipes like this I like the larger shrimp (although not the largest shrimp). Something in the 21-26 count category usually will work nicely.

Just a few is enough.

If you’ve never cleaned shrimp before, it’s not necessarily hard, but it is a bit messy and some people don’t like doing it. If you’re shrimp aren’t already cleaned for you though, it’s a pretty essential step unless you like your shrimp gritty and sandy.

To clean them, basically just peel off the shell using your fingers, but leave the tail part on. Then take a small paring knife and carefully slice right down the back of the shrimp. You should see a small vein of black stuff.

Run the shrimp under water to get that out of the shrimp. Technically, it’s shrimp poop, but it’s mainly just sand and grit. You could definitely eat it (I have) without any ill effects, but it’s a much better dining experience if you clean it! You’ll get good at it really fast.

Shrimp Poop!

The Pasta

I used a whole wheat spaghetti for this dish which is kind of my default pasta. I actually think spaghetti is the perfect pasta for shrimp scampi so just use that.

If you’re curious how much pasta I usually make for a large bachelor-sized portion, it’s a bit larger than the size of a quarter if you hold together the pasta in a tight bunch.

Enough for me. Get your own.

I cooked this entire dish in one pot so my first thing to do was to make the pasta. I just made it according to instructions. I didn’t have a colander though so my draining didn’t go great. I just used the lid.

Ideally, you would drain the pasta and reserve about 1/4 Cup of pasta water for the sauce just in case it gets too thick later.

A colander would be helpful.

Prepping for the scampi

While the pasta cooks, mince up a shallot and some garlic. I used three cloves of garlic because it’s almost Halloween and vampires scare me.

You could use less though if you’re afraid people won’t want to speak to you all night long (valid fear).

This will ward off the ladies.

When you’re pasta is done, add the butter to the same pot. Just make sure it’s mostly dry. Put it over medium heat and when the butter is melted and hot, add the garlic and shallots. Let this cook for just a minute so they can soften up. Any longer though and you’ll run the risk of burning them.

Good flavors already.

Then toss in your shrimp along with the red pepper flakes and a dash of white wine if you’re using it. The shrimp should cook really fast. About 90 seconds a side and they will be done.

Try not to overcook them or else they will become rubbery. Rubbery shrimp are the worst!

These are almost done.

Done in no time.

When the shrimp are almost done, add some cream to the dish. I said a few tablespoons in the recipe but you could add as much as your comfortable with. I guess technically it’s optional, but it really makes the dish in my opinion. When you add it to the pot the sauce just comes together in this fantastic way.

It’s so delicious.

Now we're getting serious.

Season this with a pinch of salt and pepper and then add in all your cooked pasta back into the pot! Stir this all together and if the sauce is a bit too thick, add some of your reserved pasta water. The sauce should coat the pasta but not be clumpy at all. Stir everything together and you’re ready to eat!

All together!

It might not look like there’s a lot of sauce, but there’s just enough. And even though there are just a few shrimp, the sauce has this really deep seafood flavor. You could grate some Parmesan cheese on top if you wanted, but I thought it was rich enough as is.

I ate mine on a paper plate of course with a plastic cup of white wine.

So good.

This is my kind of one pot meal. Honestly, if I made it again, I’d probably just eat it out of the pot that I cooked it in!

I recently had one of those moments in a big way. It involved a fantastic Southern dish called shrimp and grits.

The short version of the story is that I worked in a Southern-themed restaurant for awhile and they served shrimp and grits there. I’ve also had the dish on occasion in a DC establishment, Georgia Browns. These are the only real experiences I’ve had with shrimp and grits. I figured I’d try to remake it like they served it (which was very good by the way).

When I set the plate down in front of Betsy, she more or less told me to jump off a cliff if I thought that what I was serving her was real shrimp and grits. Turns out, and you will not see me admit this in writing very often, she was right.

You see, this is traditional shrimp and grits and it is unbelievably delicious:

Salivating.

The version that I’d had in the restaurants had shrimp. And grits. But instead of the lovely thick sauce pictured above, they were served with more of a broth. It was a tasty broth and actually lightened up the dish a bit, but I guess it wasn’t what shrimp and grits traditionally is.

