Shrimp Tacos

This spicy dish is great for a warm spring night. Whether you buy frozen or fresh shrimp is up to you. I find the the frozen shrimp taste just fine if I do not have a place to buy fresh shrimp nearby. To make this dish you will need:

1/2 Pound Shrimp

Lime

1 Avocado Chopped

2 Vine Tomatoes Chopped

1 Small White Onion Diced

2 Jalapeño Peppers Diced

2 Cloves Garlic Minced

Chili Powder

Cayenne Pepper

Salt 

Pepper

Small Soft Corn Tortillas

Saffron Rice (optional)

Pepper Jack Cheese (optional)

Peel and devein shrimp. If you would prefer these tacos with rice put 2 cups water and one cup of rice in a covered pot on high heat for approximately 15 minutes. In a medium sized bowl combine avocado, onion, jalapeño, tomato and once clove of the minced garlic. Do not mash, the idea is to keep a chunky texture. Sprinkle with lime juice, salt and pepper. 

Season shrimp with chili powder, salt, pepper and cayenne. Heat olive oil in a skillet until hot and add second clove of garlic. Toss shrimp into skillet for 2-3 minutes or until pink. DO NOT OVER COOK. 

Place rice and cheese in the center of small corn tortilla, top with shrimp and avocado salsa and serve! 

Wish-it-Was-Summer Steak

This is a great romantic meal for two. You can substitute the side dishes but we love making potatoes and salad along with this steak. All you will need to cook the steak is a large skillet. Make sure it does not have a plastic handle because you will need to put the entire skillet into the oven and you don't want the house smelling like melted plastic every time you turn the oven on! To make Wish-it-was-summer steak you will need:

1 London Broil Cut of Steak

Olive oil

Vinegar

Rosemary 

Salt 

Pepper 

Garlic

3 Potatoes

1/2 head of Lettuce 

2 chopped Tomatoes 

1 sliced Avocado

Pre-heat oven to 350. Cut potatoes into wedges and let soak in a large bowl of luke warm water for 15 minutes. Remove from bowl and pat dry.  Season in a large bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary. Lay on baking sheet and cook in oven for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Meanwhile season raw steak with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and any other spices you might like to use. Sometimes we use a steak rub or cumin. It's best to use what you have around the house as to save time and money. Do not pour oil into the pan, there will be plenty on the steak. When hot cook one side of steak for 5 minutes. Turn steak over and place in oven for 1o minutes (longer if you like your steak well done). After 10 minutes cut into steak near the center to make sure it is cooked enough.  

Prepare chopped tomatoes, avocado and lettuce in a bowl and dress with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.

Slice steak you favorite way, light some candles and enjoy! 

Naked Fajitas

This dish is really good for a big group.  It is basically a tex-mex stir fry, or a fajita without the tortilla.  To make naked fajitas you will need:

1 Package of Mexican Saffron Rice

1/2 Block of Pepper Jack Cheese

2 Chicken Breasts

1 Green Pepper

1 Red Pepper

1 Spanish Onion

Salt

Pepper

Cumin

Chili Powder

Boil water for rice (follow directions on package). Slice peppers and onions in strips. Add onions into a skillet with olive oil on medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add peppers into skillet with onions and cook on medium to low heat stirring occasionally. Season to your liking with cumin and chili powder.  Cut chicken into small strips and sprinkle with olive oil, cumin, chili powder salt and pepper. Cook chicken in separate skillet on medium heat for about 5 minutes.  

When chicken is finished add to the skillet with the cooking vegetables. Let sizzle on low heat until rice is finished so flavors will seep in and mixture will stay warm. Grate 1/2 block of cheese into a bowl.  

When rice is finished turn skillet with vegetables and chicken to high heat and scoop rice into the skillet. Toss and let rice pick up flavors.  Scoop onto plates, sprinkle pepper jack cheese onto top and serve.

Eighth Street Pasta

This has been a favorite of ours for a while.  It is such a simple and delicious meal that we often made in my tiny kitchen on Eighth St. in Park Slope.  This pasta requires:

3 Whole Spicy Italian Turkey Sausage

1 Zucchini 

1 Small Can of Tomato Sauce

1 Whole Tomato

1 Clove of Garlic

1 Small Spanish Onion

1 Pound Pasta of Your Choice

Salt 

Pepper

Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Chili Powder

Slice Zucchini into rounds. Drizzle with olive oil and salt. Finely chop onion and garlic and combine in skillet with olive oil on medium heat. Once onions start to caramelize add zucchini to skillet. Let vegetables cook on medium to low heat. Meanwhile boil a large pot of water with a dash of salt for the pasta.

Cut Sausage into rounds and add to a skillet with a dash of olive oil. Let Sausage brown and add canned tomato sauce to the skillet. Add a dash of pepper, salt, chili powder and red pepper flakes for flavor. Combine vegetables in the same skillet as the cooking sausage and sauce.  

Add pasta to boiling water and let sauce cook on low heat. Just before pasta is done cut the whole tomato and add it to the sauce. Let tomato cook into the sauce as you drain the pasta.

Combine pasta and tomato sauce in large bowl and serve with some parmesan cheese!  

Buon Appetitio!