Wild Shrimp with Feta Tomato Sauce and Jasmine Rice

The key to a great meal on a weeknight is one that does not taste like it was made in less than 20 minutes.  I like to make meals for my family and peersonal chef clients that taste just like one that you can get at a fine restaurant but without the steep price tag.  Wild Shrimp with Feta Tomato Sauce with Jasmine Rice is a stellar recipe with complex flavors with a minimal amount of effort on the cook's part.

I came across the recipe on the Fine Cooking magazine website.  I made a few adaptations (I cooked the entree entirely in a  large saute pan and served it with jasmine rice instead of chickpeas) and this quick, one dish meal was on the table in no time.

A bonus of this dinner is that it can be made ahead of time and reheated gently in your microwave at dinner time.  To heat on 70% power for 1 minute and continue heating at 30 second intervals until heated through. I like to package meals for my refrigerator in reusable glass dishes; just doing my part to help save the environment and they make your storing neat and easy.


Wild Shrimp with Feta Tomato Sauce with Jasmine Rice

Adapted from a  recipe  in Fine Cooking magazine.  Wild shrimp was used in this recipe and is more and more readily available in your grocery's freezer or at your local fish market.

4 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) fire roasted tomatoes, diced
1 1/4 pounds large sized shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried dill
salt
pepper
3 ounces feta cheese (about 2/3 cup, crumbled), plus more for sprinkling on top

1 1/4 cups jasmine rice, cooked to package directions and kept warm

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add onions and saute until softened, about 3 - 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds more.

Add the tomatoes and bring the sauce to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and continue simmering until the shrimp are just cooked through, about 4 - 6 minutes. Add the herbs and feta cheese and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately over hot jasmine rice and sprinkle with extra cheese if desired.

Cheesy Tortellini, Broccoli and Chicken

Comfort food recipes are every where these days. As soon as the weather starts to turn chilly, magazine covers and cooking shows feature macaroni and cheese, chicken pot pie, chili, and beef stew recipes. Because of my short attention span or it may be that my memory is not as sharp as it once was, I am constantly searching out new soul-satisfying, stick-to-your-ribs delicious dishes to try.

Cheddar Tortellini Broccoli and Roasted Chicken Bake is a recipe I received from one of my personal chef friends Emily Raymer who owns Aria Hungry? Personal Chef Service in Brookline, Massachusetts. Her recipe is a vegetarian version to which I added roasted chicken for a more substantial meal.  One of the benefits of being a personal chef is that we are always sharing tried and true recipes with each other.

A tasty dinner that comes together with little effort, Cheddar Tortellini Broccoli and Roasted Chicken Bake is a handy recipe to have in your repetoire.

Cheddar Tortellini Broccoli and Roasted Chicken Bake

makes 10 servings

4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, about 1 1/2 pounds total
salt
pepper
olive oil
4 cups broccoli florets
1 packages(about 10 ounces each); frozen or fresh cheese tortellini
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon dried mustard
1 and 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 inch backing pan. Set aside.

Place the chicken on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until cooked through. Let cool and then cut into 1-inch chunks. Set aside. Increase the oven to 425 degrees.

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli and cook for 3 - 5 minutes until it is still crisp but a little tender. Drain into a colander and set aside.

Prepare the tortellini according to package instructions cooking the pasta to al dente. Drain and set aside.

While the tortellini is cooking, make cheese sauce. In a saucepan, melt the butter. When it just begins to sizzle, whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually pour in the milk and whisk until smooth. Continue cooking for 3 - 4 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Off the heat, stir in the mustard powder, 1 and 1/4 cups of the cheddar cheese and the Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, add the chicken and tortellini. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and stir to evenly distribute the sauce. Add the broccoli and gently stir to combine.

Pour mixture into the baking dish. Scatter remaining cheddar cheese over top and sprinkle with the panko. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes (uncovered) until hot and just bubbling. Remove from oven and serve.

