Monday, June 25, 2012

Seafood Gumbo And Veggie Cheesy Pasta Salad

Seafood Gumbo

¼ cup of cooking oil
1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
1/3 cup of chopped green pepper or celery
½ cup of chopped onion
¼ teaspoon of black pepper 4 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon of ground red pepper 8 ounces of andouille or smoked sausage, quartered lengthwise and cut into ½-inch slices
3 cups of chicken broth, heated
1½ cups of sliced okra or one 10-ounce package of frozen cut okra, thawed
2 cups of hot cooked rice
1 package of fresh or frozen crabmeat (6 ounces)
1 package of frozen shelled shrimp (12 ounces)
2 bay leaves

To make the roux, in a Dutch oven or a large heavy saucepan combine flour and oil till smooth. Cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir for about 15 minutes more or till roux is light reddish brown.

Stir in black pepper, onion, red pepper, green pepper or celery and garlic. Cook over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes or till vegetables are just tender but still crisp, stirring often.

Gradually stir in hot chicken broth, bay leaves, okra and andouille or smoked sausage. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for about 15 to 25 minutes or till tender. Add the crabmeat and shrimp. If using frozen crabmeat and shrimp, thaw before use. Cook for about 5 minutes more. Discard the bay leaves. Serve over rice. If desired, garnish with a carrot top.

Chicken Gumbo: Prepare as above, except substitute one whole large chicken breast that is skinned, boned and cut into bite-size pieces. Cook the roux until dark reddish brown. Add the chicken pieces along with the last set of ingredients and cook all at once for about 20 to 30 minutes.

Veggie Cheesy Pasta Salad

1/3 cup of vinegar ¾ cup of cubed American or cheddar cheese (3 ounces) 1½ cups of corkscrew or medium shell macaroni 1 teaspoon of sugar ¼ cup of olive oil or canola oil ½ teaspoon of garlic salt 1 teaspoon of dried savory, crushed ¼ teaspoon of black pepper ¼ teaspoon of dried dill weed 1 cup of sliced fresh mushrooms 1 medium cucumber, seeded and coarsely chopped 4 green onions or scallions, sliced 1 stalk of celery, thinly sliced ¼ cup of sliced radishes

Cook macaroni according to the package directions. Then drain. Then rinse with cold water. Drain again.
For the dressing, in a screw-top jar combine sugar, black pepper, garlic salt, vinegar, savory, dill weed, 2 tablespoons of water and oil. Cover and then shake well.

In a bowl mix the celery, onions, cheese, mushrooms, macaroni, radishes and cucumber. Add the dressing. Toss to coat. Cover and chill for about 4 to 24 hours, stirring occasionally.

An Extra Dressing Recipe:

Creamy Onion Oil-Free Dressing
¾ teaspoon of fresh or ¼ teaspoon of dried thyme, oregano, tarragon, or basil, crushed
1 tablespoon of powdered fruit pectin
1/8 teaspoon of dry mustard
1 tablespoon of sugar
¼ cup of water
1/8 teaspoon of pepper
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of vinegar
¼ cup of plain yogurt
¼ cup of sliced green onions or scallions

In a mixing bowl combine desired herb, pectin, mustard, pepper and sugar. Stir in vinegar, yogurt, garlic, green onions or scallions and water. Cover and store in the refrigerator up to 3 days.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Recipes [http://recipe-guides.com]

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Seafood Pasta Salad - - Fresh Summer Salads, Perfect For a Picnic Or Down at the Beach

Do you like seafood? If you do, do you like pasta salads? If you don't like seafood but like pasta salads or if you dislike salads but like seafoods - I think it does not matter. Give this recipe the chance to turn you around. Actually, let us rephrase that - give experimentation the chance to turn you around.

What do I mean by this? I mean that, there are - literally, without an ounce of exaggeration - endless opportunities of variation when it comes to food. You can use any ingredient you want to use - and not only that, but you can use any amount of any ingredient, and you can use any amount of that ingredient with any amount of another and another and another. In other words - there are a billion possible ways of cooking something. Yes, you might have to develop your tastebuds to really notice the difference but if you want to that is entirely possible.

Let us go into a simple seafood pasta salad. Actually, let us begin with the ingredients for the salad:

8 Oz. pasta
Sliced olives - 1 small can
Clove of garlic - 1 small
Fresh ginger root
Parmesan cheese
1 340 gram (or similar bags; in case there are none simply measure that amount). bag of frozen mixed seafood

For the dressing you will need: If you have, sesame oil (and if you don't, don't worry).
Lemon juice
if you want, mayonnaise
Olive oil (if you lack it, use other salad oil)

This is how to do this dish:

Cook pasta, al dente - meaning not very soft; more firm than soft. The time needed depends, on the pasta, but - a rule of thumb is - look at the package and subtract one minute or two from what is specified on it as a good time to cook the pasta. Now do what you usually do with pasta (letting it cool etc).
Chop, then put into a large bowl, the vegetables. The garlic you peel and mince on a grater. Mince a little ginger root, too. Add both to bowl.

