Garlic Seafood in Coconut Milk

After a very.long.break, it’s once again, finally, Secret Recipe Club posting time!  It feels like forever since we were last here, between people being sick, Thanksgiving, more sickness, being with family, more sickness, the holidays, snow storms, more sickness, day-to-day life and each SRC group taking a little break…well, it’s been a long time since my last post so it’s good to be back. 

For my inaugural assignment of 2014 I was given Elizabeth’s blog, Food Ramblings.  Elizabeth’s blog is filled with wonderful healthy or healthier-than-the-original recipes, so perfect for the way we’ve been eating here in the Cook Lisa Cook home and an ideal way to begin a new year.  As soon as I received my assignment I searched through Elizabeth’s blog, reading dozens and dozens of tempting recipes and I narrowed my list down to four; garlic roasted green beans with pecans, chicken coconut curry soup, basil polenta with roasted spinach and tomatoes, which I was going to modify and do with cauli-rice in place of the polenta and, of course the chosen recipe of garlic seafood in coconut milk. 

Now before I continue with the recipe, let me tell you a little small world story.  Many times our (fabulous, talented, kind, beautiful, smart, A-Maisie-ing, yes we’re bragging, proud parents) daughter Maisie, has appeared on this blog and many of our regular readers also read her blog, Moments with Maisie and know that just over seven years ago we adopted Maisie from China.  Through the years we have met, both in real life and online, many friends through the China adoption community and that’s where the choosing of this recipe comes into play. 

You may have seen the news this past Tuesday about Atlanta being brought to a stand-still because of two inches of snow fall.  Well it wasn’t the snow amounts that caused all the problems but rather the almost instant icing that turned all the roads into a skating rink along with schools, business and government all being closed at the exact same time, but I digress…  One of our local friends, Roger, whom we originally met through the China adoption community, got stuck in all the traffic, gridlock and accidents, with most of his time being spent on Johnson Ferry Rd, the main road we live off of.  At close to 11PM, after 9+ hours and 8 miles remaining to travel to his home and family, he landed safely at our home.  After a hot dinner and a beer for him, we all thankfully slept safe and warm.  By late Wednesday afternoon he was able to safely make the trek home even though it did involve dodging wrecks & abandoned cars, detours because of road closures and avoiding re-freezing roads and black ice.  Roger was still at our home for lunch and on an icy cold day nothing is better than a steaming bowl of soup.  After checking the pantry and realizing that I had the fixings for both of Elizabeth’s soups I let Roger pick which he’d enjoy and he was the one who chose.  Now this is where the story gets a bit small-world-ish.  Elizabeth posted her garlic seafood in coconut milk recipe as a guest writer on another blog called Diana Rambles.  Now I have “known” Diana through the China adoption community for over eight years.  So how small world is that, my cooking community through Elizabeth’s Food Rambles writes a guest post on Diana’s Diana Rambles, whom I know through the China adoption community and our stranded snowmageddon house guest, whom we also know through the China adoption community happens to pick that recipe. 

Okay, enough of my ramblings…  Roger made a wonderful choice and after he returned home I heard from his wife just how much he enjoyed the soup, but oddly nothing about how much he enjoyed sleeping in Maisie’s princess palace  ;)  I think that this soup will not only be made again in our home, but become a regular in his home too.  We did made a few small changes to Elizabeth’s original recipe as we left out the rice, my blend of seafood was slightly different, I substituted lime juice for the lemon juice and fish sauce for her salt and instead of mixed frozen veggies I used what I had, sugar snap peas and then added some straw mushrooms just because I had them and knew they would work well.  I know that it sounds like a lot of substitutions but it was acid for acid, salt for salt, veg for veg and fish for fish and just goes to show, in recipes like this, you can still have the same base dish working with what you have on hand.  Check out Elizabeth’s original recipe or make our version, either one will prove to be a delicious choice.

