recipes

This is the recipe that Chopper used for the shrimp that we brought to Darren’s oyster roast last weekend - YUM.  We forgot the marinade to brush on at the end but they were delicious without it.

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. lemon pepper
1 tsp. granulated garlic (1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1 tbsp. Lea & Perrins
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
4 tbsp. butter, melted
9 slices bacon
18 jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined

Cut the slices of bacon in half. Partially cook the bacon over moderate heat to render some of the fat without allowing the pieces to crisp. Combine butter with spices, add shrimp, toss well to coat, let marinate at room temperature 30 to 60 minutes. Remove shrimp from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Wrap a slice of bacon around each shrimp and secure with a toothpick to hold both ends of the bacon. Place shrimp on hot grill for 4 minutes; turn and brush shrimp with reserved marinade and grill for 4 minutes longer or until shrimp are opaque throughout.

Turkey burgers should not generally be as tasty as these.

INGREDIENTS

    * 1 pound ground turkey
    * 1 tablespoon garlic powder
    * 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
    * 1 teaspoon dried minced onion (optional)
    * 1 egg
    * 1/2 cup crushed cheese flavored crackers (we used Cheese Its white cheddar reduced fat)

DIRECTIONS

   1. Preheat a grill for high heat.
   2. In a large bowl, mix together the ground turkey, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, minced onion, egg and crackers using your hands. Form into four fat patties.
   3. Place patties on the grill, and cook for about 5 minutes per side, until well done.

(Ten points if you get the movie reference for this post’s title, by the way.)

Mom made these awesome teriyaki chicken wings when we visited over the Fourth of July holiday and I decided that I’d make a batch. Some are for us, and some will go to work with me. Well … our poor little kitchen became a scene of carnage tonight. I got wings, but I had to hack the tips off and split them before I tossed them in the marinade. There was a lot of ripping and bone crunching. I have some small sympathies for my vegetarian friends, but I think I’ll recover enough to eat wings tomorrow

If you want the recipe, here you are.

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I am baking Christmas cookies today and am tickled to death with the success of the new recipe I used. It’s a shortbread base that you make the night before and roll into logs, then cut and bake. The “making” part was messy (lots of butter and flour) yesterday but I got everything rolled nicely into wax paper and tucked into the fridge to cool down. The “baking” part is much tidier — just an assembly line process with all the waiting dough stashed in the fridge.

I made two batches of the plain shortbread and then two with “stuff,” one with toffee bits in it, and one with pecan pieces in it. Mmm. I’m having to eat the ones that aren’t quite perfect, and I assure you they are crispy, buttery soft, shortbread goodness. I am impressed. Here’s the recipe, if you want it. It’s from one of Southern Living’s holiday supplements.