Family favorites
If you don’t cook a lot of seafood this is a great dish to start with. I made this dish with gluten-free pasta so Robby could enjoy it as well. If you are local and are looking for a really good gluten-free pasta, we love the packages they sell at Tuscan Market in Portsmouth NH. We were shocked at how good this pasta was as it tastes just as good as the regular pasta we are used to. This is an easy dish that you can make even on the busiest of days.
INGREDIENTS
8 ounces penne pasta- can be gluten-free
1 Tablespoon garlic infused olive oil
4 Tablespoons butter (or ghee, a clarified butter, skimming the fat off of the top. Can be purchased at your local grocery store) divided
1 1/2 pounds uncooked large, deveined, peeled and tail off shrimp
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 – 4 cups spinach- use as much as your family enjoys
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 Tablespoons parsley, minced for garnish if desired
Salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside. In a large skillet heat olive oil and one tablespoon of butter. Add the shrimp to the hot pan and cook until the shrimp start to turn pink, flipping the shrimp once. Once the shrimp are almost cooked through add the Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally. Add the cooked pasta to the shrimp and spinach mixture. Add the remaining butter and stir until melted and well combined. Top with lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper and stir. Serve warm.
Enjoy!
This week is all about seafood! Living in N.H. we have some of the best and freshest seafood available and I love taking advantage of that. With summer just around the corner, well…we hope anyway, the weather has not cooperated at all this spring! The seafood dish I am starting with is this Seafood Carbonara. It takes your average carbonara dish to an entirely new level. Although this dish has a number of steps, many ingredients, and more pans than I usually use for dinner, it was worth all the extra effort as we loved it.
NOTE – You can change the seafood to what you and your family like.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
8 large scallops
1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails off
3 lobster tails, steamed and chopped or 1/2 pound cooked lobster meat, chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
6 slices of bacon
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup gruyere cheese
14 oz. linguine
3 Tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped for garnish-optional
DIRECTIONS
Place a large pot of water on the stovetop on high to boil the pasta. Starting with the seafood, chop the cooked lobster into large pieces and set aside. For the shrimp, place the raw deveined, tails off shrimp. On a baking sheet drizzle a small amount of olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix to coat the shrimp with the oil and seasoning. Place in the oven on broil (leaving the oven door slightly open) and let roast until the shrimp just turns pink being careful not to overcook. Remove from oven and set aside with the cooked lobster.
Meanwhile, in a medium hot skillet, chop the bacon into pieces, add to the skillet and cook until crisp. When the bacon is cooked, add the minced garlic and cook for just a minute. Remove from heat and drain bacon fat.
In a large non-stick pan add the olive oil and heat to medium-high heat. Dry the scallops with a paper towel, season the top side with salt and pepper. When the skillet is hot add the scallops to the pan, seasoned side down. Add salt and pepper to the top side of the scallops. When the scallops have a nice brown seat on the bottom side turn the scallops over and sear the second side.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al Dante, about 8 minutes, stirring as you go.
In a bowl add the heavy cream, egg yolks, both kinds of cheese and mix to combine.
Add the shrimp, lobster, bacon and garlic mixture to the large pan with the scallops when the scallops have cooked through.
Add the drained pasta and remove from the heat. Add the cream and egg mixture stirring to combine, add tarragon and serve warm.
Enjoy!
One of Jim’s all-time favorite pies is the banana cream pie. I don’t make it often and sometimes I cheat by buying a pre-made shell, but not this time! I made this recipe I found on Pinterest from scratch and it was worth all of the effort. I highly recommend it as there really is a difference in flavor. Along with my apple pie, this is one recipe I will be making over and over again!
INGREDIENTS
Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
6 Tablespoons melted butter
Filling
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups half and half
4 egg yolks
3 Tablespoons Butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 bananas, sliced
Topping
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
Crust – Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Mix well, add melted butter and mix until well combined. Press into a 9 inch pie pan and bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Set aside.
Filling – In a medium saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch. Add half and half and egg yolks. Whisk until combined and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil one minute and remove from heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla. Pour 1/2 of the filling into the cooled crust, top with sliced bananas to cover the filling. Pour the rest of the filling over the banana layer and cover with Saran Wrap directly onto the filling layer. This avoids a sticky film on the top. Chill for at least 3 hours. Top with another layer of sliced bananas.
Topping – In a medium mixing bowl, beat the whipping cream at high speed. Gradually add the sugar and vanilla. Beat until stiff peaks form. Spread whipping cream over the top of the bananas and then garnish with a few more slices of bananas. Slice and serve.
Enjoy!
