Surf and Turf Crostinis

"Steak?...Did someone say steak?"
Another puppy hour sighting!

Well we survived our first week of school (barely).  Friday came upon us and I wanted to do crostini night on the patio.  These were both new recipes (one I found and the other I just made up)...both were amazing and will definitely see another appearance of them soon with our upcoming guests. They went together very easy, both had incredible flavors and were the perfect end to a very long and much anticipated week.

Lemon-Rosemary Shrimp Crostini (Surf)

Lemon-Rosemary Shrimp Crostinis

Courtesy of The Nibble

Non-stick cooking spray

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/4 cup olive oil

1 lemon, juiced and zested

2 Tbl. fresh rosemary (1 Tbl optional for garnish), finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper to taste

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted and finely chopped

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil), finely chopped

1 long baguette, cut into 24 thin slices

stainless/metal skewers

Spray grill grate of either a gas grill or charcoal grill with non-stick cooking spray.  Heat grill to medium-high heat.

Place shrimp in resealable plastic bag.  In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice and zest, 1 tablespoon rosemary and garlic.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Pour half of mixture over shrimp and gently toss to coat shrimp.  Set aside for 5-10 minutes.

Add to the remaining oil mixture, the cream cheese, 1/4 cup feta, pine nuts and tomato.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and set aside.

Spray both sides of baguette slices with non-stick cooking spray.  Place on grill for 1-2 minutes per side or until lightly toasted.  Set aside to cool slightly.

Drain excess liquid from shrimp and place on skewers.  Grill 1-2 minutes per side or until pink and cooked through.  To assemble, spread cheese mixture onto bread slices, then place about 2-3 shrimp on top.  Sprinkle remaining feta and rosemary on top.

Blue Cheese Beef Crostini (Turf)

Blue Cheese Beef Crostinis

1/2 pound london broil or prime rib, cooked and sliced thin

1 wedge Cambozola cheese, softened

1 pint yellow grape/cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1 avocado, sliced thin

1 baguette, cut into 24 thin slices

olive oil

Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Line large cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Place baguette slices on sheet and brush with olive oil one side that is facing up.  Bake approximately 5 minutes, until just starting to become lightly toasted.

Remove baguette slices from oven and spread Cambozola cheese over each slice.  Add a small piece of sliced beef, avocado slice, then top with 2 slices of the tomato.

One Year Ago: Smoked BBQ Chicken Nachos

Two Years Ago: Flatbread Friday

Lemon-Blackberry Olive Oil Cake

As I was looking to see which post to do today, I went back to find the "One Year Ago" recipe and saw that today is the 2nd Anniversary of my blog, which means I now also get to do "Two Years Ago" and the end of the recipes/posts.  Oh my gosh, where has this year gone?  Can anyone please tell me?  I am amazed how fast time keeps ticking by me.

I perused through my photo cache of recipes from the past few months and realized I had not posted this one yet.  It's easy, refreshing and a perfect summer dessert.  In our case, also a great coffee cake for mornings.  

I changed up the Orange Olive Oil Cake that I made a few months ago to see what switching out a couple ingredients would do.  The end result was awesome.  I cannot wait to make this for my grandma when we visit her during our vacation.

Lemon-Blackberry Olive Oil Cake

Non-stick baking spray
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
Juice and zest of 1 lemon (about 3 Tbls. juice, 1 Tbl. zest)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 cups fresh blackberries

Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Spray 9-inch round cake pan with non-stick baking spray.

Mix together the sugar and eggs in a medium bowl with a hand mixer on medium speed until blended and light.  Drizzle in the olive oil and vanilla and mix until light and smooth.  Add the lemon juice and zest and mix well.  Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another medium bowl.  Add the flour mixture half at a time to the wet ingredients and mix on low just to incorporate.  Carefully fold in the blackberries to the batter, until evenly distributed.

Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake, 25 to 30 minutes.  Let the cake cool 15 minutes.  Serve with fresh whipping cream and blackberries.

