Greek(ish) Baked Shrimp, for the sour lover!

Greek(ish) Baked Shrimp

When I have a craving for sour, I pull out the pepperoncini and eat a few, right out of the jar.  If that doesn’t satisfy my need for acid, I make this dish.  Each time I make it I’ve added a new component and now it’s a great way to clean out the refrigerator of a bunch of pickled jarred items.  Tastes great too!

Ingredients:

• 4 Tablespoons, Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 Tomatoes, cored, cut into large dice
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 mild roasted red pepper (I used fresh, but jarred is fine), diced
• 10 Kalmata Olives, coarsely chopped
• 3 Tablespoons Capers, rinsed
• 3 Pepperoncini peppers, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons of Threbe (Wild Greek Oregano)*
• ½ Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lb peeled, deveined raw shrimp
• 8 oz. Greek Sheep milk Feta cheese, diced
• 1 lemon, cut into supremes, broken into bits**

Method:

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat, add 3 Tablespoons of the Olive Oil.  Use the remaining Tablespoon of Olive Oil to oil the inside of a 9 x 12 baking dish.  Preheat the oven to 400F.

Cook the onion in the oil until it becomes softened (5 minutes).  Keep the heat down low, you don’t want any browning.  Add the Tomatoes and garlic.  Continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes begin to soften and the garlic is fragrant.

Add the red pepper, olives, capers, pepperoncini, Threbe and pepper.  Mix well.  Turn off the heat.  Fold in the shrimp, turning gently to coat the shrimp in the vegetable mix.  Pour this into your greased baking dish.

Sprinkle the diced feta over the top.  Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove when the shrimp are just turning pink, do not overcook your shrimp!  For a little more browning on top and to char the tips of the Feta, heat it under the broiler for 2-3 minutes.

Sprinkle the lemon bits over the whole dish.

Serve with potatoes or over rice or with bread for dipping into the amazing sauce at the bottom of the dish!

Enjoy!

*Wild Greek Oregano is a different plant than Mexican or European oregano.  It has a light herbaceous scent that is a secret ingredient to making things taste VERY GREEK!

**Citrus Supremes: A fancy chef way of cutting up a piece of citrus so you only have the citrus segments, without  peel, seeds, or membrane.  Cut the top and bottom off of the fruit.  Stand it on one of the flat ends.  Using downward slices around the fruit to carve away, not only the peel off the fruit, but the membrane as well; exposing just meat of each segment all the way around.  Trim it up a bit, removing ALL pith.  Now use your knife to remove each juicy segment.  Remove the seeds.  Those are citrus supremes that are left.  Takes practice. J

Spicy Garlic Shrimp Scampi, a la' Marina del Rey

I entered a recipe contest once. It was back in the early 1990's. Marina del Rey, CA was holding a food festival (the first and only) and had a contest asking for recipes that encapsulate the Marina lifestyle. There may have been categories, I don't even remember. I do remember that I had been toying with a simple shrimp scampi dish at home and decided that I could fiddle with it and make it into an entree by serving it over pasta.

I won first prize for my Spicy Shrimp Scampi dish which the contest organizers renamed as: "Festival Shrimp Scampi". It was published in the free local paper and I believe I won two or three dinners for two at local restaurants. I've never entered another such contest. I figured I'd quit while I'm ahead.

The shrimp in this dish, made without the cheese, pasta or breadcrumbs, but all the spices, makes a fabulously simple first course or party appetizer. The trick to make succulent and juicy shrimp instead of dried out and rubberized seafood lies in not overcooking them. While tossing them in the hot pan, be ready to take the pan off the heat as soon as the last few shrimp are turning from grey to pink. They will finish cooking if you let them rest after seasoning them one last time and squeezing a little lemon juice over them. Lovely.

