Paella (p. 238)

I love paella -- to me, it's a pretty perfect dish. Luckily, this recipe kept me believing that, and this will definitely be added to the list of recipes to make again some day.

Paella is pretty time consuming (this took me about an hour and 45 minutes) but, I think, worth the time.

Start your pre-soaked white beans at a low simmer and cook them until they're done. Start this at the very beginning because it takes a while for them to cook, and you can work on preparing everything else during that time.

You can use a variety of different meats for paella. I used chicken legs, chicken thighs,  pork spare ribs, and shrimp, browning each (or in the case of the shrimp, pinkening) in olive oil and then setting aside.

In the same olive oil, sauté chopped onion until soft, and then add chopped tomatoes. Cook this down into a sauce. Add green beans and the white beans with their cooking water. Stir in a healthy does of paprika and cook until everything has become thick.

Now all the meats (except the shrimp) go back into the pan, and this is where things get tricky. You really need a super huge pan to make paella. Even after cutting the recipe in half, my 12 inch sauté pan was really too small, as evidenced by upcoming pictures.

Pour simmering chicken stock into the pan and add lots of coarse sea salt and rosemary. Pour the rice in around the meat, so that it is fully immersed in the stock. Cook until the rice is completely done (I took mine off the heat a few minutes too early because I was worried that everything was going to overflow the pan.) Add the reserved shrimp, set aside for a few minutes, and serve.

Despite the rice being a tad bit crunchy, this was super delicious. Changes I'd make next time would be cutting down the quantities even more, and using cut pieces of meat instead of meat on the bone -- I think that would make it easier to cook and eat.

pork ribs -- $4.58

chicken stock -- $3.49

shrimp -- $4.16

chicken -- $4.69

onions -- $.65

green beans -- $.56

Total Cost of Paella: $18.13

($3.02 per serving)

Tomato and Pepper Gratin of Shrimp and Scallops (p. 390)

Scallops are one of my favorite seafoods, but I don't really ever make them at home -- I guess I'm just nervous about not cooking them fully. And to compensate for that, I over cook them, which is what I did with this recipe. Ooops.

Both the shrimp and the scallops are dusted with flour and briefly fried in olive oil until they're browned on each side.

Place the seafood in a single layer in a gratin dish and top with a sauce made of onion, garlic, sweet peppers, and tomatoes. The spices in the sauce are minimal -- just some paprika and black pepper. 

Top the whole dish with dry bread crumbs and put under the broiler for about five minutes, then serve immediately.

So, the scallops were definitely on the rubbery side, which I guess is from over-cooking. The shrimp was lovely though, and the tomato sauce went nicely with them. It's a pretty quick and easy dish for a weekday night.

scallops -- $12.59

shrimp -- $7.27

tomatoes -- $1.97

yellow onion -- $1.37

Total Cost of Tomato and Pepper Gratin of Shrimp and Scallops: $23.20

($7.73 per serving)

North African Shrimp Tagine (p. 387)

I know, I know -- I've been totally neglectful of cooking. We just spent a fabulous weekend in Winston-Salem and Asheville and I'm ready to get some recipes under my belt again.

What I loved about this recipe is that it has some non-traditional Mediterranean elements in it. The shrimp is marinated in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, saffron, paprika, chopped fresh ginger and cilantro, two ingredients not regularly found in Mediterranean cooking.

While the tasty flavors are combining with the shrimp, make a simple tomato sauce of tomatoes and chopped garlic, along with a little bit of cumin. Spoon the majority of this into a tagine or, if you don't have one, like me, just in a pot that has a lid.

Layer in yummy veggies: carrots, red onions, red potatoes, red pepper, and a spicy green pepper.

Add the rest of the tomato sauce, cover with the lid, and steam lightly for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are fully cooked.

Put the marinated shrimp with all its juices on top, throw on some olives, and cook for 10 more minutes.

