Cooking Show: Shrimp Francese and S'mores Ice Cream

I can't be the only one who feels like this summer flew by.  Happy Fall!

We filmed an episode of the cooking show last week, and decided to feature a couple of recipes that will help ease our transition into fall before we are surrounded by pumpkin spice EVERYTHING.

Not that pumpkin spice is a bad thing, it's just that I usually spend the entire month of September in denial...and lemon-infused Shrimp Francese over linguine and S'mores ice cream loaded with toasted marshmallows and graham crackers are high-octane fuel for denial!

My friends, Kerry and Kelly, assisted me.  We were in agreement that the following recipes are keepers!

Shrimp Francese with Spinach over Linguine

Incredibly fresh-tasting thanks to the lemony sauce.  Absolutely delicious if I do say so myself!

The camera crew and Kerry, Kelly and I devoured every last bite, leaving just a tiny bit of room for dessert.

S'mores Ice Cream

Seriously, if you have an ice cream maker and you love to make homemade ice cream, you have to give this a whirl!

It only takes two minutes to toast the marshmallows in your oven, and they are the key to this amazing concoction.  Can you tell by looking at this picture how perfect they are?  Crunchy-toasty on the outside, still soft and chewy on the inside.

Yes, we devoured every last bit of this as well!

(Click on the highlighted titles to be taken to printable recipes)

Cooking Show: Bahama Mama Drinks, Cajun Shrimp Pasta and Valentine's Day Baking

You could say that our recent cooking show was a mish-mash of recipes.  My friend, Amy cooked with me.

We were all business as we tried to wish away our winter doldrums with cajun shrimp pasta and a tropical cocktail.

We were in a party mood, however, by the time we finished cooking our desserts!  Valentine's Day is right around the corner, so we prepared a couple of recipes featuring my favorite combination: chocolate and raspberries.

(Recipe titles are printable links; click on the title to be taken to the recipe!)

Bahama Mama

Amy and I both agreed that we can't wait for this cold weather to end!  We sipped this drink with our eyes closed and imagined that we were somewhere tropical.

 Cajun Shrimp Pasta

Just enough spice to warm you up during this cold weather! 

Nutella Puff Pastry

Amy and I made this into a heart shape to fit with our Valentine's Day theme.

Make it into any shape that you want, or leave it whatever shape the pastry happens to be, just please MAKE THIS.

It is so easy to make and it's SO GOOD!

Brioche Panini with White Chocolate Mascarpone and Raspberry

It was impossible to decide which dessert recipe to give you so I decided to make both.  

Please don't let my horrid photography skills deter you from making this.  Ignore the ugly picture!  

After we finished filming, this dish was quickly snarfed down. Just imagine slices of buttery, pillowy soft brioche bread, crispy on the outside, with a warm center of creamy white chocolate mascarpone and sweet raspberry.  

Happy Valentine's Day!

Cooking Show: What to Make When It's Too Hot to Cook!

Our recent cooking show didn't require much cooking.  

My friend, Lisa, assisted me. We focused on preparing recipes that aren't going to heat up your kitchen while you prepare them.  Sandwiches, wraps, tacos, parfaits and drinks!

Creamy-Dreamy Orange Martini

Would you like to make a drink that tastes like a Creamsicle®, but doesn't involve ice cream?  We've got you covered!

The secret ingredient is whipped cream vodka.

 Triple-Decker Club Sandwiches with Lemon-Garlic Aioli

These sandwiches should be made to suit your taste!  Use your absolute favorite ingredients and have fun stacking them together.  Click on the link to be taken to a list of suggested ingredients and assembly instructions.

Chicken Guacamole Wraps

Buying a store-cooked rotisserie chicken from the supermarket means that YOU won't have any cooking to do!  Just stir the ingredients together, wrap and enjoy.

Lime-Cilantro Shrimp Tacos

This was the only recipe that we prepared which required a teensy bit of cooking.  Just about 5 minutes to sauté the shrimp.

As if the heat from the habañero peppers wasn't enough, we decided to heat up the kitchen to cook the shrimp.  

This recipe is crazy delicious.

 Totally worth cooking for a few minutes on a hot night and heating up your kitchen just a bit.