Drain olives of water and add to bowl. Add pasta to bowl - mixing it in. Remove seafood from freezer, put in a colander - then rinse with cold water (really cold water).
Take a large pan. Pour, into it, oil - olive, or other - enough that the cooking surface is covered.
If you have it, add some sesame oil - and an equal amount of wine/sushi vinegar.
Put a cover on the pan - put heat on medium temp. until the oil has been heated.
When oil is hot, put into the pan seafood - then cover it. Raise the temperature a little.
While the seafood is cooking, every once in a while stir it. This should not take more than 5 minutes.
Use a spatula to set the seafood on top of the salad. Now, let cool and mix into the salad.
Add a couple tablespoons of lemon juice, salt and pepper and parmesan to taste off.
Cover, refrigerate, then eat your salad!

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Simon_Haestoe

Learn the Seafood Pasta

Crabs is considered to be one of the most delicious and tasty seafood that you can ever have in the world. There are many people that would manifest that it is truly is and there are many advantages that you could get from eating it. I hope that you could have the chance to cook such recipe so that you would be able to taste the luxurious taste of it and the things that you should know about it. Get in love and get satisfied in making this recipe, for free!

The recipe for today would be: Fettuccini with Crab. It is very Italian though and you can just make an Italian dish with a mix of seafood, wonderful to have and to eat. Be prepared to make the most delicious crab recipe.

Ingredients:

6 ounces fettuccini
4 tablespoons margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup milk
1/2 pound crab, flaked
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

The ingredients would only yield up to 3 - 4 servings. Be sure to make some adjustments if you are going to serve it to a bigger company to make a very tasty crab dish.

Directions:

1. Cook fettuccini according to package.
2. In skillet, melt margarine and saute garlic. Add milk, crab and pepper. Heat until bubbling, about 3 minutes.
3. Add parmesan cheese and stir 1 minute. Toss with cooked fettuccini.
4. Serve immediately.

Remember that crabs are filled with nutritional value and you would not regret ever serving it to you and your family. It would surely be a great hit in your dining table. Enjoy!

More crab pasta recipes in this website: http://www.weloveseafood.com/FettuciniWithCrab.html.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ciara_Jones

Seafood Fettuccine Alfredo

Seafood Fettuccine is always a top seller in our restaurants. Any pasta alfredo recipe is easy to prepare making it a great choice for family and friends. The alfredo sauce can be made several days in advance, so when it comes time to make the meal it's a breeze. Once you master the sauce, you can use any type of protein, vegetable or pasta you desire. Giving you and endless variety of meals for the future.
Serves 4-6
  • 16 ea Prawns (31-35 count)
  • 8 oz. Bay scallops
  • 1 cup Flour - all purpose
  • 12 oz. Fish (choice of salmon, cod, halibut) - cut into 1" pieces
  • 8 oz. Clams
  • 6 oz. Mussels
  • 3 oz. White wine (optional)
  • 4 Tbsp. Olive oil
  • ¼ tsp. Kosher salt
  • ½ tsp. Pepper
  • 1 lb Fettuccine - dry then cooked al dente
  • ½ cup Parmesan - shredded
  • 4 Tbsp. Red bell pepper - diced
  • 2 Tbsp. Fresh parsley - chopped
  • 4 cups Alfredo sauce - recipe follows
Heat oil in a large sauce or sauté pan on medium high heat until hot. Season prawns, scallops and fish with salt and pepper then dredge in flour. Add to the pan and cook until about half way done. Add clams and mussels and continue cooking until they open up.

Remove clams and mussels from pan and deglaze pan with white wine. Add fettuccine and alfredo sauce and cook until hot and sauce coats the pasta. Transfer to a serving dish and top with clams and mussels, then garnish with parmesan, diced peppers and parsley.

Note: Do not use any clams or mussels that are already open before cooking or won't open when cooked.
Alfredo sauce

Yields 4 cup
  • 6 cups Heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ lb Butter
  • 2 Tbsp. Garlic - chopped
  • 1½ tsp. Kosher salt
  • 1 tsp. White pepper
  • 3 Tbsp. White wine (optional)
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese - shredded
In a sauce pot over medium heat, cook the garlic and butter until soft. Add the heavy cream, wine, salt and pepper and reduce until a thin sauce consistency is achieved. Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan cheese.

