Thai Citrus Shrimp with Long Beans and Szechuan Noodles

Hey everyone! I'm back from my trip to Santa Barbara and San Francisco and while I don't have as many pictures as I would like, I have a lot of stories of good food to tell. It'll take me a few days but I'm hoping to have my San Fran posts up by the end of the week.

Meanwhile I've been to the 99 Ranch Market in the day since my return and have cooked up a few good things.

Before I tell you about tonight's dinner I have to share this story about my husband's attempt to "cook" last night. We got home late from running errands yesterday and it was too late to cook an actual meal so we decided to open the Oaked Arrogant Bastard growler we got before our trip and heat up a frozen CPK pizza (I NEVER eat frozen pizzas but I had one in the past and it was actually decent).



Well, all you have to do is heat up the oven to 425 (which he was able to do) and put the pizza on the rack (for a crispier crust) for 16 minutes. When I went to get it out after 16 minutes I realized that he had forgotten to take the cardboard off of the bottom of the pizza!!!! I mean, how hard can cooking a frozen pizza be?!?! Guess it's up to me to make all of our meals--fancy OR frozen. He'll never hear the end of this one. Even the cashier at the grocery store today thought that was a funny story (since he lives on these pizzas, apparently).

Okay..so now onto tonight's dinner.

I create my own recipes all of the time (just simple recipes) and I almost never remember to write it down. So I'm posting this blog right after dinner so that I don't forget. The main course of my meal tonight was Thai Citrus Shrimp.

THAI CITRUS SHRIMP

1 lb. shrimp, shelled and deveined
salt and pepper

Sauce:

Flesh of 1 orange
Flesh of 2 lemons
E.V.O.O. (olive oil)
2 small garlic cloves, diced
salt and pepper to taste
approx. 10 Thai basil leaves


In a food processor or blender: process flesh of orange and lemons. Add equal part e.v.o.o. in steady stream. Add salt and pepper and Thai basil leaves. I added a few at a time just to make sure it wasn't overwhleming. Basil should be a complimentary flavor to the citrus and not overpowering.

Heat wok over high heat with a tablespoon of olive oil. Cook approximately 2 minutes each side. Add sauce and conitue to cook over medium-low heat until hot (about 2 minutes).

Voila. An extremely easy meal that would meet Rachel Ray's approval.

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As a side dish I made my favorite veggie dish: long beans (a la Kady?)

LONG BEANS A LA KADY

Serves 2.

1/2 package of Long beans, trimmed and cut into 3 inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, diced
crushed red pepper flakes, optional and to taste
1-2 T. soy sauce

Steam long beans for 5-10 minutes, or until soft but still a little crunchy.

Heat wok to high heat with 1 T. e.v.o.o. Lower to medium heat and add garlic and ginger. Cook 1 minute. Add long beans and cook until slightly withered and browned. Add soy sauce (and turn on stove fan) and continue to cook for another minute to allow the beans to carmelize a bit.

Extras: you can add snow peas, cashews, or almonds for added flavor.

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I always have to have a starch with my meals whether it be rice, bread, noodles, or potatoes so tonight I made Szechuan Noodles.

The recipe came from a cookbook called Hot and Spicy that I found at Marshall's for $8 and it's one of my favorite cookbooks.

A few weeks ago I research copyright laws and found that I'm not allowed to post recipes from cookbooks unless I've greatly altered it, so I'm going to just give you an idea of what's in it and if you'd like the recipe, feel free to email me.

SPICY SICHUAN NOODLES

Serves 4.

1 pkg. Fresh Noodles
(the thick Chinese kind, 99 Ranch Market has a LOT of brands and varieties)
roasted cashew nuts

Dressing:
scallions, cilantro, garlic, peanut butter, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, sherry vinegar, sesame oil, olive oil, chicken stock, pepper

1. Cook noodles in boiling water with 1 T. olive oil (to keep noodles separate) for 3 minutes. Drain and run under cold water.

2. Mix dressing ingredients. My changes: I forgot the cilantro, used crunchy (instead of the smooth) peanut butter, used rice vinegar, and pepper to taste.

3. The recipe just calls for it being mixed cold but since the rest of our meal was hot I stir fried the noodles with the cashews (instead of toasting the cashews in our TERRIBLE fire breathing toaster oven) and then mixed the noodles with the sauce before serving. I always like to stir fry my noodles a bit to keep them from being to slimy.

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Here is one more photo for you to ponder before you go back to whatever it is you were doing:

Stay tuned for San Fran posts.