Meat, Poultry and Seafood
Cajun Shrimp
This has been one of my favorite 'go-to' recipes for over 30 years. I usually tweak recipes over the years, but I haven't changed this one since this first time I put it together. It is spicy, so if you are preparing this for folks with a delicate palette, I would ease up on the tabasco, cayenne and garlic.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs jumbo or large unpeeled shrimp
- 12 tbs unsalted butter 2 sticks
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¾ cup dry white wine
- ½ cup fresh parsley chopped
- ¼ cup FRESH garlic chopped
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp tabasco
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp rosemary
- 1 large lemon thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Place butter, olive oil, white wine, parsley, garlic, Worcestershire, Tabasco and cayenne in deep cast iron skillet or dutch oven and set in oven until the butter has just melted.
- Add shrimp to the skillet/dutch oven and
- Top with lemon slices.
- Bake 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally until shrimp are bright pink. Place skillet in center of table. Let guests peel their own shrimp. Supply plenty of bread for dunking in the spicy buttery juices that collect in the bottom of the pan. Give each person a small bowl of juice to dunk their bread in. (Don't forget big thirsty towels for everyone, these are messy to eat)
Spicy Shrimp Scampi
This can be a little spicy, but you can tame it down by backing off on the red pepper flakes and garlic.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 lbs dry spaghetti
- 4 tbsp butter
- 3-5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lbs medium shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 cup dry white wine
- juice of 2 lemons and zest of 1 (approximately 1/2 cup juice)
- ½-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes or to taste
- 1 tbsp capers drained
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh parsley
- Grated Parmesan Reggiano
Instructions
- Zest and juice lemons
- Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water. (Water should taste as salty as the sea) Undercook the pasta so that it is still slightly chewy. Drain and put pasta in a bowl, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.
- While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a large skillet. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add shrimp, lemon juice, wine, zest, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and cook until shrimp are pink, approximately 3 minutes.
- "Fish out" the shrimp from the skillet and set aside
- Add 1/2 cup reserved pasta water to skillet. Reduce until sauce begins to thicken slightly, adding additional pasta water as needed to achieve a silky consistency. Add spaghetti to the skillet. Continue to cook until the pasta is al dente. Add shrimp and transfer to the serving bowl. Sprinkle with fresh parsley, capers and Parmesan Reggiano.
Charlie's Christmas Meatballs
Charlie uses frozen Costco Italian meatballs for this recipe.
Equipment
- Crockpot
Ingredients
- 12 oz Chili Sauce
- 1⅓ cup water
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 16 oz sauerkraut
- 16 oz whole cranberry sauce
- 4 lbs meatballs
Instructions
- Mix together the first five ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes. Place the meatballs into the crockpot and pour the sauce over the top. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours.
Grilled Skirt Steak With Minted Chimichurri
Skirt steak has a wonderful flavor, but can often be tough. By using a sous vide circulator, it will come out perfectly cooked to medium, juicy and fork-tender!
Equipment
- Sous vide circulator
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp cumin seeds toasted
- 3 jalapeño peppers cut in half, and seeded if desired
- 2 lg cloves garlic
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1½ bunches cilantro
- ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1½ lbs skirt or flank steak
Chimichurri
- ½ bunch mint chopped
- ¼ bunch Italian flat leaf parsley chopped
- ¼ bunch chives chopped
- ¼ bunch cilantro chopped
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 lime juiced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ⅛ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- Lightly toast cumin seeds in a dry, medium skillet over low heat just until aroma is released, about 5 minutes. Transfer seeds to a blender. Add jalapeños, garlic, salt, pepper and lime juice and puree until cumin seeds are finely ground. Add cilantro and olive oil and puree until smooth.
- ***TWO COOKING OPTIONS:Sous Vide or Traditional GrillingSous Vide Circulator: (this is my preferred method for cooking steak). Place steak and marinade in an air-tight container or sealable bag and marinade in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Traditional Grilling: Slice steak across the grain into diagonal strips. Arrange meat in a shallow pan and generously cover meat all over with marinade with your hands. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
- Sous Vide: Set Sous Vide temperature to 135 degrees F. Drain the meat and seal it in a FoodSaver bag. When the water has reached temp, place the steak in the water and leave to cook for 4 hours.About 5 minutes before you want to serve, remove the steak from the water bath and dry the meat with paper towels. Quickly sear the steak on both sides, on a very hot hot grill. Remove from grill, tent and let rest for a o couple of minutes. Slice steak across grain into diagonal strips and serve with Minted Chimichurri.Traditional Grilling: About 30 minutes before cooking, remove meat from refrigerator and thread on skewers. Heat grill or broiler until it is very hot. Grill skewers until they are at their desired doneness, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Minted Chimichurri
- In a medium bowl, whisk together chimichurri ingredients. Let sit at least 30 minutes before serving, allowing flavors to marry.
Thanksgiving Turkey
I am a BIG fan of brining. By brining, the turkey absorbs additional moisture, this in turn helps the turkey to stay moist and juicy - during and after cooking. Since the turkey absorbs salt along with the water, it also gets nicely seasoned from the inside out. I have purchased expensive pre-packaged brines, but through a little trial and error, I have finally pulled together a nice combination of flavors that really work for me.
Equipment
- Oven or Brining Bags
- 1 large roasting pan
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup Kosher Salt Diamond Crystal brand
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 6 whole cloves
- 1 tsp juniper berries crushed
- 1 tsp black peppercorns crushed
- 2 tsp whole allspice berries crushed
- 5 fresh sage leaves
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 cup hot water
- 4 cup ice water
- 1 12-20 lbs turkey fresh or thawed frozen
Instructions
The Brine
- In a large saucepan, stir together the salt, sugar, cloves, juniper berries, peppercorns, and allspice. Add the sage leaves, thyme, and bay leaves along with the hot water. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Boil for 3 minutes, then remove from the heat. Add the ice water and stir to cool the mixture. Set aside and let cool to room temperature.
The Method
- Nest 1 plastic oven bag inside the other to create a double thickness. Place the double bag mouth open wide and facing up, in the roasting pan. (I use a very large bowl)Fold back the top one-third of the double bag to make a collar (this helps keep the bags open). Place the turkey inside the double bag. Unfold the collar of the double bag and pour the brine over the turkey. Draw up the top of the inner bag, squeezing out as much air as possible, and secure it closed with a twist tie. Do the same with the outer bag. Turn the package so the turkey is breast side down in the pan or very large bowl and refrigerate for at least 12 hour or up to 24 hour. Turn the turkey 3 or 4 times while it is brining.Remove the turkey from the brine. Discard the bags, brine and any cured herbs or spices remaining on the turkey. Rinse the bird under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place it back in the roasting pan and refrigerate, making sure that it touches nothing else in the fridge, uncovered, for at least 6 hours or up to overnight. This resting period allows the skin of the turkey to dry a bit so it is crisp when roasted. The turkey is now ready to be roasted.
