Enjoy the Delicious

Pasta with Garlic Cream Sauce and Shrimp

Gerry Holford — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:33:57 -0500

I have to say, this was a doozy of a dinner. It was unbelievably good! It all came together pretty organically and was rounded out with an amazing bottle of wine.

I spent this blustery and cold New York City day running errands and catching A Single Man with my BFF Kim. If you haven't seen this mastery of a film yet, you need to run yourself over to The Angelika and buy yourselves some tickets. It is a completely beautiful and heartbreaking and charming and intelligent and at times, funny film. You will spend 2 hours in grace, style and longing and it will be time extremely well spent.

Anyway, I digress...back to food. On way my home, walking through SOHO back to the Lower East Side, I talked to my son on the phone. We talked about food and how we are going to make homemade marshmallows on Christmas Eve for hot chocolate and I got motivated to cook something interesting for dinner. I stopped off at Whole Foods and picked up a package of shrimp, capers and whole cream.

I had in my cupboard some Delverde tagliatelle nests that I bought upstate over Thanksgiving and figured I would throw it all together and create a luxurious cream sauce to pair with the shrimp and pasta. I stopped by September Wines and picked up a bottle of Castel Venus Grillo and I was in business.

The final result was so amazingly delicious and so incredibly simple!

Pasta with Garlic Cream Sauce and Shrimp. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

8 oz. heavy cream
Splash of white wine, maybe 1/2 a cup
5 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 shallot, finely chopped
Capers and their brine
3 star anise
1tsp chili flakes
Olive oil and a knob of butter (demonstrated below)
Salt to taste
4 nests of tagliatelle pasta
1 ladle of pasta water
1 lemon
1/2 lb of shrimp

Preparation:

Begin by swirling some olive oil and a dollop of butter into your pot. When the butter has melted and is bubbling throw in your garlic and shallots. Cook them on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes. Then add your wine and the juice of half the lemon and cook for another 15 minutes. Take off the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes and add all 8 oz. of cream, the chili flakes, star anise, a splash of the caper brine and a sprinkling of salt. Return to a very low heat and let simmer until it's reduced. About 30-40 minutes. Stir and taste often adding salt as necessary.

When the sauce is nearly done, begin your pasta and shrimp. Cook the pasta simply in salted water until al dente. For the shrimp, cook in a swirl of olive oil, a splash of the wine and a squeeze of the other half of lemon.

If you need to thin out the sauce, use a small amount of the pasta water.

After draining the pasta, combine it all together and add the capers when tossing. I forgot to add the capers and could kick myself. I'm sure it would taste incredible though that's why I'm telling you to do it.

The result is a completely luxurious and comforting meal. Pair it with a glass of the Grillo and there you have it. Perfect weeknight dinner!

Some Like It Hot

Gerry Holford — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:41:00 -0400

This was definitely the weekend for familiar and comforting food. On a mission to not consume a single salad, I decided to throw together a dish reminiscent of my childhood.

Cooking a curry always makes me think of my mother. I'll never do it as well as she did, but I do find a certain affinity with my Asian heritage as I try to recreate and remember her dishes. I think of the creaminess of coconut milk paired with the heat of red chillies and the mellowness of steeped ginger combined with the sticky rice noodles as the ultimate in Asian-style comfort food. Throw in a few shrimp and you have yourself a little bit of luxury too!

Shrimp Curry over Rice Noodles

Ingredients

1 can of coconut milk
2 cups of chicken or seafood stock
4 spring onions
1/2 shallot
Curry powder
1 red chili
A piece of ginger, peeled
1 stalk of lemongrass, cut in half - ends cut off
1/2 a lime
2T chili paste
Vegetable oil
Rice noodles
1/2 lb shrimp

Preparation

First and foremost, an absolute must when cooking with curry powder is to cook the curry powder first. Never, and I mean never just add the powder straight into your dish. Cooking it will ensure that there is no grit or chalkiness and it will also add depth of flavor. It's very simple, just coat a pan with vegetable oil and add 4-5 teaspoons of curry powder.

Stir it together for a few minutes and then add half a chopped shallot to the pan. Next dice the red chili and add that, along with just a few seeds, to the mix. Stir it all together for a few minutes then add a can of coconut milk, the stock, a cube of fresh ginger, the lemongrass and the lime and it's juice to your pot. Throw in a few pinches of salt and a teaspoon of fish sauce (optional). Simmer on a very low heat for 30 minutes to allow all the flavors to marry together. The curry might seem a tad "thin" but once the rice noodles are added it will thicken up.

Next prepare your rice noodles per the package instructions and then cook your shrimp. Heat some oil in a skillet and season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Cook until the crustacean are opaque...about 3-5 minutes, if that. Now, add the chopped spring onions to your curry as well as the shrimp along with the chili paste. I use the Asian chili/garlic sauce in the bottle with the green top. In this recipe I only call for 2T of chili paste but truth be told I use a hell of a lot more. I love the hot, I'm predispositioned for it. Nothing makes me happier than the hot. You using more than the 2T will make me happy too. Now, let it all bubble for a few minutes.

The lemongrass and ginger are only for flavor so be sure not to serve them in your bowl.

Presentation

Place a pile of the rice ribbons in a bowl and spoon over the mellow curry sauce. Drop in the shrimp and add the final touch, a wedge of lime for flavor.

Salmon over Cannellini Beans

Gerry Holford — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:42:32 -0500

As I wrote in September, I am in a little bit of trouble. The autumn has ushered in heavier meals, I am cooking and eating to sustain my blog and I am exceedingly happy. All of these things combined have led to my pants becoming even tighter. I know I was going to write about salads but at this time of year it doesn't seem so appropriate and I think I want to save that for a summer series next year.

