Shrimp with Matisse
I started reading about Matisse a year ago in the column of Cooking Light magazine “Kid in the Kitchen“. I had always enjoyed reading the recipes that Mastisse (she was 11 at the time) cooked and loved the commentary from her friends, who were around her age as well. It was inspiring to see someone so young and so eager to get in the kitchen and try stuff out. She seemed beyond her years.
I never knew much about her until I got the March issue of Cooking Light and read the Note from the Editor page. Scott Mowbray visited and cooked with her in her Pittsburgh home and gave some background information about her plight. She is originally from New Zealand and “came to America with her family to get life-saving treatment for a rare intestinal condition that, for years, had meant she was unable to eat solid food at all. She became fascinated with cooking despite her disease and something of a cooking-TV junkie. Then, in December of 2010, she had a life-changing organ transplant and was finally able to eat the food she already knew how to cook.” You can read more on her blog: Matisse’s Kitchen.
Fascinating stuff! The world is full of incredible people!
So I tried the Shrimp and Shiitake Rice Bowl from the March issue of Cooking Light ‘Kid in the Kitchen’ and included the commentary as well.
I agree with Matisse about the Shiitake mushrooms, I used white button mushrooms and the rice, I made from scratch too but used white. It was a great recipe! I added probably 2 more ounces of snow peas but followed the rest of the recipe as is.
Enjoy and make sure you read a bit more about Matisse! Definitely puts life in perspective!
Oven Fried Potatoes
I originally got this idea from either The Victory Garden or Julia Child or both. I can’t remember, it’s been so long. I have modified this recipe alot over the years and finally took pictures and wrote down exactly what I did, last night . You can certainly tweak this recipe yourself, adding more or different spices or fresh instead of dry but this is the basic recipe.
I usually serve it with steak, which I did last night or steak sandwiches but occasionally I have served it with grilled chicken. It makes enough for 4 people or 2 people with plenty of leftovers. It’s also great served the next day, cold, over mixed greens and some leftover steak (or chicken) – yum!
Oven Fried Potatoes
1-3/4 lb. of Idaho Baking Potatoes (about 3 medium/large potatoes) make sure they are similar in size
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a large rimmed cookie sheet with canola oil spray.
Wash the potatoes thoroughly, using a scrub brush if necessary to get all the dirt off. Dry the potatoes. Cut the potato in half-length wise (see pictures below), take one of the halves and cut in half lengthwise again. Then cut each quarter into 3 even wedges (be careful, this is very awkward and you can easily cut yourself ). Repeat with the other half and the other potatoes. Place potatoes in a very large bowl.
Sprinkle the potatoes with the oregano, basil, salt and garlic. Toss thoroughly until everything is coated. The garlic might still be on the bottom but that’s ok. (If you are prepping in advance, the potatoes can keep like this for about an hour. Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, toss with the olive oil.)
Pour olive oil over potatoes and again toss thoroughly until everything is coated.
Place potatoes onto cookie sheet, distributing the garlic more. Spread the potatoes on the cookie sheet in one layer. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. Half way through the cooking time, take the potatoes out and flip over. Continue to bake. After 30 minutes, see how they are. We like ours very crispy so I usually bake them for an additional 10-15 minutes.
about 1-3/4 pounds:
cut potato lengthwise:
cut each half, in half again:
cut each quarter into 3 even wedges:
one potato cut:
potatoes in bowl:
add oregano, basil, salt and garlic:
toss:
toss with olive oil:
onto cookie sheet:
spread potatoes in one layer:
half way through cooking time, turn potatoes over:
ready to serve:
Garlic
Fresh garlic was very frustrating for me. I would bring home, what I thought, was a nice head of garlic, only to discover when I wanted to use it, that it was bad! Or I would open up a head of garlic and half of it was dehydrated! Or I would open up a head of garlic and maybe one or two cloves were of descent size and the rest were these ridiculous skinny cloves! Then to add insult to injury, you had to get the skin off and when you were done, there was nothing left! Or I would have to buy this sleeve of 6 or 7 garlic heads because the single heads were not available and half of them would be rotten, dehydrated or just plain awful! Sometimes, I would resort to the jarred, already chopped or minced garlic but always felt guilty because I felt I was cheating and it would leave me thinking that it would probably taste better with fresh garlic! Sigh……
So one day, as I was doing some grocery shopping among the mushrooms, I spotted already peeled, fresh garlic. I looked at the bag. There was alot of garlic in there. I liked the idea but would I use it all before they went bad? Would it be a waste of money? I decided to experiment and bought it.