Note: Whipping cream bubbles over very easily. Keep an eye on it. If it begins to boil over, reduce the heat.

Chef Richard has worked for some of the top fine dining restaurants in the United States and is the author of the ebook “Chef’s Special”. You can find free recipes, informative articles and order the ebook at [http://www.csrecipes.com]

Top Shrimp Pasta Recipes

In a traditional Italian menu, pasta is never the main course of a meal. A pasta dish is served as primi piatti (1st course) and will be followed by a secondi piatti (second course), which can be meat or fish accompanied by some side dish such as vegetables. Sometimes, when a go to a good Italian restaurant, I try to eat in the traditional Italian way. So, I order some pasta as first course and then some meat or fish. The problem is that after I eat my pasta dish I'm already full and I cannot eat more fish or meat. For me, pasta dishes make a great complete meal, specially if prepared with some meat, chicken or seafood. Actually the great advantage of a pasta dish is: it can be quickly and easily prepared and you have a complete meal. Not to forget the uncountable variations of pasta recipes that there are available.

I personally love the combination of pasta and seafood, specially shrimp pasta dishes. Fortunately my family loves them too, because I prepare shrimp pasta recipes again and again. A very important thing that should be paid attention when preparing any dish with shrimps is not to overcook them. The simple rule is - once the shrimps turn red, they are ready.

Below, I've put together some shrimp pasta recipes that I've already tested and approved. I hope you like them too.

Shrimp Linguine Alfredo

Ingredients:

40 small shrimps, peeled and deveined
1 (12 ounce) package linguine pasta
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 tablespoons diced onion
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup half-and-half
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
4 sprigs fresh parsley
4 slices lemon, for garnish

Directions:

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente. Drain. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saucepan. Saute onion and garlic over medium heat until tender. Add shrimp and saute over high heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in half-and-half. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Place pasta in a serving dish, and cover with shrimp sauce. Sprinkle with black pepper and Parmesan cheese. Garnish with parsley and lemon slices.

Shrimps with Stir-Fried Noodles

Ingredients:

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
12 ounces Chinese noodle
2 green onions, cut in 2 cm pieces
1 clove garlic, finely minced
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons rice wine
8 ounces frozen green peas
1 red chili, chopped
Salt and Cayenne pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook noodle as directed on package. Drain, rinse in cold water, add a few drops oil and mix to keep from sticking. Set aside. Heat the oil in a Wok. Add shrimps, green onions, and garlic; cook and stir until shrimps turn red. Add green peas and stir for 1 minute. Stir in rice wine and soy sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Add noodle, stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Sprinkle the noodles with the chopped red chili. Serve immediately.

Shrimp Spaghetti with Arugula and Basil

Ingredients:

9 ounce Spaghetti
7 ounce medium shrimps peeled and deveined
11 ounce cherry tomatoes, make a cut but not so deep enough to separate it into halves
5 large cloves garlic, sliced
4 tablespoons olive oil
5 ounce arugula
1 ounce fresh basil leaves
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling lightly salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan, stir in garlic for 2 minutes, add shrimps, salt and cook them for 3 to 5 minutes or until they turn red. Remove with a slotted spoon and and set aside. Leave the garlic in the frying pan. Add in the same frying pan the cherry tomatoes and cook them, stirring frequently until they get soft and a little bit sauce is formed (but the tomatoes should not melt completely). Add the shrimp, stirring for 1 minute. Reduce heat, add arugula and basil, stir quickly. Remove from heat. Drain pasta and mix with the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Enjoy your meal!

Do you also like shrimp pasta? Do you want more shrimp pasta recipe ideas? Just click here: http://www.weloveseafood.com/ShrimpPastaRecipes.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Isabel_Da_Silva

Spaghetti Mixed Seafood Thai Style

Before we start cooking our first Thai dish. I would like to tell you that after posting my blog yesterday, there are many people sending me emails asking me about curry paste, coconut milk and chilies whether they are the basic condiments that you need to have in a kitchen when cooking Thai food. Well, in my opinion...they are not because not many Thai food uses curry paste or coconut milk, particularly chilies. From my experience, all my friends (Westerners) can't eat hot and spicy Thai food (with chilies). Moreover, these stuffs like curry paste, coconut milk have short expiration. You can't keep it in the fridge or in the kitchen for a long time like fish sauce or light soy sauce. Therefore, I would recommend you to buy it whenever you need to use them. All right, that is clear enough.

