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1 Pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and diced
1 Fresh tomato, seeds removed and diced
½ Yellow onion, diced
½ Poblano pepper, diced
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
1 Teaspoon chili powder
½ Teaspoon cumin
Juice of 1 lime
1 Tablespoon cooking oil
Salt and black pepper to taste

First preheat a large sauté pan. Next add the oil then the onions, poblano pepper, and the garlic season with a little salt and pepper and sauté for about 5 minutes. Next add the diced shrimp; chili powder and the cumin sauté for about 3 minutes then add the rest of the ingredients tomatoes, cilantro, and lime juice. Cook for another 3-5 minutes just until the shrimp is done.

Serve this like you would any other tacos. I like to use a little pepper jack cheese, shredded lettuce, and sour cream all in a crispy taco shell. This also makes a great taco salad.

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A few days ago a friend asked if I had a spicy shrimp recipe. Well the good news is I happen to have a few but here are two of my favorites.

Spicy Shrimp Skewers

The First step is to make a spicy rub. This is just a combination of spices so I tend to make a good bit of the blend a save what is left for any dish that I am looking to add a little spice to.

Spicy Rub Blend:

3 Tablespoons Cayenne Pepper
3 Tablespoons Spicy Paprika
1 Tablespoon Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
2 Teaspoons Granulated Garlic
1 Tablespoon Sugar

In a zip lock bag, mix all the ingredients together. You can then label the bag and store with the rest of your spices.

Now that we have our spice rub lets make the first spicy shrimp recipe.

2 Pounds medium size shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 Tablespoons spicy rub blend
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Lemon wedges

First we need to heat up the grill making sure it is very hot before we began cooking. Next skewer the shrimp on your skewers.

Next take the spice rub and mix with the oil and lemon juice to make a paste. Rub the shrimp on both sides with the paste. Then grill the shrimp for 2-3 minutes on each side only turning the shrimp once.

I normally serve this dish as an appetizer with a few lemon wedges on the side.

Shrimp in a Spicy Butter Sauce

This spicy shrimp recipe is very easy to make. The main thing about this recipe is you have to use real butter it will not come out the same if you use margarine or a butter substitute.

1 Pound medium shrimp peeled and deveined
3 Red chili peppers (for less spicy, use less peppers or leave them out all together)
1 Medium yellow onion
½ Yellow bell pepper
1 small tomato
8 Ounces butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Salt
Pepper

I like this dish very hot so I slice the pepper into small rings leaving the seeds in. If you want to cut the spicy down a little take the seeds out of the peppers then just dice them. Next we need to cut the bell pepper and onion into bite size pieces, we are going to do the same with the tomato but you take the seeds out first.

Now that we have everything cut up we can start cooking. First in a small sauce pan melt the butter over a low heat. Once the butter starts to melt add the chili peppers to the butter and allow to simmer on low heat.

While the butter is simmering pre-heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the oil to the pan then add the onion, sauté for about 3 minutes then add the bell pepper and sauté for another 3 minutes. Next add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper and sauté till they are done about 6 minutes.

Once the shrimp are done remove the pan from the heat add the tomatoes and the butter mixture. The dish is ready to serve. When you serve the shrimp you want to serve with plenty of the sauce and some rice on the side.

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This is a recipe that I started using to use some extra tomatoes that I had sitting around. I found that I like the flavor better then sun dried tomatoes and have begun to subsisting these tomatoes for any recipe that has sundried tomatoes in them. They are also very easy to make:

10 Roma Tomatoes
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
Pinch of Salt
Pinch Fresh Cracked Pepper

1.Preheat oven to 250 Degrees

2.Cut the tomatoes into quarters (remove seeds if preferred) I use Roma tomatoes but any tomato will work in this recipe.

3.In a Large bowl toss tomatoes with oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper and allow to rest for about 5 minutes

4.Take a wire rack and place on a baking sheet. Place tomatoes on wire rack in a single layer.

5.Place in oven and roast for about 6-8 hours in the oven. How long you roast will depend on how large the tomatoes where. They are ready when they start to look like sundried tomatoes, just not as dry.

I normally start making this recipe when I make breakfast and let them cook all day taking them out when I get ready to make diner. If I leave the house I just turn the oven off and until I get back. They keep about 4-7 days in the fridge. Oven Roasted tomatoes can be used in many different ways; I use them in pastas, in salads, on pizzas, sandwiches, just about anything that you put tomatoes in. They also make a great snack.

