Recipe: Coconut Crunchy Shrimp

Posted by Vicky Lane Categories: Appetizers, Dinner, How To, Quick Meals, Recipes, Summer Cooking, Shellfish, America, Carribean, Broiling,

Yesterday in Chicago the weather was sunny and 65… in the middle of February!  It was spectacular.  I was inspired by the warm weather to create something that reminded me of summer or my favorite warm weather place, the Caribbean. 

The first time I ever tried coconut shrimp was at a restaurant I worked at in college.  They fried them up and served with a sweet plum sauce.  I absolutely loved them and ordered them almost every shift I worked.  My version requires no frying and it so easy and quick to make.  I also borrowed a great broiling technique from Ellie Krieger from the Foodnetwork, which works every time.

Some people say they are not fans of the texture of coconut, which I can kind of understand.  A great tip for flaky coconut is to throw it in the blender or food processor before using, this helps the coconut blend in well with the breading. I did not do this as me and Husband love coconut in any form.

Prep Time : About 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp (this just makes life easier)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup shredded coconut, I used sweetened and used a heaping 1/2 cup
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 egg whites
3/4 panko crumbs (japanes style breadcrumbs, found in almost every grocery store in the Asian section)
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder (which is a milder chili powder)
2 tablespoons canola oil
Nonstick cooking spray

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Recipe: Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

Posted by Vicky Lane Categories: Cuisine, Cheese, Fish, Shellfish, Dinner, Lunch, Side Dishes, Comfort Food, How To, Product Reviews, Recipes, America,

As a Foodnetwork addict I am constantly experimenting with great recipes from from my favorite shows.  On Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello on an episode entitled “Pot luck challenge”, Jan Birnbaum, chef and restaurateur, caught my eye with an upscale, hearty mac n’ cheese.

The original recipe called for shrimp, which I was all about, but after visiting the seafood counter at Whole Foods, husband and I couldn’t resist the lobster meat (shrimp vs. lobster? no contest). So we splurged justifying that this would be our Superbowl Sunday feast.

Here is my adaptation of Jan’s recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 box medium shell pasta
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup tasso ham or bacon (I used bacon)
• 5 large shallots, minced
• 1 clove garlic, mined
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white wine (see review below)
• 2 cups cream
• 1 cup grated fontina
• 1/2 cup grated Cheddar (I prefer mild but sharp would be great too)
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 6-8 oz lobster meat cut up in good bite size chunks (we bought the precooked tub at the seafood counter)
• 2 cups gently packed spinach
• Kosher salt and ground white pepper
• Hot pepper sauce, to taste (recommended: Tabasco)
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs ( I used panko, my new favorite thing)
• 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley leave

Click to continue reading Recipe: Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

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