Garlic Seafood in Coconut Milk (adapted from here)

• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced
• 4 cloves  fresh garlic, minced
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 
• 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 14 oz can coconut milk 
• 8 oz. sugar snap peas
• 15 oz. can straw mushrooms, drained
• 1 lb seafood blend with shrimp, clams, scallops, mussels and calamari
• 1 TBS. lime juice
• 1 TBS. fish sauce, or more to taste

In a large pot, heat oil on medium. Add the onion and cook slowly until they starts to turn golden.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant and softened. Add the cilantro and red pepper flakes and cook for another couple minutes. 

Add the diced tomatoes and coconut milk. Stir to combine and then cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add sugar snap peas & mushrooms and simmer until the snap peas are tender.  Bring to a boil and then add the seafood.  Cover and remove from the heat immediately.  Allow the seafood to poach for about 10 minutes until cooked through.  Stir in the lime juice and fish sauce to taste. 

Enjoy! 

My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts: 

Lamb & Eggplant with Chiles
Fijian Ceviche
Carrot & Sweet Potato Pancakes   
Chicken Burgers with Spinach & Mushrooms 
Paradise Mango Curried Shrimp 
Laura Goodenough’s Apple Coffee Cake 
Loaded Potato Soup
Lemon Almond Biscotti 
Creamy Mints 
Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken 
Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings 
Fried Green Tomatoes 
Chicken Satay Noodle Salad 
Double Chocolate Mousse Cake 
Candied Popcorn
Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad 
Broiled Sushi 
Health(ier) Peanut Brittle 
Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites 
Texas Chicken with Lime Butter 
Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens 
Thin Mint Irish Coffee 
Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies 
Welsh Cakes 
Nutella Crêpes 
Cilantro Lime Chicken 
Holy Guacamole 
and
Home Style Chicken Curry

Paradise Mango Curried Shrimp

It’s Secret Recipe Club time again and after missing last month because we were away for a few weeks on a transatlantic cruise, it’s great to be back!  This month I was assigned the Chef & the Lucky Wife’s blog, The Saturday Evening Pot.  As always I was excited to get my assignment and as usual, it was terribly difficult to pick a recipe to make and feature.  In the end it came down to Maisie and my wanting to make a meal that she would eat and love.  Maisie adores shrimp and rice so the Chef’s Paradise Shrimp over Jasmine Rice had all the makings of a meal that we all would enjoy and it was Maisie “safe”, no wheat, egg or dairy. 

I did of course make a few little changes to the Chef’s recipe because when do I ever make a recipe as written?  First off I changed the rice from Jasmine Rice to Saffron rice, just because that’s what Maisie requested.  In the Chef’s recipe he uses mango juice and mandarin oranges but I had some fresh mangoes in the house so I skipped the mandarin oranges and just used the fresh mango in its place.  I also decided to add a bit more spice to the recipe by upping the allspice and adding some hot Jamaican curry powder.  My final little ingredient change was that I used cilantro instead of parsley, because that’s what I had in the house, and I added a bit of toasted unsweetened coconut as a garnish. 

The meal was loved by all of us and even using the hot Jamaican curry powder, there was just the slightest kick, not too spicy for even Maisie.  For something even less spicy use regular Jamaican curry powder or, check out the original recipe over on the Chef & Lucky Wife’s blog.

Paradise Mango Curried Shrimp (adapted from here) 

• 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, raw, peeled and de-veined
• 2 TBS. olive oil 
• 1/8 cup finely minced onion
• 1 14-ounce can lite coconut milk 
• 1 1/2 cups 100% pure mango juice
• 1/2 tsp. allspice 
• 1 tsp. hot Jamaican curry powder (can substitute mild but use Jamaican curry powder)
• 1/8 tsp. fresh ground black pepper 
• sea salt to taste
• 1 package Saffron rice, uncooked
• 2 TBS. unsweetened coconut, toasted
• 1 mango, diced
• (to garnish) cilantro, chopped

Cook rice according to package directions and set aside.

