Creamy Seafood Pasta & Pumpkin Pancakes

Seafood Pasta with White Wine Sauce
Buttery garlic-herb shrimp and manila clams with sauteed mushrooms, tossed in a creamy Chardonnay sauce.

Needed to crack open that new bottle of Chardonnay, and what better way to do that than over good, fresh seafood? Bought a pound of fresh short-neck manila clams and shrimp, some fresh basil and we're good to go. My mom said she tried seafood linguine at a HK cafe and wanted me to make her something like that. Not hard at all. Delicious and 1/3 the restaurant price. Oui, oui, oui!

I used the wrong cup to measure my ingredients so I cheated myself out of like... 25mL per each half a cup. Next time: use right measuring cups and more sauce, more! I also tend to be generous with the garlic. I'm just the garlic and onions kind of girl :) Smell me please

Creamy Seafood Pasta (serves 3)

• 1 lb pasta, cooked
• 1 lb clams
  
• 1 lb shrimp, deveined
  
• 5 gloves garlic, sliced
  
• 4 tbsp butter
• handful of fresh basil
  
• 1/4 lb mushrooms, sliced
• 1/3 onion, chopped
  
• 1/2 cup Chardonnay
• 1 cup cream
  
• 1 cup reserved clam water
• salt + pepper
• 1 tsp of red pepper flakes (if desired) or to taste
  
• hint of lemon juice
• parmigiano reggiano
  

1. Season shrimp with salt, pepper, and dried basil.
2. Cook clams until the part open. Set aside clams but keep boiling clam water to reduce.
   
3. Heat pan to med heat and melt the butter, add half of the garlic and some red pepper flakes. The lower heat lets the flavors come out, but does not burn the garlic.
   
4. Once garlic is golden, turn heat to med-high and sautee shrimp until cooked. Set aside.
   
5. In the same pan sautee mushrooms with onions. Set aside.
   
6. Add a bit of oil and the rest of garlic + red pepper flakes. Then deglaze with Chardonnay. Add the reduced clam juice and cream. Reduce until ... the alcohol is evaporated from the wine. (SALT+PEPPER+lemon juice HERE) Add parmigiano reggiano & rest of basil, but save some for garnish!
   
7. Combine everything else and yum <3
   

Holiday's not complete without some dessert :)

Way belated post for the holidays. I had a leftover can of pumpkin puree that I thought I was going to use for pumpkin pie but didn't cause I was such a pumpkin-pie fail. But that's okay because I didn't waste it!

I think that per every 1 cup of Bisquick pancake mix I used about half a cup of pumpkin puree, some cinnamon sugar, and some nutmeg. Taste delicious with some candied walnuts, butter, and pancake syrup....! Mmmmh!

Just some food for thought! Pancakes don't always have to be the same color :P

BLT Salad

I've rarely made salad from scratch, but after making the BLT salad for my birthday party last Friday I realized that it is not such a bad idea! Prepackaged salads are way to expensive and cost much more than it's worth. You can get a head of romaine lettuce and red leaf lettuce for a much cheaper price and it could probably make 3 times as much as your packaged salad.
Get the freshest ingredients you can find, because that will result in the crunchiest and tastiest salad :)

BLT Salad
yields 1 large salad bowl (serves ~15)

• 1 head romaine lettuce
  
• 1/2 head red leaf lettuce
  
• 4 roma tomatoes, cut into chunks
  
• 1/3 white onion, diced
• 5 strips of lean bacon
  
• crumbled feta cheese
• optional: 1 sliced cucumber or avocado
  

BLT Ranch Dressing

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk
  
• salt & pepper to taste
• garlic powder
• dill weed
• parsley

Just whisk the dressing ingredients together, chill and drizzle over the salad! If you've had it last Friday you know it's delicious ;)

Back to the Basics: Scalloped Potatoes

I love eating fancy but sometimes we all need something good and simple-- like scalloped potatoes! This wonder is nothing more than thinly sliced potatoes and a delicious white sauce. To make the the white sauce, saute chopped onions in butter, add equal parts flour for a blond roux, and milk-- a familar technique used for many French/Italian recipes :) (like Alfredo, spinach-artichoke dip, chowder, cream soups, and so much more!)

Layer the potatoes and the sauce in a casserole dish and bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour or until the top becomes golden brown. Take it out, let it cool, and enjoy!

Meanwhile, my mom's got a new blog! And it's awesome cause I made it for her! Hehe! Check it out! Plugs to my mommy!

