day 29 (part II) - killer shrimp soup

sarah:
there is a restaurant in marina del rey, ca called Killer Shrimp that closed down and has just reopened a few years later. we went to eat there twice now and the wait was over 45 mins so hopefully it will stay around now that it's back!

it's fantastic. they only serve one item: shrimp, 3 ways: with french bread, with pasta, or with rice. the shrimp come in a huge serving bowl filled with this wonderful sauce. peels remain on the shrimp so it gets a little messy, but you must give in and use your fingers. my favorite way to eat is dipping the french bread in the sauce... this is my best attempt to recreate the dish from memory, but i can't wait to go eat there and see if it's even close. it's also in my cookbook if you want more great food finds!

the total cost today (without the spices which i bought the last time we made this dish) was: $24.36. we are going to take the leftover broth to our friend's bbq tomorrow so people can enjoy the sauce!

• 2 quarts chicken broth (64oz)
• 2 tablespoons rosemary
• 5 cloves garlic, minced (use more if you like)
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup clam juice
• 1/2 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 pounds shrimp, with tails and shells
• 1 (1 pound) loaf French bread

1. pour broth into a large pot, and mix in rosemary, garlic, pepper, celery seed, fennel seed, thyme, red pepper flakes, clam juice, tomato paste, and butter. bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
2. stir wine into the soup, and continue to simmer and occasionally stir 2 hours. if you have time, put the soup in the refrigerator and let sit overnight. the next day, put back on the stove and heat for 1/2 hr to hr. (i liked it better this way, but charley found no difference in taste when served immediately)
3. just before serving, stir in shrimp. cook for 3 minutes, or until shrimp are opaque. serve with bread for soaking up all the yummy broth.

charley:
when sarah first said this wasn't as good as last time and didn't have a lot of flavor i wasn't sure what she was tasting.  in fact, i liked this more then last time because she added more heat then she did previously.  i like spicy food so this worked great for me.  i only wish there would have been more shrimp!

enjoy!

day 24 (part II) = nothing like matzo ball soup to kick a cold!

sarah:
on our way back from barcelona, i came down with a killer cold. i had no energy to leave the house or eat much of anything (which is shocking because we both put on a ton of weight on the cruise). all i wanted was matzo ball soup. so, sweet charley picked it up from a restaurant for me the night we returned and then went to the grocery store the following morning to buy me the ingredients so i could make some for us at home. it came out fantastic, i knew i married him for a reason :)

since i was exhausted, i took the easy way out on this. here's what i did:

to start:
- boil water in a large soup pot
- slice 1/2 a large onion and throw it in
- dump in a 16oz bag mini carrots
- cut and dump in 2 celery stalks
- add a few sprigs of chopped parsley
- toss in 6 chicken legs
- add 3 bay leaves
- dump a bunch of salt, pepper, basil, and oregano
- add the soup mix from a package of "manischewitz matzo ball and soup mix"
- set to boil and then simmer

after 1-2 hrs:
- mix the matzo ball mix package with: oil, water, and eggs as directed on the box
- put in refrigerator for at least 30 mins
- bring the water back up to a boil
- drop into BOILING water (essential for fluffy matzo balls)
- season further if needed
- reduce to simmer for 1/2 hour or more

that's it!


charley:
it has been two days of eating this and i am not tired of it.  in fact, i am looking forward to having it again for lunch tomorrow.  i don't feel guilty about eating it as it is lite and filled with healthy things that taste great.  sarah wanted it as she was not feeling well and it must have made a difference as she is feeling better now!

enjoy!

day 23 = using up the fridge caprese salad and lasagna

we are trying to eat up what's in the fridge. when i made the meatballs on day 18, i forgot to put the mozzarella in the center of them. so, i needed to do something with them today to use them up. what's better than a lasagna?

i basically scrambled in the fridge and pulled out whatever i could find. here's what i put together...

caprese salad:
1 mozzarella ball
2 small tomatoes on the vine
olive oil
salt & pepper

slice the tomatoes and mozzarella into round slices. sprinkle tomatoes with salt and pat them dry with a paper towel. layer the tomatoes and mozzarella on a plate. drizzle with olive oil. sprinkle with salt.

lasagna:
1/2 pkg lasagna noodles

freezer "stoup" bag (today's was: canned tomatoes, chopped onions, chicken broth)
feta cheese
dried oregano
dried basil
parsley
red pepper flakes
salt & pepper

freezer "stoup" leftover (today's was: noodles, pasta sauce, chicken, pancetta, peppers)
feta cheese
1 mozzarella ball, sliced
parsley

put a pot of salted water to boil. add a little olive oil and boil lasagna noodles to al dente.

put a pot with the contents of your freezer stoup bag on the stove to boil. since there was more chicken broth than tomatoes, i added a little feta cheese to thicken the sauce. sprinkle with spices to get the correct italian sauce flavoring.

defrost any leftover stoup you may have in the freezer.

put a layer of sauce on the bottom of your lasagna pan. layer with 3 pasta noodles, sauce, leftover stoup (the solid parts), feta cheese, salt & pepper. repeat layering noodles and sauce / stoup until you are finish. place the mozzarella on the top and sprinkle with parsley.

tent the lasagna with foil and bake 45 mins in 375 degree oven. remove foil and bake another 5-10 mins uncovered. cool and serve!

**if you don't know what "stoup" is, check out day 6


charley:
initially i wasn't in the mood for lasagna as i was looking forward to eating hot wings.  in the end i tried the lasagna before making my wings and ended up going back for more lasagna.  it had a good amount of heat to it which, as you know, i enjoy.  i am already looking forward to eating more of it tomorrow.  now on to my ice cream for the national ice cream day!


enjoy!

day 12 = using up the fridge

sarah:
i'm trying to eat up the contents of our fridge. the other day i bought these great mini-potatoes from Trader Joe's and hadn't yet used them. so, i turned the oven to 450 degrees, put the potatoes in an 8x8 in pan, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with a little brown sugar and the leftover sixteen-spice rub i made the other day courtesy of bobby flay, and tossed with tongs to coat. i put the pan in the oven (no need to wait for it to preheat) and changed into comfy clothes.

well, i knew we were having potatoes, but what was going to be for the main meal? i opened the freezer to get out some chicken wings ($4 off at costco right now), but charley had eaten the last few earlier today. ok, now what? i still had some leftover "stoup" from a month ago so i stuck it in the microwave for 10 mins to defrost and heat-up.

luckily, they finished up at about the same time and we had a great dinner in under 20 mins!

**anytime i have leftovers (pasta, herbs, wine...) i throw them into a ziploc bag and stick in the freezer. about once a month i cook up the contents of the bags with a little chicken stock and it makes for a few great meals of "stoup".

charley:
first meal of the week that was a little heavy, but still very good.  she did an amazing job with the seasoning and i may regret it later as i ate too many of them.  after a week long of this food i am happy to say i haven't put on any weight, but i have made sure to keep up with my workouts and even push myself a little farther.  i am beginning to believe what they say that it is always better to have a home cooked meal then eat out.  this really has become a great blessing, i love the food.

enjoy!

day 11 = super easy grilled cheese and tomato soup

watch it's progress...

and for the finale...



sarah:

last week i came home to a "present." charley got me a new cookbook and he's been drooling over it ever since. today i got an email from him -- this is the entirety of the email:

Soup:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
2 celery stalks
4 garlic cloves
1 carrot
2 red peppers
1 28oz can plum tomatoes in juice
3 cups chicken stock
1 tsp sugar
1 bay leaf

1 tsp spanish paprika
salt and fresh ground pepper

Grilled Cheese:

Grab bread and whatever cheese you wish! (Typically American)

ok... i think charley wants grilled cheese and tomato soup. so, i picked up the ingredients (but i grabbed cheddar cheese because i don't like american) and thought i am in for a long night. much to my surprise, this took very little time and was super easy to clean. here's what i did:

soup:

