Shrimp Po' Boy (Little J Style)

 "I'm feeling shrimpy," I say to the Cynthia, the vendor at Dry Dock Fish at my local farmer's market, as she packs up the fresh shrimp I had just selected.  I guess some of you loyal readers may have notice that I have a little thing for southern cuisine. Once in a long while I'll take a trip down to the famed Los Angeles Farmer's Market and one the little food stalls I like to frequent is a place called The Gumbo Pot. Louisiana-style southern cooking. I usually get myself a shrimp po'boy (a sub-style sandwich) with a cup of rice and gumbo. Mmmm... I've been meaning to make a version of the po' boy for quite a while, but I've just never gotten a chance to.

So when I had purchased the shrimp that little voice in the head began to whisper, "po' boy, po' boy, po' boy." Sweet! You can read a little of the history of this delectable sandwich on its wikipedia page (here), which also known as a poor boy. As much as I love the traditional way of making the po'boy, I wanted to put a little twist to it. A California twist. Traditionally, it consists of deep-fried breaded meat or seafood with lettuce, tomato, and a remoulade sauce. My version consists of baked-breaded seafood, spinach leaves, tomato, and my own rémoulade.

I peeled and deveined the shrimp. If you can get them already shelled and deveined, go for it. It'll save you time. Covered them in flour, an egg wash and panko crumbs, you know my usually way breading, and baked in the oven for 10-13 minutes. While that baked, I made the simple rémoulade sauce and prepared the spinach, tomato and bread. For the sauce, I finally was able to use the Emeril's horseradish mustard I had gotten a few months back courtesy of Foodbuzz and Emeril. You can simply use dijon mustard and horseradish, if you can't find that brand. I also didn't have the traditional french bread rolls, so I used some good ol' sliced bread (i.e. Nature's Pride 12-grain bread).

For this, I brought out trusty ol' Georgie. But you can toast them like you would a grilled cheese sandwich. Here's a neat trick to get that pressed sandwich look from a skillet. Take a plate and place it flat on top of the sandwich. Put a 12 ounce canned good, of any kind, on the plate to apply pressure. This will give you that "pressed" sandwich look just minus the grill marks. Then flip the sandwich and do the same thing.

I assembled the sandwich. Rémoulade on both slices of bread, placed the spinach and tomato on one and 6 perfectly baked shrimp on the other. Place the tomato side to form the sandwich and grilled away. I had a couple shrimp left to I just ate those like a appetizer with some of the rémoulade sauce I had left, which can be used as a dip as well.  You can see a dollop of the sauce on that tomato slice inthe photos.

Come to think of it...in many ways, it looks like a panini, too. A panini-po' boy hydrid? Either way, this was so freakin' good! You can serve this with a side of chips, fries, salad or soup. Or even a cup of rice and gumbo. Anyway, I think I've babbled long enough. I'll let the recipe and photos speak for themselves. Bon appetite!!

Makes 4 sandwiches.

Shrimp Po' Boy (Little J Style)

1 lb shrimp - peeled and deveined (or your choice of seafood or meat)
1 c flour
1 egg
1/4 c milk
salt
pepper
paprika
1 1/2 c panko bread brumbs
extra virgin olive oil
2 medium tomatoes - sliced
8 slices of bread or 4 sandwich rolls (your choice)
Spinach leaves - rinsed and dried
re´moulade sauce (recipe below)


Preheat your oven to 350˚F

Toss the shrimp ina little drizzle of olive oil. Coating all of them.

In three separate dishes for the breading station.
1. flour, seasoned with salt, pepper, and paprika.
2. egg and milk beaten together, season with a pinch of salt.
3. panko crumbs, seasoned with a little salt.

Bread each shrimp. 1, 2, then 3 in that order and place them on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Baked for 10-13 minutes until tender and slightly white and pink. Flip when half way to give the other side an even cooking.

While the shrimp bakes, prepare the spinach leaves, tomato and rémoulade sauce (recipe below)

Prepare you grill, press or skillet.

Assemble the sandwich. Spread the rémoulade on both slices of bread. Place the spinach, then the tomato on one. When the shrimp is cooked, on the other 4-8 shrimp on the other half of the sandwich. Top with the tomato half and place on the grill or press. Cook until bread is toasted for roughly 5 minutes.

Cut the sanwiches in half on a diagonal and serve warm with a side of soup, salad, chips or fries.


For cooking on a skillet:
On medium heat, toast the sandwich like you would a grilled cheese sandwich for roughly 5 minute each side. To get the "pressed" look, place a plate flat over with a 12 oz canned good, of any kind on top to apply pressure.

Rémoulade Sauce:
2 green onion - chopped
1/2 c lite mayo
1 tsp sweet relish
1 tsp lemon juice
1 -2 Tbsp Emeril's Horseradish Mustard (you can substitute for 1 Tbsp dijon mustard and 1/2 Tbsp horseradish)


Combine the ingredients for the rémoulade together and set aside. Keep chilled, if not using immediately.