So this is how you make the real stuff.

Shrimp and Grits

Yield: Serves 2.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

3/4 lb. large shrimp, peeled to the tail, de-veined
1 Teaspoon paprika
1 Teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 Teaspoon cayenne
Pinch of salt and pepper

Grits:
1 Cup grits (I used real yellow corn grits. But you could use any really.)
2 Cups water
1 Cup heavy cream
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 Cup grated cheddar cheese
Pinch of salt and pepper

Sauce:
2 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon garlic
1 scallion, minced (divide the green and white part)
1/2 Cup clam juice (or you could use any stock or just water)
1/2 Cup water (or you can do a full cup of stock if you aren't using clam juice)
1/2 Cup heavy cream
1 Teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Teaspoon hot sauce
1 slice country ham (optional)

Directions:

1) Peel and clean the shrimp but leave the tails on. Toss shrimp with your seasoning.

2) For grits, cook according to package but I recommend using at least one cup of cream to get the grits very creamy. Once your grits are thick, whisk in the cheese.

3) If your grits ever get to thick, just whisk in a few tablespoons of milk.

4) Add butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once melted, add shrimp. Cook shrimp for 3-4 minutes per side depending on the size. I used 16-20 count and they cooked in about 6-7 minutes.

5) Once the shrimp come out fo the pott, add butter straight to it and scrape up as many bits as possible. Add scallions and garlic and stir. Cook for a minute or two to soften the veggies.

6) Add flour to the pan and whisk together. Cook for a minute or two until the flour starts to turn a very light tan color. This is the roux for the sauce.

7) Next add clam juice or stock to the pan and stir slowly.

8) Once the juice has cooked down and is simmering, add cream, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Continue to whisk until it has the consistency of a light gravy.

9) Plate this dish with a bed of the grits, add some shrimp on top, and finish with the sauce. Garnish with chopped scallions and/or hot sauce.

Loosely based on this recipe. I changed many things though.

Prepping the shrimp

The original recipe called for a Cajun seasoning for the shrimp. If you have a good Cajun seasoning you can definitely use that. I just mixed up a quick spice mix with these guys.

Makeshift Cajun.

If your shrimp aren’t already cleaned, peel them up to the tails. Then use a paring knife to slice up the back and wash out the vein. Then toss them with your seasonings.

Don't be afraid of the spices!

Cooking the Grits

This meal actually comes together really quickly. Before you start cooking the shrimp, get your grits going. You can prepare the grits according to the package if you are using instant ones or just assume about a 3-1 ratio of liquid to grits. Use at least one cup of cream to get the grits very creamy.

Combine all your liquid in a sauce pan and bring it to a simmer, then slowly add your grits while whisking. Continue to whisk it and after a few minutes it should thicken up. Then you can whisk in your cheese!

Overkill? Nah.

You can keep this over low heat while you prepare the other parts of the dish. If you notice it’s getting to thick, just whisk in a few tablespoons of milk and it should loosen up.

Cooking the shrimp

Shrimp are very easy to cook. Just remember that they cook pretty fast and overcooked shrimp are not the best.

Just melt your butter in a skillet over medium-high heat and once it’s melted and hot, add your shrimp to the pan. Leave them untouched on one side for 3-4 minutes, then turn them and cook for the same amount of time on the other side. The exact cooking time will vary based on the size of your shrimp. I used large (16-20 count) shrimp and they cooked in about 7 minutes.

They should look like this.

Perfect!

Making the sauce

The sauce for this dish is really what makes it decadent. I must admit that I loved the thicker sauce over the broth version that I tried.

After the shrimp come out of the pan, you’ll have some bits of seasoning still in the pan. Leave all that in there! That’s flavor. Just add your butter for the sauce straight in and scrape up any little bits. Once the butter is melted, add the scallions and garlic and stir. Let them cook and soften for a minute or two.

Scallions and garlic and butter.

Then you’ll need these things. I used clam juice which has a great flavor. You could honestly use any stock you wanted though.