We ate this with toasted pita halves and were very very happy. I loved the flavors of the marinated shrimp -- the ginger was amazing -- and the veggies were a tasty complement. I'd totally eat this again, as is, or with just the marinated shrimp and some rice. Super tasty.

cilantro -- $1.69 (most of the bunch is left)

red onion -- $1.13 (half left)

carrots -- $1.29 (most of the bag is left)

red pepper -- $2.94

red potatoes -- $.89

olives -- $4.20 (I bought way too many so I could just eat them)

poblano pepper -- $.70

tomatoes - $1.82

ginger -- $.25

shrimp -- $10.65

Total Cost of North African Shrimp Tagine: $25.56

($8.52 per serving)

Catalan Soup of White Beans Garnished with Shrimp (p. 146)

I love shrimp in pretty much any fashion, and this soup was no exception. They're saffron-y and tomato-y and are a nice pairing with the simple bean preparation that they sit upon.

Cook the beans in water along with sauteed onions and garlic for about 40 minutes, or until the beans are tender. Stir in salt and pepper.

While the beans are cooking, make a sort of tomato sauce by sautéing onion and garlic and olive oil. When the vegetables are very soft but not browned, mix in chopped, peeled tomato and a little sugar, as well as a crumbled dried red chili. Cook until this sauce thickens and the tomatoes begin to melt. Add in saffron and some wine (as the recipe calls for) or water (which I had on hand.)

Once the sauce is cooked to your liking, toss in the shrimp and cook just until they have changed color. Ladle the shrimp and tomato sauce mixture on top of each bowl of bean soup.

That picture doesn't do it justice, but this soup was really good. The saffron-infused shrimp was delicious, and there is a lot of shrimp in the soup, which was right up my alley. 

shrimp -- $10.13

tomato -- $1.87

onion -- $1.07

Total Cost of Catalan Soup of White Beans Garnished with Shrimp: $13.07

($4.36 per serving)

A Seafood Extravaganza with Oranges and Ouzo (p. 385) and Provencal Marinated Fennel (p. 320)

How can you not make a recipe that refers to itself as a seafood extravaganza? It's begging to be cooked. And cook it I did.

The base of the recipe is sliced red onions, garlic, and fennel along with tomato, all cooked in olive oil down into a thick sauce.

Fresh squeezed orange juice, orange zest, and Greek ouzo give the sauce a punch of flavor.

White fish and peeled shrimp cook directly in the sauce. Once thoroughly cooked, stir in pitted green olives, chopped fennel greens, and salt and pepper and serve immediately.

This was quite lovely. The white fish sort of fell apart and made it pretty soup-like, but the flavors were great, and I liked the different textures in the dish. The green olives added a lot of salt, though, so careful on how much extra you add.

With my extravaganza, I cooked up some Provencal Marinated Fennel, which is quick and easy and surprisingly delicious. Trim up your fennel bulbs and cut them into slices. Cook these in a skillet with olive oil, salt and pepper, sliced celery, and crushed garlic. Add in bay leaves and pine nuts and simmer everything together for about 15 minutes.

Toss in some currants, keep over the heat a bit longer, and then serve.

We were both really surprised by how much we liked this. The currant and pine nut topping had a lot of flavor and really complemented the softened fennel.

fennel -- $4.47

shrimp -- $4.63

fish -- $14.42

red onion -- $1.97 (half left)

orange -- $.62 (half left)

tomato -- $1.20 (half left)

olives -- $3.50

Total Cost of A Seafood Extravaganza with Oranges and Ouzo -- $30.81

($7.70 per serving)

fennel --$4.47

Total Cost of Provencal Marinated Fennel: $4.47

($2.24 per serving)

Middle Eastern Savory Tarts (p. 188) with Catalan Seafood and Pasta Paella (p. 213) and Nicholas's Favorite Braised Pears in Red Wine (p. 447)

We had our friends Mike and Jenna over for dinner last night so I wanted to make a few different recipes  -- savory tarts as a starter, a seafood paella for the main course, and braised pears for dessert. Luckily, some things could be made in advance (like the pears) and I didn't actually start the paella until our friends arrived because Jenna had offered to help me cook.

I started the Middle Eastern Savory Tarts early in the day (I just had a half day at work) because the dough/pastry part of it needed to rise. For the dough, I used the same one that I had used to make Middle Eastern Pizza back in October. It's got a little extra flavor to it because it's made with yogurt and olive oil.

