Eat Together, Make Life Delicious...

This salad is super easy to prepare. If you have a favorite store bought Asian dressing, you can substitute that for the dressing below. This will save you even more time! This recipe can also be prepared with scallops, chicken, lobster, fish, thinly sliced beef or pork. Simply keep those ingredients submerged under the liquid until they are opaque and cooked through. My kids like this with extra noodles and broccoli florets instead of carrots and my husbands prefers to include a pinch of red peppers flakes!

Tossed Shrimp Salad
Makes 4 servings

For the dressing:
1 heaping teaspoon Miso paste
1 tablespoon orange juice
½ tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon minced roasted garlic
½ teaspoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce

For the shrimp salad:
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 cup canned baby corn, cut in half
1 large carrot, peeled, ends removed, and shredded
1 pinch salt
2 oz cellophane noodles
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, and deveined, and tails removed
4 handfuls fresh baby spinach
Sesame seeds

In a small bowl prepare the sauce. Combine the miso, orange juice, oyster sauce, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons of water and whisk until well combined.

In a large sauce pot or wok over medium heat, slick the bottom of the pan with sesame oil and add in the baby corn, carrots, and salt and cook until the carrots are tender or about 5 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium low. Add in the ½ cup water, cellophane noodles, shrimp, and the dressing and cook for 5 minutes. Try to get the shrimp and noodles under the liquid. Toss occasionally to help the noodles break apart.

When the shrimp is opaque and the noodles are soft, add in the fresh spinach and give it one more good toss. Turn off the heat. To serve, divide up the dish among 4 plates, sprinkle it with sesame seeds and serve.

Labels: Easy Recipes, Family Meal, salad, seafood, shrimp

This year if you are looking for a tailgating recipe that will impress your guests, consider this one. It's super easy and oh so delicious. Make sure to serve with lots of napkins, a lobster fork, and a nut cracker. If you are tailgating on the parking lot, this is portable and can be reheated in its own juices. Create a foil pouch with the legs inside and place it on the grill for 10 minutes. And definitely bring a bib, because you'll need it!

Tomato-Garlic Snow Crab Legs
makes 2 servings

2 tablespoons store bought minced garlic (roasted works really nice, so give that a try too!)
1 cup dry white wine
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
16 ounces diced tomatoes (if you are rushed for time, use canned, otherwise fresh is nice. Just seed and core the tomatoes first)
¼ celery stalk, finely chopped (this is optional)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 pounds snow crab legs, with slits cut into legs lengthwise so the juices will penetrate the meat
Sliced rustic country bread

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large Dutch oven, combine the roasted garlic, wine, butter, tomatoes, celery, Worcestershire, and salt. Add the crab legs and mix well so the legs are covered with the mixture. Place the lid on top and place it in to the oven to bake for 10 minutes. Remove the crab legs from the oven and baste them in their own juice. Make sure to pour the juice over the slits in the leg so it gets into the meat. Return the crab legs back to the oven to bake for another 7 minutes or until piping hot. Serve in a deep bowl with bread for dipping. Carefully these legs are hot!

Labels: Comfort Food, seafood, Snow Crab

Pasta is the world's most versatile ingredient. I love to combine it with lobster meat and seafood but of course anything goes and other great ingredients to try are: grilled chicken, thinly sliced broiled meat, baked fish, sauteed veggies, freshly chopped herbs, just to name a few.

When using pasta as your base ingredient you can quite literary create anything on the spot and the best part, is you don't even have to breaking out the measuring cups.

So how's that work?

Prepare a pot of pasta in salt water. Follow the manufacturer's instructions.

And for the pasta topping, just use your favorite ingredients, for example if you like Italian flavors-try minced garlic, chopped parsley, and cherry tomatoes. Saute these ingredients together in a skillet with a little olive oil and then add in the cooked pasta. Mix the pasta around to absorb the juice from the tomato, which takes a few minutes. At the very last minute, add in cooked lobster meat (or the other ingredients I mentioned) and stir again until it becomes warm. Turn off the heat and serve.

If you like Asian flavors, the ingredients to try with pasta would be: minced garlic and ginger, hoisin or oyster sauce, and a sprinkle of lime and cilantro.

If you like Indian flavors, the ingredients to try with pasta would be: ground curry, coconut milk, raisins, and sauteed veggies.

Using this technique, it's super easy to create amazing dishes based on whatever it is you like.

Another really neat thing about pasta is it can be as down to earth or fancy as you would like. For a home cooked feel, just serve with little to no fanfare, however, to dress up the pasta, simply lay it fancifully on the plate and sprinkle it decoratively with freshly chopped herbs. Adding a thin sliver of a piece of cheese or as shown in the photos, a piece of lobster meat, the dish suddenly takes on a very sophisticated feel.

Labels: lobster meat, Pasta, seafood

Baked salmon is quite a treat, and leftovers the following day are also delicious when broken up over a bowl of veggies, rice, or mixed with mayonnaise and tucked into a croissant. Salmon is best removed from the oven the moment is it cooked through; it's a delicate fish and if overcooked can become dry.

I like to prepare my Herb Mustard Glaze from scratch, but if you are lucky enough to find any in your local grocery store, by all means use that instead.

Side dishes to consider with the Salmon are: pasta, rice, baked potatoes, mash tomatoes, or a nice mixed green salad.


Baked Salmon Fillets with Herb Mustard Glaze
Makes 4 Servings

For the Herb Mustard Glaze:
½ cup smooth Dijon Mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon pickle relish
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon freshly grated horseradish
1 teaspoon fresh dill, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the salmon:
4 organic salmon fillets with skins (6 ounces each)
4 tablespoons of Herb Mustard Glaze

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees with a rack set in the middle.

Prepare the mustard glaze by combining the Dijon, mayonnaise, relish, parsley, horseradish, dill, and pepper in a small bowl. Mix with a fork until well combined. Set aside.

Place the salmon, skin side down, on a baking dish and generously coat each fillet with at least 1 tablespoon of the mustard glaze. Extra mustard glaze will keep in a well sealed container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Bake the salmon until it turns pink, or about 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and set it aside to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Labels: baked salmon, fish, herb mustard glaze, holiday meals, seafood