Interesting mix.

Next, add your flour to the pan and combine it with the butter, scallions, and garlic. Cook it for just a minute or two. It should start to turn a very light tan. This is your roux for the sauce.

Next add your clam juice or stock slowly and stir. It will steam and hiss but should stay pretty thick. This is right after I added my clam juice.

Just needs the cream.

Then add your cream, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and you should be good to go. It should have the consistency of a gravy basically. If it looks too thin, let it simmer for another minute or two. If it looks too thick, add a bit more liquid (stock, milk, or cream).

To plate the dish, you want a big serving of cheesy grits.

Creamy and cheesy.

Then add 6 or 7 shrimp to each plate.

Tails must face the same way!

Then add some sauce on top and garnish with scallion greens and a few dashes of hot sauce.

Serve with a cold beer.

I really liked this version of the dish. I know the original also has ham on it, but that seemed a bit like overkill to me. It’s plenty flavorful as is.

If you’re curious, this was my other version of the dish that I didn’t think was quite as good.

Just to be thorough...

So there ya go! Shrimp and grits. Am I from the South? No. Did I possibly screw it up the first time I made it? Yea.

Did I finally do it justice though? I think so!

My requirements for this dish were pretty simple. I wanted something that I could eat with my hands, that was super-spicy, and that would be easy to make for a crowd.

I came up with these awesome spicy shrimp quesadillas!

Football food!

I’m a huge fan of quesadillas, but I’m also kind of picky. I like mine to be super-crispy with lots of spices and flavors and enough cheese to hold the thing together. I do think it’s possible to over-cheese a quesadilla…

Spicy Shrimp Quesadillas

Yield: 4 quesadillas

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound cleaned shrimp
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Teaspoons hot paprika
2 Teaspoons cumin
1 Teaspoon cayenne (or adjust to your tastes)
1/2 Teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 jalapeno chopped
1 lime, juice only
16 ounces cheese (I used a mix of cheddar and mozzarella.)
1/4 red onion, sliced (optional)
8 medium-large tortillas

Toppings:
Hot sauce
Sour cream or Greek yogurt
Guacamole (I used the cheater's guac from this recipe plus some fresh cilantro and red onion.)

Directions:

1) Clean and de-vein shrimp.

2) Add cleaned shrimp to a bowl with spices, jalapenos, lime juice, and olive oil. Let marinade for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

3) Add shrimp to a pan over medium-high heat and cook for 5-6 minutes until they are just cooked through.

4) Once the shrimp are cooked, give them a quick chop.

5) Lay tortillas out on a baking sheet. Add some cheese, chopped shrimp, onions, and a bit more cheese.

6) Top with another tortilla and bake for 8-10 minutes. Then flip each quesadilla carefully.

7) Return to oven and bake for another 5 minutes until they are very crispy. Chop and serve with lots of toppings!

Prepping the Ingredients

You can definitely buy shrimp that are already cleaned for this dish. I have a mild obsession about buying shrimp in the shell. I just prefer to clean them myself. For some reason I think the shrimp is generally fresher with the shell on but I have ZERO evidence to support that belief.

I guess you could buy pre-cleaned.

If you are cleaning them yourself and aren’t familiar with how to do it, just peel the shell off the shrimp off with your fingers. It should kind of unwrap around the shrimp if you start with the little legs. Then, using a paring knife, gently slice a cut all the way down the back of the shrimp revealing their digestive vein. Wash that under cold water to get it clean and then toss your cleaned shrimp in a bowl.

The first time you do it, it might take some time, but you’ll get fast at it pretty quickly.

Once all your shrimp are ready to go, you’ll need a bunch of spices!

Kick up the heat!

I’ll be honest, I completely winged this spice combination. It was spicy which is what I was going for, but feel free to change it around and substitute freely.

Once your shrimp are cleaned add them to a bowl with all your spices along with your chopped jalapeno, lime juice, and olive oil.

Bam!

Let this sit for about 10 minutes to get all happy. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400 degrees, grate your cheese and slice some red onion if you want.

