Paella

From Cook's Illustrated
.
Serves 6

This recipe is for making paella in a Dutch oven (at least 11 to 12 inches in diameter). It can also be made in a paella pan. If making in a paella pan, increase chicken broth to 3 1/4 cups and wine to 1/2 cup. Before placing paella pan in oven, cover it tightly with foil.

1 pound extra-large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled and deveined
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra as needed
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and halved crosswise
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch wide strips
8 ounces Spanish chorizo sausage, sliced 1/2 inch thick on bias
1 onion, chopped fine
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained, minced, and drained again
2 cups Valencia or Arboria rice
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
1 bay leaf
12 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 teaspoons fresh parsley
Lemon wedges

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Toss shrimp, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1 teaspoon garlic in medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until skin begins to blister and turn spotty black. 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer bell pepper to small plate and set aside. 
3. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in now-empty pan until shimmering. Add chicken pieces in a single layer and cook, without moving, until browned, about 3 minutes. Turn pieces and cook until browned on second side, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to medium bowl. Reduce heat to medium and add chorizo to pot. Cook, stirring frequently, until deeply browned and fat begins to render, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer chorizo to bowl with chicken and set aside.
4. Add enough oil to fat in pot to equal 2 tablespoons and heat over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in remaining garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and cook until mixture begins to darken and thicken slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in rice and cook until grains are well coated with tomato mixture, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, wine, saffron, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Return chicken pieces and chorizo to pot, increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Cover pot (if using paella pan use foil to cover along with lid), transfer to oven, and cook until rice absorbs most of the liquid, about 15 minutes. Remove pot from oven. Uncover pot, scatter shrimp over rice, insert mussels, hinged side down, into rice (so they stand upright), arrange bell pepper strips in a pinwheel pattern, and scatter peas over top. Cover, return to oven, and cook until shrimp are opaque and mussels have opened, 10 to 12 minutes.
5. FOR SOCARRAT (a layer of brown, crusty rice): Set pot, uncovered, over medium-high heat or about 5-minutes, rotating pot/pan, 180 degrees after about 2 minutes for evening browning.
6. Let paella stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Discard any mussels that have not opened and bay leaf. Sprinkle with parsley and serve, passing lemon wedges separately.

Thai Tuna Salad

From "Pok Pok" by Andy Ricker

DRESSING:
 2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon Palm sugar simple syrup (coarsely chop 2 ounces palm sugar and put in small pan with 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water over medium heat until sugar is dissolved)
1-14 gram piece peeled ginger cut into 1 1/2 inch long matchsticks (about 2 tablespoons)
1 grams peeled garlic cloves halved and thinly sliced ( about 1 tablespoon)
6 grams fresh Thai chiles (about 4), preferable green, thinly sliced

SALAD:
1 (5-ounce) can solid light tuna packed in water, drained and broken into large pieces
2 ounces cherry tomatoes (about 4), halved, or quartered  if large
7 grams thinly sliced lemongrass (tender parts only), from about 1 large stalk (about 1 tablespoon)
14 grams peeled yellow onion, thinly sliced with the grain (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped cilantro (thin stems and leaves), lightly packed
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped Chinese celery (thin leaves & stems), lightly packed (I substituted Italian parsley)
I tablespoon thinly sliced green onion, lightly packed

To make the dressing:
Combine the fish sauce, lime juice, simple syrup, ginger, garlic, and chiles in a medium pot, set it over medium heat, and heat the mixture just until it's warm to the touch. Turn off the heat.

Assemble the salad:
Add the remaining ingredients to the pot with the dressing and toss gently but well. Transfer the salad, liquid and all, to a plate in a heap, and serve.

Penne a la Betsy

From the Pioneer Woman website.

Ingredients

• 3/4 pounds Penne Pasta
• 1 pound Shrimp
• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 whole Onion (small)
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1/2 cup White Wine, Or To Taste
• 1 can Tomato Sauce (8 Oz)
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
•  Fresh Parsley, to taste 
•  Fresh Basil - To Taste
•  Salt To Taste
•  Pepper To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Cook the penne pasta until tender-firm, also known as al dente.

