It's a Keeper » Back to Basics

Guest Post: Roasted Shrimp Cocktail

Christina — Sun, 01 May 2011 22:54:54 +0000

I thought it would be fun to host a cookbook review on It’s a Keeper (IAK). Some of my readers and Facebook/Twitter followers who wanted to participate don’t have blogs of their own to share their recipes on, so I offered up a guest post on IAK to give all of my readers the opportunity to share their reviews. This one is from my good friend, Jill. She made this recipe (and two other Ina Garten recipes) for our weekly play date. While the kids dined on mummy dogs and mac-n-cheese, we were treated with Roasted Shrimp Cocktail, Mâche with Warm Brie and Apples and Truffled Fillet of Beef Sandwiches. Yum, right?!? Jill’s recipe is below and my commentary is underneath.

Roasted Shrimp Cocktail

Roasted Shrimp:
2 pounds (12 to 15-count) shrimp
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Cocktail Sauce:
1/2 cup chili sauce (recommended: Heinz)
1/2 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place them on a sheet pan with the olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread them in a single layer. Roast for 8 to 10 minutes, just until pink and firm and cooked through. Set aside to cool.

For the sauce, combine all ingredients. Serve as a dip with the shrimp.

Is It a Keeper?

This was her favorite recipe that she made that night! It was awesome! I will never boil shrimp for shrimp cocktail again! It was incredibly flavorful! We both couldn’t stop raving over this treat!

Jill is from northeastern Pennsylvania, and is one of my dearest friends. She’s a great mom, friend, motivator and all-around fun person. She is a regular, loyal reader and commenter here on It’s a Keeper. Please give her some Comment Love!

Christina

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Guest Post: Roasted Pears with Blue Cheese

Christina — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 13:12:18 +0000

I thought it would be fun to host a cookbook review on It’s a Keeper (IAK). Some of my readers and Facebook/Twitter follwers who wanted to participate don’t have blogs of their own to share their recipes on, so I offered up a guest post on IAK to give all of my readers the opportunity to share their reviews. This one is from my good friend, Natalie.

When looking for recipe or two to review for the It’s A Keeper Cookbook Review, I came across Ina Garten’s Roasted Pears with Blue Cheese. One of my very favorite salads, especially in the fall when the pears and apples are at their peak, is one with pears, walnuts and cranberries, so when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it.

Roasted Pears with Blue Cheese
3 ripe but firm Anjou pears
Freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)
3 ounces coarsely crumbled sharp blue cheese such as Stilton
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup walnut halves, toasted and chopped
½ cup apple cider
3 tablespoons port
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
¼ cup good olive oil
6 ounces baby arugula
Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Peel the pears and slice them lengthwise into halves. With a small, sharp paring knife and a melon baller, remove the core and seeds from each pear, leaving a round well for the filling. Trim a small slice away from the rounded sides of each pear half so that they will sit in the baking dish without wobbling. Toss the pears with lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown. Arrange them, core side up, in a baking dish large enough to hold the pears snugly.

Gently toss the crumbled blue cheese, dried cranberries and walnuts together in a small bowl. Divide the mixture among the pears, mounding it on top of the indentation.

In the same bowl, combine the apple cider, port and brown sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the mixture over and around the pears. Bake the pears, basting occasionally with the cider mixture, for 30 minutes, or until tender. Set aside until warm or at room temperature.

Just before serving, whisk together the olive oil, ¼ cup lemon juice, and ¼ cup of the basting liquid in a large bowl. Add the arugula and toss well. Divide the arugula among 6 plates and top each with a pear half. Drizzle each pear with some of the basting liquid, sprinkle with salt, and serve.

Is it a Keeper?

First, I will own up to my “cheats”. I used store bought lemon juice rather than fresh-squeezed. I also used Splenda Brown Sugar Blend instead of regular brown sugar. Finally, we just ate the stuffed pears by themselves as my grocery store didn’t have arugula.

Was it a Keeper? You bet it was! I will definitely make this again. This dish would be the perfect impressive yet not at all difficult first course for a Fall dinner. The pears are cooked and tender, but still had a bit of a bite to them, while the blue cheese was creamy and the walnuts gave it a nice crunch. The salty blue cheese combined with the sweetness of just about everything else made for a great variation in flavor.
When we’re having dinner guests, I always look for recipes that can be prepared ahead of time and this is perfect for that. The pears should be served room temperature, so you can do them and mix the vinaigrette for the arugula in advance and then just assemble it at the last minute. Thanks, Ina for this delicious recipe. It is most definitely a Keeper! And thanks to Christina for inviting all of us to review some of her favorite cookbooks.

