Peach Salsa - last taste of Summer!

Peaches, grilled peaches. This was the inspiration for dinner. Bruce wanted chicken too and teriyaki. So I bought some boneless, skinless chicken thighs and cut them into big chunks. I marinated the chicken in a teriyaki marinade for a few hours.

But what to do with the peach idea. Salsa. I turned out fabulous!

Fresh Peach Salsa

Ingredients:
1 clove of garlic
1" piece of ginger

1 Serrano chile
7 mint leaves
1 Tablespoon of honey
2 Tablespoons of lime juice
salt
white pepper

1 large freestone Peach
4 green onions

Method:

Mince the garlic and ginger together until very fine. Mince the mint leaves into tiny pieces. Put the ginger, garlic and mint into a medium bowl.

Slice the top off the chile. Slice it in half lenghthwise. Scoop out most of the seed and membrane inside the chile. Finely mince the chile flesh and add to the bowl.

Add the lime juice and honey, a little salt and a little white pepper. Taste the mixture and adjust for sweet, sour and saltiness.

I was lucky enough to have a huge freestone peach to use. If you use just any peach, you may need to slice the flesh off of the stone before dicing it. Either way, dice up the peach flesh into 1/2 inch pieces. Add them to the bowl. Slice the green onions thinly and add them to the bowl. Fold the mixture together gently.

Voila! The spicy sweet taste of summer goodness! Excellent with teriyaki anything. Also good over grilled fish.

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!