Peel and de-vein (if necessary) shrimp, keep cool, and set aside.   Heat a 10-inch covered, deep skillet over medium heat.   Add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and sauté lightly, until the onion is softened but not browned.  Add the allspice & curry powder and continue cooking for approximately one minute, stirring continuously, until fragrant.  Turn heat to low and add the coconut milk, mango juice, pepper & salt.  Stir to blend well and bring the poaching mixture to a simmer.  

Add the raw shrimp to the poaching liquid, cover tightly and immediately remove from the heat.  Allow the shrimp to poach for 15 minutes, until cooked through.  Once the shrimp is cooked, remove the shrimp from the poaching liquid, cover and set aside.  Turn the heat to high and allow the poaching liquid to reach a boil.  Stirring constantly, reduce the poaching liquid until it thickly covers the back of a spoon.  Add the shrimp back into the thickened poaching liquid and quickly toss to coat the shrimp. 

Portion the rice onto 4 plates and top with the shrimp.  Add the thickened poaching liquid, diced mango, cilantro & toasted coconut.

Enjoy!

My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts: 

Laura Goodenough’s Apple Coffee Cake 
Loaded Potato Soup
Lemon Almond Biscotti 
Creamy Mints 
Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken 
Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings 
Fried Green Tomatoes 
Chicken Satay Noodle Salad 
Double Chocolate Mousse Cake 
Candied Popcorn
Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad 
Broiled Sushi 
Health(ier) Peanut Brittle 
Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites 
Texas Chicken with Lime Butter 
Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens 
Thin Mint Irish Coffee 
Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies 
Welsh Cakes 
Nutella Crêpes 
Cilantro Lime Chicken 
Holy Guacamole 
and
Home Style Chicken Curry

**CLOSED** **GIVEAWAY** Certified Steak & Seafood ~ $50 Gift Certificate **CLOSED**

Congrats to Trice from High Heels & Good Meals.  I hope that your choice from Certified Steak & Seafood provides for some wonderful meals.

Recently I blogged about some wonderful Prime Filet Mignon and Chilean Sea Bass which I received from Certified Steak & Seafood.  With the gorgeous filet I made a fabulous Steak au Poivre which delighted us beyond words and with the fish I made a simple yet delicious Sesame Ginger Sea Bass which Maisie just couldn’t get enough of. 

Both the beef and the fish arrived at my door individually vacuum sealed, frozen and packed in a cooler with dry ice so it was easy for me to defrost or just pop into the freezer.  For me, finding and purchasing USDA prime beef, like the filets I received is difficult but with Certified Steak & Seafood it’s easy to order online.  What’s also really nice is that they allow you the ability to choose up to 12 weeks out, the arrival date of your order.  So order for that special holiday or gift and your order will arrive the day you choose.

After enjoying the wonderful steaks and fish I couldn’t wait to have more and what better way than at a discount?  So, I entered the "Spread the word to Win a $50 Gift Card for Certified Steak & Seafood" contest through The Foodie Blogroll, hoping to win a $50 Gift Card to Certified Steak & Seafood!  Well guess what?  I WON!!  Even better, you can win too as I received a second $50 Gift Card from Certified Steak & Seafood to give away to one of my wonderful readers. 

At the end of the giveaway I will provide the one lucky winner with the gift certificate code.  Just follow the directions below for all the ways to enter.  For a little luck of the Irish, entries will be accepted up until 11:59 PM EST on Sunday, March 17, 2013 and the winner will be chosen by random draw.  I will contact the winner via email and they will have 48 hours to contact me with their email address.  If there is no contact, after the 48 hours a new winner will be drawn.  Certified Steak & Seafood only ships to U.S. and Canada residents.

How to enter:

Required entry:

• Leave a comment on this post letting me know which is your favorite, beef or fish and your favorite preparation.

Additional entries:

You can earn up to four additional entries:  Each item you do counts as one additional entry so please leave a separate comment for each, letting me know that you are already a member or follower or now have done each item.