BTW! I took this picture when she came down to San Diego to visit me! This is Black's beach along La Jolla shores, a 5 minute walk from campus!

Shucking Oysters

So here's the question: how many oysters would Chuck shuck if Chuck could shuck oysters? I bet he could shuck lots of 'em. Today I went seafood shopping and saw some great stuff. Dungeness crab for 3.99/lb, small/large abalone (bao yu) for 3.79 ~ 27.99 each, and some live oysters for 0.69 each. I thought, wouldn't it be nice if I could have half a dozen oysters tonight served on half a shell with some lime? A delicious thought indeed. So I picked out the fattest looking oysters but didn't have the strength to pry them open-- so I let my mom shuck 'em. She's the man. Tehehe :)

Oysters tonight! Shuck 'em open, serve them on half a shell with some lime, and slurrrrp them. Nom nom! Nothing like the freshness of the ocean, and the sweet taste of fresh seafood! Two thumbs up! I'd give more if I had extra thumbs anywhere.

Pasta ai frutti di mare

Seafood pasta. Delicious Shortneck clams and tiger shrimp with a garlic-tomato and white wine sauce. Garnished with Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
I wanted a little kick in my dish so I chopped up some jalepeno peppers for some heat. Doesn't appear to have enough sauce-- next time I'll opt for some more tomatoes and water. This recipe can easily serve 2, if not 3 people. Great dish to cook for company. It's delicious and filling!What you'll need for 3 servings

• 1/2 lb spaghetti or linguine
• 1 lb tiger shrimp
• 1 lb littleneck clams or manila clams
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (I used Chardonnay)
• 4-5 large tomatoes
• 4 cloves garlic
• Fresh, flat-leaf Italian parsley (about a small handful)
• Basil
• 3 1tbsp unsalted butter, divided
• some oil
• salt & pepper

Cooking instructions (multi-tasking skills required)

1. Soak clams in white wine for a few minutes.
2. Bring stock of water to a boil, add enough salt to make the water taste like the ocean and then the pasta. Cook pasta until it is al dente or 2 minutes before "done." Drain pasta.
3. Meanwhile, chop your tomatoes/jalepenos and sauté 2 cloves of sliced garlic in 1 tbsp of butter melted with some oil. When garlic turns golden brown, add 2 ladles of pasta water and cook tomatoes until they have turned into a sauce. Then add salt, pepper, some basil, fresh parsley, and jalepeno.
4. Meanwhile, drain the wine into a pan and bring to boil. Reduce to medium heat, add clams and cover pan with a lid. Cook clams until they are parted. Then remove clams and set aside, reserving about a ladleful of cooked wine.
5. Marinate the shrimp with jalepeno, some lime juice, salt, and pepper. Heat skillet/pan to medium-high heat. Melt the remaining 2 tbsp of butter in some oil and sauté the shrimp until cooked. Quickly remove from pan and set aside.
6. Finally, add the reserved wine and the pasta into the tomato sauce and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. When pasta is done cooking, remove from heat and toss in the clams and shrimp.
7. Plate and garnish with the remaining parsley and Parmesan cheese. Bon appétit!

Best Buttermilk Biscuits Ever

Here it is Ladies and Gentlemen, the only buttermilk biscuits recipe you will ever need. It's so delicious, I can eat a dozen of these and not have any room left for the mashed potatoes. It's great with gravy and sweet too! The texture is so wonderfully soft, one bite and you will understand :) So go ahead, give these a try. I baked these darlings in a dark cupcake pan. I felt it was the only way I could get them to hold their shapes. Spray with some oil to give it a light-golden coating! (And yes, I've got this baby memorized)

Buttermilk Biscuits

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
  
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• 1 tsp white sugar
  
• 1 cup buttermilk
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, white sugar
   
2. Use pastry blender, fork+knife, or food processor to mix butter and flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal.
   
3. Incorporate buttermilk and mix just until dough comes together.
   
4. Shape and bake for ~12 minutes!

Strawberry Granola Parfait

Bought a tub of non-fat yogurt, one pound of salad greens, two pounds of strawberries and a box of honey granola from Costco and Albertsons. Looks like it's going to be a healthy month at San Diego starting tomorrow! I also got a large bottle of House Italian dressing for my salad and pasta. Sounds so great, I can't wait! :)

I'm going back to San Diego tomorrow. It was a good weekend to stock up on fresh produce. I have a paper due tomorrow, oh I guess I'll get to that now...