Once we were about an hour from our guests arriving, I started pre-heating the oven and assembling the tarts. The stuffing for these tarts is mostly spinach that has been cooked down until tender.

The spinach is combined with chopped onion, olive oil, salt, lemon juice, allspice, and pepper. The recipe also uses either feta or pine nuts, but not both. I really wanted both, so I split the spinach mixture in two and put feta in half and pine nuts in the other half.

The dough needs to be rolled out and cut into circles -- I used a drinking glass to cut the pieces out. Put a little bit of the stuffing into the center of the circle and close the dough up around it like a little purse. I had a lot of trouble with this step -- the amount of olive oil in the stuffing made the dough not want to stick and they kept re-opening on the baking dish. I eventually stopped worrying about it and baked them anyway, until they were golden brown.

These were pretty amazing. I liked both flavors equally, and we scarfed down a ton of them. I would totally make these again for a party, they're perfect finger food. And I just re-heated some for my lunch and they were still delicious.

I waited to start the Catalan Seafood and Pasta Paella until Jenna and Mike arrived so that Jenna and I could cook together. Jenna lightly fried shrimp and flounder pieces after dipping them in flour and I cooked the mussels in a little bit of white wine until they opened up.

We cooked onions and garlic as well as our dry spaghetti pieces until the veggies were soft, and then poured in a little more white wine, chopped tomatoes (that were peeled and seeded), and a bay leaf.

Once the tomatoes had created a thick sauce we poured in simmering veggie stock (Fresh Market doesn't carry fish stock, for some reason) and cooked until the liquid had been absorbed by the pasta. We stirred back in all the seafood and put the dish into a very hot oven for about five minutes to crisp it up a little bit before serving.

This was delicious, and also makes a ton of food. We each had seconds and still have a lots leftover. I loved the texture of the skinny pasta with the seafood, and the lightly fried shrimp was amazing. We just ate this with some toasty french bread, and it was perfect.

For dessert, I made Nicholas's Favorite Braised Pears in Red Wine, Nicholas being author Nancy Harmon Jenkins' son. The recipe calls for 6 pears, but since there were just four of us for dinner I paired it down a little (hah! paired down the pears! right?!)

I peeled the pears and placed them in a deep oven proof dish.

Then I put in lemon zest and slices of lemon and poured in a boiling mixture of red wine, water, and sugar.

This cooks in the oven for about 90 minutes, until the pears are very soft.

The red wine needed to be reduced to a syrup, so I put it back on the stovetop with some more sugar and boiled it down until it became a syrup and then spooned it back over the pears.

These were tasty -- we had them with a little vanilla ice cream and the flavor of the wine with the pear was really lovely.

All in all, this was a great meal, and we had a fabulous night with our buds.

yogurt (for the dough) -- $1.89

onion -- $.65

spinach -- $3.99

Total Cost of Middle Eastern Savory Tarts: $6.53

($.54 per serving of two tarts)

onions -- $1.52

tomatoes -- $4.19

pasta -- $2.33 (a quarter of the box is left)

shrimp -- $7.01

flounder -- $7.79

veggie broth -- $3.50

mussels -- $2.23

Total Cost of Catalan Seafood and Pasta Paella: $28.57

($3.57 per serving)

pears -- $3.97

red wine -- $8.49 (about half a bottle left)

lemon -- $.79

Total Cost of Nicholas's Favorite Braised Pears in Red Wine: $13.25

($3.31 per serving)

A filling and delicious three course meal for $7.42 per person!

Greek Seafood Stew with Vegetables (p. 114) with Aioli (p. 274)

Okay, it's starting to warm up a little bit here, but I still have soup on the brain. Matt had to work late last night so I was flying solo for dinner -- the perfect chance to make a seafood stew that I knew Matt wouldn't love. (I quartered the recipe so that I wouldn't have leftovers forever.)

Full disclosure: I did leave a couple of potentially "key" ingredients out. Saffron, because it's ridiculously expensive, and anise-flavored liqueur because I've always disliked the flavor of licorice.

Sauté onion in olive oil until soft and then add in carrots, celery, garlic, dried red chili pepper, dried thyme, and a bay leaf.

Throw in a peeled chopped tomato and let everything cook for about 10 more minutes.

Add in water and orange zest and simmer for 20 minutes before adding the fish pieces. I used haddock cut into four nice-sized chunks as well as shrimp. Put in the white fish first and allow it to cook for about 5 minutes. Then add the shrimp and cook until it has become pink and is fully cooked.

Remove the seafood from the dish and pour a mixture or orange and lemon juice into the liquid base of the stew. Simmer briefly before pouring back over the seafood.

The recipe recommended serving this stew with aioli, which is just garlic mayonnaise. It's also a super quick and easy recipe; just blend together one whole egg, an egg white, and salt. Slowly add olive oil and lemon juice to the mix.

Combine garlic and salt into a paste.

Gently stir the garlic mixture into the mayonnaise until it is well combined.

Then just spoon some on to your stew!

Yum. This stew was lovely. I really enjoyed the large chunks of fish and the delicious shrimp, which made it feel very hearty and filling. There is just a hint of citrus from the zest and juices, and the dollop of aioli gave a tiny bit of creaminess to the dish. I'm glad Matt wasn't here because I didn't have to share.

onion -- $1.29

orange -- $.60

lemon -- $.69

haddock -- $4.14

shrimp -- $3.77

tomato -- $1.17

Total Cost of Greek Seafood Stew with Vegetables: $11.66

($5.83 per serving)

Total Cost of Aioli: Free

(I had everything I needed at home.)

Pan-Fried Shrimp with Little Green Lentils and a Bright Green Sauce (p. 383)

Supper Club was this past week and the theme was "Classy" so I wanted to do a delicious and filling main dish that was also a little fancy. I had a lot of trouble finding something to make that fit all these requirements and that could be completed in the hour and 20 minutes I had between work and supper club. This recipe actually called for haddock, but I couldn't find any, so I supplemented with the shrimp instead.

So, here we go. Combine olive oil and chopped pancetta in a very large saucepan and cook until the fat begins to run from the meat. Add chopped yellow onion and celery and continue cooking until the veggies are very soft but not brown.

Once the vegetables have softened completely, add rinsed lentils along with rosemary and a dried chili pepper. Mix these ingredients together with the olive oil-y vegetable-y mix and then add water, covering the lentils by about an inch.

Bring the dish to a low simmer and cover the pan until the lentils are tender, around 30 minutes.

The "Bright Green Sauce" mentioned in the title of the recipe is similar to a pesto -- just add parsley, basil, and olive oil to a food processor and process until the sauce is a uniform smooth consistency.

Lastly, prepare the shrimp by tossing them lightly in flour that has been combined with some salt and pepper, shaking off the loose flour, and sautéing the shrimp quickly in olive oil on each side, so that they are lightly browned all over.

To serve, arrange the lentils on a platter, top with the shrimp, and then spoon the lovely green sauce over the top of everything.

Yum! This was super delicious and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. The shrimp was so lightly fried that it was still really tender, and the basil sauce added a great flavor to the whole dish.

basil -- $2.99

parsley -- $1.69

rosemary -- $2.99

pancetta -- $3.99

onion -- $.71

celery -- $1.69

shrimp -- $21.82

Total Cost of Pan-Fried Shrimp with Little Green Lentils and a Bright Green Sauce: $35.88

(This was by far and away my most expensive dish to date, but I was cooking for 12 and we still had leftovers.)

Grilled Shrimp with Almonds (p. 393) and Cauliflower with a Veil of Grated Cheese (p. 307)

Matt was out of town tonight, and he doesn't always love shrimp so it was my chance to try out this shrimp recipe for two of my lady friends.

Sauté almonds in olive oil until golden brown and then transfer them to the bowl of a food processor.

Add in garlic, sauteed in the same oil, as well as parsley, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Process these together and slowly add chopped tomatoes that have been peeled and seeded. Don't over process the mixture -- it should still hold some of the texture from the almonds.

Pour the sauce into a bowl and stir in lemon juice and red wine vinegar as well as some olive oil. The sauce is now ready to go!