Various toppings

I also decided to mix up some cheater’s guac while I waited. Some people laugh at me when I call it this because real cheater’s guac is buying it from the store… so I’m not that much of a cheater. But basically, I just mix in salsa instead of cutting everything up from scratch.

Add some lime juice to keep the avocado from turning brown.

Cheater!

Cooking the Shrimp

Once your shrimp have been marinating for a few minutes, add them to a pan over medium-high heat. They should cook pretty fast depending on the size of your shrimp. Mine were the medium sized shrimp and they took about 5-6 minutes to cook through.

Once they are cooked through (won’t be pink on the inside), give them a quick chop on a cutting board. This will make them easier to put on the quesadillas. Eating whole shrimp between two tortillas is kind of awkward so this makes it easier.

The shrimp are good and the spices are intense.

cooked and chopped!

Once your shrimp are cooked and chopped, it’s a pretty easy process to assemble these guys which is why I think they’d be perfect for a game day snack. You could make most of the fillings and everything before hand and then cook a bunch of these at once.

Just lay out some tortillas on a baking sheet, add some cheese, add your shrimp and onions, and then top with a bit more cheese.

Quesadilla made

Add the top tortilla and cook these for about 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees. Then take out your baking sheet and carefully flip each quesadilla with a spatula.

They should be very crispy and delicious on the bottom.

Crispy is good.

Return them to the oven for another 5-6 minutes and then they should be ready to serve!

I cut mine into quarters, but you could do eighths if you were really trying to feed a crowd.

Top with your favorite toppings and go to town.

Yum.

If these aren’t up your alley, here’s a few other game day appetizers I’ve made in the past that would be awesome for Sunday.

- Homemade Tater Tots

- Potstickers

- Sticky Wings

- Macheesmo Mud

- Baked Mashed Potato Dip

- Jalapeno Poppers

- Pretzels

If none of those interest you then you probably shouldn’t be watching football.

These potstickers were actually easier to make then I thought. And they were very tasty.

Made with love.

I really stressed about this recipe. I was worried about the filling and the technique. But the reality of it is that if you just get a few things right, they are going to be delicious. So if you want to make them, try not to get too worried about that stuff. Most likely, they will be very edible and, if you’re feeding friends, they’ll be impressed.

Potstickers

Yield: Makes 25.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 pound ground pork
1/3 pound large shrimp, peeled and well chopped
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 Teaspoon sesame oil
2-3 scallions, minced (greens and whites)
3 inches ginger, peeled and grated
Chopped cilantro, I used about 2 Tablespoons
Ground pepper

Dumpling skins (usually sold in batches of 25 in the freezer section)
Few Tablespoons neutral oil for frying

Dipping sauce: (You can buy very good dumpling dipping sauce in some supermarkets, but below is a recipe if you want to make it yourself)
1/4 Cup soy sauce
1 Teaspoon Asian chili sauce
2 Teaspoons sesame oil
1/2 Teaspoon rice vinegar
Pinch of sugar

Directions:

1) Chop up all meats and veggies and add them to a large bowl.

2) If it is too runny or thin, add 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken it a bit.

3) Take dumpling wrappers, fill with mix, and close.

4) Using a large pan with a tight-fitting lid, coat the bottom of the pan with a few Tablespoons of neutral oil (ie canola).

5) Once the oil is glistening hot, place the dumplings in the pan, seam-side up. Make sure that none of the dumplings are touching or they will fuse together.

6) Let the potstickers fry on medium-high heat for about 3 minutes until the bottoms of the potstickers are turning a nice brown.

7) After a few minutes of frying, steam the potstickers (first pour off pools of oil from pan), turn the heat down to low, slowly pour about 1/4 Cup of water in pan and very quickly put the lid on the pan.

8) After a few minutes of steaming, take the lid off and the potstickers are ready.

9) Cut into one before serving to make sure it’s cooked all the way through.

10) Serve with sauce!

I kind of fused two recipes together for these. One from Rasa Malaysia and one from Steamy Kitchen.