Peel, devein and rinse (under cool water) 1 pound of extra large shrimp. Heat about 1 tbsp. butter and olive oil in a skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple minutes until just opaque. Do not overcook them. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Now, put the cooked shrimp on the cutting board and pull off the tails. Chop the shrimp into bite –sized pieces and set aside.

Finely dice one small onion. Mince two cloves of garlic.
In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and sauté, stirring occasionally. After the garlic and onions have cooked a bit add your white wine. Let the wine evaporate for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. If you would rather not use wine, you can use low-sodium chicken broth instead (about ½ cup).

Now add an 8-ounce can of plain tomato sauce. Stir well until combined. Then add 1 cup of heavy cream. Continue stirring. Turn heat down to low and let simmer.

Now chop your herbs, about a tablespoon of chopped parsley and about the same amount of chopped basil, or if you’re feeling very proper, chiffonaded.

Now add your chopped shrimp back into the tomato cream sauce. Give it a stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Throw in your herbs and stir until combined. Finally add your cooked penne pasta and give it a good stir.

Seared Scallops with Warm Tuscan Beans

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 1/2 pounds sea scallops

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup prechopped onion

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1 (19-ounce) can cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained

1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Preparation

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops evenly with salt. Add scallops to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove scallops from pan; keep warm.

2. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil and onion to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Add pepper and garlic; cook 20 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in wine; cook 1 minute or until most of liquid evaporates. Stir in broth and beans; cook 2 minutes. Add spinach; cook 1 minute or until spinach wilts. Remove from heat; stir in basil.

Grilled garlic bread is great for dipping into the brothy beans. Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Brush 1 tablespoon olive oil evenly over 4 (1-ounce) slices French bread. Add bread to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Rub one side of each bread slice with cut sides of a halved garlic clove.

Prosciutto and Basil Wrapped Prawns

1 bag large prawns 16/20 count

200g thinly sliced prosciutto

1 bunch fresh basil

1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 lemon, quartered

Thaw and peel prawns, leaving the tail on. Soak the prawns for about 20 mins in some cold salted water. Drain and pat dry.

Slice each piece of prosciutto into 2 or 3 lengthwise slices. You want to keep the slices long for wrapping.

Separate the basil leaves from the stems, keeping the largest and reserving the smaller for another use.

Combine the panko crumbs, parmesan cheese, chopped parsley and pepper in a small bowl.

Pour olive oil in a small bowl. Dip your fingers into a little olive oil and start to wrap the prawns, basil first then prosciutto. The oil should help things adhere and enable you to get a nice snug wrap.

Brush or rub a little more olive oil on the wrapped prawns and roll and press them into the crumb mixture.

Place all the prawns in a container, tightly packing them, sprinkling with any remaining crumbs.

Cover the container with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 24 hours.

Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan to medium high heat. Saute the prawns, turning once until golden brown on both sides. About 3 mins on each side.

Serve right away with lemon wedges.

Cioppino

This has become a tradition for New Year's Eve. Any mixture of seafood can be used but this is what the recipe calls for. I think that I got this recipe from Epicurious.com.

Cioppino (Serves 6)

4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon dried pepper flakes
1 green pepper, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
28-32 ounce can tomatoes, pureed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
12 mussels
1/2 pound shrimp
1/2 pound scallops
1 1/2 pounds white fish
1 1/2 cups white wine

In a heavy, large pot, cook garlic in oil over moderate heat, stirring, until pale golden. Add onion and cook, stirring until softened. Add pepper flakes and bell pepper and cook, stirring, until softened. Add vinegar and boil until evaporated. Add wine, oregano, and bay leaf and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in tomato puree and tomato paste and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add seafood to mixture and simmer until done (about 5 to 10 minutes)