Shrimp Milanese with Lemon Cream Sauce

After looking at my credit and debit card history, and the amount of food in my kitchen/fridge I have determined that I spend way too much money on groceries for 1 person! So the idea is I will buy only fresh items like veggies or milk that complete recipes that can be made from ingredients that I already have. Sounds good, right? Of course, the first recipes will definitely be the easiest..let's see how this works 3 weeks from now! My first idea: shrimp that has been in my freezer for...um...a while, Parmesan , frozen spinach and zucchini I got at Trader Joe' last week. The recipe: Parmesan-crusted shrimp over pasta with a creamy lemon sauce, and some vegetables thrown in for good measure (and better nutrition).

For Lemon Cream Pasta:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, diced finely
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup cream
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup frozen spinach, defrosted and drained in colander over sink
2 small zucchini, sliced horizonally into thin slices
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 box cooked pasta-linguine, angel hair, tagliatelle, fettuccine...

For Parmesan-Crusted Shrimp:
1 lb large shrimp, deveined & shells removed

1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Sprinkle of dried basil and dried parsley
2 tablespoons butter

To Make Lemon Cream Pasta:
Heat olive oil in large saute pan over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for about 3 minutes, turning heat down to medium after adding, and stirring often to ensure they do not stick to pan and burn.

Add zucchini and saute for a minute on each side. Add in lemon juice, lemon zest and chicken stock. Whisk together and allow it to come to a boil then reduce heat. Simmer about 15 minutes; it should thicken up a bit at this point.

Add the spinach (squeeze beforehand to ensure excess liquid does not enter pasta sauce) and cook in the sauce for a few minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cream.

Stir in Parmesan cheese and pour sauce over cooked pasta.

To Make Parmesan-Crusted Shrimp:
Mix together cheese, bread crumbs, and spices over large plate. Coat shrimp with mixture.

Melt 1/2 butter in large saute pan over medium high heat. Add 1/2 of shrimp and cook for 2 minutes on each side, they should be golden. Remove from pan and set aside. Melt remaining butter and cook remaining shrimp.

Serve shrimp over lemon cream past~voila! And I didn't have to buy any ingredients to make it either...free dinner always tastes better!

What ingredients have been hanging around your kitchen for too long? Maybe with a little freezer burn, stale nature or been on the shelf and will expire if you don't use it in the next month of two...let me know your ideas! (I just may use them with my bajillion items chilling in my kitchen-pun intended)

Lemon Trifle with Fresh Raspberries

Ingredients:
18 ladyfingers
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup mascarpone
7 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
1 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 cups fresh raspberries

Whisk eggs and 1/2 lemon juice in small heavy sauce pan. Add zest, 1/2 cup sugar and butter. Stir occasionally until butter melts over medium-low heat. Whisk constantly as egg mixture starts to bubble. It should turn a creamy yellow at this point. Remove from heat and pour through sieve to catch any egg pieces that may have separated from curd mixture.

As curd is cooking, mix together 1/2 cup lemon juice, water and remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves into liquid.

Beat mascarpone and whipping cream until stiff peaks form.

Pour 1/2 lemon curd over bottom of trifle dish.

Dip 9 ladyfingers into lemon syrup and place above curd.

Spread 1/2 mascarpone cream over ladyfingers.

Sprinkle 1 cup raspberries over cream and drizzle half of remaining curd over raspberries.

Dip remaining ladyfingers in lemon syrup and place above berries. Spread remaining cream over ladyfingers.

Drizzle remaining curd over trifle in a lattice pattern. Decorate with raspberries at points where the lemon curd intersects.

Refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours before serving.

Raspberry Lemondrop Martini

To Make Lemonade:

1 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1 cup hot water
3 cups cold water

Mix hot water and sugar together until dissolved. Mix in lemon juice and water. Refrigerate.


To Make Cocktail:

Fresh raspberries
1 shot Stoli Raz
1 shot Chambord, optional (if not using Chambord, use 2 shots vodka)
Ice
4 oz freshly-squeezed lemonade
Sugar

Shake lemonade and vodka in ice-filled cocktail mixer.

Press rim of martini glass onto plate of sugar.

Pour optional Chambord shot into martini glass.