I am happy to say, I am on my second bag. What an incredible discovery! You may have already indulged in this fantastic product but if you have not please give it a try. It will revolutionize your garlic usage.
Chicken Casserole
I wanted to make this pulled chicken recipe from Food Network, it sounded like a fun take on pulled pork and it had great reviews. I poached the chicken, which took quite awhile. Then I made the barbecue sauce, which had an unusual list of ingredients, from maple syrup to bourbon. I tasted the barbecue sauce (thank goodness!) before I put the dish together and it tasted awful! This was not going to work. So I threw out the sauce but then I was left with all this beautifully poached chicken! I frantically searched the internet with hope of finding a recipe that included 4 cups of chicken and came up with one from Southern Living. I didn’t like quite a few of the ingredients (crackers, pecans, totellini) but the sauce for the casserole sounded really good so I gave it a try. Surprisingly, to me anyway, (I had never hacked a recipe so severely as this one) it turned out really good!
Chicken Casserole (somewhat adapted from Southern Living)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup flour
3 cups chicken broth (I like Swanson Chicken Broth, 99% fat free)
1-1/2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 ounces shredded Parmesan cheese (I like Stella Parmesan Cheese)
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch red pepper
8 ounces Penne
2 cups frozen petite peas (I like Birds Eye Baby Sweet Peas)
4 cups chopped or shredded chicken
1 cup dried bread crumbs (homemade)
2 tablespoons butter
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook Penne according to package directions. Drain pasta in colander and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish with canola spray.
Using the same pot that cooked the Penne, place pot over medium heat and add butter and olive oil. When butter has melted, add onion and garlic and saute for 5 to 6 minutes until tender.
Add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Whisk in broth, half-and-half and white wine. Cook for approximately 20 minutes until slightly thickened.
Remove from heat and add cheese, salt and red pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Add Penne, peas and chicken and stir until combined. Spoon into baking dish.
In a small fry pan over medium heat, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter, add breadcrumbs and stir until combined. Cook, stirring constantly, until slightly toasted and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle over the top of the casserole.
Put casserole in oven and bake for 20 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
cooking onion and garlic:
sauce ingredients: flour, chicken broth, wine, 1/2 & 1/2:
add flour and cook:
add rest of sauce ingredients and cook until slightly thickened:
cheese, salt and red pepper:
Add chicken, peas and penne and stir to combine:
spoon mixture into casserole:
toasted breadcrumbs:
casserole ready for oven:
after 20 minutes:
ready to eat!
Oatmeal Muffins
This is another great little muffin for a quick breakfast or snack. Nutritious, full of blueberries and not too sweet. I have been making my husband these for the past couple of months and they have become his new favorite.
I really prefer fresh blueberries and they do not have to be wild, as the original recipe states, only if that is important to you. I find that the frozen blueberries tend to ‘melt’ into the batter causing it to become blue. It certainly does nothing to the taste but just like my Mom (it always annoyed her), it bugs me. But if frozen is all you have, please do not let this deter you from making them.
Oatmeal Muffins (by Bon Appetit)
2-1/3 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup of white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (2 ounces)
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar (light brown can be substituted, if necessary)
1/4 cup sugar (it has a larger amount on their website, this quantity is from the magazine, which is what I used)
2 tablespoons of oat bran or wheat bran (I usually find this in the organic section of the supermarket)
2 tablespoon of wheat germ
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup boiling water
1-1/2 to 2 cups of fresh blueberries (can be frozenbut do not defrost)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 20 muffin cups with canola oil spray. Put a cup of water on to boil.
Put oats, flour, pecans or walnuts, brown sugar, white sugar, oat or wheat bran, wheat germ, cinnamon, baking soda and salt into a very large bowl. Stir together with a rubber spatula and eventually with your hands, breaking up brown sugar, until thoroughly combined.
Put buttermilk, canola oil, egg and vanilla in a 2 cup glass measuring cup or medium bowl, and whisk together until thoroughly combined.
Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir/fold with a rubber spatula until almost combined. Add boiling water, stir/fold gently until just combined and let sit for 5 minutes. Fold in blueberries.
Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out batter into 20 muffin cups.
Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes. Toothpick tester should come out clean when inserted into muffin. If little crumbs stick to it, that’s fine.
Place baked muffins onto rack and cool for 15 minutes. Remove muffins and place on rack to continue to cool. They can stay at room temperature, covered for 24 hours. Otherwise freeze in pairs in freezer bags, for future consumption.
chopping nuts (I used walnuts) with this Vintage Foley Chopper tool of my Mom’s (my husband sharpened the blades and it works very nicely):
dry ingredients:
liquid ingredients & blueberries:
adding boiling water:
adding blueberries:
batter complete:
into muffin tins:
out of oven:
yum, full of berries!
Swedish Meatballs
I mentioned these in my Meatloaf post and I think I’ve finally conquered this family recipe.
When I was younger and thus our children were younger, I made this many times but was always in a rush, always trying to shorten the procedure. But I have realized, to get the meatballs the way I want, there are no shortcuts. Ah, one of the better things about getting older: more patience. Well, no, maybe what it’s all about is that there are no small children around anymore and the fact that I have more time to make dinner.
The meatballs need to be on the smaller size (I would make giant meatballs), each meatball must be coated with flour (I always eliminated this step because I thought it was a waste of time….not!), and the meatballs need to be cooked half at a time in a large fry/saucepan, so they get nicely browned all around and somewhat firm. (I would jam all the meatballs together in a smaller fry/saucepan and they would always turn out soft, and fall apart). My only tweak on the original recipe was to double the liquid for the sauce but not the flour/water mixture.
I made them last night and my husband complimented me saying he didn’t remember them tasting this good. Success!
Swedish Meatballs
2 tablespoon of olive oil
2 tablespoon of butter
l pound of 85% ground beef
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped or grated onion
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs (homemade)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (the one time I do use this spice: I’m not that hateful of it)
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 cup bouillon (made from 1 cup of boiling water and 2 teaspoons of Better Than Bouillon Beef: I found this in the soup aisle)
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup water
Combine egg, milk, salt, onion, bread crumbs, nutmeg, allspice and brown sugar in large bowl. Stir with a large serving fork to combine. Add ground beef and stir with fork until just combined.
In a large saute pan, add butter and olive oil and heat over medium heat. While butter and oil are heating up, put 1 cup flour in a glass baking dish or wide bowl. Shape meatballs slightly bigger than a golf ball (an ice cream scoop is helpful) and set aside on wax paper. When all meatballs are shaped, take one, place in bowl with flour. Cover meatball gently with flour. Remove meatball and toss gently back and forth in your hands to remove excess flour. You should have a nice coating of flour. Continue with all meatballs and set aside. Place 1/2 the meatballs in the saute pan. Brown the meatballs for a total of 5 minutes, turning over gently 1/2 way through cooking time. You might need to add an additional minute or two. You want the meatballs nice and brown and they should feel firm, not soft. Remove meatballs from saute pan onto a platter and repeat procedure with the other half of meatballs.
Place the 2 tablespoons of flour into a small bowl and add the 1/3 cup of water, stirring with a whisk or fork until combined. Place beef broth, milk, and flour mixture into saute pan and stir with a metal spatula or whisk until combined, loosening up all brown bits from bottom of pan. Bring to a simmer. Add meatballs back into saucepan and bring everything back to a slight simmer, one notch below medium. Check to make sure meatballs are not sticking to bottom of pan and if they are, take a metal spatula and gently release them from the bottom. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Half way through cooking time, check the meatballs again to make sure they are not sticking and if they are, release them gently with a metal spatula.
Serve meatballs with mashed potatoes or noodles or just the way they are!
all ingredients less milk and beef:
add milk:
add beef:
mix until just combined:
using an ice cream scoop, form into meatballs:
meatball in flour:
covering meatball gently with flour:
flour covered meatballs:
1/2 of meatballs in pan:
browning:
finished browning:
sauce ingredients:
bring sauce to simmer:
add meatballs and bring back to a simmer:
served over skinny noodles:
Green Goddess Dressing
This is a really good dressing by Ina Garten. I included it in our dinner party menu, serving it over Bibb Lettuce. Everyone enjoyed it and I even had a request for the recipe. I did not include the tomatoes like the recipe states but I am sure that would be a great addition.
I thought it would be fun to include the background history since the name is really quite unique. Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:
“The dressing is named for its tint. The most accepted theory regarding its origins points to the Palace Hotel in San Francisco in 1923, when the hotel’s executive chef Philip Roemer wanted something to pay tribute to actor George Arliss and his hit play, The Green Goddess. He then concocted this dressing, which, like the play, became a hit. This dressing is a variation of a dressing originated in France by a Chef to Louis XIII who made a Sauce Au Vert (Green Sauce) which was traditionally served with “Green Eel”.”
The dressing keeps well. I am still enjoying it 2 weeks after our party and have tried various lettuces, including spinach. Yum! Absolutely no comparison to bottled dressing.
Green Goddess Dressing (by Ina Garten)
1 cup of mayonnaise (I use Hellman’s)
1 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (I used 2 bunches which is ~14 skinny scallions)
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (about 2 to 2.25 ounces of leaves)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 medium or 1 very large)
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 peeled cloves)
2 teaspoons anchovy paste (I had never used this before. I found it in the canned tuna etc. aisle)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup sour cream (full fat version, please)
Bibb lettuce (a small type of butter lettuce with a firm core) or Boston lettuce (a medium large butter lettuce with a loose leaf structure, and a bit less expensive than Bibb) or whatever combination of lettuce or spinach you like
Place the mayonnaise, scallions, basil, lemon juice, garlic, anchovy paste, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
Add sour cream and process until just blended, about 30 seconds.
Pour into a container and refrigerate until ready to use.
Pour dressing onto lettuce and or spinach of your choice and serve.
all ingredients less sour cream in bowl of processor:
blend until smooth:
add sour cream:
process until just blended, about 30 seconds:
store in container in refrigerator until ready to use:
over Boston lettuce:
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
This is by far the most delicious Pineapple Upside Down Cake I have made.
For a good part of last summer I made several Pineapple Upside Down Cakes and was not overly pleased with anyone of them, even one that my mother had made on a regular basis. I don’t know exactly what happened to my taste buds over the years but they were not likin’ what I was makin’. Then miraculously in the September Bon Appetit issue, they had a Pineapple Upside Down cake that looked amazing! How did they know that I was on a quest to find a good recipe? So I made it for a dinner party last fall and I haven’t looked back.
I follow the recipe from Bon Appetit exact but I am including the recipe, notes and pictures here to help you along. I think the fresh pineapple and the dark brown sugar is what really sets this recipe apart from all others.
The only thing that you absolutely need is a 10 inch cake pan with 2 inch sides. Not something you always have in your cupboard but a must for this recipe. It is a large cake.
Pineapple Upside Down Cake ( by Bon Appetit Pineapple Upside Down Cake)
for the Caramel:
1-1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick/4 ounces) butter, cut up into small pieces
1/4 cup bourbon (I used Evan Williams Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey: this was the smallest bottle available for a reasonable price. We are not bourbon drinkers but if you are use the best that you have!
for the Cake:
1 medium pineapple
1-2/3 cups cake flour (the recipe on-line says 1-1/3 cups but the magazine recipe, stated here, is the amount I used)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick/4 ounces) butter, softened and cut up
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
Caramel:
Coat cake pan with canola oil spray and set aside. Put brown sugar and butter in a medium saucepan, over medium heat and cook, whisking frequently, until mixture is bubbling and sugar is completely dissolved. Boil, whisking frequently, until caramel thickens, and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 3 minutes.
Remove from the heat and add bourbon. Mixture will boil up so be careful. Put pan with caramel back on medium heat and return caramel to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook for 1 minute. Pour caramel into prepared cake pan and swirl pan until bottom is completely covered with caramel.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Pineapple:
Cut top and bottom off of pineapple. Using a sharp knife, cut skin off a section at a time, removing as much of the brown eyes as possible. Cut 1/4 inch thick slices of pineapple. Using a very sharp paring knife, trim slices into a nice round and cut out the core with the tip of the knife. OR if you are lucky enough to have this handy Donut Cutter like I did (thoughtfully given to me by my daughter) position the middle part of the cutter over the core and press down firmly over the slice of pineapple. It works absolutely perfectly! By this time the caramel should be at room temperature. Arrange pineapple rings decoratively on top of caramel in cake pan. Do not overlap. Cut rings into smaller pieces to fill in any gaps, if you like.
Cake:
Place flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom into a medium sieve that has been placed over a medium bowl. Sift flour mixture into bowl underneath, using a whisk. Combine eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl. Put butter in bowl of your electric mixer and start beating. Measure out sugar and set sour cream aside. Add sugar to butter and beat for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl. Beat for another 1 minute. Add egg mixture and beat for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl and beat for another 1 minute.
Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream, ending with sour cream. Mix until just combined. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl and beat for another 30 seconds. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top.
Bake cake for 50 – 60 minutes. 50 minutes worked for me. When testing the cake with a toothpick, do not insert all the way down into the cake. Only insert about 1/2 way down into the cake. Otherwise you will insert the toothpick into the pineapple and caramel, the toothpick will come out moist and you will think that the cake is not done. The cake will also pull away from the sides of the pan slightly when done. Transfer cake to a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes.
Run a sharp knife around sides of pan to loosen cake and invert cake, carefully, onto a large plate.
Cake can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover with a cake dome and let stand at room temperature. I did this when I had my dinner party and it worked out really well. Serve with whipped cream!
butter and brown sugar for caramel:
bourbon:
caramel boiling:
caramel in the cake pan:
cut top and bottom off of pineapple:
cutting skin off:
slicing pineapple:
using the donut cutter:
using the paring knife method:
finished rings of pineapple:
pineapple slices onto caramel:
cake: mise en place
finished batter:
into the pan:
cake out of oven:
cake out of pan:
yum!
Pot Roast
Growing up my Mom made Pot Roast with ginger snaps, very delicious. But when I tried it on my own children they were not as keen on the taste. So I started looking around for a new family recipe and found one in my Southern Living Our Best Five Star Recipes cookbook: Deluxe Pot Roast. I have tweaked the recipe over the years and once in a while I do add potatoes and carrots. But usually I serve it as is with maybe some crusty bread and salad. You can certainly add whatever vegetables you like. I have added the carrots and potatoes to the recipe below, so you can see how it works.
The chuck section comes from the shoulder and neck of the beef, and it yields some of the most flavorful and economical cuts of meat. It just needs to be cooked for quite a bit so give yourself plenty of time. It is also just as good if not better the next day.
Deluxe Pot Roast (adapted from Southern Living)
1, 2-1/2 to 3 pound boneless chuck roast
3 tablespoons of oil
1 large onion, sliced
2 large cloves of garlic minced
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup of tomato sauce (I usually use my tomato sauce, but if I don’t have enough or none at all I use Hunt’s Tomato Sauce and in a pinch supplement either one with canned diced tomatoes)
1-1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1-1/2 tablespoons prepared horseradish (my favorite Gold’s Hot Horseradish)
1-1/2 tablespoons prepared mustard (my favorite Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard)
6-8 new potatoes (~ 1/2 pound, optional whether to peel)
4-5 carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces (~ 1/2 pound)
Put large sauce pan, 6-8 quart, on medium heat and add oil and heat until very hot. Add beef and sear on ALL sides for 3-5 minutes each side until nice and brown.
Add sliced onion, minced garlic and wine.
Mix tomato sauce in a bowl or 2 cup measuring cup with brown sugar, oregano, horseradish and prepared mustard. Pour over beef.
Bring liquid to boil then reduce heat to one notch below medium, bringing liquid to a simmer. Cover pot and cook for 45 minutes. Uncover and turn beef over. Cover pot and cook for another 45 minutes.
After the hour and a half cooking time, add potatoes and carrots, cover and simmer for an hour until beef and vegetables are very tender. If the sauce is really thick at this point, you may need to add a bit of water, maybe 1/4 cup, before adding the vegetables.
When done, remove meat to a cutting board and slice into serving pieces, cutting away any fat. Place on serving platter and surround with vegetables, spooning sauce over top of everything. Serve immediately.
this is what I got at Shoprite:
searing the meat, on all sides:
mis en place:
adding onions, garlic, wine:
then tomato sauce mixture:
after 45 minutes and turning beef:
carrots, about 1/2 pound and cut:
potatoes about 1/2 pound and cut:
adding vegetables to pot roast:
all done, ready to serve:
yum!
South Carolina Shrimp
This is a decadent, delicious shrimp dish from Bon Appetit. I originally prepared it in 1998 and made no changes except to substitute italian parsley for the cilantro.
I can see why I hesitated to make it again: the quantity of butter added at the end is, well, a lot. So it’s meant for occasional dining or maybe saved for a special occasion.
South Carolina Shrimp (adapted ever so slightly from Bon Appetit, R.S.V.P. section, August 1990, from the restaurant in Charleston, Chouinard’s on Vendue)
6 plum tomatoes
3 tablespoon olive oil
20 uncooked large frozen shrimp, shells and tails removed (I use 21/25 count)
1 tablespoon minced shallot (from 1/2 of large)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (from 2-3 cloves)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup chopped fresh italian parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1/2 large)
1/2 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoon butter, cut into small cubes
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Then fill a large bowl with cold water and a few ice cubes, and set aside. Prepare tomatoes by scoring the end (not stem end) with a shallow little X mark.
While waiting for the water to come to a boil, defrost the shrimp, according to the directions on the bag. When finished, set aside shrimp in strainer over a bowl in the refrigerator.
When water has come to a boil, set aside a slotted spoon. Drop tomatoes gently into boiling water and in a about 30 seconds you will start to see the skin peeling off. When this happens, remove the tomato with the slotted spoon to the cold water. The skin might not do this to all of them at once, so just keep watching.
After a few minutes in the cold water, remove tomatoes onto a cutting board and remove skins with your fingers. They should come off fairly easily.
Cut tomatoes into quarters and remove all seeds, jelly stuff, and hard core inside tomato wedge. Do this to all the tomatoes and set aside. When you have completed all the tomatoes, cut each quarter into 4 strips and then dice the strips, setting aside in a bowl.
Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium high heat. Add shrimp and cook for 2 minutes until just pink, turning over once, half way through. Do not overcook the shrimp. They will be perfect in 2 minutes. Remove shrimp onto platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
Add shallot and garlic to skillet and saute for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, wine, parsley and lemon juice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add cream and boil mixture for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat. Add butter a few pieces at a time, whisking until melted. Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper if desired. Add shrimp and stir gently until thoroughly combined.
Immediately serve over thin spaghetti or fettucine.
scoring the tomatoes with a little X:
setting up for putting tomatoes in boiling water:
tomatoes in boiling water:
tomatoes in cold water, skins coming off:
skins off:
removing seeds, jelly stuff, and hard core from inside tomato wedge:
dicing tomatoes:
mis en place:
cooking shrimp:
shrimp set aside:
saute shallot and garlic:
adding tomatoes, wine, parsley and lemon juice:
cream added and boiling:
adding butter:
shrimp back in, dish complete:
delicious!
Perfecting Deliciousness 