Red Chili Honey Butter Shrimp on Crispy Polenta Cakes

Red. Chili. Honey. Butter. Shrimp. 

Yum. 

This recipe was created very much by ingredients I happened to have on hand, which is the case of most of my recipes.  

The Boyfriend rated this meal 'pretty good,' which may not sound like a compliment but is actually the highest ranking on his scale, depending on the tone of his voice and facial expressions when he says it.  

The base of the dish is a simple roasted red pepper puree, topped with a spinach and basil salad. Crispy polenta cakes are placed on top, still hot, warming the spinach salad below, and it's all topped off with shrimp drizzled with the red chili honey butter sauce.  

I tried to get a bit of each flavor in every bite.  It's one of those dishes where you're mixing a bite of polenta in the red pepper puree, grabbing a piece of spinach soaked in the slightly spicy butter sauce.  And the shrimp.  Don't forget the shrimp!

This recipe was easy to make, and pretty fast (if you don't count the refrigeration time needed for the polenta- if you're looking to make this tonight, read through whole recipe!)

It's something I sort of whipped together  and when finished and I saw it on a plate, I thought to myself that this dish is worthy of a special occasion dinner. I thought I'd hurry up and share it with you, with Valentine's Day being tomorrow!  If you don't have a dinner planned yet, and you'll be working and want something you don't have to slave over but is still impressive.. here you go.  This is it. 

The list of ingredients seems long, but it's really just redundant since I've split up the four components of the dish.  You'll probably find most of these ingredients in your house already (as I did!).  

Red Chili Honey Butter Shrimp on 

Crispy Polenta Cakes

For the Shrimp:
24 shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp honey
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsl chopped parsley
1/2 cup white wine
3 tbls unsalted butter
salt and pepper

For the Spinach Salad:
Fresh spinach, tough stems removed
Fresh basil, leaves only
1 piece of cooked thick sliced bacon, diced (or use pancetta or prosciutto)
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp red wine vinegar

For Basic Polenta:
2 cups water
3/4 cup polenta (yellow cornmeal) **Make sure it's gluten free if needed
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter

For the Roasted Red Pepper Puree:
1 Red pepper
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:


Spinach Salad:
Rough chop the spinach and basil together.  Toss together and add bacon.  In a separate bowl, combine olive oil and red wine vinegar.  Pour over salad and toss when ready to serve. 

Roasted Red Pepper Puree:
Broil the red pepper until all sides are black and charred.  Let cool until easy to handle, and peel the black skin off the pepper.  Remove the seeds and stem, and place pepper in a blender or food processor.  Puree.  Gradually drizzle a but of olive oil in and puree again.  Continue until puree reaches your desired consistency. I usually keep mine pretty thick.  Salt and pepper to taste. 

Polenta:
In a saucepot, heat water until boiling.  Add the salt, and gradually the polenta. Reduce heat to low, whisking often, and cook until polenta is tender (about 15 minutes). Turn off heat, add butter, and stir until melted.  

Polenta is ready to eat!  To continue on for crispy polenta, spread the polenta flat in a small pan or tray.  For this amount of polenta, I spread mine into a loaf pan (about 4 x 12).  Refrigerate until firm.  Once firm, remove from fridge and cut out desired sized circles with a cookie cutter.

Heat oil in a saute pan, and sauce the polenta cakes until golden crispy on all sides. 

Shrimp:
Toss the shrimp in a bit of salt and pepper.  Heat a few drizzles of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat.  Add the shrimp.  Saute for a minute and add 1 tbsp of the butter.  Saute for a few minutes longer until shrimp is golden on both sides.  Reduce heat to medium and add the red pepper flakes, parsley, and garlic. Stir to coat. Pour in the wine and allow to reduce by half.  Remove the shrimp to serving platter, leaving the sauce in pan. Add the remaining 2 tbsp butter to the pan and the honey.  Stir until butter is melted.  Pour sauce over shrimp, allowing it to drizzle a bit on the polenta and spinach. 

To Assemble:
Spread roasted red pepper puree on base of plate.  Place handfuls of spinach salad in the middle, allowing the puree to hold the spinach in place. Place polenta cakes directly on top of spinach, and top with shrimp and Red Chili Honey Butter Sauce.  Enjoy!

A couple other favorite recipes:
Chicken Salad with Pecans, Grape, and Green Pepper

Wensleydale Apple Cranberry Tartlets with Thyme Shortbread Crust and Bourbon Glaze

Mexican Flavored Chili

Holy smokes do I have a chili recipe for you!

Back from a day of skiing, me and The Boyfriend were craving some warm comfort food.  I thought I'd make something quick and easy.  

I mean, you just throw everything in a pot when making chili. How much simpler can it get? 

But no.  

Here I go, roasting peppers first, making purees, all sorts of ridiculousness that took me an hour and a half before everything got simply tossed in a pot.  

