Low Country Pickled Shrimp Salad

I saw this on food t.v. and I knew (providing I could find pickled okra) that this would be my next salad.  I ended up pickling my own okra as I couldn't find it locally.  What I used:

Grilled Romaine with Bagna Cauda & Spicy Shrimp

I saw this and knew I had to make it.  Chef Petroni said this bagna cauda recipe was Argentinian.  I just cleaned my grill/smoker and got it ready for the season.  My friend was coming to pressure wash my deck and she adores anchovies so I decided this would be perfect for lunch.  She has some allergies so I made quinoa breadcrumbs instead of the recipe below though I added the sesame seeds and Italian seasoning.  A note about the quinoa breadcrumb recipe, it sure didn't take 20 minutes at 200°F to get crispy.  After 40 minutes and nothing, I turned it up to 275°F for another HOUR.  The last 15 minutes I cranked the oven to 400°F.  What I used today:

Shrimp, Boursin Cheese Puff Pastry Tarts

I made these as a side dish for an "end of summer" dinner in my yard.  My smoker was the feature this evening but I made these tarts inside the house.  I'm not confident enough yet to smoke puff pastry!  Below is tomatoes, cream cheese, sausage and asparagus just put on the smoker:

Coquilles St. Jacques Casserole

I made this on-the-fly tonight.  I had a bag of frozen scallops and thought maybe some sort of "Coquilles St. Jacques" spin on them would be nice.  I was inspired to do so after we ordered the classic dish as an appetizer in a restaurant ($20 each!).  It had a delicious sounding spin on it made with mushroom duxelles and Béarnaise sauce, however it was served cold and the scallops were raw.  Below is the picture of the Coquilles St. Jacques we were served...we returned both and ordered something else.  I wanted to show my son what the classic dish tasted like though I had to do my own take on it as well, fingers crossed...  🤞

Seafood Chowder

I was inspired by this recipe by a Canadian Top Chef contestant.  I had to make my own version as my son doesn't like some things in it, including dill so I made it work.  Also, I wasn't splurging for lobster in the recipe either.  What I used:

Air Fryer: Crab Rangoon

I've always wanted to try making this.  An air-fryer made it more attractive as a recipe and now that I have that feature in my oven, it was time to give it a try.  

Chorizo Clam Chowder

I had chorizo in the fridge and frozen clams in the shell in my freezer.  I came up with chowder on this wet, dreary, gray day.  It was even more dismal with a binge watch of "The Handmaid's Tale".  "Praise Be"...  😉

Seafood Chorizo Stew

This was made with the idea of clean up and get out ingredients that needed to go.  Soup or Stew?  You choose.  I doubt I'll ever make it again, but thought I'd write it up, because I'm "covid" bored.  It was a lousy rainy day and soup seemed good.  What I used for it sounded weird even to myself.  A while back I ordered this poke kit.  It turned out, I don't love Albacore tuna for poke, I prefer Ahi.  As I have 2 bags of it left, I tried to figure out what to do with it.  I made some ceviche and it was okay... 

Poké Salad Bowl

I actually bought the albacore tuna for this in a Poké kit.  It came with the marinade for it as well and I let it stew in there for about an hour before I served.  The delivery arrived today and was dinner for myself this evening.  I used organic power greens for the salad.  I tossed them with a little ponzu sauce (Kikkoman from the grocery store) and S&P.  That was the bed for all these toppings:

Singapore Fried Curry Noodles

When I was in my 20's if I got "Chinese Food" delivery, I always, always, always ordered Singapore fried noodles - loved the curry and the thin noodles.  I rarely do anymore as there are many other chowmein noodles dishes I prefer though every now and then, I have them for "old times sake".  Making it homemade sounded like a nice challenge for myself... This recipe popped up on my news feed and I decided to give it a go, adapting it for my likes.  I headed to the Asian market.  I picked up the Shaoxing wine @ $1.79 for a 600 ml bottle.  I also grabbed the BBQ pork and noodles @ $1.29.

