May
29
Last night, I had a taste craving for Coconut Shrimp. Red Lobster has some fabulous coconut shrimp, as do a number of other places, but I had eaten out for lunch and was feeling like I should do something at home. After a couple of quick searches for recipes, we headed off to the grocery store to get the items we didn’t have on hand. Below are the recipes that we used, along with links to the reference recipes. I think we’ll try a few variations in the future, but the first attempt was fantastic!
Ingredients
1 lb extra large shrimp, uncooked
7oz package shredded coconut
2 eggs
1 TBS Coco Lopez + water to make 1/4 cup liquid
1 TBS granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup cornstarch, divided in half
Vegetable Oil for frying
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup crushed & drained pineapple
1/2 cup Coco Lopez
Instructions
- Peel, de-vein and butterfly the shrimp. It’s best to leave the tails on so they’re a bit easier to eat.
- Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel – you want them as dry as possible.
- Mix the 2 eggs and the liquid mix (water + Coco Lopez – I used about a tablespoon of the creme of coconut before the can was mixed up, so it has a very dense consistency – put that into the 1/4 cup measuring cup and then filled water to make 1/4 cup total).
- Mix the flour, sugar, salt, coconut and 1/3 cup cornstarch together
- Dip the shrimp in the plain cornstarch, then the egg wash, and finally in the coconut mixture. Then, fry for a minute or so in hot oil until the coconut is brown/crispy. Shrimp cooks really quickly, but it’s best to cut the first one to be sure your oil is hot enough to be cooking them through!
- Put cooked shrimp on a paper towel to drain some of the oil and then you’re ready to eat!
Dipping Sauce
Mix the sour cream, crushed pineapple and 1/2 cup Coco Lopez together to make a fantastic dipping sauce for the coconut shrimp. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe sources:
Outback Gold Coast Shrimp Recipe with Creole Marmalade
Joe’s Crab Shack Coconut Shrimp Recipe with Dipping Sauce
Restaurant Coconut Shrimp and Dipping Sauce
Posted in Cooking Food recipes shrimp
Sep
29
We had a bunch of nearly overripe bananas hanging around so it seemed like a perfect time to make banana bread! I was a bit uncertain about how this would come out because I made a few substitutions even from the modified recipe I was following. It is quite good, though, and a bit more airy than traditional banana bread, which I liked. I think the next time I’ll look for some ways to add a bit of protein in so that it’s a good breakfast bread that will give some sustained energy through the day.
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 4 medium bananas, mashed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup Splenda
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup King Arthur organic whole wheat flour (or other wheat flour)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400F and spray bread pan with Pam or other nonstick cooking spray
- Beat eggs, sugars, and Splenda together, then add vanilla extract and mashed bananas
- Combine flours, baking soda and salt in large bowl, and then add liquid mixture. Stir by hand just until mixed.
- Pour batter into bread pan and bake until a toothpick in the center comes out clean (it took about 28-30 minutes in my oven)
A good trick for even-more-fabulous banana bread? Make it the night before you want to eat it. When it’s done in the oven, remove, let cool and then wrap in saran wrap overnight before eating. For some reason, the overnight in saran wrap seems to add a little something!
Posted in Cooking bananas bread recipe Splenda
Sep
10
For many years I could not face beans.
I could just not get myself to eat them.
Might be because I only ever had them overcooked and soggy.
It all changed some years ago on a trip to Florence.
I ordered a Tuscan vegetable soup and I was so unhappy when it was put in front of me.
The soup was full of these huge white beans that was floating around.
But I did taste and boy had I been wrong.
These beans was so full of taste and had the most wonderful texture.
After that my “bean life” changed.
Bean and cabbage soup
serves 4
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 red chili, finely chopped
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
6 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon curry powder, mild
1/2 head of green cabbage, thinly sliced
salt
pepper
1 can white beans, rinsed
2 oz pancetta, cubed
2 cups green cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 cup grated parmesan
Heat the oil in a large saucepan.
Saute onion, garlic, chilli and carrots until the onion gets soft.
Add stock, curry and cabbage.
Let the soup simmer on medium heat for about 20 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add the beans.
Saute the pancetta in a skillet until golden.
Add the cabbage and saute until the cabbage has fallen and becomes soft.
Serve the soup in warm bowls with the pancetta/cabbage mixture over and a sprinkle of parmesan.
Photos by Colin Cooke
Enjoy!
I love the photos posted at this blog and since I’ve been eating a LOT of soup recently, the recipe sounded like a fabulous addition to the lineup. Hopefully nothing in there will irritate my stomach…maybe I’ll wait a few weeks to try this, but it’s definitely on my fall/winter soup list!
Posted via web
Posted in Cooking Food food photography recipes
Feb
02
Last week, I baked chocolate chip cookies. They were delicious, though a little crispier than I usually like.
Anyhow, in evaluating my recipe, I decided to figure out just WHAT makes a chocolate chip cookie chewy, and by the same token, what makes it crispy. The best, and most concise article I found was The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie. Click through to read about how low fat butter or margarine can affect the consistency of your cookies, and why you should always sift flour in order to avoid making ultra dense, flour-heavy cookies. And eggs? A little extra can go a long way to making your cookie chewy and delightful.
Do you have a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe? Do they come out chewy or crispy? Share your experiences in the comments!
Posted in Cooking baking Chocolate chip cookie tips