But I was thinking of you, invisible internet people.  I wanted to share with you a different way of making chili, not using canned tomatoes and tomato paste.  So I made my own puree of roasted red peppers, poblano peppers, and tomatoes. 

You may be scared by all the peppers if you don't like spicy.  I will say this chili has some kick for sure, but it's not one of those try-to-rip-your-tongue-out-of-your-mouth spicy.  Eliminate the sriacha/hot sauce and cayenne if your nervous.  Those who want more spicy can always add hot sauce. 

In the end, this was a most delicious chili, and worth the time and effort.  I made a huge batch (what's the point of making chili if it only feeds you for 2 days?!).  I'd say this recipe would feed about 14 people.  We had leftovers for 3 days, and I have 2 tupperwares in the freezer for some quick winter meals.

Of course this is a perfect party sized chili for all you football fans out there. You could even make it a day or two ahead and have it in a crockpot for when you've had too many beers to actually cook anything at your football party. :)

Mexican Flavored Chili

The meat:
16 oz ground chorizo
16 oz mild italian sausage
3 lb ground beef


The veggies

7 stalks celery, chopped in 1/4 inch slices
1 jalapeno, stem and seeds removed, minced 
2 green peppers, stem and seeds removed, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 red pepper, stem and seeds removed, cut into 1/2 inch dice
4 carrots, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, then cut in thirds lengthwise and diced
2 onions, coarsely diced

The stuff you throw in chili:
26 oz can red kidney beans, drained
30 oz can pinto beans, drained
15 oz can cannellini beans, drained
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne
1 tbsp marjoram
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp Sriacha or hot sauce of choice

1 bottle dark beer


Base Puree
2 poblano peppers(sometimes called pasilla peppers)
3 red peppers 
5 tomatoes
3 cloves minced garlic

1. Make the base puree.  Broil or grill the poblano, red peppers, and tomatoes until the skin turns black in spots (or for tomato, until the skin begins to crack and peel back on it's own).  Let cool until easy to handle, and remove stem, seeds, and peel skin.  Coarsely chop peppers and tomato and place them and the 3 cloves of garlic in blender or food processor and process until a paste.  Set aside.  

2. While peppers are roasting, brown meats. Add half of each meat to 2 large stockpots and cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is browned. Remove meat with a slotted spoon and set aside (you can set the meat aside from both stockpots in the same bowl).

3. In same two stockpots over medium high heat, add half the veggie mixture to each pot.  Saute until veggies begin to soften a bit, but are still pretty crisp. This step helps veggies release some of their sugars and will make them more flavorful.  

4. Add half the meat back to each pot, and half the 'stuff you throw in chili' to each pot.  Bring the pots to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for about an hour and a half. 

5. When finished, marry the two pots.  Once cooked down, I could add one pot to the other and it fit perfectly.  Stir well and don't forget the sour cream!

8 Homemade Spice Blends

Hey East Coasters!

Stuck inside your house for the storm?  Bored?  

Why not make your own spice blends for quick cooking later on?  

Here's 10 of my favorites.  These are blends I often make and have on-hand.  Simply combine all ingredients and store up to 3 months in an airtight container.   Rub them on some chicken or whatever meat, cook-n-serve. 

These make entertaining easy too.  

More time to devote to side dishes and desserts, less time measuring our teaspoons and tablespoons of herbs.

AND they make great gifts!  Make now, pack in pretty glass jars with some decorative lace or whatever you're into, and voila!

'Na mean?

Creole Seasoning

5 tbsp sweet paprika

3 tbsp salt

2 tbsp onion powder

2 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp dried oregano

2 tbsp dried basil

1 tbsp dried thyme

1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper

1 tbsp white pepper

1 tbsp cayenne pepper (or more if you like SPICY!) or ground ancho chile pepper

1/2 tsp ground allspice

Chili Seasoning

1/2 cup chili powder

1/4 cup tbsp garlic powder

1/4 cup cumin

3 tbsp dried oregano

3 tbsp onion powder

2 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp thyme

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp white sugar

 Pumpkin Pie 

OR Apple Pie Spice

Enough for one pie

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp allspice

pinch cloves if desired

Macaroni and Cheese Spice!

Just add to the roux, add cheese, and bake.

1 tbsp powdered mustard

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (I add 1 tsp for a little kick)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

Taco Seasoning

1 tbsp chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Harrisa Spice Blend

(A North African chili paste blend)

1/2 cup olive oil

3-5 dried red chili peppers or 1 1/2 tsp to a tbsp of red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper

1/2 cup cilantro

4 tbsp ground garlic

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp dried mint

In a food processor, blend 1/4 cup olive oil with spices.  Pour into your airtight jar. Add remaining oil on top, and seal.  When ready to use, give it a good shake, and rub on meat. 

Jamaican-Me-Crazy Jerk Seasoning

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tbsp onion powder

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp dried thyme

2 tsp ground allspice

2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt