Saucy Grilled Shrimp and Pasta Salad

I'm in love with the flavors of Asia. Whether it's a curry, stir fry or salad, I'm giving it a try in my kitchen. And I have spent hours upon hours testing recipes that mimic my favorite dishes from the authentic Asian restaurants I frequent. Imagine my delight when I tasted Saucy Mama's Pacific Rim Ginger Dressing? Wowser!! Was I impressed! It had all the flavors I usually strive for when I make my garlic/ginger dressing. And there's no grating ginger or chopping garlic, no checking the pantry and fridge for rice vinegar and soy sauce, and no measuring anything. And I'm reluctant to admit, but I will...it's as good or maybe even better than my homemade.

So let's get cooking and put together a simple salad that's perfect for a weeknight meal or company fare. And it's only seven ingredients. Yes, you read that right, seven ingredients.

Pacific Rim Ginger Grilled Shrimp and Pasta Salad
Servers 4 to 6

1 lb Gulf Shrimp peeled and deveined (I like the 16-21 count)
1 cup Saucy Mama Pacific Rim Ginger Dressing divided
1/2 lb sugar snap peas
1 large red pepper sliced 1/4 inch
2-3 scallions chopped
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
8 oz linguini

I just made this tonight and it's fresh in my mind. This is what I did. I soaked some wooden skewers in water for a half hour (so they don't burn on my indoor grill). While they were bathing I poured 1/2 cup of Pacific Rim Ginger Dressing into a gallon size plastic bag. In went the cleaned shrimp, and they had a bath of their own for 30 minutes. I then skewered them and cooked them in my grill pan on my stovetop for about 2-3 minutes per side.

Yummy looking right? One of these skewers is meant for the chef, so help yourself, simply delish. The shrimp can sit for a bit while you assemble the salad. Cook linguini according to package directions and drain and rinse with cold water to stop cooking. While pasta is cooking, chop the cilantro and scallions, and microwave the sugar snaps for 1-1/2 minutes. Most people don't cook their red peppers, but I microwave mine for about 45 seconds (Crazy? maybe, but I think they're just a little bit sweeter that way). Combine pasta and cooled veggies, scallions and cilantro in a bowl and toss with remaining 1/2 cup of dressing.

Plate and garnish with cilantro leaves. You can serve the shrimp on skewers as I did, but when it's mixed with the pasta salad, it's pretty impressive as well. Serve at room temp or even cold.

Saucy Giveaway! Yes, a giveaway. Please leave a comment here or on my facebook page for a chance to win some Saucy Mama products. I see some good eating in some reader's future. Details about the giveaway will be posted soon.

Diane Smith, you've won the giveaway! I'll message you with the saucy choices. Congrats!!!

There are a lot of Saucy Mamas out there, and I'm one of them!

I've been blogging now for almost five years. I love the writing and the cooking, love the friends I've made and love the newest opportunity that came my way a few weeks ago. I've been chosen as one of 25 bloggers to compete in the Saucy Mama blogger challenge.  And it's a big one. The winner of the challenge will win $1,000, a Golden Ticket to the World Food Championships and a $1,000 travel stipend. Barhyte foods sent me 6 of their Saucy Mama sauces and asked me get saucy with an original recipe. The package included: 12 oz each of Saucy Mama Orange Habanero Wing Sauce, Jamaican Jerk Wing Sauce, Honey Barbecue Wing Sauce, Hot Wing Sauce, Honey Dijon Dressing and Four Leaf Balsamic.

So the tasting began. Each and every sauce has a quality of it's own. My two favs were the Orange Habanero and Four Leaf Balsamic, but I could have been happy creating with any one of the six. Those who know me have probably guessed by now that I fell in love with the Orange Habanero Wing Sauce. The flavors are complex (as are the other sauces), but this baby won my heart. I love me some heat and citrus and I was on the road to happiness.

My mom used to make the creamiest orzo (pasta) and I decided to add a little zest/oomph to her recipe and update it by adding orange supremes, a little orange zest and a tad of the Habanero Orange Sauce. And what goes better with orzo than shrimp? Well probably nothing... and so my cooking adventure began. I did a few test runs to get the recipe just the way I wanted it, and here's what I came up with.

