NCT Cooks Challenge 20 Sept 13- Sept 20 SHELLFISH

VeraBlue

VeraBlue

Head Mistress
1. Pasta (unstuffed, filled or otherwise layered)
2. Chicken
3. Duck
4. Fowl (yeah, you can also do one for the previous three)
5. Shellfish and things that live in shells
6. Something from the ocean/pond/lake/stream/river/puddle
7. Ground Cow
8 Smoked Pig
9 Cream
10. Your favourite spice
11. Your favourite herb
12 Breakfast
13 Stew
14. Middle Eastern
15. Chinese
18. Seasonal vegetable of your choice (must be 'in' season)
19. Dessert

Number 5!!! Shellfish and things that live in shells...so if anyone is up for a bit of escargot, no one here will complain!!

Last weeks' challenge was very lonely....there's got to be some lobster, scallop, shrimp, clam, mussle, crab, prawn lover's out here:wave::wave:
 
Me too - lots of shellfish available here. But after seeing your shrimp yesterday, Vera, I feel a little humbled. I've gone back to look at that sauce, and I swear I would just put a straw in that dish and slurp it up.
 
Tonight I have a couple of my super collossal shrimp, a few U-13 scallops, and a couple crab legs. Still thinking about what to do with it.

Maybe a mixed seafood grill?
Tempura skewers?
Seafood pasta?
Any other ideas?

It's gotta be good - it's going to be my competition entry!:chef:
 
Well, it wasn't my day. Work is going from bad to worse, and I didn't even want to think about cooking. But, I had the seafood thawed and it's too expensive to risk tossing out, so I 'bucked up'. I slit my finger open on a crab shell and SousChef had to finish pulling out the meat. (we didn't want the seafood to be anymore red than it was supposed to be). I didn't have my mise all set up, so I had to go to the fridge for something and scorched the butter. You know, once the pan is that hot, it seems the butter just wants to go from brown to black.

I made a dish using The U-8 shrimp, scallops & crab legs. Linguine and a white wine/lemon/cream sauce. Served it up real pretty-like. Sat down and cut in. Cut up the shrimp and tossed it all together. Started eating, and then.....REMEMBERED THE CAMERA!!!!!

Oh well, it tasted good.

In a small saucepan saute a little garlic briefly in olive oil. Add about 1/2 cup of white wine and the juice of 1/2 a lemon. Reduce. Pour in heavy cream (maybe a cup?) Reduce until it makes a sauce and the color deepens a bit. Don't forget to season with S&P. Set aside and keep warm.

Put on some pasta (I used linguine) to boil.

In butter, saute quartered criminis till golden, then remove to a dish.
Add more butter, and start the shrimp. When they're partially cooked, add the scallops (I cut them in 1/2 to make thinner discs). When it's all nearly cooked, toss in the crab just to heat through.

Plate the linguine in a pretty swirl (just imagine you see it that way before I dug in). Arrange the seafood and 'shrooms. Dress with the sauce.

Top with a chiffonade of fresh basil and a light grating of asiago or pecorino romano. (parmesan will work, too)

Trust me, it did look pretty! And it only took about 20 minutes to make.
 

Attachments

  • 031.jpg
    031.jpg
    80.4 KB · Views: 193
That looks so good, I would not have been able to wait, either. I would SO love a bite of that. Just stunning, SS. No one would ever know that you had such difficulties...hope tomorrow is better.
 
BEAUTIFUL!!

HMMMMMMMMMM I do feel like clams again!! Maybe baked or clam sauce or maybe chowder.
 
Had this for lunch today. I call it:

Seafood Stir-Fry Medley

Ingredients
2 cups Seafood Mix (Octopus, Cuttlefish, Squid, Shrimp, Clams, Mussels)
1/4 Green Bell Pepper, cut into thin strips
1/4 Orange Bell Pepper, cut into thin strips
1 cup Bean Sprouts
1 cup whole Snow Peas
1/3 cup Cantonese Stir Fry Sauce (I used House of Tsang’s version)

Procedure
In a hot skillet or wok, add 1.5 Tbsp of oil and then stir-fry all of the vegetables for 1-2 minutes. Now add the seafood and stir-fry till the moisture is nearly gone, about 5-6 minutes. Add the Cantonese sauce and stir-fry another minute till hot and thick. Serve plain or over rice.


Step1-64.jpg


Step2-58.jpg


Step3-51.jpg


Step4-38.jpg


Step5-29.jpg


Step6-20.jpg
 
Last edited:
Oh, that recipe was for one serving. DW wasn't "brave enough" to try it with me. But it was awesome. Loved it. Double, triple, or more as needed.
 
Keltin WOW!! That looks wonderful and a work of art on the plating!! No rice on the side?
 
lilbopeep said:
Keltin WOW!! That looks wonderful and a work of art on the plating!! No rice on the side?
Click to expand...


Thanks Peeps! I was torn about the rice. I discussed it with DW, and we decided no rice and just let the stir-fry shine on its own. I think it worked.

It was filling without rice, and the snow pea pods were crunchy and snappy the way I like them! DW doesn't like crunchy vegs so much, and isn't adventurous enough to do the octopus and other critters in this mix.....but I'll say now, she missed some tasty food. I'll be making this again!

Well, she did take a bite of the shrimp and liked the flavor, but that's all I could get her to do. More for me I guess! :lol:
 
Vera and SS! Wonderful jobs. It all looks so delectable! I could hurt myself on a plate of those mussels or that past!! :clap:
 
MexicoKaren said:
Oh, I love those chewy little octopus tentacles! That looks delicious, Keltin. Perfectly plated.
Click to expand...

Thank you! Let Milo know that he'll never be on the menu, and if he has a request, I'll cook him whatever he desires; Mom and Dad are invited as well!!! Maybe he'd fancy a Bananas Foster? :thumb:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top