Fish and Shrimp....everyone is happy!

I have a new blog to which I have become addicted.  I found Chef Dennis some weeks ago.  Actually, he found me.  I received an email from him asking permission to use one of my photos.  I had no problem with his request and got very interested in what his blog looked like. 

Chef Dennis is the Chef director of dining services at Mount Saint Joseph Academy in Pennsylvania.  He cooks for 560 girls every day, and I think he is amazing.  I have emailed him with questions about blogging, specifically photos, and have always gotten an immediate response.  He is definitely worth reading.  Please go to   More Than a Mountful and check out his great food blog.

This evening we deviated from one of his recipes slightly, but still found it delightful.  A change because monk fish is impossible to find around here, we substituted cod.  Instead of broccolini, we switched to spinach.  This dish is very, very nice, and I know we will make it often.  Thanks, Chef!!

Monk Fish Scampi

12-14 ounces of cleaned monk fish
6 Jumbo shrimp, cleaned and deveined
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
splash of white wine
2 oz. chicken stock
1/2 cup canned plum tomatoes, chopped
1 cup broccolini cooked and chopped
1/4 cup cooked linguine
2 tbsp Romano cheese
1 tbsp butter

Cook monk fish with olive oil and sea salt and black pepper to taste.  Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 18 minutes, depending upon thickness of fillet.  In a saucepan, add olive oil, chopped garlic and gently saute garlic and then add shrimp and plum tomatoes.

Saute shrimp until almost done, remove from pan.  Add splash of white wine to stop cooking and deglaze pan.  Add chicken stock and Romano cheese.  Remove 1/3 of sauce from pan and add to shrimp on the side.

Now add chopped broccolini to the pan and continue to saute.  Then add cooked linguine and toss to mix and remove from heat.

In another pan reheat the shrimp and sauce as soon as the monk fish is done.  Add one tablespoon butter to the scampi sauce while reheating and top sauce with shrimp over the monk fish.  Serve with the pasta.

In addition to switching to cod and spinach, we also used Parmesan instead of Romano.  Next time I would add red pepper flakes for an extra kick. 

Shrimp and Pasta

This is a very favorite dish of ours, and I really don't have a recipe.  Anything goes, and it always turns out great.  I sauteed shrimp in butter and a little bit of olive oil and some chopped garlic.  Remove the shrimp and add chopped shallots to the pan.  When they have caramelized a little, add a splash of wine wine and deglaze the pan. 

At this point, add heavy cream-enough to make a sauce and to allow some reduction.  I then added some frozen peas and let them cook in the cream a short time.  In the meantime, fettuccine is cooking in a separate pot.  When the pasta is almost done, drain and add to the cream sauce.  Add back in the cooked shrimp and top with freshly grated Parmesan and a chiffonade of basil leaves. 

We enjoy this so much, and any vegetable or type of pasta may be used.  We enjoyed a very nice Columbia Crest Grand Estates Pinot Grigio, 2008.  Perfect, just perfect.

Basil, Pesto equals Pasta

The herbs in our rectangular boxes are growing beautifully. Decided to make them more portable this year, but still not quite sure what we will do with them when we leave for the summer. The basil is doing so beautifully, we knew we had to make pesto before we leave this weekend. It is one of our favorite ways to eat pasta, especially if it is right out of the garden.

Here is the pesto after running through the food processor. Patiently waiting for the pasta to boil and join it in the bowl.

Linguine with Pesto Sauce

Linguine con pesto

3/4 cup fresh basil leaves

3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled

3 tbsp pine nuts

1/2 tsp salt

5 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

freshly ground black pepper

1 1/4 lb linguine

serves 5-6

Place the basil, garlic, pine nuts ( I have successfully substituted walnuts), salt and olive oil in a food processor and process until smooth. Remove to a bowl. If desired, the sauce can be frozen in this state before adding the cheese.

Stir in the parmesan. Taste for seasoning.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of rapidly boilings salted water until al dente. Just before draining, take about 4 tbsp of the cooking water and stir into the sauce. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. Serve immediately.

We added two grilled Italian sausages to this meal and enjoyed it very much. A 2008 Carmenere Casillero del Diablo from Chile topped the taste buds perfectly.