The actual shrimp has a super simple preparation -- just toss it in some olive oil and then sauté for a couple of minutes per side until it is cooked through. (Really the recipe calls for them to be grilled, but I figured it would be easier to just cook them on the stove top.)

Serve with the sauce.

The sauce was a little sweet for me, so next time I might doctor it up with a few more spices, but overall it was lovely. I just like shrimp, really.

For tonight's veggie I chose another one I thought the husband wouldn't enjoy; cauliflower. It's not really a favorite of mine either, but how can you turn down something that is covered with a "veil of grated cheese?" I can't.

Break the cauliflower into small florets. Bring chicken stock to a boil and add in the florets; cover with a lid and steam for about 10 minutes.

Once the cauliflower is tender, remove the pieces from the stock, placing them in an oiled gratin dish.

Boil down the remaining stock for about 10 minutes and pour it, as well as some olive oil, over the top of the cauliflower. Top with grated choose (I used parmesan, but any aged hard cheese would work) and place the dish into a pre-heated oven. Cook until the cheese has melted and slightly browned and serve immediately.

I surprised myself by enjoying the cauliflower. Maybe anything that has a veil of cheese is automatically delicious? Probably.

lemon -- $.89

tomato -- $.83

shrimp -- $10.91

Total Cost of Grilled Shrimp with Almonds: $12.63

cauliflower -- $2.50

Total Cost of Cauliflower with a Veil of Grated Cheese: $2.50

Skewered Shrimp with Garlic, Lemon, and Olive Oil (p. 389) followed by a Clafoutis (p.461)

Grilled shrimp, or really any kind of shrimp, is a favorite of mine -- especially in the summer. This shrimp is just dressed in a simple marinade and then set on the grill or can be broiled in the oven (which is what I did.) I created the marinade out of olive oil, salt, pepper, and minced garlic, which I poured over the shrimp (spread in a glass baking dish.)

The shrimp needs to marinate for at least a half an hour, but I made mine several hours in advance and set it in the fridge, stirring every once in a while to make sure that all the shrimp could absorb the tasty flavors.

Once you're about ready to cook, thread the shrimp onto skewers separated by a half a bay leaf between each.

Put on the grill or under the broiler for 3 or 4 minutes per side and then serve!

I really enjoyed these. The marinade wasn't overwhelming but it added a nice flavor. The only problem is that the recipe calls for the shrimp to be left with their peels on during the cooking process which makes for very messy eating. Still, delish, and great with fresh corn on the cob!

And I even made dessert tonight! I used to make cherry clafoutis in college to bring to my French classes, but it's been a long time since I've made one. The blackberries and raspberries at the grocery store looked great today, so I decided to use them instead, this time.

A clafoutis is pretty easy to make -- it's basically just berries covered in batter.

I chose to use a springform pan, but I'm not sure that was the right decision (or maybe it's just time for a new springform), because while in the oven some batter leaked out through the seam and got things a little smokey. Whichever pan you choose to use, butter the sides and bottom well and then spread your berries (or cherries, or plums, or apples, or whatever you fancy) in a single layer across the bottom of the pan. If you're using larger fruits, be sure to remove any seeds/pits and chop them down some. Sprinkle sliced blanched almonds over the fruit.

Next up is the batter -- beat eggs and mix in sugar. Fold flour in (I used extra, since berries are so juicy), and then whole milk. Once these are all mixed together, pour the batter over the fruit. Sprinkle sugar on top of the clafoutis as well as some pads of butter and it's ready to go in the oven for about 45 minutes until the top is golden brown.

By the time it had cooked I was happy I'd used the springform:

I loved this. The berries were juicy and delicious and the batter was light and fluffy and not too sweet. I'd definitely make this again.

Also, doesn't a dining room table just look nicer with hydrangeas on it?

shrimp -- $15.02

lemon -- $.46

garlic -- $.34

Total Cost of Skewered Shrimp with Garlic, Lemon, and Olive Oil : $15.82

blackberries -- $3.99

raspberries -- $2.99

almonds -- $1.99 (I used about half of these)

Total Cost of Clafoutis: $8.97