One Year Ago:  Fry Sauce
Two Years Ago: Pickling Cucumbers

Lemon Orzo Shrimp and Asparagus

My husband saved this tulip's life in our yard
and brought it in before the latest snowstorm.

There is a saying, "April showers bring May flowers".  Well, what then does it bring when it is April snow blizzard?  I will tell you, it brings a cranky mom and wife!

I have been so eager to eat outside again on our patio, bring out the lounging furniture and enjoy a nice happy hour watching the sunset. We had a little teazer with record sunshine, grass was getting green and tulips appeared in our yard again...and then it hit!  Snow, snow, snow.  Luckily, the sun came right back out and melted it all off quickly enough.

In my effort to wish spring and summer back, I made this shrimp and asparagus dish, which was very light, yet filling...and refreshing but also warmed our cold bones.

Lemon Orzo Shrimp and Asparagus

4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
2 cups (plus 1/4 cup) chicken broth
1 pound peeled, deveined raw shrimp, thawed - tails off
juice from 1 lemon and its zest
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1/2 lb. fresh asparagus
1-1/2 cup dry orzo pasta
2 cups water
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For the dressing: mix the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
Add olive oil and whisk.  Set aside.

(Here is a new way I learned to make asparagus on Pinterest) For the asparagus:  cut the ends off and lay the asparagus stalks in a baking dish, 8 x 8 (preferably Pyrex).  Pour boiling water over the asparagus (just enough to cover it), cover dish with plastic wrap and let sit until the water is warm to the touch.  Drain water and cut into 2 inch pieces.

In a medium pot, add water and 2 cups of chicken broth.  Bring to a boil and add the orzo.  Cook to package directions, approximately 10 minutes.

While the orzo is boiling, saute the shrimp in butter with salt and pepper in a non-stick skillet on medium-high heat, for approximately 2 minutes, on each side until they are pink and opaque.

When shrimp is done cooking, deglaze pan with the remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth.  Drain orzo well and add to the shrimp.   Add chopped asparagus to shrimp/orzo pan and mix well.  Off the heat add the lemon/oil dressing and Parmesan cheese to the shrimp mixture and stir.  Plate and top with chopped bacon.

One Year Ago:  Pizzette and Soup

Raspberry-Lemon Dump Cake

My husband is not allowed to eat chocolate.  He especially should not eat any type of chocolate for dessert right before he goes to bed.  We have no idea why, but something in chocolate makes him have really, really strange and active dreams.

After even the smallest amount of chocolate, he will talk, yell, flail his arms, sit straight up and have the most eventful dreams.  One night he was dreaming that he was in the military, in the middle of a war and was trying to save one of his platoon by grabbing him (which of course turned out to be me) and throw them ("us") into a nearby trench for safety.  Luckily, I was able to wake him up before he threw us off the bed onto the floor.  Herein is why he is definitely not allowed to have chocolate at night...I rest my case (so I can get rest).

That being said, he will not be getting a heart shaped box of chocolates for Valentine's Day.  Instead, I will need to come up with another dessert to take the place, like the one I made last week.

Served in a martini glass with mini scoops
of ice cream, for a more fancy version.

I have become such a huge fan of dump cakes ever since I made my first one many years ago with blackberry pie filling and butter cake mix which we affectionately call "Blackberry Buckle".

This dump cake version is so light and refreshing, I think it is now one of our favorite pairings.  My husband could not stay out of it, which says a lot...and best of all, no chocolate!!!


Raspberry-Lemon Dump Cake

(2) 21 oz. cans Raspberry Pie Filling (like Comstock brand)
1 box Lemon Supreme Cake Mix (unprepared)
1 cold stick of butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 glass baking dish with non-stick spray.

Pour both cans of raspberry pie filling in baking dish and spread evenly.

Sprinkle dry lemon cake mix and distribute evenly all over pan, covering pie filling thoroughly.

Cut butter in thin slices and place all over cake mix.