Easy Peasy Zucchini Bread

The zucchinis are still abundant at the farmer's market, so I took advantage of the opportunity and bought me a couple. I've been seeing quite a bit of zucchini bread over the summer, so I decided to join in on the bandwagon. A little late, but I'm aboard. My version makes just a simple loaf that's moist and chewy. I mixed in some almonds with it as I like nuts and grains in my breads sometimes. Plus, I love almonds. Who doesn't love almonds? Unless, you're allergic.

Again I followed my banana bread recipe and substituted a couple ingredients here and there. I grated the zucchinis and added it into the batter. Baked this one close to an hour and out came this beautiful looking loaf. The smell in the house was just fabulous. Who needs an air freshener when you have the smell of fresh baked bread. I'll take that over the smell of synthetic flowers.

Makes 1 loaf.

Easy Peasy Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 c fresh zucchini - grated
1 c sugar
1/2 c unsalted butter or margarine
2 eggs
2 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 Tbsp nutmeg
1 c almonds (plus extra for topping)

Preat your oven to 350˚F

In a bowl, sift together the flour salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.

In another bow, cream together the butter and sugar. Then beat in each egg. Slowly pour in the flour mixture constantly stirring. Then add the zucchini and almonds. Blend well.

Pour the batter into a greased loaf dish and top with some almonds.

Baked for 50-55 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

Let the loaf cool slightly before removing from the pan.

Cinnamon Crepes

I've never made crepes before. I like the stuff, too. I figured I take a chance at trying to make it from scratch. It can't be that hard right? Crepes are the like French version of teh pancake. They're thin like paper but still tastes delicious when toppings are added like syrup or nutella with banana.

The best crepe recipe (here) I found was made by Alton Brown a la Good Eats. I just made some minor adjustments like adding some cinnamon and sugar into the mix as well as cutting the butter down a bit. I know I love butter, but I had too.

So I made the batter and prepared my little skillet. My first couple of tries didn't come out too pretty. The edges kept sticking to the dry areas of the pan and I'd end up tearing them into pieces. ILuckkily I had quite a bit of batter to try again. I ate those straight from the pan. I couldn't resist. Eventually, the more I made, the more I got the hang of it. Swirling the pan and gently flipping them to cook the other side. You have to work fairly quick as these are pretty thin compared to the American version of pancakes where it's fluffy and thick. They cook within seconds. I need a little more practice on the whole swirling trick, but I didn't do that bad.

After I made a good stack of them I drizzled a good amount of maple syrup and prepared myself. I didn't eat the whole batch. I did share. You can add toppings like fresh fruit, nuts, granola, syrup or my favorite...banana and nutella. *drool* Best to serve these babies warm.


Makes around 15 medium sized crepes.

Cinnamon Crepes
adapted from Alton Brown's Recipe via Food Network 

1 c flour
2 eggs
3/4 c milk
1/2 c water
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter - melted (plus extra for cooking)
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp almond or vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients together. (best to keep in the fridge)

Heat a skillet and coat it well with some butter.  Take a lade of the crepe mixture and pour it in the center of the skillet. Swirl the pan to spread the batter to your desired diameter and form into a thin pancake. When the batter looks dry (roughly 30 seconds), flip and cook the other side for an additional 10 seconds.

Remove from the skillet and place on a plate or board and cover with foil to keep them warm.

Serve them alone or with your choice of topping.

Grilled Cheese

This week I received a lovely package on my doorstep. Bread! Yes, bread. Woohoo... Special thanks to Foodbuzz and Nature's Pride for the samplings. In the box were two loaves. One was a 100% wheat and the other was a 12-grain loaf. I've already been a fan of wheat breads for as long as I can remember and this was no exception. I haven't had many grain breads aside from having them in crackers, so I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed the 12-grain bread. Give them a try.

Of course, the first thing that comes to mind when anyone sees sliced bread is sandwiches. But what kind? I opted for some good ol' fashioned comfort food. The classic grilled cheese to be exact. Brings back memories of childhood and memories of my college days. I ate grilled cheese sandwiches, along with cheese quesadillas, from the cafeteria like there was no tomorrow. Well, except on chimichanga Thursdays. It's always been my "last ditch effort" meal when I'm stumped for what to make or simply felt lazy to cook anything in the kitchen. "I'm feeling lazy today, I think I'll make a grilled cheese."

My cheese of choice for this sandwich was some shredded mozzarella. You can choose any cheese you prefer. The awesome thing about recipes and comfort food is that you can make them to your own needs and likes. I would have added some tomato slices, but I was saving my tomato for a dish was I was going to cook the following day. I cooked the sandwich on a small pan as I didn't feel like lugging out big Georgie just for a small sandwich. My simple easy lunch on a lovely LA day. I had this with a handfull of some Vermont grapes. I had gotten from the farmer's market. Comfort food plus cheesy deliciousness equals yummy!

You don't need me to tell you how to make grilled cheese, do I?

I'll put the recipe down for those who aren't comfortable in the kitchen. Or just need a refresher, I think this should get you going. It's really easy and simple and can maybe even spark your love for cooking. Jazz it up to your liking and you'll be surprised by what you can make out of it.