I think what I am going to do is cook clean and keep portions small. Anyone who knows me knows that I could never, ever entertain or sustain a diet and I refuse to ever cut out fats (we need them people). When it comes to food I cannot compromise and I will not deny myself. Simple foods, excellent flavors, European portions. If you use fresh, organic, clean foods and moderate your portions you really can eat anything you want. Yes, that 's what we're going to do, use a little bit of culinary common sense, starting tonight.

Salmon over Beans

Ingredients:

2 Salmon filets

1 handful each of flat leaf parsley and cilantro

A sprinkle of chili flakes

2 tbspn Dijon Mustard

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp stock

Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1 Can of cannellini beans

1 Rosemary sprig

2 cloves of garlic

Preparation:

Season the fish with salt and pepper, mix all the wet ingredients with the herbs and smother your beautiful, coral salmon filets.

Wrap in a foil package and place into a 375F oven for about 25 minutes.

Heat the beans and add the garlic and rosemary along with some salt and let it all infuse together over low heat while your fish cooks.

Presentation:

Place beans on your plate and top with the steamed salmon. Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper and a generous squirt of lemon. Delicious!

Scallops on Bilinis

Gerry Holford — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 22:34:54 -0500

Back to normal? Dinner can still be spicy

Gerry Holford — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:35:00 -0400

On our way to the first day of school, my son looked at me and said, “I think the moms are the only one’s happy that school’s starting,” I think he’s right. Outside of school everyone was catching up, taking pictures...We couldn’t control ourselves; we were the only ones who were happy. Here we go again…like summer never even happened; campus life begins. Tonight, spice it up. Let’s try shrimp curry over rice cooked in coconut milk.

I know I have vowed to go a more traditional route when presenting recipes to you but when I make curries it’s a little different. My Asian heritage lends itself to more of a feeling, a taste, a smell rather than a hard and fast recipe. I’ll try to go traditional but do everything per your taste. The dish will only be complete upon your liking.

For the curry:
3 cans of coconut milk
1 lb of deveined shrimp (you can have the fishmonger remove the tails if you so wish)
Red Curry paste
Turmeric
Sea Salt
Red Chili Flakes
Fish Sauce
Touch of Sesame oil for taste
Olive Oil
½ an onion – finely chopped
5 Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
1 pint of grape tomatoes
Lime juice
Cilantro
Chicken Stock

In a large pot with the olive oil heating up, add the onions and a shake of salt. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. To the onions, add the curry paste, turmeric and a splash of sesame oil. Start with a few tablespoons of the spices and then go from there. Once the curry paste and turmeric have coated the golden onions add the coconut milk, lime juice, potatoes, tomatoes, salt (per your taste) and several generous pours of fish sauce. In a separate pan, sauté the shrimp with a drizzle of olive oil and a splash of lime juice. Once cooked, add the shrimp to the curry and let it simmer until all these sultry flavors are combined and the potatoes are cooked. Add more lime juice and fish sauce to your liking and if you choose to add extra liquid or thin out the curry, this is the time to add your chicken stock.

Rice:
Packaged rice and 2 cans of coconut milk
Cook your rice per package instructions. Substitute coconut milk for half the water needed.

Scoop the velvety rice into a large bowl. Pour the flavorful curry over it and top with chopped cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice and the spicy chili flakes. I have nothing more to say.

Lunch imitates art

Gerry Holford — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:31:00 -0400

My friend came over last night. "How was your day?" I asked as he walked in the door. "Swell" his clipped reply. Funny hearing the exact exchange while watching Jaws just half an hour later. We chuckled, engrossed in the Dreyfuss, Scheider banter. I'm 37. Jaws is the Saw of my generation. As a child, I remember when it started playing on cable or was it just being played on Beta? It was huge. During sleepovers we would have random bed checks from parents worried that we were watching; worried that the sheer primal subject matter would manifest itself into nightmares. There was something so ordinary about it though, Scheider, ranting while swinging around a wine bottle, Dreyfuss, reasoning while munching on a pretzel. Scheider, in a life jacket, Dreyfuss, in a jean jacket. Dreyfuss, Scheider and The Crew sitting around and singing "Show me the way to go home" just before the panic sets in. The beach, the sun, the shark!

For lunch today we decided on seafood. "Lobster Rolls!" I exclaimed. I love lobster rolls and was reminded of this by a friend that recently reported on her Facebook status that she had just eaten 4 in 2 days. I remember the last time I had one. It was much too long ago. I was starving and ready to indulge. "Have you ever made them?" he asked. Oh shit. That's the thing when you love to cook. People just assume that you always want to do it yourself. No, I have not. "Let's try it" he said. OK, I guess. This is probably the only time that you will get a traditional "recipe" from me so heed well:

about 1 pound of cooked lobster meat
about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of mayonnaise. Start with less, adding more as necessary but don't drench the meat
A dash of Dijon mustard
A dash of white wine or sherry vinegar
1 celery stalk chopped
2 pieces of shallots, chopped
Lemon juice, per your taste
A few tarragon leaves, chopped
Salt and Pepper
Top split hot dog buns, buttered and lightly toasted

In a drizzle of olive oil and the dash of white wine/vinegar, saute the celery and shallots until golden and take off the heat. Add the lobster meat and let it infuse with this flavorful mirepoix. Drain any excess liquid and mix in the mayonnaise, mustard, tarragon, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Chill in the fridge for about 10 minutes then scoop into your buttered, toasted, top-split buns. Serve yourself a cold beer and think of snuggling up to your beloved on a beach somewhere in New England on a late summer evening. Just don't let the sharks get you.