Happy Easter

Happy Easter to my Family and Friends!

Shrimp Scampi

Tom had decided that for dinner tonight, he wanted a chicken and rice dish, but that's not what I wanted, so I chose a recipe I found off of Pinterest for Cheesecake Factory Shrimp Scampi.

Cheesecake Factory Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients:

• 1 -2 lb fresh shrimp, cleaned and deveined, and butterflied
• 1 lb angel hair pasta
• 1 diced tomato
• 6 -8 whole garlic cloves
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 1 cup dry white wine
• olive oil
• 5 -7 leaves fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, finely grated
• parsley

For the shrimp

• milk
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Pour enough olive oil in a large sauce pan to cover the bottom, turn to medium high heat. This is the only pot you'll need for the sauce so it should be big. Soak the shrimp in milk and combine the dry ingredients (flour, 2T cheese, salt, pepper). Coat the shrimp with the dry ingredients and let them fry in the olive oil, About 2 minutes per side until golden brown. The Flour that falls off the shrimp will add great flavor and consistency to the sauce. Add more oil as necessary, between batches of shrimp. Dab the shrimp with a paper towel, cover and set aside on range top to keep warm.
2. Add the garlic to the oil, stir for a few minutes, then turn the heat to medium low. Now add the wine and bring it to a boil. Then turn the heat to low and cover, let the wine reduce, about 10-15 minutes.
3. In a separate pot, bring water to simmer. (for pasta later).
4. Add the cream, and bring it back to a boil, turn heat to low and simmer for 10 more minutes. While it is simmering dice your shallot and tomato, and chiffonade your basil. Now add the Basil, diced tomato, and remaining 2T Parmesan cheese. Stir for a moment then add the fried shrimp, and remove the pan from heat. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
5. Bring pasta pot to a boil and add angel hair and cook.
6. To plate, pour some sauce on a dish and arrange the shrimp around the bottom (10 or so), then take a ball of the pasta and plate that above the shrimp. garnish with a little parsley.

I've never had the Shrimp Scampi at the Cheesecake Factory, so I don't know how this was supposed to taste, but I thought it was okay. I didn't use fresh garlic or basil, so maybe some of the flavor wasn't there because of that fact. I also threw all of my wet shrimp in a plastic bag with the dry ingredients, so the dry ingredients got all clumpy and didn't coat all of the shrimp well. Oh well, live and learn. It was a decent dish, I was just looking for more flavor.

Slow-Cooker Pot Roast

A few days ago, Tom had expressed interest in a pot roast for dinner tonight, so I found a recipe on Martha Stewart's website for Slow-Cooker Pot Roast.

Slow-Cooker Pot Roast

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 8 medium carrots, cut into thirds
• 2 medium onions, each cut into 8 wedges
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 beef chuck roast (3 pounds), trimmed of excess fat
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. In slow cooker, stir together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water until smooth. Add carrots and onions; season with salt and pepper, and toss.
2. Sprinkle roast with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; place on top of vegetables, and drizzle with Worcestershire. Cover; cook on high, 6 hours (or on low, 10 hours).
3. Transfer roast to a cutting board; thinly slice against the grain. Place vegetables in a serving dish; pour pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve, if desired. Serve roast with vegetables and pan juices.

Variations
Oven method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In step 1, use a 5-quart Dutch oven or ovenproof pot with a tight-fitting lid; add 2 cups water. Cover; bake until roast is tender, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Proceed with step 3.

To make the recipe more "Tom-friendly," I omitted the onions and added celery and potatoes. We both really enjoyed it. It was tender and flavorful, and extremely easy to prepare. I will definitely make it again.

Casino Run

After work tonight, Nicole and I ran over to Hollywood Casino in Perryville. We had made plans to go last Thursday, but they fell through. We went mainly to play roulette, but when we got there, we learned that the table minimum was $15! And I was only planning on spending $50. So, we found the video roulette machines and played a little, then went on to my favorite slot machine in the world, Invaders from the Planet Moolah. I was so glad to see them! I lost, but Nicole won, and she loved the cows. She thinks that her grandfather will enjoy it, too. Even though I lost, I still enjoyed my time out. I might even run over from time to time to play Invaders

Potato Pancake Wedges

Tonight, as an accompaniment to some Oven Fried Chicken, I prepared Potato Pancake Wedges from the Betty Crocker Cookbook.

Potato Pancake Wedges

Ingredients

• 3 medium pancakes (about 1 pound)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tablespoons margarine or butter

Directions
Prepare potatoes as directed, pare. Shred enough to measure 2 cups. Rinse well; drain and pat dry. Mix potatoes and remaining ingredients except margarine. Heat margarine in 10-inch skillet until melted. Spread potato mixture evenly in skillet. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes or until bottom is brown. Place large plate over skillet and invert pancake onto plate. Slide pancake back onto skillet. Cook about 5 minutes longer or until brown. Cut into wedges.

I burned it a little, but it still tasted good. Tom didn't get a chance to try it, but I think he'll like it.

Chemistry Cat

I just discovered Chemistry Cat and officially love it!

Google Chemistry Cat for even more great jokes.

Philadelphia Flower Show

Tom and I joined Mom at the Philadelphia Flower Show today.

It was a nice day, despite the warnings of a SuperStorm rolling in. We arrived in Philadelphia about the same time Mom's bus rolled in, and we walked through the exhibits. The flowers were gorgeous, but my favorite parts were the landscaped exhibits which showed the flowers in more natural settings.

We enjoyed the displays, and it was really nice to spend time with Mom.