Mexican Pasta!

I stumbled upon this dish one night when there seemed to be NO food in the house & I add to be creative. This is improv to the max & it turned out fantastic! 

INGREDIENTS:
1 14 oz can diced tomato
1/2 can chipotles pureed ( 2 chipotles in adobo w/ 1-2 T adobo sauce...add more or less depending on your preference of spiciness)
1/2 small white onion
2 Garlic cloves, minced
Splash of good tequila
Swirl of Whipping Cream
16 Medium shrimp, uncooked, deveined & fresh or defrosted
1 lb Penne pasta, uncooked
Fresh cilantro
Queso Fresco

DIRECTIONS:

Sauté the onion in olive oil until nicely golden

Add the garlic & cook it for 30 sec....until you smell it. Don't leave it!

Toss in the can of tomatoes, with the juices & cook on medium heat until slightly reduced

Add the chipotles & finish the simmer

*At this point, get your penne boiling in salted water....set the timer for 11 minutes.

[Back to the Sauce mmmm....]

As the sauce begins to thicken, add a good glug of tequila to the sauce. Keep simmering...

...you want the uncooked "heat" of the tequila to cook out.

Now...(almost done).. take the whipping cream & give it a swirl in the pan.

This is a good time to also season it - give it a good pinch of kosher salt & cracks of pepper

Almost lastly, tuck the shrimp in the sauce to cook until pink & curled...but not tough & too curled.

As the shrimp is finishing, which is only a few minutes...Chop your cilantro & crumble your cheese for your finishing touch..

Time to plate! Let's take one more look. Holy moly. This was delish. Please go make it. GO!

When you do, share a pic with me! 

Mexican pasta is where it's AT! 

Stuffed Shells

Oooh baby. This is one of my favorite dishes, ever. 

Ingredients: 

4 oz. Pancetta (thinly sliced from deli)

1/2 med. white onion (diced)

2 28 oz can of Crushed Tomatoes

1 lg garlic clove

pinch of pepper flakes

2 T Olive Oil

Directions: 

Add the crushed tomatoes 

Meanwhile, boil shells

Drain

Cheese mixture: 

1 Egg, beaten

16 oz Ricotta 

1/2 C grated Parmesan

small handful of shredded Mozzerella

handful of fresh parsley, chopped

pinch of Kosher salt & a few twists of fresh cracked pepper

Stuff this little babies

Season sauce w/ salt before topping

Top 'Em w/ sauce & cheese & place in 350º oven

Grilled Quesadillas w/ shrimp, sweet corn & Jalapeño Pesto...by Bobby Flay

Jalapeño Pesto 6 jalapeño chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped [warning: it's mega hot - use less if necessary] 2 c. fresh cilantro leaves 2 cloves garlic, chopped 2 T. pine nuts ½ c. olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions: Combine the jalapeños, cilantro, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor and process until smooth.  With the motor running, slowly pour in the oil and blend until emulsified.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Quesadillas 3 ears corn (or 3 c. corn kernels) 12  6 inch corn tortillas 2 c. grated Monterey Jack cheese 1 c. grated white cheddar cheese 1 sweet onion, thinly sliced into rounds 2 T. finely chopped fresh thyme leaves Salt and freshly ground black pepper Olive oil 16 shrimp, shelled and deveined

Directions:

Brush shrimp w/ olive oil, salt and pepper, & fry in non-stick skillet just until pink.

Sauté the sweet onion slices until softened.

Mix onions, corn, cheeses and thyme. 

Divide evenly to top 8 tortillas. 

Stack one on top of another and top with remaining 4 tortillas.   

Grill both sides in hot non-stick skillet until cheeses are melted & tortillas are browned and crisp.

Cut into quarters.  

Top each quarter with 1 T. jalapeno pesto and a grilled shrimp. A Bobby Flay recipe.

Gnocchi w/ Shrimp in Tomato-Wine Sauce

The first time I had gnocchi was at a friend's house for homecoming my senior year of high school. Our little group of friends loved going there for dinner. His mom & dad would prepare a feast for all of us, light candles & create the most special dinners for us. We loved  the time & energy they would put into the food & atmosphere. From a parenting standpoint, how awesome is that? I want to create an atmosphere for my kids & their friends to want to hang out. Momma Perez will be handing their little friends hot tortillas. :)


So..back to homecoming. This was the first time I had Gnocchi...those soft, doughy dumplings are right up my alley. 


[I'm wild about carbs, might die without them]


Since then I've ordered them at restaurants but I've always wanted to make them & tonight was the perfect time. We were out of food, but had these ingredients & of course, all I ever want & think of is Mexican...So I was wondering around the kitchen thinking about what we did have & this delicious dish was created. 


At one point I thought it was a disaster & I actually felt awkward & like Curious George making Gnocchi, but the dough is so forgiving. I almost gave up in the middle, but they turned out great. Don't be discouraged if you feel like a total wreck the first time you make these little darlings.


Whenever I get a wild hair for something, I go to: www.allrecipes.com


I found the Gnocchi instructions here.

THE GNOCCHI:

Ingredients:

2 Potatoes

2 Cups Flour

1 Egg (beaten)

Directions: 

Wash & peel 2 potatoes

Cut potatoes in 1/2, long ways.

Then into 6's.

Start with the potatoes in cold, salted water

Bring it to a boil & cook for 15 minutes or until fork-tender & soft enough to mash

Mash the potatoes

Add 1 Cup of mashed potatoes with the egg & flour

Kneed on well floured surface

Take small sections & roll into long, skinny, "snakes"

Keep rolling, gotta get it skinnier..

Cut "snake" into 1/2, then 1/4's.

Then the 1/4's into 1/3's...

I'm not sure what I was doing here..but I always see chefs roll the gnocchi on the fork, so I tried something like it

Drop them into well-salted, boiling water & cook until the little dumplings float.

Remove from the pot & place directly onto the serving plate or bowl & top it with any sauce. I have included my quick tomato-wine sauce w/ shrimp below...

Tomato in White Wine Sauce: 

1. Dice 1/4 White onion in olive oil, add 1 clove garlic & cook for 30 seconds.

2. Pour 1/3 C white wine to the cooked onion & garlic. Bring it to a boil & cook the alcohol out of the wine. 

3. Add 1 14oz can of diced tomatoes & 5 large basil leaves, rolled & cut into thin chiffonades. 
4. Simmer 30+ minutes. Just minutes before eating, add shrimp to the pan. Add a splash of stock, maybe another splash of wine...season with salt. 

Serve w/: Crusty bread, the wine you cooked with & double the sauce if you want enough to soak it up with the yummy bread or of course for left overs.