Book Review - Keys to Good Cooking - A Guide to Making the Best of Foods and Recipes

I don't do many product or book reviews on my blog. There are enough sites that do reviews that I can leave it to them. Everyone has their own taste when it comes to cookbooks or kitchen utensils. I occasionally read reviews or recommendations on these types of products, but typically follow my instincts when deciding if I want to purchase a particular item. But when I was asked to review Keys to Good Cooking: A Guide to Making the Best of Foods and Recipesby Harold McGee, I knew that it was an indispensable cooking reference guide that would be a welcome addition to any kitchen.

Some reference books are overwhelming, hard to read, so heavy that you need a forklift to carry them, and basically boring. Even with a whopping 553 pages, Keys to Good Cookingis easy to navigate and gives concise tips on kitchen topics ranging from cooking methods, getting to know your foods, and handling food safely. Every possible food is discussed from eggs to meats to vegetables to grains to breads to chocolate. It seems every cooking question one could have is answered in a straightforward manner by giving enough information in a succinct manner.

Undertaking the writing of a book of this nature seems like a daunting task. But author Harold McGee has presented the material in such an easy going way that I found myself flipping through page and page and dog-earring several sections of useful information. Typically, I place my pizza from the oven directly on a cutting board to cool resulting in a soft and slightly soggy crust. From the information I learned about keeping pizza crusts as crisp as possible, I discovered that transferring them from the oven to a cooling rack and then cutting them with kitchen shears will keep the crust crispier as crusts quickly soften when place hot against a cutting board that traps steam. This advice seems simple enough, but it never occurred to me to cool my pizza on a cooling rack.

If you are a seasoned cook or just starting out in the kitchen, Keys to Good Cookingwould be an essential kitchen reference guide.

Disclosure: I was sent a free copy of this book to review. All opinions are mine, and I was not compensated for writing this post.

Merlot Chicken with Artichokes and Mushrooms

"This is the best dinner you ever made. It is my all-time favorite."

"Is this all you made? Where is the rest of it? You need to make more next time."

"It tastes just like pizza, but without the crust."

-- The Husband

Usually I am happy if I get an "it's good" comment about the dinner I prepared for my family. Last night, the dialogue was flowing. Merlot Chicken with Artichokes and Mushrooms is a one pot entree I developed about 15 years ago and prepared with ingredients that are pantry staples in my kitchen. At the time, a trip to the grocery store was the last place I ventured with 2 toddlers and a preschooler. If it wasn't the park, Chuck E. Cheese, or McDonald's Playland, I preferred to keep exciting trips to Albertson's, Target or Trader Joe's all to myself.

Thinly sliced chicken is enrobed in a vegetable-loaded sauce of fire roasted tomatoes, artichoke hearts, green olives, and mushrooms and livened up with Merlot and balsamic vinegar. A perfect dinner that can be made early in the day or even the day before and reheated at dinner time.

Just be sure to make extra so your can enjoy it for lunch the next day.



Merlot Chicken with Artichokes and Mushrooms

serves 6

olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts - about 2 - 2 1/2 pounds, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 cups of mushrooms, sliced
1 can (14 ounce) fire roasted tomatoes
1/3 cup Merlot wine
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 can (14 ounce) artichoke hearts, quartered
3/4 cup green olives stuffed with pimientos
1 teaspoon dried basil
salt and pepper to taste

1 pound of spaghetti, cooked and drained (sub rice or gluten free pasta)
Parmesan cheese, shredded, for serving

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan to medium high and add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the chicken and quickly saute until just cooked through. Remove to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

In the same pan, add another tablespoon of olive oil and saute the onion for 4 - 5 minutes until they just begin to become translucent. Add the garlic and mushrooms and saute for 3 - 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine and balsamic vinegar and simmer the sauce for about 6 - 8 minutes or until reduced by about a third. Stir in the artichokes, olives, and basil and continue cooking until just heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with hot spaghetti and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.


Disclaimer -- As we head into the dark and cold days of winter, my artificially-lit photos may be sub par. Unless I prepare dinner early in the day and the sun happens to be shining, please be assured that my recipes will still be quick and tasty as previous ones even with less than stellar photos.