By nando, on September 6th, 2011%
There is a special place in my heart (and stomach!) for Rosa Mexicano. As I’ve written in previous posts, my first date with my wife was at Rosa Mexicano, and we try to go on our anniversary whenever possible. I even have the Rosa Mexicano cookbook, an anniversary gift from my wife a few years ago. I was looking for some inspiration because I haven’t been cooking as much as I used to, so I turned to this cookbook and found this great recipe. I did change a few things, but the spirit of the recipe is mostly intact. The changes: I used shallots instead of red onion, added roasted corn, and used only one jalapeño pepper, instead of the two that the recipe called for (thought it would be too spicy for my wife but it ended up being too mild).
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Notes: I served this dish with white rice and refried beans, but I didn’t take pictures of the sides.
Ingredients:
1.5 pounds peeled/de-vained shrimp (I used large, 21-25 shrimp)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup corn (about one large ear)
1 large shallot, sliced thin
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
2 cloves . . . → Read More: Shrimp in Cilantro Cream Sauce
By nando, on November 9th, 2010%
The title isn’t a literal translation. I opted to not call it a shrimp stew because the shrimp don’t actually stew; rather, they cook quickly in the tomato sauce. It’s prepared as many other Puerto Rican stews would be, and with basically the same ingredients (though I opt to trade bell peppers for celery and add carrots for sweetness) and is probably best when served over white rice with some amarillos or maduros (fried ripe plantain).
This recipe calls for red wine to be added. You can skip it, but keep in mind that it won’t taste the same. Tomatoes have quite a few alcohol-soluble flavor compounds and you just won’t get the same depth of flavor if you do not use the wine.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35-40 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Notes: I use No Sodium Added tomatoes in my recipes. If you buy tomatoes that have sodium added, make sure to adjust the amount of salt in the recipe accordingly.
Ingredients:
1 lb raw medium shrimp (21-30 will do), peeled and deveined.
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 Serrano chile, diced
1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp honey
10-12 pimento-stuffed olives
15-20 capers (about 1.5 tbsp)
1 tbsp . . . → Read More: Shrimp in Red Sauce (Camarones Guisados)
By nando, on July 26th, 2010%
I recently discovered a farm stand about one mile south of my house. I drive past this location every day, twice a day, on my way to and from work (though they’re only there in the afternoons) and finally decided to stop by and see what they had for sale.
It turns out that all the produce is grown by a lady that lives right up the driveway from where the stand sits. She has a green house and so she sells everything she grows at very reasonable prices. She also bakes her own bread and sells it at the stand. Very nice and you can’t really get much more local than a mile down the street and your own back yard.
I found her grape and cherry tomatoes to be absolutely beautiful so I gathered a hand full (about 1 lb) of yellow cherry and red grape tomatoes and placed them on the scale. Total cost: $1.50. What a bargain! So, I went home, tomatoes in hand, trying to think of a way to incorporate them into dinner that night (a full 2 1/2 hours before I usually serve dinner!). I was immersed in feelings of summer and thought about all the . . . → Read More: Summer Spaghetti with Shrimp