1. turn on broiler; put peppers into oven and let broil until skin blackens, turning frequently
2. meanwhile...
3. heat oil in a saucepan over med-low heat
4. chop onion, celery, and garlic; throw in saucepan and stir until softened
5. chop carrot; throw in saucepan for 1 min
6. add tomatoes with their juice, the stock, sugar, and bay leaf
7. add salt and pepper
8. bring to boil at high-heat, then turn to med-low
9. cover soup and simmer for 45 mins
10. good time to check on the peppers :) place in a ziploc or plastic bag to capture the steam and let cool (this will allow for easy peeling of the skin)
11. pull red peppers out of bag and peel off skin; discard seeds
12. add red peppers and spanish paprika to the soup
13. puree in blender
14. adjust seasoning (add lots more salt, pepper, and spanish paprika) and serve!

grilled cheese:

1. heat a saucepan on med
2. butter both sides of bread slices you are using
3. add cheese to cover one side of each sandwich
4. assemble the sandwiches
5. place in the saucepan letting each side grill and the cheese melt
6. repeat making as many sandwiches as you need!

the grilled cheese came out great! the soup is really healthy (it's all vegetables), but i didn't think it had a lot of taste. i'd bump up the vegetables some to give it more than just a tomato taste.

charley:

let me be completely honest as i was the one who requested this and yes it was mainly for the grilled cheese.  you can't go wrong with tomato soup and grilled cheese (we will be having it at our wedding) and this was no exception.  the soup was light and i could taste everything that went into it.  very tasty and was a great addition to the sandwich.  the only problem with the meal was sarah would only allow me to have one grilled cheese (has to do with her wanting me to live forever!)  in the end she did let me have half of her sandwich.

enjoy!

day 6 = not supposed to happen "stoup"

well, it only took 6 days and i royally messed-up our dinner. if you know me, this will come as no surprise....

charley picked out a recipe he wanted me to make and we went to the grocery store yesterday to pick-up the ingredients. it's a recipe from "Ad-Hoc at Home" (Artisan) by Thomas Keller and we were really looking forward to trying it. being that it was sunday night, i took my time preparing all that was needed to make the dish. i pre-made the chutney, chopped all the vegetables, and made the brine. this morning, i woke-up and stuck the meat in the brine (which it needs to sit in for up to 10 hrs) and left home really proud of myself for actually prepping a dish to the fullest!

walking to the car after work, i called charley to ask him to pull the meat out of the fridge and let it come to room temp by the time i got home. this is how the conversation went...

charley: "it's not in the fridge"

sarah: "ok, charley, it's in a large red pot in the fridge. just pull it out of the liquid and let it sit out to rest until i get home"

charley: "i'm pretty sure the pot is sitting on the counter with the meat in it"

sarah: "what do you mean!? it's not in the refrigerator?"

charley: "yeah, i was wondering what you were doing!"

"yeah, i was wondering what you were doing????" why didn't he just put it in the fridge... oh well, there went all my prep and the hours of "love" i gave the dish yesterday. scrap that so tonight we had leftovers! don't worry though, i stopped at costco on the way home and picked up some more meat for tomorrow... we'll try round two. (i have all this chutney and prepped vegetables i need to use!!)

not supposed to happen "stoup":

sarah:
every time i have leftovers around (pasta, herbs, chicken bones, vegetables, wine --- yes wine!.....) i throw the leftovers into a large ziploc bag, put it in the freezer, and save for a rainy day. then, when the bag gets full (actually, it's usually 2 bags), i throw it all into a large soup pot and make us some "stoup". i did this last night since it took quite some time to prep all the ingredients for my botched meal so it was our dinner tonight. it's a great way to use up leftovers and makes a really hearty meal!

(if you have leftover wine, pour it into ice cube trays and freeze. it will be a little slushy, but throw it into your ziploc bag and it gives a great flavor to your stoup!)

charley:
the great thing about this soup is that it comes out different each time she makes it.  because it is made up of leftovers from previous meals it always has a little different flavor and is always spiced differently.  to clarify I enjoy things spicy and this version of the soup was a little mild for me, but it had enough flavor to carry the dish so that I didn't need to add any pepper or other spices.  i was very happy with this meal, now I am off for my dessert (the remaining pineapple cake!!!!!)

enjoy!