Making the filling

There are a ton of variations for the filling. Some have cabbage added, some are thickened with a corn starch mixture. I decided to pass on both of those and just keep it simple. Almost all recipes I saw though used both pork and shrimp. It definitely makes the filling really flavorful.

I made a lot of dumplings...

Also, you’ll need some veggies. I chose to only use the veggies that would give a ton of flavor to the filling: Scallions, cilantro, and ginger. Take some time to make sure that each one is minced really well (or grated for the ginger). Otherwise, you might end up with a huge piece of something in a dumpling.

Flavorful veggies.

Also, I used these sauces and oils to give some good moisture and extra flavor and saltiness to the filling. It’s the same basic stuff you would use for a dipping sauce, so the flavors meld nicely.

More flavor!

Chop up all your meats and veggies and add them to a large bowl. Pretty straightforward stuff.

Lots of ginger is a good thing.

All mixed up it doesn’t look very pretty, but it makes a perfect filling. If it’s too runny or thin, add 1 Tablespoon of corn starch to thicken it a bit. In my completely amateur assessment, mine was fine without it.

Very tasty.

Making the Dumplings

Ok. So it was impossible for me to photo these while I made them. But I found some success with the below setup. The orange bowl is just a bowl of water I used to lightly wet the outside of the dumpling wrapper which makes sure it seals nicely.

The setup.

I would try to buy the thickest dumpling wrappers you can find. I only had one variety available and they worked fine but I would’ve liked something a bit thicker. My dumplings were not perfectly shaped so I don’t want to sound like an expert on that part of the deal. Steamy Kitchen has some excellent photos that definitely helped me out.

Also, this video from YumSugar was probably the most helpful. It shows the basic technique that I went with. This is definitely one of those things that is kind of hard when you start but after a few you get a lot quicker at it and by the end my dumplings were even looking pretty even.

Worse case scenario, just pinch the potstickers closed with a fork!

Cooking the Dumplings

Once you have all these shaped, the hardest part is done in my opinion. To cook these guys all you need is a large pan with a tight-fitting lid. Coat the bottom of the pan with a few Tablespoons of neutral oil (I used canola). Once the oil is glistening hot, place the dumplings in the pan, seam-side up. Make sure that none of the dumplings are touching or they will fuse together.

Frying the guys.

Let these fry on medium-high heat for about 3 minutes until the bottoms of the potstickers is turning a nice brown. My potstickers didn’t actually stick to my pot, which I consider a plus!

After a few minutes, you need to steam these dumplings to finish them off. Right now only the bottom half of the dumpling would be cooked if you cut into it. Steaming them makes them light and fluffy on top and keeps the crust crispy on the bottom. It’s not for the faint of heart though, because you have to basically add water to a pan with very hot oil in it. So be careful!

If you have pools of oil in your pan, pour some off before you add your water.

Get all the little kids out of the kitchen in case there are splatters and then turn the heat down to low. Slowly pour about 1/4 Cup of water in your pan and very quickly put the lid on the pan.

Note the timing! Slowly pour in the water and quickly add the lid. If you were to just DUMP in the water it will splatter even worse! Don’t be tortoise slow about it, but be controlled with it!

Once the lid is on it will sizzle. It will steam. Guests will be concerned/impressed. Eventually though the water will evaporate and the pan will calm down.

After a few minutes of steaming, you can take the lid off and you should have some very delicious dumplings. Be sure to cut into one before serving to make sure it’s cooked all the way through.

Eat as many as possible.

Note that my folds on the above aren’t perfect. That’s fine. As long as they are sealed so the filling can’t escape, they will be good. Just remember. If they aren’t perfectly folded, just call them rustic. Either way, once your guests eat one, they will immediately forget how it looked because these guys taste so very delicious!

And so I settled on this awesome shrimp pizza with a red pepper pesto sauce.

Spicy shrimp pizza!

I went with a thin crust for the pizza. It just seemed like a crispy thin crust was the best way to go. The original recipe actually said to buy store bought stuff, but you can probably guess how I feel about that.

I actually keep a few balls of pizza dough frozen that way I just have to pull them out a few hours before (like 5) and let it thaw slowly. Then it is just like fresh.