Blackberry Parfaits

My daughters were both enthusiastic taste-testers when I was tweaking this recipe for the cooking show.  It's a fancier version of their favorite childhood summer snack! When they were younger and I was desperate for them to not eat junk food snacks, I would give them skewers of fruit to dip into yogurt with whipped cream mixed into it.  Now, twenty years later, it's their version of comfort food!

Cooking Show: Spice is Nice! Fajita Rice, Cinco de Mayo Salad with Chicken, Ginger Soy Shrimp Salad and Frozen Mango-Peach Cocktails

Our recent cooking show featured recipes to wake up your taste buds.

A bit of spice makes everything nice! 

My friend, Maribeth, cooked with me and we covered all the bases with salads, festive rice, and a fruity, frozen concoction to wash it all down.

Frozen Mango-Peach Cocktails

We've featured this recipe on a previous show, but it bears repeating!! Toss frozen mango chunks, simple syrup, lime juice, peach schnapps and ice cubes into a blender and minutes later you'll be sipping this tropical cocktail.  

Fajita Rice with Chicken

Easy clean-up because you only need one pan! Rice, veggies, seasonings, broth, rotisserie chicken--stir it up, let it simmer, sprinkle with cheese...

 ...add your favorite toppings and voilà!

A fabulous combination of spicy/melty/creamy/YUM.

Cinco de Mayo Chicken Salad with Salsa Dressing

A meal that's easy to throw together if you're pressed for time! 

This has recently been the go-to salad in my house.  I marinate the chicken for 15 minutes (a simple mix of olive oil and spices) and while it's marinating I prep the salad and whisk together the dressing.

 Ginger/Soy Shrimp Salad

If you're in the mood for an Asian-inspired salad, we've got you covered!

Another quick salad where you're going to marinate the protein (in this case, shrimp) while you prep your salad and dressing.  A few minutes under the broiler is all it takes to cook the shrimp!

Cooking Show--Tomato Recipes

I feel like I beat this subject to death...but am I the only one who wants to skip right through winter and into summer?

I'm not even going to pretend that winter tomatoes can compare to summer tomatoes...but cooking with ingredients that remind me of summer is one way to beat the winter blues.  Bring on the tomato recipes!

We started with BLT Salad with Buttermilk Dressing.

So simple, yet so good!  The assorted tiny tomatoes are very sweet and flavorful, drizzled with a creamy buttermilk dressing...I can close my eyes and almost feel like summer is here.  Almost.

Italian Chicken Wraps with Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

A couple of tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes in the dressing provide a big punch of flavor!

Creamy Tuscan Shrimp with Pasta

Another recipe where a handful of sun-dried tomatoes add a wallop of flavor!

My friend, Trish, was cooking with me and we discussed adding a few mushrooms in...we ultimately decided against this, but next time I make this recipe I'm planning on adding some 'shrooms!

 Oatmeal Sheetcake with Caramel/Coconut Frosting

Okay, this recipe certainly departs from our tomato theme, but Dan the Awesome Cameraman is a fan of all things sweet. We haven't filmed a dessert since November and I want to keep him happy!

This dense cake is oozing with cinnamon flavor, and the caramel topping (perfectly browned by placing the frosted cake under the broiler for a minute) adds a crunchy texture.

Cooking Show: Party-Worthy Recipes

I would describe the recipes we prepared on our latest episode of the cooking show as party-worthy dishes to fill in your menu during this busy season.

If you're looking to add another cocktail, appetizer, salad or sweet treat to your soirée, we've got you covered.

Click on the titles to be taken to the printable recipes!

White Chocolate Peppermint Stick Martini

SOOOOOOO GOOD!!  

Creamy, chocolatey, pepperminty...just shake it and serve it.  Everyone who tasted this exclaimed YUM!!

Crunchy No-Bake Chocolate Bars

Another recipe that is so easy to make!   Two minutes to melt ingredients in your microwave, then stir and spread into a baking pan and chill.

Tomato & Pesto Phyllo Tarts

Another quick and easy recipe.  Buy already-made frozen phyllo tarts, fill them with pesto, chopped tomato and mozzarella and bake until the cheese melts.

 Chunky Salad with Avocado and Cilantro

Very easy to prepare!  

Mini-Croissant Croques Monsieur

Okay, up until this point all of the recipes have been of the easy, throw-all-of-the-ingredients-together type of recipes.

