HAWAIIAN STYLE COCONUT SHRIMP

Hawaiian Style Coconut Shrimp

This is one of my favorite shrimp dishes and it is really tasty and easy to make.  If you are allergic to shellfish, you can also sub in your favorite fish. Halibut, Salmon or other mild white fish work well. It works great with the bags of frozen shrimp or frozen fish as long as you slowly thaw them under COLD water.  A trick with frozen seafood is that you never want to run it under warm or hot water, it makes it tough and chewy. 

Ingredients: 

Shrimp or Fish

 2 cups Fresh Coconut (Shaved/flaked)

1 can of coconut milk

4 tbsp ground almonds (or you can grind them yourself in a food processor for more flavor)

1 tsp Cavendar's Greek Spice (Salt, Pepper, Garlic Power, Basil, Oregano, Paprika, etc)

1 Egg

1/2 cup all purpose flower (I use Wheat Flower)

1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda

2-3 cups of oil for frying 

Directions 

1. In medium bowl, combine egg, 1/2 cup flour, coconut milk and baking powder. 

2. Then in a separate bowl, combine the coconut flakes, Greek Spice and ground almonds.

3. Hold shrimp by tail or fish flat, and dredge in the coconut milk mix thoroughly to make sure the entire pieces of seafood in well coated.

4. Then roll the seafood into the dry flake mix of coconut, ground almonds and spices, shaking off excess flakes. 

5.  Place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

6. Meanwhile, heat oil to 300 degrees F (170 degrees C) in a deep pan.

3. Lightly fry shrimp or fish in batches: cook, turning once, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Using tongs, remove shrimp to paper towels to drain. Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce. 

Dipping Sauces:

I LOVE aioli!  One of my favorites simple mixes:

Pesto Aioli
- Take Mayo and mix in your store bought pesto and pressed garlic.

I also love the Sweet Chili Sauce from Trader Joe's on this recipe.

Buttery Nip Martini

This is a my own invention thanks to my good old college days.  These martinis are sweet, so 2 of them will be about all you can handle.  They taste like a butterscotch candy and are delicious! This martini is also a hit with a lot of men. 

Butterscotch Schnapps ( 3 seconds)

Vodka (2 seconds)

Bailey's Irish Cream (1 1/2 seconds)

Kahlua ( 1 1/2 seconds)

I do free pouring which is easy, you just count your ounces as full seconds (1 Aloha, 2 Aloha, 3 Aloha...)  

Pour all ingredients into a martini shaker filled to the top with ice. Shake hard to break up ice and blend contents well.  Take the martini glass and you can either swirl chocolate syrup or caramel syrup onto the inside before pouring martini into the glass. Delicious!

You can also top with a squirt of whipped cream and a cookie.  You can also add an espresso twist by cutting down the recipe by 1/2 a second all around and then adding a shot in to into the martini shaker before shaking.

Giada's Grilled Eggplant & Goat Cheese Salad

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe. It is delicious with amazing flavors and textures. The only thing I so different is I reduce my balsamic down for a few minutes before drizzling it over the eggplant to make it stick better. If you choose to reduce yours down too, let it cool for a 10-15 minutes prior to drizzling.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
7 Japanese eggplant, ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch wide slices
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup basil, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped mint
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Drizzle the olive oil over the slices of eggplant and toss to coat. Grill the eggplants until tender and grill marks appear, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Place the eggplants side-by-side on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the pine nuts, goat cheese, basil, and mint. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Cook's note: Plating the eggplant salad this way allowed the cheese to stay bright white. The salt and pepper showed up on it. The herbs remained green and fluffy. The grill marks on the eggplant were distinct.

Grillin'

Hi Girls! I know it's been a while since I put a post together so here is last nights dinner. It was easy, delicious & stress-free grilling. I made a balsamic glaze marinated chicken breast with purple smashed potatoes and grilled zucchini. I used the lamb balsamic marinade idea for the chicken and it worked beautifully.

Balsamic Marinade:

1/2 Cup Balsamic, reduced (I put mine in a nonstick sauté pan and let it reduce and thicken for about 15 minutes)

2 Tablespoons Dijon

1/4 Cup Honey

1-2 Springs fresh Rosemary, minced

2 Cloves minced garlic

Salt & Pepper

Mix everything together and pour over the seasoned (salt and pepper) boneless, skinless chicken breasts to sit at room temperature for about 25- 30 minutes while the coals/grill heat up. Pop them on for about 10-12 minutes depending on the thickness.

Purple Smashed Potatoes:

10 small purple potatoes

4 Pads Butter

1/4-1/3 Cup Milk

1/4 Cup Sour Cream

This is just like any other smashed potato but I used purple ones. They were so cool and had a great color. I'm always looking for ways to liven up smashed potatoes and this was a great. You can use your favorite recipe, simply substitute your red skinned potatoes for the purple ones. I also left the skins on because I like the texture.

Grilled Zucchini:

Cut them in half lengthwise after cutting off the ends. Drizzle them with olive oil, salt and pepper and grill starting with the flesh side down first. Grill for 8-10 minutes. They get beautiful grill marks but are still tender and al dente in the middle.

This is an easy menu but it's got a lot of flavor and pretty colors.

xoxoxoxoxo

Easter Cupcakes

Easter is right around the corner...

I am thinking these are a must <3

Easter Baskets, Cadbury Eggs & an Easter egg hunt are a must!

What are you girls doing for Easter Sunday?

I'm Back!!

Hello my lovely ladies! 

Sorry I haven't been posting on our blog in a while. 

I am back and going to post a few recipes tonight when I get home. 

I am SOOOOOO excited to see you all in 15 days! Woo hoo. 

Julia- Is everything set with the transportation and wineries?  If not, how can I help? 

Kate- Do you have your booby shirts and dresses ready to let the twins out?

Melanie- Are you ready to get your cuddle on with me?

Anyways, thought I would drop a quick note and say hi. 

I hope that you all have a great day and I'll be posting tonight :)

xo

St. Patricks Day!

One of my favorite days!
Love the Irish!

Tonight we are having
people over and the menu...

Corned Beef
LOTS of potatoes
& Green Beer

I'll update pics tomorrow!
Hope you all have a
fabulous St. Patty's Day!

xxoo