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When I first made this salsa my goal was not to make a salsa. My goal was to make a sauce to go over some fresh tamales I had gotten my hands on. As with most recipes that I come with I was just winging it. The plan was to roast some peppers and tomatoes puree them and through in a little chicken stock, but I tried the mix and next thing I know is that I’m sitting down with a bag of tortilla chips and forgot all about the tamales. Since then I have made this in to a sauce but it is much better as a salsa.

Ingredients

2 Poblano Peppers
1 Yellow Bell Pepper
1 Jalapeno
½ Medium Yellow Onion
4 Garlic Cloves
1 Cup Roasted Tomatoes
½ Cup Fresh Cilantro (whole)
Juice of 2 Limes
1 Teaspoon Cumin
1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt

First step is to roast the poblano, yellow bell, and jalapeno peppers. If you have a gas grill or a gas stove place the peppers right on the flame and char the skin all the way around the pepper about a minute or two per side. (You can do this in the broiler just get the peppers as close as you can to the heat) Put the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for about fifteen minutes, then take a knife scrape the skin off. Once you have all the skin off cut the peppers in half and remove the stems and seeds. Set the pepper aside for now.

Next roughly dice the onion and garlic. Heat up a sauté pan, add a little oil and sauté the onions and garlic for about a five minutes just to bring out there flavor.

I really like roasted tomatoes so I always have some around. Here is a recipe for Roasted Tomatoes if you need it.

Ok now in a food processor add the peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, cumin, salt and pepper and pulse a couple of times. How long you pulse really depends on how chunky you like you salsa. If you like a chunky salsa only pulse for a second or two, for a smooth salsa pulse five to ten seconds.

The salsa is ready at this point but you want to let it rest for about thirty minute to allow the flavors to come together. Make sure to taste and see if you need more salt or pepper.

Enjoy

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People love tender cuts of meat like rib-eye roast (Prime Rib), pork tenderloin and even chicken breast but buying products like this can be very expensive. So sometimes we have to budget a little and buy less expensive cuts of meat like rump roast, pork shoulder and chicken thighs. Does this mean that they are not any good the answer is a huge no. They just tend to be a little tougher and need to be cooked a little different. This is where braising comes into play.

Braising is a slower cooking method that uses a liquid to cook that product in till it is fork tender. This is easily my favorite cooking method for a couple of reasons; first it is cost effective meaning I don’t have to spend a lot of money to make a gourmet meal, second it is normally done in one large pan so there is less to clean up and with a little planning one dish can be made into many. I do a braised pork shoulder (which you can use beef, turkey or chicken) (recipe will be up soon) that I normally turn into four to five common store bought frozen dishes (Burritos, enchiladas, stuffed bell pepper, ect.) and this is all from one dish talk about saving some money.

Sorry I have gotten a little off track.

The question is how to braise. Like any cooking the first step is always to get all your ingredients ready before you start cooking and with braising you will also be using the oven so that will need to be preheated.

Steps on how to braise:

First: You start by using the sautéing method to brown the meat. So we need a either a large braising pan or stock pan, heat the pan to medium low, add little oil and brown the meat on all side. Once all sides are browned take the meat out of the pan and set aside. (Keep that pan on the heat)

Second: You need to add your flavoring vegetables (onions, carrots, celery) and allow them to sauté for a few minutes until they get a little color and soften. (Not all recipes will use this step)

Third: At this point we need to deglaze the pan. Although this sounds hard all you do is add some of the liquid (if using wine or something with alcohol use that to deglaze with so the alcohol has a chance to cook off) that you are going to cook with to the pan then run your spatula along the bottom of the pan to release any thing that has gotten stuck. These particles have a lot of flavor so you want them in the dish.

Forth: Add that meat back to the pan then add enough of then cooking liquid to cover 2/3 of the meat. Then increase the heat to bring to a simmer. Simmering is not a boil there should only a few bubbles coming through. As soon as this happen you want to cover and put into the oven.

Fifth: During the cooking process about every 15-20 minutes you want to turn the product. Cooking times will vary depending on what type of meat you are cooking. But it is done when you stick a fork in to the meat and the meat flakes apart.

Sixth: This step will not always be used but most will now turn the liquid that the meat was cooked in into some sort of sauce. Take the meat out and strain the liquid into a sauce pan then adjust season and consistency to your liking.

With so many different braising recipes out there learning how to braise can be a little confusing but hopefully these guidelines help you on your way to make great braised dishes.

