Copycat Recipe: Shrimp J Michael

On our last visit to Panama City, Ben I went to dinner at J Michael's, a local favorite that's been there for years. Even his mom used to work there back in the day! Good fried seafood and other odds and ends (super yummy garlic bread too, omg). I had Shrimp J Michael which is a sort of creamy, curry sauce with mushrooms. I actually found the recipe online, so I thought I'd try it at home. Here goes!

1 lb. shrimp, cooked, shelled, and deveined
3 Tblsp. white wine (or water)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1 (10-3/4 oz.) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
3 Tblsp. butter
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. lemon juice
4 Tblsp. sour cream
Dash of pepper
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup green onions, sliced

This recipes starts with butter (yay butter!) Melt the butter in a deep skillet and add onion, mushrooms, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook until onions are clear, but not browned. 

Add soup, curry, sour cream, lemon juice, and wine. Stir well. Add shrimp and mix. Heat through. Serve over hot cooked rice (basmati is good).Top with chopped mushrooms and chopped green onions. Serves 4. We served it with garlic bread and white wine.

Beer Festival Glory!

While I love cooking, Ben likes making beer. And reading about beer. And drinking beer. And pretty much anything else related to beer. So this weekend we went down to a beer festival in Ybor City showcasing local Florida brewers and some other national craft brews. For $25 you got a tasting glass and all the beer you could drink for 4 hours. Not a bad deal!

 

Hooray beer!

 

I think my favorite of everything was the Cigar City Tropical IPA. I also got to have some more of the Dunedin Apricot Peach beer, which was just as delicious as I had remembered from our visit to the brewery last year.

Following our glorious beer drinking, it was down to the Acropolis Greek Restaurant for dinzies. AH-mazing.

I had Shrimp Cyprus:

Ben got the Falafel:

All in all a wonderful day. Delicious beer and delicious food. You can't ask for much more.

Lentil Meatballs

Ok, so I know this probably sounds very wrong. But, it's actually pretty good! While I generally like meat substitutes, these meatballs don't taste all that much like meat, but more like a cheesy kinda thing. Good nonetheless.

Here's the recipe(from injennieskitchen.com):


2 cups cooked lentils, pureed
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup fresh ricotta
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 teaspoon chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Canola oil for frying

Add all ingredients to a deep bowl. Mix very well, using hands or a wooden spoon. Cover and refrigerate for two hours or overnight.

Make 1.5 inch balls with the lentil mixture.

Fry in a 1/2 inch of canola oil until each side is brown. Drain on paper towels.

Serve with:

Marinara sauce
1 lb Cooked Pasta
Crusty Baguette

There you have it. Meatless meatballs. Who knew?

Getting Cajun: Crawfish Creole

Hello All. I have decided to document my culinary adventures via blog. Hopefully this will inspire me to make food other than black beans and baked ziti. After seeing Food Inc. and reading the Omnivore's Dilemma, I have decided to go mostly Vegetarian, er, Flexitarian I suppose, so most recipes posted here will be in line with that.

Since Ben and I often get a hankering for some Cajun food, tonight I endeavored on making a pot of some Crawfish Creole.

Crawfish Creole
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup diced celery
1 cup green bell pepper
1 small onion diced
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup water
a couple dashes Worcestershire sauce
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
1 pound of frozen crawfish tails
1 bunch chopped green onions for garnish

Heat dutch oven on to medium heat. Saute veggies in the vegetable oil until tender.

Mix the flour, sugar, cayenne, salt, pepper together in a separate dish. Add to vegetables and cook a minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, bay leaf, lemon juice and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil and turn down to low heat to simmer. As the sauce simmers, stir occasionally and add water as needed to acheive desired consistency. Let simmer for 30 minutes and add the crawfish. Let cook for about 10 minutes longer.

Serve the crawfish over white rice and top with chopped green onions. Add hot sauce to taste. Serve with toasted baguette or french bread.
Drink Selection: Newcastle Brown Ale (it's all we had around, but delish)