Shrimp and Red Pepper Pesto Pizza

Yield: 1 large pizza.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes + time for dough

Ingredients:

1/2 pound large (16-20 count) shrimp, peeled, deveined, and halfed
1 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 Teaspoon red pepper flake
1/4 medium onion, cut into thin strips
1/4 red pepper, seeded and cut into strips
2 Cups low-moisture mozzarella cheese
Fresh basil (I left this off because I didn't have any. It was fine.)
2/3 Cup red pepper pesto

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto (Makes about 2 cups)
Clove garlic
1 jar (16 ounces) roasted red peppers
3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan
1 Tablespoon fresh basil
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Teaspoon sugar
1/2 Teaspoon red pepper flakes

Helpful Equipment:
Pizza stone and peel

Directions:

1) If you purchased nice whole shrimp, take your time to shell them entirely and cut them in half head to tail. Also remove the black vein near the back of the shrimp if there is one.

2) Toss the shrimp in a bowl with the garlic, pepper flakes, olive oil, and lemon juice. Let this marinate for 10 minutes or so.

3) Throw all the roasted red pepper pesto ingredients in a food processor and give it a pulse until it is sauce.

4) Chop up the onions and red pepper. Try to get them pretty uniformly sliced.

5) Check out this post on how to make the pizza crust.

6) You should preheat the oven to about 500 degrees and if you are heating up a pizza stone, make sure you give it at least 30 minutes to get the stone as hot as possible.

7) Roll out the dough and slap it on a lightly corn mealed pizza peel. You can also use the back of a sheet pan if you don’t have a peel.

8) Add an even layer of the red pepper pesto and then top it with the onions and fresh red peppers.

9) Pile on the cheese and finally those shrimpies. Try to keep the shrimp in one layer or they might not cook all the way through. You can pile them on though as long as they don’t overlap. They will shrink up when they are cooked.

10) Cook about 12-14 minutes in a 500 degree oven and the shrimp should be cooked perfectly, the cheese melted, and the crust super crunchy and delicious.

Adapted from Pizza!

Prepping the Shrimp

If you purchased nice whole shrimp, take your time to shell them entirely and cut them in half head to tail. Also remove the black vein near the back of the shrimp if there is one.

Then toss your shrimp in a bowl with the garlic, pepper flakes, olive oil, and lemon juice. Let this marinate for 10 minutes or so.

A garlic marinade is one of my favorite things.

Red Pepper Pesto

The pesto is actually really simple. Just throw all your ingredients in a food processor and give it a pulse until it is sauce. It’s okay if it has some lumps.

The original recipe said to not use the oil in the jar, but then the recipe called for added oil. I thought I would try just pouring in the entire contents of the jar and skipping the extra oil. That worked like a charm.

This is good stuff.

Besides the pesto, chop up the onions and red pepper. Try to get them pretty uniformly sliced.

Pretty simple toppings really.

The dough

I’m not going to go into the exact specifics of making pizza dough in this post. You can check out a really detailed explanation on this post. I actually made the dough I’m using for this recipe a few weeks before and just froze it in a bag with a bit of olive oil drizzled inside.

You should preheat your oven to about 500 degrees and if you are heating up a pizza stone, make sure you give it at least 30 minutes to get the stone as hot as possible.

Then roll out your dough and slap it on a lightly corn mealed pizza peel. You can also use the back of a sheet pan if you don’t have a peel.

If at all possible, it's always worth it to make it.

Add an even layer of your red pepper pesto and then top it with the onions and fresh red peppers.

This sauce is maybe the best part of the pizza.

Next pile on your cheese and finally those shrimpies. Try to keep the shrimp in one layer or they might not cook all the way through. You can pile them on though as long as they don’t overlap. They will shrink up when they are cooked.

Nice shrimpies.

About 12-14 minutes in a 500 degree oven and your shrimp should be cooked perfectly, your cheese melted, and your crust super crunchy and delicious.

I could barely wait to eat it.

