Tasty Tuesday -- Cajun Shrimp, Seared Scallops & Spring Succotash

Chris and I shared a rare night out last Friday--just the two of us. We went to a restaurant in Ellington, CT called Trattoria de Lepris that a friend had recommended. It was, in a word, sublime.

One of our favorite items of the night was a Cajun-spiced shrimp over a salad of wilted, warm greens. The dressing on the greens was sweet, and was perfect against the heat of the shrimp. I also loved my entree, which was seared Diver Scallops over a Spring Succotash.

The very next night, we decided to try and recreate both dishes, and were very pleased with the results!

For the shrimp, we purchased 12-15 count per pound shrimp that I cleaned and Chris marinated in melted butter, Prudomme Cajun Fish rub and some extra Cajun red pepper spice. He just layered them in a baking dish, and after they marinated for about 30 minutes he popped them in the oven at 425 for about 12 minutes.


For the succotash I bought four ears of corn on the cob, sliced off the corn and sauteed it quickly in butter with a little red onion. To the pan I added chopped fresh green beans, chopped red pepper and white beans. I added chopped fresh basil to the pan, but next time I will add it right before we serve it.

For the scallops I rinsed them and patted them until they were as dry as possible. I then melted 3 TB of butter in a non-stick saute pan, added the scallops and did not move them for two minutes. I then turned them and cooked for two more minutes. When I plated them, I put them on top of the succotash and drizzled the butter from the pan on top.

I think we did a pretty great job, all in all! But, I am already asking to go back to Trattoria de Lepris. High Italian cuisine without the uppity atmosphere. Plus, the Pear Bellinis are to-die-for. Gotta love it!

For more Tasty Tuesday recipes, visit the link up at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!

Homemade Bread and Bolognese Sauce

I wanted a warm and comforting meal for Sunday evening. Comforting to me means bread and peasant food.

I have often struggled with getting my homemade bread to rise, and have been searching for a fail-safe recipe. I found it on a new blog I have been reading called Home Grown.


Not only did the two loaves come out perfectly, but the total recipe time is less than an hour-and-a-half. Her recipe calls for bread flour, I used King Arthur's All-Purpose.


The bread was so chewy and moist--I could hardly believe that I had made it. And the best part? My son said, "Mommy makes the BEST bread."


Next part of the meal? A Bolognese sauce. My husband is the one who usually makes sauce in our household. His is a simple Marinara that is just fantastic. Loaded with fresh basil, garlic, and crushed tomatoes--it sits on the stove all day filling the house with LOVE.

But for Sunday I wanted something a little heartier. I am a fan of Tyler's Ultimate on Food Network. Last week he made his Ultimate Lasagna and made a Bolognese sauce to use in the filling. I have been trying to make things that will give me two meals, or leftovers, or enough so that I can stretch my grocery store dollar a little further, and I thought that this Bolognese would be great over pasta. I could freeze the rest and use it later in the week for lasagna.

Tyler's recipe didn't dissappoint. You can find it here.


The end result? A wonderful, family-style Sunday dinner that was pretty simple and full of flavour!


I will note here, that as always, there had to be at least ONE thing that went wrong during my cooking and baking adventure. I think this picture says it all!

My husband got quite the laugh out of this.

Best wishes to you if you decide to make these recipes. I will definitely be making them again.

Sunday Grilling and a Monday Lunch Break

"I'm a man. Men cook outside. Women make the three-bean salad. That outdoor grilling is a manly pursuit has long been beyond question. If this wasn't firmly understood, you'd never get grown men to put on those aprons with pictures of dancing wienies and things on the front and messages like 'Come 'n' Get It'"

William Geist, New York Times Magazine

* * * * *

Chris broke out the charcoal grill/smoker last night. We had some chicken and the weather was beautiful so we decided to grill the old fashioned way--by making a fire without gas. I KNOW, SHOCKING!

What is it about men and grilling that makes them so happy?

Ok, even though he looks like he is choking to death on the smoke, Chris is actually ridiculously happy here. (I'll mention, for those of you who don't know, that we have a state of the art, built in barbecue/gas grill/fridge/bar area to the right of the above picture. But it is this little red smoker that makes Chris TRULY happy.)


Here is the whole thing in action. Looks hot, eh? He used hickory chips and mesquite (from our own tree that Chris has kept dry since trimming last year). The aroma was just amazing.


Awwwwwwwww . . . . so cute! James wanted to be with his Da da SO BAD! He kept smacking his hands on the slider and saying "Hot! Hot!" BTW, can you see the huge and frightening 5 alarm fire call the fire department the house is going to burn to the ground lovely plume of smoke?


To the BBQ chicken I added our favorite grilled (on the safe grill) russet potato chips and Giada's Spinach Salad with orange vinaigrette. Plus, a lovely, tall glass of Fresh & Easy Black Ice Tea. What a perfect almost summer meal!

After dinner, Chris and I watched the fire die down, enjoyed the birds and the smell of fresh cut grass and played with James. It was just wonderful.

* * * *

Ok, this could be a completely SEPARATE post, but I am folding it into this one so that I am not accused of being a manic daily blogger by my oh so competitively posting SIL thought to have nothing better to do than blog to my heart's content.

I had two things to accomplish today during lunch. Mop the kitchen floor and feed James. I had a ton of Institute work beginning with a 6am conference call (which of course means I am at my desk at 5am so that by the time the call comes I don't sound like a blithering idiot) and so I knew it was going to be a long day.

I was very fortunate to have the maid come by and do the mopping:


I will call the housekeeping service because he missed a few spots, but all he wanted in return was lunch, so how could I complain?


And here he is eating his lunch. TAKE NOTE all of you readers who know that I have been struggling to get him to eat anything that is not white/tan in color. Here he is, eating Pizza Rolls!

(Mom, don't ask. Yes, they are frozen. Yes, they could be considered junk food. Yes. I might as well shove a Big Mac down his throat. But I don't have time to make a gourmet meal for him and get my work done.)

And here is a video of my beautiful son saying "Thank you."

How is it possible that every day with him can just get better and better? I mean, as a newborn he was cute and cuddly and miraculous, and then he got even more adorable when he started to walk and follow me around, and now he says "Thank you???" I know what it means when people say that their "hearts melt."

I am such a pushover for my son.