These mini-croissants are still easy to make!  They just take a bit more prep...but they are so worth it!!

And finally...

Bang Bang Shrimp Copycat Recipe

Because.  Just because this is so good!   

Not sure how close it is to the real recipe, but these shrimp are addicting. The first time I made them, my husband remarked, "These are really good! I don't care for seafood, but I've already eaten five of them and there are more to follow..."

We skewered the shrimp with cocktail toothpicks to serve as an appetizer, but they would be fabulous in tacos or quesadillas. Or make a double batch of the sauce, thin it down a bit and serve with pasta!

Cooking Show: Our Favorite Ina Garten Recipes

The theme for our most recent cooking show was suggested by a friend of mine who absolutely loves, loves, LOVES Ina Garten.

"Have you ever thought of doing a show featuring Ina Garten recipes?" was all she had to say to convince me that it would be the next theme for the show.  So we picked out a few recipes (I admit we had trouble narrowing it down to a few!  We'll have to do another show in the future).

 

We started with Pomegranate Cosmos.  Whew, they sure do pack a punch.  After a few sips, we all agreed that they were extremely refreshing and would be a great summer cocktail!

Next up: Cape Cod Chopped Salad.  Was it my love for arugula that made me choose this recipe?  My affinity for Cape Cod? My fondness for adding fruit to my salads?  Because...bacon?  Who knows?  The only thing you need to know is that this salad is out-of-this-world delicious! 

I asked my friend, Trish (an expert on all things Ina), if she had a favorite Ina Garten recipe.  Her reply:  "Shrimp Scampi!"  I googled it and the first recipe that popped up was for Ina's Baked Shrimp Scampi, which was not the scampi recipe that Trish was referring to; however, we both agreed that it looked so good that we had to give it a try!

This scampi was outstanding.  It didn't take long to disappear!  One of the participants in our dining room audience may have asked me for the recipe before she even swallowed her first bite, it was that good.

The last recipe we prepared was my recipe for Croque Monsieur, which I've altered over the years but the first time I made it I followed Ina's version.

 Do you notice anything else in this picture, something I haven't mentioned yet?

Truffle Tots!!

Not an Ina Garten recipe, but I did promise in a previous blogpost that I would post about my truffle tots soon-- click here to be taken to that recipe!

Shrimp Puffs

In the 1980's, these appetizer puffs used to be one of my go-to recipes.

I don't know why they fell out of favor, maybe it's because as the years went by I preferred Stuffed Mushrooms and Mr. Terrific has more of an affinity for Lobster Phyllo Cups.

We were filming a cooking show recently (future post alert!) and someone suggested a theme of recipes that can be prepared in advance, frozen, and then reheated quickly when unexpected holiday visitors drop by.

The first recipe that popped into my head was these puff appetizers!

You can make them with shrimp or with bacon and cheddar.  The dough is light and fluffy and inside and slightly crunchy on the outside.  Whether you serve them right out of the oven or freeze them for a later date, you will love these appetizer puffs!

Shrimp & Potato Soup

Will it really reach 90 degrees on Monday as everyone seems to think?

I figured I should take a few pictures of the blooms and blossoms in my yard before they wilt and drop from heat exhaustion.

None of the tulips have opened yet, I'm hoping they can hold on until after the heatwave!

My niece has adopted a puppy.  Meet Milo!

They live about 100 miles away, I'm afraid by the time I meet him in person his puppy days will be behind him.

Fortunately, she's posting lots of pictures of him on her facebook page so I get to "oooh" and aaaaah" over him all day long!

I made this pillow for the bottom of his crate.....puppies should be pampered, don'tcha think?

I decided to pamper myself a bit tonight!  Mr. Terrific and Sean went to the Red Sox game (Go Sox!!), Erin was out with friends, so I only had myself to cook for.  I'm the only seafood lover in this house, so unless I want to listen to a chorus of groans I rarely prepare anything remotely fishy.  

Tonight, I seized the opportunity to get creative in the kitchen without having to worry about pleasing anyone other than myself!

With the warmer weather coming, I figure that my soup-making days will be on hold for the next five months or so. The only seafood I had in the house was some shrimp in my freezer, but I had enough ingredients on hand to put together a really yummy soup!