Guest Post - BBQ by my "wonderful" Husband

This was largely an "impromptu" BBQ. I used to cook in Restaurants previously to Pastoring, Kris' Mom requested that I cook her a meal before she returned home to B.C. The meal is steak, with garlic prawns, sauteed veg. and a tortelini pasta salad.
The Steak was marinaded previously to grilling in an experiemental mixture of red wine and BBQ Sauce. I had been recommended by some friends a product which is available in Canada in the President's Choice line of products: Smokin' Habenero BBQ Sauce (it is made with habernero peppers and Tequila) YUM! I added about 1/4 cup of Red Wine (Cabernet Savignon) and about 1 cup of the BBQ Sauce. They steaks were marinaded for about 3 hours and during grilling I poured the unused marinade over the steaks. They were delicious.

The Sauteed Vegetables are simple. I chose some green and red peppers, carrots, snow peas, and onion and sauteed them lightly for 6-8 min. in a bit of oil. The carrots were cut very thin so that they were not super crunchy compared with the peppers. Avoid overcooking to bring out the most flavor.

The Tortelini Pasta Salad I made ahead of time. I bought some fresh cheese tortelini from our local supermarket and some fresh basil. Chop the fresh basil, add some ripe tomato, green onion,
olive oil, salt and pepper, and voila. The Tortelini was about 2 cups worth, 1-1/2 - 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped basil (keep all bits of stalk out), 1 whole medium tomato (ripe) you could also use a roma tomato, 1 sprig of green onion finely chopped, cover with olive oil, and a splash of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

Next the Garlic Prawns.
I always use prawns that are either fresh or IQF - Individually Quality Frozen. I avoid any
shrimp or prawns which have been cooked and peeled previous to frozen- I find they are the equivalent to eating pink rubber. The prawns I purchased were butterflied (a cut down the back of the prawns which allows for easy peeling when thawed.) When I cook with garlic - I want to taste garlic. For about 25 prawns I pressed 2-3 cloves of garlic and set them asside.
I am a big believer in timing the cooking so that each part of the meal is perfectly cooked and is ready at the same time. Sautee the prawns in 2 tablespoons of margerine, add the garlic, and prawns and add a splash of white wine or cooking wine, and cover. The prawns are done when they turn a nice pink color, do not overcook. I hope you enjoy these recipies. I really enjoyed cooking this meal, and would certainly use these recipies again.


This is me, "the chef". The meal was thoroughly enjoyed by my Mother in Law!

Pasta with Shrimp

Life has a way with catching up with you. This past week has just been so busy and slightly chaotic around here. I'm gearing down for the end of my work year. The last day with students was Friday and this week will be filled with classroom clean up and year end paperwork. I'm very much looking forward to the break. My mom arrives for a visit tomorrow and we are all very excited about that (especially my 4 year old who has many plans for him and his Gramma!)
I fully intend to go back and peruse all of your lovely blogs at my leisure over the next week or so. I'm sure I've missed some great dishes!
This pasta was one of those complete accidents that turned into such a delicious dish. I made it on a night where I was just busy. I think I fed the kids chicken strips and fries and forgot to feed myself. When my husband came home from work after the kids were in bed I decided to thaw some shrimp and see what I could make with it. This is what I came up with. It was very tasty, so much so that I've planned to try it again with scallops in my next menu rotation. The measurements here are approximate as I was just throwing stuff in.

1 cup pre-cooked shrimp - thawed in cold water, drained and pressed with paper towel to remove excess water
1-2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1-2 cloves pressed garlic
1 tbsp mixed Italian seasoning herbs
1-2 tbsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tbsp parmasan cheese

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once vegetables soften, add shrimp, herbs, mustard, cheese and salt and pepper. Mix all together and heat thoughroughly. Add pasta of your choice and mix everything together well. We used whole wheat spagettini.

Thai Shrimp Stir Fry

This super-easy super-tasty dish has become a regular feature at our house. I'm posting it specifically for a friend of mine who wants to learn to cook as I often bring the leftovers to work with me to share with her.

1 can coconut milk
1 tbsp curry paste
a couple of dashes of fish sauce*
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 onion, sliced thinly
1 red pepper sliced thinly
1 cup shrimp, thawed (I use the pre-cooked and frozen shrimp)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the coconut milk in a small saucepan. Whisk the curry paste and fish sauce into it. Let boil together for a few minutes (so the paste has disolved and mixed in nicely) and remove from heat and set aside.
Heat cooking oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and peppers to cook to your desired crispyness level (just a few minutes, you don't want to burn the onions). Add the shrimp and coconut/curry sauce. Stir everything together. Add the cilantro just at the end. Serve over basimati rice.

*About the fish sauce. When we first started cooking Thai food, I wondered if this was really neccessary. I guess you can get away without it, but the fish sauce gives it an authentic Thai taste. It's not very expensive and it lasts forever. I bought mine at an Asian food store. Just ask for fish sauce and they will know what you mean and that you are cooking Thai.