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Recent Recipes

Shrimp Pasta with Oven Dried Tomatoes

Comments (0) | Wednesday, October 26, 2011




Here’s a recipe that I stumbled upon, which unfortunately, I don’t remember where I got from. You see, most of my recipes are recipes that I just stumbled upon blogs/sites.

This recipe was warmly received at home, especially by my father who is so picky with food! It’s simple yet delish and easy to make!




Ingredients:
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Olive oil
Small pink of sugar
Kosher salt and pepper
1 lb bowtie pasta
2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
3/4 cup chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)
6 oz mascarpone cheese*
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/4 cup grated parmesan, plus more for serving


*Mascarpone cheese is similar to cream cheese and can be found in the specialty cheese section of most grocery stores. 



Directions:

To make the oven dried tomatoes, preheat oven to 225° F. place the tomatoes in a small baking dish in a single layer, cut side facing up. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and season with a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper. Bake for about 3 hours, or until the tomatoes are mostly shriveled up. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Once boiling, cook the pasta according to the packed directions. Drain well.

While the pasta is cooking, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook in a single layer, flipping once during cooking, just until opaque, about 2-3 minutes. Remove to a plate, tent loosely with foil and set aside.

Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pan. Sauté the onion until slightly softened, about 4-5minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the pan and sauté just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the wine or broth and scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Reduce the heat to medium low. Return to the shrimp to the pan and add in the drained pasta along with the oven-dried tomatoes. Add the mascarpone to the pan and still until completely melted. Stir in the basil and parmesan, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately with additional parmesan as desired.


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Apple Tart

Comments (0) | Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Ingredients     


Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons sour cream


Filling:
About 6 medium apples, peeled, pitted, and sliced
3 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Glaze:
1/2 cup apricot preserves or jelly
1 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate
Mint, for garnish
Whipped topping, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

To make the crust:
Place the flour, butter, and sour cream in a food processor and pulse to combine. When the dough has formed a ball, pat with lightly floured hands into the bottom and sides of an ungreased 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and 1/2-inch sides, or a round au gratin dish. Bake for about 18 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Let cool while preparing the filling. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

To make the filling:
Peel and thickly slice the apples. Arrange the apple slices in overlapping circles on top of the crust, until it’s completely covered. Overfill the crust, as apples will shrink during cooking.

Combine the egg yolks, sour cream, sugar, and flour and beat until smooth. Pour the mixture over the apples. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour, until the custard sets and is pale golden in color. Cover with an aluminum foil tent if the crust gets too dark. Transfer the tart pan to a wire rack to cool. When cool, remove the side wall of the pan.

To make the glaze:
Combine the preserves or jelly and orange juice. Spread with a pastry brush over the top of the warm tart. Serve the tart warm, at room temperature or chilled. Garnish with fresh mint or a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Voila!



Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen


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