Grilled Cheese

2 slices of bread (your choice)
1-2 slices or 1/4 c shredded of cheese (your choice)
butter
2 tomato slices (optional)


Spread a thin layer of butter on one side of each slice of bread.

Place a slice of cheese on the other side and put the two breads together to form the sandwich. Add the optional tomato slices as well. The buttered sides should be the outer layers.

Heat a skillet and cook both sides until the bread has browned and toasted. 3-5 minutes each side on medium heat.

Serve warm

Note: If you've got a grill or press, cook for 4-5 minutes until bread is browned and toasted.

Snow Pea Fried Rice

I happened to be released early on set the day I decided to cook this and even though I was super exhausted, I still wanted to cook something for other members of the household. In the fridge was some left over white rice. This is a great way to use up any left over rice you may have from those Chinese takeouts. Then I happened to glace at the snow peas that I nearly forgot about. Oops. I grab a couple of eggs while I was still at the fridge.

I blanched the peas in some boiling water and cooled them in some cold water to stop the cooking process. Pop out the little peas from inside and kept a few of the shells. Then I did a quick saute of them before adding the rice. Mixed in the egg and did the constant stir and scrap move until the egg was fully cooked. Served with a sprinkle of paprika on top. That part is optional.

Serves 2

Snow Pea Fried Rice
1 c snow peas - blanched, steamed or from frozen
3 c cooked white rice
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 eggs - beaten
salt

Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the peas and saute until cooked and tender. Roughly 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Then add the rice. Break the rice apart while stirring until soft.

Constantly stirring and scrapping the side to keep the rice from sticking. Once the rice is soft once again. Stir in the egg. Be sure to season with a little salt before adding.

Again constantly stirring until the egg has fully cooked.

Serve warm.

Grilled Chicken Tacos

I like a good taco. I'm one of those taco bell kids growing up and up until recently. I got a craving for some tacos a few days ago and decided since that I had some tacos shells left, I'd make use of them before they expire, which wasn't until months away, but I couldn't resist. I marinated a chicken breast for several hours and when it came to dinner time all I had to do was grill it up and serve. Instead of putting lettuce as the "greens" part of the taco, I added my tomato-corn salsa to give it a little pizzaz.

This taco can easily be adapted to you preference of "meats." If you want seafood like shrimp or fish, go right ahead or carne asada. It's what you want. For me, I grilled me up some chicken. You can also baked it if you'd like, too. The possibilities are endless.

I made 5 tacos. I really stuffed these tacos to the brim with chicken, salsa, avocado slices with the usual condiment of sour cream and cheese. They looked like they were about to burst! Luckily, they didn't. My taste buds were dancing with delight. They were doing a little jig in my mouth. I ate 2 1/2 and it wasn't too filling or too light. It was just right as Goldilocks said when she ate little baby bear's porridge.

Oh, if you're going to use beef or pork, add a little 7-up to the marinade. It'll help tenderize the meat, making it easier to shred and cut up.

Makes 4-6 tacos.

Grilled Chicken Taco

1 large chicken breast (you substitute with seafood, fish, beef or pork)
1 ripe avocado
sour cream
shredded cheese
Tomato-Corn Salsa (click here for recipe)
4-5 taco shells

marinade:
1/4 soy sauce
1 Tbsp worchestshire sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp brown sugar
pepper
1/4 can 7-up (for pork or beef)

Combine the ingredients for the marinade, seasoned with a little pepper, and place it in a large ziplock bag with the chicken and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30min. This can be done in advance.

Prepare your grill. Cook the chicken breast on each side for roughly 8-10, depending on the heat of your grill. Baste with the marinade. Let it rest for 2-5 min, then shred to pieces.

Put the taco together -- Take a shell. Layer the chicken at the bottom, then salsa, sour cream and cheese.

To bake the chicken:
Place the chicken breast on a foil lined baking sheet and bake in a 350˚F preheated oven for 25-30 min. Let it rest for 2-5 min before shredding.

Note: You can replace the chicken with fish, shrimp, beef, pork, etc.

Tomato-Corn Salsa

Here's a super simple salsa that can liven up your party. This is what I had topped my ginger maple mahi mahi with. It brought a nice blend of flavors to the dish. Though, this isn't that spice mango-corn salsa I had on the set of Bones, this will do just fine for now. A blend of fresh tomato, corn, cilantro (or parsley for the non-cilantro loving crowd), shallots, lemon juice and an optional jalapeño or two.

Chop the whole thing together and you've got yourself a little crowd pleaser. Keep chilled in the fridge if you're not serving it right away.

Oh, don't forget the chips. Or do what I did and serve up as a crostini.

Makes roughly 2-3 cups.

Tomato-Corn Salsa: 

2 medium rip tomatoes - chopped
2 c corn kernals
3/4 c cilantro or parsley - chopped
1 large shallot - chopped
juice of one lemon
1-3 jalapeño (optional) - chopped
salt
pepper

Chop the tomatoes, cilantro or parsley, shallot, jalapeño, and place in a large bowl. Add in the corn kernals, then the lemon juice. Mix together thoroughly. Season with a little salt and pepper to taste. If not serving right away keep covered and cool.