Carefully pour lemonade mixture over Chambord.

Float 4-5 raspberries as in martini glass.

Garnish with lemon twist.

Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
1/3 cup 2% milk
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 375.

Melt butter in covered medium-sized bowl in microwave (about 20-30 seconds). Whisk in milk, vanilla, egg, yolk and zest.

In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and baking powder. Mix wet mixture into flour until just incorporated.

Carefully fold blueberries into muffin batter.

Line muffin tin with 12 liners. Divide batter evenly between liners. Bake oven on the middle rack for about 18-20 minutes, or until muffins are beginning to turn golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean (no sticky dough).

Ginger & Lemon Martini

So, I have been experimenting with my new, oh-so-cool lemon and ginger-infused vodka. I decided to combine a bunch of my favorite ingredients and see what happened. Dee-lish-us!

I played around with the quantities, and settled on this (adjust according to your preferences):

2 ounces ginger and lemon-infused vodka
4 ounces ginger beer
1 splash lemon juice
1 generous splash Angostina bitters
1 lemon wedge
Sugar
Ice

To be all sophisticated (remember, I am 26, a big girl now!) I used a large martini glass for this drink.

Pour vodka, lemon juice and bitters into cocktail shaker filled with crushed ice. Shake vigorously.

Run lemon wedge over martini glass's rim. Press rim into sugar on plate.

Pour contents of cocktail shaker into martini glass. Top with ginger beer and garnish with lemon wedge!

Ginger and Lemon-Infused Vodka

I had a ginger and lemondrop martini almost 4 years ago at a Cuban restaurant in San Francisco. I haven't seen it in any other restaurants or bars and thus was inspired to make my own infused vodka. In a few days, I will post the martini recipe & photo! Very excited to taste how it turns out.

Ingredients:
3 lemons
1 small piece fresh ginger
A decent vodka (anything at the level of absolut or better is fine)
1 large glass container with lid (original vodka bottle is okay)

Wash lemons very well and dry with a paper towel. Cut off peel and remove white pith entirely, as this will become bitter in the vodka.

Peel ginger and cut into a few chunks.

Place ginger and lemon peel in container. Fill with vodka and cover.

Store in a dark place at room temperature, inverting the infusion several times every few days.

Strain and pour into decanter or bottle.

Strawberry and Lemon Tiramisu

For Cake:
36 Fresh ladyfingers

For Strawberry Cream & Topping:
2 1/2 cups fresh strawberries
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar (+ 1 teaspoon to garnish)

For Lemon Syrup:
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

For Curd:
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 3/4 sticks (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces

To Make Curd: Whisk together zest, lemon juice, sugar, eggs, and a pinch of salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Add butter all at once and cook over moderately low heat, whisking constantly, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on surface, about 10 minutes. Immediately pour curd through a fine sieve into a bowl, then chill, covered.

To Make Strawberry Cream:
Use hand mixer to whip cream with sugar and mascarpone to soft peaks. Add 1/2 cup mashed strawberries and continue to mix until cream forms hard peaks.

To Make Lemon Syrup: Stir ingredients until dissolved.

Spread lemon curd over bottom of 9 by 13 pan. Line up 18 ladyfingers over curd, covering bottom completely. Sprinkle 1/2 lemon syrup over ladyfingers. Spread 1/2 of strawberry cream over ladyfingers, covering them completely.

Line remaining ladyfingers over cream. Sprinkle remaining syrup over fingers. Top with remaining cream.

Wash strawberries and remove stems. Slice vertically and arrange on top of cream to serve.

*Lemon syrup and curd can be made the night before assembling the tiramisu.

Easy Spanish Alioli

Typically, making alioli sauce involves raw egg yolk and oil blended to form a mayo-like sauce. I love to eat it, but prefer to leave out raw egg if I am making it for myself. This recipe is an easy alternative to traditional garlic-lemon* alioli.

Ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 heads garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt to taste

Mix mayo, garlic and lemon juice in food processor or blender.

Serve with Spanish Tortilla, with shellfish, as a sandwich spread or however you are so inspired!

*Other types of alioli can be made this way using thyme, rosemary, parsley, saffron, mustard, etc