Festival Shrimp Scampi

1 lb medium size Shrimp (I used peeled, some may preferred unpeeled)

3 T butter
3 T olive oil (best quality you have)
3 cloves garlic, minced (more if preferred :)
1/2t ground white pepper
1/2t red pepper flakes
1/4t Cayenne pepper
1/4t dried oregano (or 1/2 t fresh minced)
1/2 lemon - juice of
1/2C Parmesan cheese
5 T Italian bread crumbs (or bread crumbs with a little salt, pepper,
oregano and basil added).
1/4C parsley - minced
salt - to taste
1 lb cooked fettuccine or linguine

Melt butter with the olive oil in a saute pan that is large enough to hold the shrimp in a thin
layer.

When mixture is hot, add the garlic. Toss about and don't let it burn. While it cooks, add the white pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano and Cayenne pepper, stir well. When garlic looks cooked but not brown (2 minutes), add the shrimp. Toss the shrimp about in the pan, coating with the spiced oil. Add the lemon juice and keep tossing over the heat. Quickly add the parsley, bread crumbs and Parmesan. Toss to coat completely. The shrimp should now be bright
pink and cooked through.

Place the pan under the broiler until cheese looks melted and the smell infuses your kitchen (1-2 minutes). Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (will probably need a bit of salt).

Serve over the cooked pasta, with additional Parmesan sprinkled over the top.


Enjoy!

Potted Shrimp from Brandy and Randy's Wedding

Our new neighbors were married last summer and they invited everyone on our block. The ceremony and celebration were as small town quiant as this beachside suburb of Los Angeles could muster. Guests were asked to bring a favorite dish and to fill out a card explaining what you brought and why. The cards were kept by the newlyweds as a fabulous memento of the pot luck feast created by their new neighbors.

I made Potted Shrimp. It's not one of my specialties, but when I thought about a summer wedding, I wanted something just fancy enough to be celebratory but simple enough to be eaten with one hand. I also had a few pounds of shrimp in the freezer which helped influence my decision! I looked around online and in a few cookbooks but ultimately I came up with my own recipe.

This got rave reviews from everyone. Enjoy!

Culinary Vixen

Potted Shrimp

(makes approximately 2 cups)

Recipe by Vickie McCorkendale

Ingredients

½ C minced shallots
4 oz. (1 cube) butter (divided), at room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch Mace
Pinch Cayenne Pepper
½ teaspoon Emeril’s Essence or other Cajun Spice Mix
2 Tablespoons Brandy
1 lb shrimp, raw, peeled and deveined (you may use frozen or fresh, crayfish work well too).
2 Tablespoons chopped chives


Method

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add two tablespoons of butter. When the butter melts, add the shallots and cook slowly until tender.

Put the remaining butter, the cream cheese and the lemon juice into a bowl (or bowl of a standing mixer). Mix on low speed to combine.

Add the garlic, mace, cayenne and spice mix to the shallots. Cook for one minute until fragrant. Add the brandy and cook until almost no liquid remains in the pan. Turn the heat up a bit and add the shrimp. Sauté until they are just cooked and bright pink on both sides, about 3 minutes.

Remove the shrimp from the pan to a cutting board with tongs. Chop well to desired consistency. Add the shrimp and the contents of the pan to the cream cheese and butter. Add the chives. Mix on low until thoroughly combined.

Put mixture in a serving bowl or crock and chill for at least 3 hours.

Serve with croutons (recipe below).



Garlic Croutons

Makes approximately 20 slices

Recipe by Vickie McCorkendale

Ingredients

1 baguette
2 oz. butter (1/2 cube)
4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves of garlic minced
Pinch of salt

Method

Slice the baguette into 1/3” slices. Place onto a baking sheet in a single layer. Preheat the oven to 375F.

Put the butter, olive oil and garlic into a small bowl. Heat in the microwave for approximately 30 seconds until butter just melts. Add the salt.

Using a pastry brush, paint the mixture onto the top sides of the bread slices.

Bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes. Keep an eye on them. You want them toasted, but not completely brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool.