Spit Fire Shrimp

For the seasoning:

1 lime zested and juiced

1/2 cup hot cayenne pepper sauce

1 tbsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning

Shrimp:

4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

2 shallots, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil  

2 tbsp butter

2 lbs jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

12 blades fresh chives, chopped for garnish

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Preheat large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Combine lime juice and zest, hot sauce, cumin, red pepper flakes, and Old Bay.  Quickly saute garlic and shallots in oil and butter for 1 minute.  Add shrimp and cook until they turn pink.  Dump shrimp into bowl with seasoning, toss to coat evenly. Garnish with chopped chives and cilantro.  Serve warm or chilled.

Mom's Chili

I know there are a lot of chili recipes out there, but you have to give this one a try.  This chili is spicy and savory.  I guarantee this will be your new go-to chili recipe. 

2 lbs course ground beef 
1 lb sweet Italian sausage
1 lb hot Italian sausage 
1 large can chili beans
1 small can kidney beans (lightly mashed) 
1/2 can diced jalapenos 
2 cans rotel 
2 cans stewed tomatoes, cut up in the can
2 cans tomato sauce w/celery and green peppers
1 large onion chopped
1 can tomato paste 
3/4 can beer 
1 packet chili seasoning 
1 tbsp ginger


Brown hamburger, sausage and onion until crumbly, add garlic, drain grease.  Add beans, jalapenos, rotel, tomato sauce, tomato paste, seasoning mix and ginger.  Simmer for 1/2 hour, add beer and simmer until ready to eat. 


Top with shredded cheese, onions, sour cream and fritos.

Back to the Basics

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. As most women were swooning over their dozen roses, chocolates and jewelry, I was admiring my Valentine's Day present - Cookbooks :) No, I didn't get the normal gifts, and I didn't want them. On a holiday based on passion, my husband got me something he knew I was passionate about, cooking.

Now I have specialty cookbooks - Mexican, Spanish, Caribbean, Slow cooker, Tapas, Appetizers. But I don't have that resource cookbook to teach you how to do everything from poach an egg to cut up a chicken. That's what the Internet is for right? When decide what to cook, I tend to fire up my computer or go on to my Epicurious app on my phone; I rarely open up my cookbooks. It's just quicker. Well I am done with quicker, I want the feeling of a real book in my hand and the luxury of thousands of recipes in my hand. Now I know it's still easier for the Internet, but I've gotten burned so many times by recipes that were horrendous.

So not only did I get one how to do everything cookbook, but three. Three cookbooks that will be my go to from now on, The Joy of Cooking, How to Cook Everything and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

I spent hours and hours looking through these cookbooks just admiring the recipes. Deciding how I was going to use them, and what changes I could make so that they were mine. I am not a recipe follower, but now if I want to experiment with something I haven't done before, I have the how to's in my hands.

My husband was just as excited. He loves to help me cook, and pick out what we eat. We can cuddle on the couch and page through the pages for inspiration together. It is definitely more personal than the computer.

I guess it's kind of ironic that here I am blogging about getting back to the basics, but that's the luxury of it all. I can.

Seared Scallops with Sweet Chili-Lime Butter

2 lg limes
3 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 tbsp Asain sweet chili sauce
12 sea scallops, patted dry

Using a microplane, finely grate enough peel from limes to measure 2 teaspoons. Cut one lime into wedges and reserve.

Mix butter, chili sauce, and lime peel in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper .

Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper. Sear scallops in hot pan , about 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Place scallops on platter and drop butter mixture in small dallops over scallops and squeeze lime wedges over.