This recipe came from www.chefintraing.com
I made this dish for Super Bowl Sunday as the Eagles were playing and a good friend of ours, Chris is a big fan of the Eagles, so this dish was made with him in mind! This was an excellent dish and one I will make again and again. I usually make a Mexican stuffed shell recipe so this was a great change of pace. If you like Philly cheesesteaks you will like this twist using the pasta shells.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound lean ground beef
2 Tablespoons butter
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 small green bell pepper, diced
2 Tablespoons ketchup
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Pepper
8 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
24 jumbo pasta shells cooked according to package directions
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup milk, I used whole milk
1 cup of beef broth
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add the ground beef to a large skillet and brown until cooked through breaking beef up as it cooks. Remove the beef from the pan and set aside. Add the butter, pepper, and onions to the skillet. Cook stirring for just a couple minutes just getting them slightly soft. Add the beef back to the pan. Add the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper into the pan and stir.
Take the beef mixture off of the heat and scoop into the cooked pasta shells. Place the filled shells in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Top each shell with cubes of cheese using only HALF of the cheese for this.
In the same pan used for the beef add the beef broth, mil and cornstarch and whisk before turning the heat back on to medium heat. Add the rest of the cheese a little at a time while whisking for 3-5 minutes or until thickened.
Pour about 3/4 of the sauce around the shells and pour remaining sauce over the shells.
Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes to melt the cheese and warm the shells through.
serve warm.
Enjoy!
The Goat Restaurant has two locations. The first being 20 L Street in Hampton NH, the second being 143 Congress Street in Portsmouth N.H. We went to the Portsmouth location as it is fairly new to Portsmouth and we had to check it out! The Goat is open Monday through Friday from 11 am to 1 am and Saturday and Sundays from 8 am – 1 am, 365 day’s a year! We have been hearing about the Goat for some time now with lots of hype, so we decided to go for lunch.
When we walked in we were greeted and promptly seated at a window seat so we could people watch everyone enjoying downtown Portsmouth. The decor is rustic and country with country music playing in the background. Several large screen televisions and also a large bar area in the middle of the restaurant. Such a relaxed vibe as soon as you walk in. We had decided early in the day we would be going for lunch so we were hungry and ready for an appetizer. Jim and I both love appetizers and had a tough time choosing. But with the help of our adorable waitress (Ms. Lovely) we decided on the baked stuffed jalapeños with a three cheese blend bacon wrapped jalapeño with chipotle aioli. ($10.09).
Can I just tell you how delicious those jalapeños were with that aioli? It was absolutely delicious. I would order this again any day of the week! Needless to say, we cleaned that plate fast, but that’s ok as our main course promptly arrived.
I had the BBBBLT ($11.00). Talk about a BLT sandwich…this was huge. So much thick cut bacon with lettuce, tomato, and mayo on your choice of bread. You can tell the Goat loves their bacon from the wording on the menu. Let me say this sandwich did not disappoint and was so big! I brought half of it home. My sandwich came with hand cut fries and those too were delicious and nicely fried! Great sandwich for any bacon lover.
I know you can all guess what Jim ordered. Of course…a burger! He ordered a burger called “The Cure” with American cheese, caramelized onions, bacon, fried egg and BBQ sauce with a side of pasta salad. The burgers are cooked two ways pink or no pink. Jim likes his burger medium so he ordered his pink! Jim’s burger was cooked just as he likes them. The burger was juicy and the fried egg on top perfectly cooked. His plate was clean in no time. The pasta salad although good, was not a favorite. He will skip the pasta salad next time and stick with the amazing fries!
The menu at The Goat has many things you would expect and some dishes you might not expect. For appetizers, they have the usual suspects of nachos and wings but also had fried banana peppers and a bucket of bacon with sriracha maple dipping sauce. This is not for the weak of heart! The burger selections are amazing and as expected you can build your own burger. Perhaps try something a little different such as the Surfing Cowboy Burger with cheddar cheese, grilled pineapple, and honey BBQ sauce. If you like it hot you can have the Dragon Burger with ghost pepper cheese, diced jalapeños, and their signature goat sauce. So many choices! Not only do they have beef burgers, you also have the choice of grilled chicken, turkey or even a veggie burger. They don’t just serve sandwiches and burgers you can get steak tips and a couple types of mac and cheese to just name a few things. The hand cut fries have a number of selections as well as the tater tots and onion rings!
On the weekends they are open for breakfast. We have not tried their breakfast yet, but it’s on the top of my list after talking with our waitress and looking at the menu! The breakfast menu includes a number 9f breakfast sandwiches along with French toast, specialty pancakes and if you are really hungry they have a dish called the Hungry Man with 2 eggs, homefries, toast, ham, bacon, sausage and 2 pancakes! Holy smokes, can anyone really eat all that?!
And if that is not enough and you like Bloody Mary’s, this place is for you! They have an amazing build your own Bloody Mary and even offer their own bacon-infused vodka and jalapeño bacon-infused vodka along with so many garnishes!
I highly recommend checking out their website and give their Facebook page a like. This will keep you up with their specials and things happening at their locations. They keep everything updated including their live music dates and times!
Enjoy!
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