Natalie is from northeastern Pennsylvania, and is an amazing working mom. In addition to being a super-mom and a great cook, she also runs a successful construction business and donates countless hours to helping area non-profits. She is a regular, loyal reader and commenter here on It’s a Keeper. Please give her some Comment Love!

Christina

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Guest Post: Parmesan Roasted Broccoli

Christina — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:01:48 +0000

Having been a faithful follower of “It’s a Keeper” for about a year now, when Christina mentioned a group cookbook review, it sounded like fun. But…. my husband and I are following a Low-Carbohydrate diet, at least until Lent is over, so I had to really look for a recipe or two that we could eat and enjoy without feeling guilty. So I paged through Ina Garten’s cookbook and found Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli – I love broccoli and I love cheese, and better still, both are relatively low in carbohydrates – perfect.
As a bonus, it was really quite easy to make. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:
4 – 5 lbs. broccoli
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Good olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks. Cut the larger pieces through the base of the head with a small knife, pulling the florets apart. You should have about 8 cups of florets. Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.

Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, Parmesan and basil. Serve hot.

Is it a Keeper?
The only modifications that I made were that I cut the recipe way down since there were only 2 of us eating dinner that night, and I used minced garlic rather than sliced because it’s what I had on hand. I also mixed the minced garlic and oil with the raw broccoli in a bowl prior to putting it on the baking sheet to get them more evenly coated.

Well, was it a keeper? Not without modification. It was WAY too lemony for me, and I really like lemon. The first thing I did after tasting it was check the recipe again to make it did say 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and not teaspoons. I did use the correct amount for the recipe, but it was just way too much for me. I will definitely try it again, but next time I will eliminate the lemon zest altogether and maybe cut the lemon juice in half, and then tweak it from there.

Christina

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Chive Risotto Cakes

Christina — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:20:46 +0000

I was watching the Barefoot Contessa the other day and she was making Chive Risotto Cakes. I remembered flagging this recipe a while back. It was in Ina Garten’s Back to Basics cookbook. They sounded great and looked even better!

Chive Risotto Cakes
Compliments of It’s a Keeper
Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics
www.everydaytastes.com

1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1 1/2 cups grated Italian fontina cheese (5 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
Good olive oil

Bring a large (4-quart) pot of water to a boil over medium-low heat and add 1/2 tablespoon salt and the Arborio rice. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. The grains of rice will be quite soft. Drain the rice in a sieve and run under cold water until cool. Drain well.

Meanwhile, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, chives, fontina, 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper in a medium bowl. Add the cooled rice and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight, until firm.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Spread the panko in a shallow dish. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Form balls of the rice mixture using a standard (2 1/4-inch) ice-cream scoop or a large spoon. Pat the balls into patties 3 inches in diameter and 3/4-inch thick. Place 4 to 6 patties in the panko, turning once to coat. Place the patties in the hot oil and cook, turning once, for about 3 minutes on each side until the risotto cakes are crisp and nicely browned. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and keep warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes. Continue cooking in batches, adding oil as necessary, until all the cakes are fried. Arrange on a serving platter and serve hot.

Is it a Keeper?

Well….if I were to make these again, there are number of things I would do differently. Here’s a list of changes I would make:

I would use 1 egg instead of two — the mixture was too wet and didn’t hold their shape well
I would put the Fontina in the freezer for 30 minute prior to grating it — it was rather soft and hard to grate
I would make the rice mixture the day before and let it sit in the fridge overnight
I would form the patties and coat them with Panko several hours before frying them
I would add salt and pepper to the Panko crumbs — the cakes needed additional seasoning

With that being said, I’m not sure I would make these again. They were a lot of work and the “WOW” factor just wasn’t there. Don’t get me wrong, they were good, but I honestly don’t know if I’d make them again.

Have you tried this recipe by Ina Garten? Or, any of Ina Garten’s recipes? If so, what did you make and how did it turn out?

Christina

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I’ve shared this recipe on a number of websites, blogs and recipe swaps that I’ve found. Please check out these sites on the link tab above.

And, make sure to come back for my It’s a Keeper Thursday recipe and craft blog hop!