Now let's start our cooking. Our menu today is Spaghetti Mixed Seafood Thai Style. Actually, it is a combination between Western food (Spaghetti) and Thai food (Fried Mixed Seafood). I used to cook this dish to Kathrine, my German friend long time ago and she loved it. She asked me teaching her how to cook this menu but I was so busy and forgot about it later. However, last week I had a chance to cook this menu again and I gave it to my colleague Kaela to try. Oh! my God, she really liked it. Now you are eager to know how to cook it, right ? Okay, let's go.

Ingredients

5 table spoon of cooking oil
5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
150 grams of mixed seafood (you can use a frozen package)
2 teaspoon of light soy sauce
1/2 table spoon of oyster sauce
1 teaspoon of fish sauce
1 teaspoon of sugar
5 leaves of Thai basil (if you can't find Thai basil, you can use regular basil as well)
80 grams of spaghetti

Preparation

1. Cook spaghetti as per package instruction (boil it, rinse it with cold water) then set it aside.
2. Put cooking oil in a pan (medium hot)
3. Put garlic in a pan, cook for 2 minutes then put mixed seafood in a pan, stir fried until it is cooked (No problem if you use a ready-cooked seafood package).
4. Put everything else's (sauce, sugar) and stir fried for 3 minutes
5. Put cooked spaghetti in a pan, then Thai basil, stir fried for 2 minutes until everything gets along

That's it. See ! How easy it is. Now you can enjoy a very delicious Thai food that is cooked by yourself. I'm so proud of you. Enjoy your meal!

Joe Sitthiosoth is an average Joe who is passion for Thai food and Thai cooking. He travels the world, makes new friend and shows them how wonderful Thai food is. His article comes from his real experience.

You can read more from here
[http://EasyThaiCookingByJoe.blogspot.com]

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Saturday, June 9, 2012

Easy Seafood Recipes To Whet Your Appetite

Many people avoid buying or cooking with seafood because they wrongly assume it is difficult to use. Actually, it is very easy to cook and there are many great seafood recipes you can make at home, even if you are new to using this exciting ingredient. So rather than eating at a seafood restaurant Los Angeles, why not make your own shellfish delights?

Easy Seafood Casserole

If you want to combine various kinds of shellfish in one dish, what about making a delicious seafood casserole? You will need half a pound each of jumbo shrimp, lobster meat, crabmeat, and sea scallops. Chop the scallops and lobster into quarter inch pieces, and peel and de-vein the shrimp.

Saute the scallops in a little butter, salt and pepper until they are translucent, then add them to the rest of the seafood in a big bowl. Add quarter of a cup of mayonnaise, a tablespoon of Old Bay seafood seasoning and the juice of a lemon. Pour quarter of a cup of heavy cream over the mixture, and then sprinkle quarter of a cup of flax meal on top.

A little dry sherry added at this point will give the seafood casserole recipe a wonderful flavor. Stir the mixture well and put it in a big casserole dish. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and bake it for half an hour at 400 degrees F or until it is golden brown on top.

Italian Style Scallops

This recipe is very simple and it you can make it in less than ten minutes. Heat two teaspoons of oil in a skillet and saute a pound of sea scallops in there until they are translucent. Keep the heat moderately high for this. Take the scallops out of the skillet and keep them warm. Add half a sliced onion and a minced garlic clove to the skillet and saute them for a couple of minutes.

Add a cup of diced tomatoes, quarter of a cup of chopped olives, quarter of a teaspoon of dried thyme, a pinch each of salt and black pepper and a tablespoon of dried basil. Saute the mixture for a couple of minutes or until everything is tender. Spoon this sauce over the scallops and serve.

Simple Crab Fried Rice

This is another quick and easy dish, which features crabmeat, rice and vegetables, as well as eggs and garlic. To make this, you need to heat a tablespoon of peanut oil in a wok, and then add two minced cloves of garlic and a minced onion. Stir fry them over a high heat for a minute, then add two tablespoons of fish sauce and eight ounces of white crabmeat.

Cook for five minutes or until the crab is hot. Take the mixture out of the wok. Add another tablespoon of peanut oil to the wok and cook two lightly beaten eggs in there until they are set. Stir in three cups of cooked white rice, the crabmeat mixture, half a cup of green peas and a tablespoon of sesame oil. Season the crab fried rice with salt and pepper and add five sliced green onions. Take it off the heat and serve hot.

There are many easy recipes you can make with seafood and this healthy ingredient is always popular whether you eat dinner at a seafood restaurant Los Angeles or whether you make your own shellfish dish.
A Guide to the Freshest Seafood in Los Angeles - LosAngelesSeafood.net
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