Shrimp Tacos!

Last Thursday was Cinco de Mayo.  Duh.  But I had class so Stud and I celebrated Cuatro do Mayo.  Which (RANDOM FACT!) is also International Star Wars Day - May the Fourth be with you!  I'm not even a fan of Star Wars, I just find that hysterical.  Anyways, for Cuatro de Mayo, Stud and I celebrated with shrimp tacos and Spanish rice.  And shrimp tacos are so easy and one of my new favorite easy fresh dinners.  Especially since we had pretty much all of the ingredients already on hand.

Shrimp Tacos
1/2 lb shrimp deveined with shells and tails removed
2 T. olive oil
1/2 t. cayenne
1/2 t. cumin
1/4 t. garlic powder
Corn Tortillas
Avocado
Sour Cream
Cheese
Salsa (we are now addicted to Newman's Own Black Bean Salsa - SO AMAZING)

Adobo Mayo
1/2 c. mayo
1/2 T. pureed chilis in adobo

My shrimp came out of the freezer, so we simply had to thaw them out.  Once they were thawed, we tossed them with the olive oil and the spices and let them sit for a while to marinate.  When we were ready to eat, toss them in a skillet with a little extra olive oil and cook until done, about three minutes.  I also warmed the corn tortillas in a 200 degree oven when I started marinating the shrimp so they were nice and warm.  For the mayo, simply mix it together!  Add any toppings you want and enjoy.  So simple!  So good.

I don't even really know what made this so tasty.  The shrimp had a mild flavor and were a great protein for light summery tacos.  Maybe our new favorite salsa mixed with the adobo?  Really no idea.  I also loved that they were make-your-own.  I could load up on the avocado and Stud could add tons of additional hot sauce.  Perfect for different palates.  I can say for sure these will be a frequent menu item for us this summer.

Tuna Melts

After Stud's big race, he needed some protein and some carbs, but our fridge and pantry were looking pretty bare.  But we did have bread.  And canned tuna!  So while he was resting with his feet up, I made us some tuna melts.  We didn't have any chips, so it's all we had, but they were gooooood.

Tuna Melt
1 can tuna
1 T. sweet pickle relish
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 t. grated red onion
Salt
Pepper
Bread (should make two large or three small sandwiches)
Swiss cheese
Butter

Easy.  Dump everything in a bowl (please drain the tuna) and combine well.  Butter one side of the bread and add cheese and tuna, and cook in a skillet over low heat.  It's hard to be patient, but that way the cheese will melt and the tuna will be hot.  If you have a cover for you skillet, that is great!  Cover those suckers and soon you will have a delicious lunch.

So good.  The perfect post-mini-marathon lunch.  And I still hate the smell of canned tuna.

Derby 137 Recap!

 Did anyone out there bet on Animal Kingdom??  I sure didn't.  I liked Mucho Macho Man and of course, Pants on Fire with the female jockey.  And I still like them both for the Preakness coming up in two weeks.  Unlike last year, Stud and I had a very low key Derby, hanging out at my parents house and sipping on mint juleps.  But no worries.  I placed all of my bets online.  Stud had to work late Friday night and was back at it Saturday morning.  Med school really puts a damper on celebrating the Derby.  People should know better than to need medical services on the First Saturday n May.  It was also a record setting crowd at Churchill Downs this past Saturday, 165,000 people!  And Detective Stabler attended his first Derby, definitely my favorite celeb.  I'm already looking forward to next year, looks like it could be a big one!  Stud will be FINISHED with medical school and I will actually be able to take some time off...can't wait to celebrate!

A Different Derby Race!

I finally found something about the Derby Festival that I didn't mention last year in my thorough coverage.  Last weekend, Stud ran in the Derby Festival Mini Marathon!  I, being the loving wife, dropped him off downtown at 6:30, went home and watched all my DVR'd shows from the week (I remained in my PJs and relaxed with my coffee), and the returned to watch him cross the finish line two hours later.  I was standing on the sidelines with my camera at the ready to snap him finishing the race, but when I saw I was so excited to actually see him among the 15,000 racers and he flew by so quickly, I missed my chance.  So here is a little post race pic for you.  With an extremely flooded river in the background.

The mini  (and full) marathons wind through the city the Saturday before Derby and this was the first year I even had the slightest involvement.  Stud also has a good soul and ran the race to donate his medal to a child with cancer, fighting in a different type of race.  It was all organized by the charity Medals4Mettle.  For a lot of people, the mini and full marathon are a huge part of the Derby Festival.  It was good to even be collaterally involved this year.

Daily Fluff

My dog is also a teddy bear.

Corn Muffins

These are the best corn muffins in the world (shocker…the recipe comes from my beloved Cooks Illustrated).  They are crumbly, yet not dry, and they’re muffins!  That means I can get away eating them for breakfast as well as lunch and dinner.  Add a little butter and maybe some honey….delectable.

 Corn Muffins

2 c. flour

1 c. fine ground yellow cornmeal

1 ½ t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

½ t. salt

2 large eggs

¾ c. sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

¾ c. sour cream

½ c. milk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.  Whisk eggs together in a separate bowl and then add the sugar and whisk until well combined.  Add the melted butter in three additions.  Add in half the sour cream and milk, whisk until combined, and then repeat with the remaining sour cream and milk.  I know, so complicated with all the additions of halves and thirds, but the result is so tasty!  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix just until combined.  I like to use an ice cream scoop, the one with the handle to dispel the ice cream, to get batter into my muffin tins.  It also helps make them all the same size.  But you can use a large spoon as well.  Fill the muffin tin (this recipe should make 12) leaving the batter rounded in the muffin cup.  It gives them a really pretty domed top.  Bake until lightly golden, about 18 minutes, rotating the pan half way through.

Sooooo Stud actually made these and he did an amazing job.  We did learn one lesson.  We tried using muffin papers on one batch and for some reason, the tops look just perfectly golden and the bottoms were burned to a crisp.  So I wouldn’t recommend using papers.  I would just bake them in a non-stick pan and go with it.  He also made one batch that lasted for like two days, so we made another batch this weekend!  Hence why the picture above shows no evidence of the burned bottoms.  These are phenomenal served with chili, we had them with crab and shrimp bisque (coming soon!) and do make a really really good breakfast.

Bacon Leek Risotto with a Poached Egg

You all know at this point that I love eggs.  And carbs.  When I was reading last month’s issue of Bon Appetit, I found a  recipe for a risotto (carb) with bacon (bonus points) and topped with an egg (win!).  I immediately dog eared the page along with a few others and set it aside in my to-make pile of recipes.  Since I did not touch a pot last week, I finally had the chance to try it out the other night and it was delicious!  And I really like it because with the egg it just looks so pretty!

Bacon & Leek Risotto with a Poached Egg

6 strips of bacon

2 large leeks

1 T. olive oil

5 c. chicken stock

½ c. white wine

¼ c. parmesan cheese

1 ½ Arborio rice

1 T. butter

Eggs

A big step for me was poaching the eggs and therefore it gets its own paragraph.  I had never poached an egg before!  I am not sure what the difference is from frying (besides appearance), but I thought I’d give it a try.  For the sake of my sanity, I poached my eggs in two steps.  There were two of us and I couldn’t figure out the logistics of poaching two eggs at the same time so we could eat together.  So I cooked the almost all the way and then re-heated them right before we ate.  To start, bring water to a simmer and add salt.  Crack an egg into a small bowl and slowly pour into the simmering water.  Cook for three minutes and then remove and place in a bowl with ice water.  Repeat with the second egg (and so on).  Once you are ready to eat, add the semi-poached eggs (all at the same time) back into simmering water for 1-2 minutes and you have hot fresh poached eggs!

For the risotto, slice the bacon into small pieces and slice the leeks thinly, using only the white and light green parts.  In a medium pot, add in the olive oil and bacon and cook until the bacon is nice and crispy.  There will be good browness all over the bottom of the pot.  Remove the bacon, leaving the grease (!!), and add the leeks.  Cook the leeks for a few minutes until they are soft.  Add in the rice and stir until it has absorbed all the grease.  Add in the wine and cook until it’s absorbed.  Add the chicken stock in ½ c. increments, adding more whenever the rice has absorbed the previous addition.  It should take about 25 minutes.  Once it’s finished, add in the butter, cheese, and bacon.  Top with a poached egg and enjoy!

I love love love risotto.  But it’s a love/hate relationship.  Every time I make it, it looks so good and creamy so I take a big bite.  And then I realize that it’s about a bazillion degrees and my tongue is suffering third degree burns.  This recipe included.  From what I could taste after the burning incident, it was delectable.  I am obsessed with the poached egg.  I might start adding eggs to all risottos.  When the yolk breaks, it made the risotto even creamier and added a richness that it was lacking.  Stud and I had this with a big salad and it was a great almost summer dinner.  I also felt so hip using veggies that are in season!  Now all I need is the Farmers Market to open (or for it to STOP RAINING so I can hit others) so I can get fresh veggies!