Zesty Orzo Smothered with Orange Habanero Shrimp
Serves 4

Orzo
2 cups uncooked orzo (I used Barilla)
3 T unsalted butter
1 T canola oil
1/2 cup onion diced
Salt and pepper
3-1/2 cups chicken broth with extra juice from the oranges
1-1/2 T Saucy Mama Orange Habanero Wing Sauce
Zest of 2 navel oranges
2 navel oranges supremed (save the juice to add to broth)

Shrimp
1 pound Gulf shrimp peeled and deveined (I like the 16-21 per pound)
1 medium onion chopped
5 cloves garlic finely chopped
3 T unsalted butter
1 T canola oil
1 tsp Azafran seasoning
1/3 cup Saucy Mama Orange Habanero Wing Sauce
1 bottle Shock Top orange beer
Juice of half lemon and juice of half orange

I'm ready to put this dish together with some pictures. It's really a quick fix and simple, simple, simple.

To make the orzo: Add butter and oil to medium size skillet on medium low heat. Add the chopped onions and cook until softened (3-4 minutes). Don't brown them, just soften. Now add your orzo and toast the pasta in the butter mixture kind of like you're making risotto. Add the Saucy Mama Orange Habanero Sauce and combine. Add a small amount of salt and pepper and take a moment to admire the toasty goodness of the orzo.

Now it's time to add the broth, zest and orange supremes.

Cover pot and cook on a low simmer for 15 minutes. Voila! Creamy orzo is ready.

Set the orzo aside and let's get ready to cook the shrimp. Besides the Saucy Mama Orange Habanero Sauce, there's another secret ingredient to this dish. It's orange beer, and apparently easy to find. One stop at a liquor store and I found what I was looking for.

 In large pot add butter, oil, garlic and onions. Cook on medium to low until onions and garlic are translucent, but not brown, about 3-4 minutes. Add beer, Saucy Mama Orange Habanero Sauce, Azafran, lemon and orange juice. Increase heat a bit and add shrimp.

Cover and cook on a low boil 5-6 minutes until shrimp become pink. Remove shrimp from cooking liquid and set aside to cool a bit.

Once shrimp are removed, increase stove heat slightly and reduce the beer, habanero orange sauce mixture to intensify the flavors. Do this with the cover off. This takes about 10-15 minutes. While you're reducing the liquid, I give you permission to taste the shrimp, just one or two though. Aren't they delish? And that's without the decadent sauce. A few more minutes and you're ready to eat.

While my sauce was concentrating, I put together an avocado, orange, scallion, and Fresno chili salsa to go with this flavorful meal. It's certainly not a necessity, but I always like some veggies with my meal.

And now for the reader giveaway. Saucy Mama would like you to try their sauces and has offered a give-away to my readers. Simply leave a comment here on the blog or on my facebook page by the Saucy Mama post and you could be chosen to receive 3 Saucy Mama wing sauces. That's a saucy way to begin the summer season, don't you think?

Sizzling

I love scampi. I love the garlic, the decadent sauce and of course the shrimp. Tonight I added a twist to my regular scampi recipe and I'm so thrilled with it I had to postpone the kitchen clean up and get this quick little recipe down in writing. Over the last year I have been playing with (what I believe is a Portuguese spice blend) Sazon con Azafran. I buy it in the international aisle of my grocery store. Here's what it looks like.

It comes in a box with small envelopes inside. For this recipe, because of all the garlic I only used one envelope. Anyway, this is a quick prep, a quick saute and a meal you'll want to linger over.

Scampi con Azafran
This should serve 3- but I think since it's so good, plan on it for 2 (or double the recipe for 4)

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and de-veined- I like the 16-20 shrimp/pound measure
3 T unsalted butter
3 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T minced garlic
1 packet Sazon Goya con Azafran
1 lemon zested
1 lemon squeezed of juice
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
4 cups cooked brown rice- tonight I used 2 Uncle Ben's Boil n Bags
chopped scallion, cilantro or parsley for garnish

Finely chop your garlic. I used 2 humongous garlic cloves and that gave me the 2 T of what I needed. Zest your lemon and then squeeze it for the juice. Mix your salt, pepper and azafran together in a small bowl and we're ready to start cooking. In large saucepan heat your butter and oil over medium low heat. You'll be adding your garlic next and you want it to gently cook, so medium low is the temp. Trust me- once you've burned garlic, you'll never cook it on anything but medium low again. Add your garlic and cook about 1 minute. Now add your shrimp.

Time to give this dish another flavor boost, so add the salt, pepper an Azafran.

Mix in the spices and cook about 5 minutes, turning the shrimp over halfway through. Just before you're ready to plate, add your lemon zest, lemon juice and red pepper flakes. Toss again.

Serve with brown rice and enjoy! And don't forget a pretty green garnish.

The shrimp is cooked to perfection, the sauce is succulent and the flavors work so well together you will most definately eat more that you planned. My advice: Wear stretch pants tomorrow!

Mozambique Shrimp Re-Mixed

I had this idea of making Mozambique Shrimp again, this time omitting the beer. I think the Goya spices combined with the onions, garlic and hot sauce is really the secret to this dish. Plus I'm trying to cut some calories and carbs and came up with this new version. The first thing I always have on hand is the Sazon Goya "Con Azafran", found in the international aisle of your grocrery store.

And of course you need shrimp. So let's get the cutting board out and start the prep.  Here's what you'll need:

Mozambique Shrimp sans Beer
3 T butter
1 T olive oil
1 pound shrimp (16-20 count) peeled and deviened
2 small onions chopped
4-5 garlic cloves chopped or grated
2 packets Goya Con Azafran
1-1/2 tsp tomato paste
2 T srirscha sauce (or any other hot sauce that rocks your boat)
12 oz water
Juice of one lemon

In large sauce pan, heat the butter, olive oil, onions and garlic on low for about 5 minutes. Make sure the heat is low enough so you just sweat them. Add the tomato paste (I love the paste in the tube), sriracha sauce, Goya seasoning and water. Bring to a boil.

Now add the prepared shrimp and lemon juice, bring to a boil and lower to a simmer. Cook 5 minutes.

Mozambique shrimp is ready to be served. How easy is that? I paired this with brown rice and garnished with cooling diced cucumber and cilantro. I'd love you to try this- so tasty and simple. Let me know what you think.

Spicy Mozambique Shrimp

I took a culinary trip tonight to South East Africa with Tara Pacheco's simply devine shrimp recipe, cooked in beer with some exotic spices that I was lucky enough to find in my local market. This dish is a quick fix, and it is out of this world, a must try for adventurous shrimp lovers.  Here's a picture of the festive spice package, so when you go hunting for it, you'll know what to look for.

Spicy Mozambique Shrimp
Inspired by Tara Pacheco

1 pound shrimp, deveined and tails left on- I used 16-21 count per pound
1 medium onion chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
3 T unsalted butter
1 T canola oil
2 T Sriracha sauce- although any hot sauce like Franks or Texas Pete would work
1 bottle of beer- I used Sam Adams
2 packets of Goya Sazon con Azafran
Juice of 1 lemon

In large pot add butter, oil, garlic and onions. Cook on medium to low until veg are translucent, but not brown, about 4-5 minutes. Add beer, hot sauce and sazon. Increase heat a bit and add the shrimp and lemon juice. Cover and cook on a low boil 5-6 minutes until shrimp become pink. Ready to eat? Hope so, 'cause your shrimp are done.

I served my portion with brown rice and loved every minute of it. But I have quite a bit of liquid left over and I am not wasting it. Next time I will serve this with big pieces of charred grilled Portuguese bread to sop up the seductive, spicy, delicious broth.  I think that's all you need.

This was just so easy and fast, I'm encouraging you to give it a try.

Back to Earth

After my last post I went into a food coma and decided some sensible eating was in order. So last night I made Roasted Shrimp with Lemon Sauce. Ina Garten has been roasting shrimp for ages and claims that roasting adds flavor to the shrimp that the boiling method takes away. I followed her recipe to the letter. But I wanted to add a little something, something to the mix so I zested a lemon, squeezed the juice, tossed the shrimp in the mixture and made a great little meal/appetizer.

Baked Shrimp Cocktail with Lemon Sauce
Inspired by Ina Garten

1 pound shrimp (16-20 count) peeled and de-veined, I left the tails on
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Zest of one lemon
Juice of one lemon

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine shrimp with olive oil, salt and pepper and place in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Roast 8 minutes. While shrimp are cooking, zest and squeeze the juice from your lemon. When shrimp are done, toss with lemon juice and zest. Let cool and refrigerate.


The best part of this dish (for me) are the dipping sauces. My favorite so far is Sambal Olek right out of the jar.

A close second is good ol' Russian dressing, with a dash or two of horseradish. It goes well with the bite of lemon and is so easy to make. Mix equal parts of ketchup and light mayo, add as much (or as little) horseradish as you like, and sweet relish is optional.

Alternative Sauces: Sweet Thai chili sauce is good too, right out of the bottle. And if you like Asian flavors, mix a little soy sauce with rice vinegar, scallions and sesame seeds.

I agree with Ina- there's no reason to boil shrimp ever again.