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As almost every ones knows pork comes from pigs. Pigs have been raised as livestock for thousands of years dating back as far as 5000 BC. There is an old phase that goes something like “we use everything but the squeal.” Well this is very true everything on the pigs is used but what is important to us is the meat or pork as it is commonly known.

Over the last few decades pork have undergone many changes. In the past pork was considered a fatty animal and that it was not very healthy. Well through breeding, proper diets and genetics pork has slowly been changed to have less fat and more protein. Pork is a white meat like chicken and turkey and 1987 was crowned the “the other white meat” by the US National Pork Board a phrase that is still used to market pork to this day.
Another change that has been happening with pork is the how much it has to be cooked. Yes it is a product that does have to be cooked it does not mean that it has to be super well done. The reason pork must be cooked is trichinae (which causes trichinosis) but this is killed at 137 degrees. With that being said I would still recommend cooking pork to at least 150 degrees which leaves it a little pink and has the best flavor. This is your choice though if you don’t feel comfortable with this or you just prefer your meat a little more done cook it to 160 degrees which is well done.

Common Cuts:

When you go to the store you will see many different cuts of pork. Which can be put into couple of main categories:

Shoulder:
The Shoulder has two main cuts the Picnic shoulder and the Boston butt. You can get both cuts with or without bones/shoulder blades in them. They both are fatty cuts of meat and do very well slow roasted, braised, or slow smoked.

Belly:

The belly has to main cuts that come from the first is a cut called the pork belly which is normally either salted to make salt pork or salt and cured to make bacon. The other cut that comes from the belly is pork spareribs.

Ham:
This is the rear legs, and is almost always cured and sold as ham. If you come across a fresh ham (that has not been cured) you can cook it the same way as you would a shoulder.

Loin:

The loin has many cuts that come from it the area. The first is the very lean tenderloin which I find is best grilled or broiled. Then there is the pork loin itself communally this will be broken down into three types of roast or chops; the rib-end, center lion and rump-end. The rib-end is where is prefer to get chops from if I plan on breading and frying. With center lion I like to use this as a marinated roast or sliced to go into stir fry dishes. The rump-end is a little leaner so I tend to get chops form this end that I plan to marinate and grill. The center loin is also used to make Canadian bacon. There are two styles of ribs that come from this area as well the baby back ribs and country style ribs.

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Shrimp is widely available seafood that can live in either fresh or salt water and can be found in both cold and warm waters. With year round availability shrimp has become the most popular seafood in the United States today. Americans consume more shrimp than any other country in the world. The great thing about shrimp is that it can be cooked in so many different ways.

There a hundreds of species of shrimp some of them less flavorible and some even inedible. The most common shrimp we will see are: Gulf White, Mexican White, Gulf Pink, Gulf Brown, Black Tiger, and Chinese White. Even with these most store are going to label shrimp by color that is the color it is before it is cooked: white, pink, brown, or black tiger.

Buying Shrimp:

Shrimp can be bought either fresh or frozen. The two main things to check for when buying fresh shrimp: first check that their bodies are firm, do not buy them if they fell soft and sticky; second the smell of the shrimp it should smell slightly fishy, avoid any that have an ammonia odor to them. With frozen shrimp the main thing that is that they are not cover in frost or dried, these are signs that it has been re-frozen and will not have great flavor to them.

Sizes of Shrimp:

Shrimp are also graded by their size meaning how many come in a pound:

Colossal (10 or less)
Jumbo (11-15)
Extra-Large (16-20)
Large (21-30)
Medium (31-35)
Small (36-45)
Miniature (about 100)

Peeling and Deveining Shrimp:

I prefer to peel shrimp for any dish that I am making because I don’t want to have to do this while eating. As a general rule if the shrimp is going to be in a sauce or in a dish where it will be hard to see them they should be peeled. But it is completely up to you if you want to peel the shrimp.

To peel the shrimp, grab the feelers/legs on the underside and pull this should take the shell completely off.

Deveining shrimp is when you remove the vein (which is the intestinal tract) from the shrimp. My personal preference is to devein any of the larger shrimp (large to colossal) and the vein is much more noticeable. As for the smaller shrimp (medium and down) the vein is not as noticeable.

To devein shrimp make small shallow cut allow the back side if the shrimp and pull the vein out.

A good thing to not is that more and more places are starting to offer to devein the shrimp for you, this may cost a little more but it will save you a lot of time.

Well we should now be ready to cook shrimp.

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