• Become a member and follow Cook Lisa Cook.
• Become a follower of Cook Lisa Cook on Twitter.
• Follow me on Pinterest.
• Visit Certified Steak & Seafood and come back and tell me how you would spend your $50 gift certificate.

Good luck!

Sweet Potato Glass Noodles with Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp

This month for the Improv Cooking Challenge our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker asked the participating bloggers to make any recipe of their choice using the two given ingredients of sweet potatoes and honey.  I’m going to bet that the recipe hop below will be filled with delicious and tempting sweet potato recipes that will be perfect for this time of year, with all the flavors of the holiday.  I on the other hand am not feeling the holidays, feel like they’re racing towards me and I’m just not ready for them.  So I decided to go in a completely different direction with sweet potatoes and honey but still keeping with the theme.    

Have you ever tried sweet potato glass noodles?  They are wonderfully chewy, delicious and have no sweet potato flavor at all.  So if you’re not a sweet potato lover but looking for a delicious noodle, which is by the way gluten-free, I’d suggest that you give these a try.  I easily find them at my local Asian/International market but they can also be found online here.  As the noodles are gluten-free and since Maisie loves shrimp, I decided to flavor this dish for her.  The shrimp with the honey and lime are a wonderful mix of sweet and sour and the garlic adds another wonderful layer of flavor.  Had I made this dish for Eammon and I, I probably would have added a bit of crushed red pepper flakes as we always enjoy a hot little kick to our food but made as I did for Maisie, this dish was delicious and perfect.  I’ll be making this dish again and I’ll also be using the sweet potato glass noodles again as we really enjoyed them.

Sweet Potato Glass Noodles with Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp  

• 8 oz. Sweet Potato Glass Noodles
• 12 oz. raw medium shrimp, peeled, deveined & tail removed
• 3 TBS. olive oil, divided
• 2 TBS. sugar free honey, or regular honey
• zest from one medium lime
• juice of one medium lime
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt 
• crushed red pepper flakes, optional & to taste

Cook noodles according to package directions.  While the noodles are cooking mix the shrimp, 1 TBS. of the olive oil, honey, lime zest & juice, garlic, salt & optional crushed red pepper flakes, together in a bowl.  About five minutes before the noodles finish cooking, heat a large cast iron skillet or frying pan over high heat.  Add the remaining 2 TBS. of olive oil and heat until hot.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp from the marinade and add the shrimp to the hot pan, reserve the marinade.  Quickly cook the shrimp, turning when necessary, until they are cooked through and opaque.  Remove the cooked shrimp from the pan to a plate.  Add the marinade to the now empty pan, bring to a boil and reduce by half. 

Drain the pasta and add to a serving bowl.  Pour the cooked and reduced marinade over the noodles and top with the shrimp. 

Enjoy!

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

October 2012  Oatmeal & Raisins:  S’mores Granola Bars   
September 2012  Zucchini & Brown Sugar:  Zucchini with Onion & Brown Sugar 
August 2012  Tomatoes & Peppers:  French Fries Hash Browns 
July 2012  Corn & Butter:  Fritos Crusted Pollock 
June 2012  Cherries & Almonds:  Dried Cherry Almond Tart 
May 2012  Strawberries & Cream:  Strawberry Soup 
April 2012  Peanut butter & Jelly:  Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars 
March 2012  Potato & Cheese:  Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole 
February 2012  Ginger & Carrots:  Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing 
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Shrimp & Vegetable Madras Curry for Daniel