Honestly, I had never really made a seafood pizza before, but it worked really well. I ate about half of this pizza for dinner one night and took the other half for lunch the next day.

As with most pizzas, it’s possible that this one was better cold.

This was pretty good cold the next day also.

If you are looking for a spicy and interesting pizza to try, definitely give this one a go.

Be sure to check back tomorrow also to vote on a new dish for next week!

Meanwhile, I thought I would write about a simple little shrimp taco dish I made a week or two ago. I also found a fun way to use my left over rice and beans from the burritos I made.

Healthy and tasty. Who knew that was possible?

So this dish was not my idea. It was actually Betsy’s idea. She saw it in a book called “Cook Yourself Thin” that I’m actually reviewing this Sunday. I wouldn’t have picked up the book, but a few people told me it was good.

The first step in this dish is making a really awesome pineapple-mango salsa to go on the tacos. It is a bit sweet and spicy and adds a great texture to the dish.

Mango and Pineapple Salsa (adapted from Cook Yourself Thin)

- 1 large mango, diced
- 1/2 red onion, chopped fine
- 1/2 red pepper, chopped
- 1/2 fresh pineapple (the book uses canned, but I prefer fresh for salsas)
- 1 lime, juice only
- Handful of cilantro, chopped
- Salt

Lots of chopping in my future.

There is a lot of dicing to do, but it is good practice. You could make this at least a day in advance.

The longer it sits, the better it gets.

After I made burritos a few weekends ago, I had a LOT of leftover rice and beans in the fridge so I thought I would make some arancini with them. In other words, this dish was getting a bit too healthy so I decided it needed something fried.

The key to this arancini is finding a really spicy cheese to put inside it. If you can’t find a spicy cheese then make sure you spice up the rice and beans nicely.

Luckily, I was able to find this very spicy habanero cheddar at the store.

Seriously spicy cheese.

Your rice and beans should be kind of sticky. Basically I grabbed a palm-full of the mixture, stuck a cube of the cheese in the center, and then rolled up the ball.

It took me a few tries to get it right, but eventually it worked out. A few of them I would have to press pretty hard to get the rice to stick together. This definitely isn’t as easy as making arancini with risotto because risotto is much stickier.

A bit difficult to form, but you can handle it.

After you get the ball rolled, send it down the standard bread crumb line. Flour with some salt and pepper is in the red bowl, 2 whisked eggs is in the green bowl, Italian style bread crumbs are in the orange bowl. If you don’t have Italian style, just add oregano and basil to normal bread crumbs.

Flour, egg, bread crumbs. Standard.

I was able to get quite a few of these guys done. You can also do these ahead of time. Just keep them in the fridge to make sure they stay nice and firm.

Pretty little things.

Fry these, completely submerged in oil at 325-350 degrees. I used Canola oil because I had some on hand, but you could use any oil that can stand the heat. Do them in groups depending on the size of your pan. Don’t overcrowd them or they won’t brown well. They’ll take 5-8 minutes a batch. When they are a deep brown on the outside they are good to go. I always recommend using a deep frying thermometer to make sure your oil is the right temp.

OK. So now all we have left is to make some shrimpies. I was able to buy these shelled already which saves some time. Make sure to get fresh ones though. Also, I like the medium sized shrimp for these (around 25-30/pound). Any bigger than that and they get kind of awkward in the taco.

Some spices are necessary also.

Hard to go wrong here.

Saute a few cloves of garlic in the pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil and then add all your spices. After everything cooks together a bit, add all your shrimp. These will only take a few minutes to cook. When they turn slightly opaque they are done.

The recipe in the book added a few Tablespoons of tequila at the end of this recipe which I think is a fantastic idea. I didn’t happen to have any around and I didn’t want to go buy some just for this recipe. If you have some around, use it, but it was delicious without it.

Don't forget to take off the tails...

Take a tortilla, add a few shrimp and some of the salsa. Serve with the arancini balls. I also recommend a nice cold beer with this dish.

A slice of heaven.

I really liked the tacos, but I’m telling you that these rice and bean arancini deals were off the charts. Spicy and cheesy and fried. Can’t beat that.

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