Shrimp and Blue Grits

STAT holiday here, so I had to make a celebratory meal. 

I was so excited when I received my delivery from Anson Mills from my kind co-worker.  She gets deliveries from the U.S.A in the U.S.A., otherwise, I'd never be able to order.  I spent almost $200 this time and all my treasures took up half my freezer!  The first plan with all my new finds was to make shrimp & grits again as its been a long while since I've had them.  I've never had blue grits before, they are coarse.  Anson Mills said no dairy advised for them, but butter at the end, so no cheesy grits this time.

Bouillabaisse

One of my dreams is to travel to Marseille and have Bouillabaisse there.  I viewed a LOT of different recipes.  In the end, I did my own thing, with what I had.  I made a rouille (I added a fire-roasted red pepper) too and used it on toasted slices of potato bread.  My seafood was frozen except for the shrimp.  What I used:

Shrimp Tacos

This is what was in our freezer and what I used to make dinner tonight.

Grilled Romaine Hearts Bacon Shrimp Salad with Blue Cheese dressing.

Another scorcher day (hottest one yet?), so salad was the game time call.  I made my go-to dressing.  I thought I'd be smart and grill the bacon, and I did it on a grilling tray, but OMG, no, don't do it!  Or if you do, make sure there's no sugar and that its really thick cut.  That shit was on fire in seconds and my spritz water bottle did nothing.  Thank goodness I still had half a pack left, so had to switch indoors to the broiler.  I'm sure it was 40°C in my house after that!

Curried Coconut Mussels

I got these mussels at Costco.  I only have bought them once before, a few years ago as it is 2 packs of 3 lbs each.  I had to cook/eat them all and it was just too much as my son doesn't like them.

Linguine with Clams (Linguine con le Vongole)

This is really one of my all time favorite pasta dishes.  I had these good frozen clams in the freezer which were low sodium, and I always buy them.  But, the idea of fresh clams was appealing...I found a seafood place close to my work called Fanny Bay Oysters.  A call to them told me the clams were $4.95 a pound.  They recommended a pound per person and the type they suggested using with pasta was Manila clams.  So, I decided to buy a couple pounds of fresh and use the frozen too, so I wouldn't have to take them out of the shell and could add more clam meat to the dish.  I know I was going to have a LOT of clams, but that is why I like this dish so much - the clams.  I was making a shitload of pasta too, so it seemed okay.  When I bought them, the person who sold them to me advised that he didn't think I should cook frozen and fresh together simply as they wouldn't cook at the same time.  I assured him I would adjust what I needed to do accordingly.  He also said they were cleaned and I needed to do nothing...

Thanksgiving: Southern Cornbread Dressing With Oysters and Soy Chorizo

Every Thanksgiving, I try to make a new stuffing.  Last year I did this one.  I have always wanted to make an oyster dressing, and this would be the year!  I LOVE raw oysters, but cooked, I generally only like when deep fried or covered up like in "Oysters Rockefeller"... I wasn't sure what to expect, so this was an experiment...

Totally Unauthentic Mee Goreng (Malaysian Stir-Fried Noodles)

This was my version of a dish that I like very much, with ingredients I had at home.  I was craving noodles tonight and I was looking for a way to use up the leftover cod (in marinara sauce) from last night.  For my sauce I was going to use:

Chicken/Shrimp, Asparagus, Bell Pepper, Cabbage, Mushrooms & Onions Stir-Fry

I made two different stir-fry pans today since my son has such pure disdain for asparagus.  I just used a frozen pack of Green Giant Asian veggies for his and I added some shrimp (1 lb) to his as well.  I also served his over rice where I just had mine without, though I stole a few of his shrimp for my pan so he probably had 3/4 of a lb.

Shrimp, Andouille Sausage and Chicken Gumbo

I have made gumbo a few times.  I had to go to five grocery stores to find okra and had no luck, but finally found it at my Korean market - frozen.