Through my blogs I have met many wonderful bloggers, some in real life but most, just though cyberspace.  It’s amazing though because even the bloggers who you only know via what they write on their blog or by comments they leave for you, you form a bond with them and you look forward to what they write on their blog and what they have to say about what you’ve written on yours.  In my almost 8 years of blogging I have mainly been involved in two online communities, the International adoption community with my Moments with Maisie blog and the foodie community with this, my Cook Lisa Cook blog.  In both online communities I’ve found that most bloggers and those who may not have a blog, but comment on mine, are wonderful, supportive and kind people.  One of those people whom I’ve only met through cyberspace and really because of my participation in The Secret Recipe Club was Daniel Saraga of The Haggis and the Herring.  I’ve loved reading Daniel’s blog as he seemed to have a warm and gracious spirit, his passion for cooking and food shone through in his words and his taste in foods ran right along the same diverse, ethnic and adventurous lines that ours do.  When commenting on my blog, Daniel always made kind, thoughtful and often humorous comments that always warmed my heart and made me smile.  So it was with great sadness that I read of his sudden passing about two weeks back.  Daniel left behind his wife, two sons and third child on the way as well as a large extended family and many friends.  I had tears in my eyes reading Meredith’s words for the loss of her beloved husband, you could tell how much he was loved. 

Daniel was also loved in the online foodie community and that is why today, numerous Secret Recipe Club bloggers are coming together in a tribute day to Daniel by recreating and posting a recipe from The Haggis and the Herring.  

From my reading of The Haggis and the Herring, Daniel seemed to have a special passion for Indian curries, posting numerous delicious versions including Aloo Mutter Butter Paneer, Baked Aloo Kofta Curry, Channa Korma Curry, Channa Masala, Chicken Curry, Butter Chicken, Chicken Madras, Chicken Vindaloo and Chicken Tikka Masala.  So with that in mind I decided to recreate one of his curry dishes.  Unfortunately when I went to make my chosen recipe of Chicken Madras, I realized that I had everything in the house but chicken so knowing how versatile curries are I used what I had on hand for protein, shrimp.  I also decided to bulk up the shrimp with some added veggies as that morning I had picked some gorgeous red, orange, yellow and green peppers as well as some tomatoes from our garden and I also had a package of mushrooms that begged to be used.

I sautéed the veggies which smelled delicious on their own.

Then I added the shrimp which had been marinating in the curry sauce along with some crushed tomatoes and a delicious curry came together.  I hope to try many more of Daniel’s curries and other recipes.  He, his posts, recipes and kind words will all be missed.

Shrimp & Vegetable Madras Curry

• 1 TBS. garam masala
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 rounded TBS. curry powder
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt 
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 TBS. Whey Low Gold or brown sugar
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 rounded TBS. fresh grated ginger
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp (I used medium/small shrimp but any size would work)
• 2 TBS. olive oil
• 3-4 sweet peppers, mixed red, orange, yellow & green
• 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• 3 medium tomatoes, cut in 8ths
• 1 - 14.5 oz. can crushed tomatoes

In a large bowl, whisk together the garam masala, cinnamon, curry powder, black pepper, salt, cayenne, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, lemon juice and 1/2 cup olive oil.  Stir in the shrimp, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

In a deep pan heat 2 TBS. olive oil on high and add the peppers & mushrooms.  Allow the peppers & mushrooms to brown slightly then stir in the fresh tomatoes and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes start to soften.  Add the shrimp curry mixture and cook for 2 minutes stirring continuously. Add the tomatoes, stir and let simmer on medium-low for 30 minutes.  Serve with rice.

Enjoy!

 

 

Thai Curry Shrimp with Shirataki Noodles

Ages and ages ago I saw a recipe on Catherine’s blog Weelicious for Thai Curry Cellophane Noodles and because of the flavors of the ingredients I knew that it would be a winning recipe in our home so I tucked it away in my “need to make” file.  It took a while to actually make her dish but oh am I ever glad that I did because it was a huge success with all of us and even better, with very minor changes it was not only safe for Maisie’s allergies but it also fit in with my diet of avoiding carbs and sugar.  Honestly right off the top it was Maisie “safe” but to make it fit better into my diet I substituted Catherine’s bean thread noodles with Shirataki Noodles which contain no carbs or calories and in texture are very similar to the bean thread noodles!  This dish was simple to make, delicious and honestly really good cold as I finished the leftovers for breakfast…Shhhhh…  This recipe is a keeper and will be made time and time again.

Thai Curry Shrimp with Shirataki Noodles (adapted from here)  

• 2 – 7 oz. packages angel hair or vermicelli Shirataki Noodles 
• 1 TBS cornstarch
• 2 – 13.5 oz. cans lite coconut milk
• 1 TBS vegetable oil or canola oil
• 2 medium sweet onions, diced
• 2 red bell peppers, julienned
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh minced ginger
• 4 large scallions, white & green parts chopped
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 4 tsp Jamaican curry powder 
• 1 lb medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 TBS fish sauce 
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Drain and rinse the noodles very well.  I generally allow them to soak in some water for a few minutes and then rinse a few times.

In a bowl combine the cornstarch and coconut milk and set aside.  Heat oil in a wok or large sauté pan over medium heat, add onions and sauté until translucent, about 3-4 minutes.  Add the red bell peppers, garlic, ginger, scallions, salt and curry powder and sauté another 2-3 minutes.  Add the shrimp and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring continuously.  Add the coconut milk mixture, lime juice, fish sauce and cilantro and stir to mix.  Heat through until mixture starts to thicken up.  Add the drained noodles and stir for another minute or until noodles are coated with the sauce and heated through.

Enjoy!

Broiled Sushi

I love being a member of The Secret Recipe Club and each month I’m excited to receive my Secret Recipe Club assignment to see who I’ve been assigned.  Just as in months past, as soon as I received the email from our Group ‘A’ hostess Jane, which contained all the information for my assigned blog, I was off stalking it.  This month I was assigned Lisa’s Sweet as Sugar Cookies which is a wonderful blog filled with dozens and dozens of sweet treat recipes as well as some main dishes.  I looked at so many of Lisa’s bar, cookie and ice cream recipes and there were just dozens that I wanted to make but because of Maisie’s allergies she can’t really eat most of the sweets and the fact that neither Eammon nor I really need to be eating sweets right now I decided to look at the main dish recipes.  Once I saw Lisa’s recipe for Broiled Sushi I knew that I had found my recipe. 

I’ll bet that it was less than four hours from the time I opened the email containing my assignment to the time that I served this meal.  As it worked out I opened the email late on a Sunday morning and as I didn’t have any plans for meals that day and the fact that I had everything I needed to make this in my pantry and freezer…well it was meant to be.  I got my mushrooms and sushi rice soaking and I pulled a package of imitation crab meat from the freezer and got that defrosting and then I was good to go.  This dish came together in no time at all and Eammon especially adored it and ate it for meal after meal until he finished the entire dish.  Surprisingly for me, I didn’t change Lisa’s recipe at all, I made it exactly as written and when I make it again, which I will, I wouldn’t change a thing…well maybe I would make one of her wonderful looking sweets to enjoy after the Broiled Sushi.  Oh and if you’re turning your nose up thinking sushi = raw fish well not in this dish, as there’s nothing raw, just wonderful flavors so give it a try.

In a large bowl mix together the mushrooms, crab meat, sour cream and mayonnaise.

Spread a layer of sushi rice in a baking dish.

Sprinkle the rice layer with furikake.

Add the crab & mushroom mixture and it’s ready for the broiler.

Bubbly and lightly browned, fresh from the broiler.

Furikake and roasted laver (Gim).  I keep both the sheets and the individual packets of Gim in the house.  The sheets are when we eat at home and the small packets I send with Maisie for snack at school and at the gym.  To see our no-mess way of cutting the sheets into neat little squares, click here.