Bake in oven approximately 45-60 minutes, until butter topping has melted and crust is slightly golden brown.

Remove from oven and let set until slightly warm/room temperature.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.

One Year Ago:  Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

GGMa's Shrimp and The Gift of Giving

I am happy to say that (I think) I have finally finished all the gift wrapping for this season.  The last of my long distance packages are now in the care of the USPS and on their way to family destinations.  Our tree is adorned with big, small, boxes, bags and yes, I stepped up my game and took more time this year on my gift wrapping decorations, so as to not get thrown under Santa's sleigh again.

I love gift giving and learning about people's different collections that they cherish in their lives.  My friend Felicia collects black and white spotted cows, my friend Toni collects bakers rolling pins, I had an aunt that collected tea spoons from different states and I collect candles and labrador retrievers. My husband can attest to the later, since I cannot resist new labrador puppy litters.

"Humphrey" the new team mascot.

This year our girls' new volleyball team and coaches decided to do a secret gift exchange between all of them.  My oldest daughter pulled the coach's name....of course she did, no pressure there at all!! My other daughter pulled a new teammate that she is getting to know.  

It turns out that coach collects of all things...camels.  I have never heard of anyone that collects camels.  So, I set out my hunt (less than a week before Christmas) for a camel of some sort.  Google saved my life once again and I tracked one down at Toys'R Us.  Coach affectionately named him "Humphrey".

Our other gift was for a team member that just got her drivers license and collects elephants.  So, my daughter searched and searched online and we were blessed to find the perfect key chain for her at Icings.  Whew!!  So, the gift exchange was successful and everyone was merry and bright.

I also have realized that I really like to collect shrimp recipes (another thing my husband can attest to), I think I am burning him out on them.  This one my Grandma gave me a few weeks ago over the phone.  She always tells me these incredible ideas that she has in her head and end up being amazingly simple and delicious.

GGMa's Lemon Shrimp

1 pound raw, peeled and deveined shrimp, thawed

1 stick of butter, melted

1 whole lemon, sliced thinly

1 (.7 ounce) packet, Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing (dry) mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour melted butter into a 9 x 13 glass baking dish.

Place sliced lemons on melted butter.

Place shrimp on lemon slices and butter.

Sprinkle contents of Good Seasons dressing packet,
all over shrimp.

Bake at 350 degrees approximately 20 minutes,
until shrimp are pink and thoroughly cooked.

After plating the shrimp (either on rice or pasta),
spoon the remaining butter from pan over your dish.
Makes an incredible lemon butter sauce.

One Year Ago: Thumbprint Cookies

Lemon Spaghetti with Jumbo Shrimp

We had a very special treat this week, in the midst of all our late summer/early fall rain and thunder.  We walked out of the girls' school and were greeted with a double rainbow...but the best part was you could actually see the ends of both rainbows! (...and no, I didn't find my pot of gold at either end, unfortunately).   I typically only see one end of a rainbow and the other is off to infinity somewhere.  The photos don't do it justice, since I was trying to save my camera in the torrential downpour, but the sight was absolutely breathtaking.

This is the perfect, quick, go to weeknight dish to warm you up from a rain storm.  Of course, anything I can put shrimp in, I love and anything that I put capers in, my husband is all over and any pasta for my kids just goes without saying, so it was a win-win for family night.

Lemon Spaghetti with Jumbo Shrimp
Courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound spaghetti
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2/3 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoons capers, fried briefly in a little olive oil

For the shrimp: In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the shrimp with the salt and pepper, then add to the pan in a single layer and cook until pink and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Set aside.

For the pasta: Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving the pasta water.

While the pasta is cooking, whisk together the olive oil, Parmesan, lemon zest and juice in a large bowl. Toss the drained pasta with the lemon sauce, the shrimp and some of the reserved pasta water; add 1/4 cup at a time as needed to moisten. Add the salt, pepper and basil and toss. Garnish with the fried capers.