Broiled Sushi  (from here)

• 10 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in water until rehydrated and then chopped
• 1 1/2 lbs. imitation crab meat, shredded
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• furikake (Japanese rice seasoning)
• 3 cups cooked brown sushi rice 
• Korean roasted laver (Gim)
• Sriracha

In a large bowl combine the chopped mushrooms, crab meat, sour cream and mayonnaise and stir to combine  Spray a 9 x13-inch Pyrex with cooking spray and spread the sushi rice in an even layer.  Sprinkle with furikake seasoning. Spread with the crab meat mixture. Put under the broiler for about 10 minutes until the top begins to brown. Serve with Sriracha.  Scoop into pieces of Gim, and eat.

Enjoy!

My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts:

Health(ier) Peanut Brittle 
Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites 
Texas Chicken with Lime Butter 
Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens 
Thin Mint Irish Coffee 
Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies 
Welsh Cakes 
Nutella Crêpes 
Cilantro Lime Chicken 
Holy Guacamole 
and
Home Style Chicken Curry

Crab Cake Stuffed Mushrooms

The reason that I call these Crab Cake Stuffed Mushrooms is because I use the exact same recipe to make crab cakes but I like these better as I’m adding the mushroom and I’m not frying anything.  If you choose to make these into crab cakes just leave out the mushroom and with the filling, pat it into cakes, dust lightly with flour and fry in a hot skillet drizzled with oil.  Fry until browned, 4-5 minutes and then carefully flip to fry the other side until golden.

Using a tablespoon I fill the mushrooms really full with the filling and then I sprinkle on some paprika.  These are ready for the oven.

Crab Cake Stuffed Mushrooms

• 24 oz. mushrooms
• 1 pound crabmeat, picked clean of shells
• 22 Ritz Crackers, crushed finely
• 3 green onions (green and white parts), finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Hellmann’s real mayonnaise 
• 1 TBS chia seeds, stir into 1/4 cup warm water and allow to hydrate and form a gel (or substitute one egg)
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard 
• 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• Paprika

Preheat oven to 400F.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. 

Clean the mushrooms, remove the stems and with a spoon scoop out the gills.  Set aside the stems and gills for another recipe, (soon to be posted.)  In a large bowl, except for the mushroom caps, mix together all the ingredients.  Using a Tablespoon fill the mushroom caps nice and high with the filling.  Place the filled mushrooms on the prepared baking pan and dust with paprika. 

Bake for 20 minutes until the mushrooms are tender and the top of the filling is golden brown.

Enjoy!

Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing

This is my fifth month participating in the Improv Cooking Challenge which is hosted by Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker.  As always I looked forward to participating and finding or coming up with a great recipe which included the two theme ingredients.  This month the participating bloggers were asked to make any recipe of their choosing using the two given ingredients of ginger and carrots.  At first I was going to make a soup, being that it’s winter…supposedly…as our temperatures had been balmy and gorgeous…well until this past week when we hit the deep freeze…but even so, I decided to make something light, healthy and fresh, thus my Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing.  I loved this salad so much and as I had plenty of dressing, I ended up eating it for lunch five days in a row,.

This Carrot Ginger Dressing is very similar to what is served in Japanese restaurants so if you enjoy it out I’d suggest making it at home as it’s super simple and it keeps in the fridge for about a week.

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake 
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies 

Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing

raw shrimp, peeled & deveined, tail left on
Shichimi togarashi
chia seeds
baby salad greens
avocado, peeled & sliced
tomato, sliced
carrot, julienned

Dry the shrimp well and then lightly sprinkle with the Shichimi togarashi and chia seeds.  Cook the shrimp under the broiler or in a lightly oiled hot pan until they are opaque and just cooked through.  Arrange the salad greens, avocado, tomato, cooked shrimp and carrots on a plate and drizzle on the Carrot Ginger Dressing.

 

Carrot Ginger Dressing

1 medium carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 TBS. chopped peeled fresh ginger
fruit pulp from 1/2 of a lemon
1 TBS. ketchup
1/4 tsp. Shichimi togarashi 
2 TBS. water
1/2 cup Grapeseed oil

Put all the dressing ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Will keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for about a week.

Enjoy!