Sweet and Sour Shrimp

 

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons pineapple juice
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 pound shrimp
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup sliced onions
• 1 cup 1-inch chunks green bell peppers
• 1 cup pineapple chunks
• Hot rice (white or brown) accompaniment

To make the sauce, in a bowl, combine 1/4 cup of stock, the ketchup, sugar, juice, vinegar, soy, and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper flakes. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with the remaining 2 tablespoons of stock and stir to dissolve. Set aside.

In a bowl, toss the shrimp with the ginger, garlic, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper flakes. Set aside for 10 to 20 minutes.

Heat a large wok over high heat. Add the oil, swirling to coat the sides and bottom of the pan. Add the shrimp, garlic, and ginger and stir-fry until pink, about 2 minutes. Remove from the pan. 

Add the onions and peppers and stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. 

Add the sauce and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Add the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil. Return the shrimp to the pan and add the pineapples. Cook until the sauce is thick, about 1 minute.

Remove from the heat and serve over rice.

Modified version of Emeril Lagasse's Sweet and Sour Shrimp

Virginia Higlands Food Truck Wednesdays

This past Wednesday I had the opportunity to check out the food truck event in Virginia Highlands. The city’s best street food vendors convene in an empty lot next to CVS making it easy for patrons to sample many food trucks at a time. I didn’t sample all of the food trucks because that would make me a glutton. But seriously, I didn’t have room in my tummy for all but I did get a sample of quite a few. 


W.O.W. Food Truck   Twitter: @wowfoodtruck


The main attractions at the W.O.W. (Wonderlicious on Wheels) food truck are the arepas. However, something else caught our eye.



It was The Best Dang Veggie Burger (yes, that is what it is really called and yes, it was damn good). This homemade veggie patty is a blend of lentils, mushrooms, leeks, onions and walnuts. It was served on their freshly made kalamata olive bread with a smoked pablano aoli and cheddar cheese. I have to say this was probably the best DAMN veggie burger I’ve ever had. Definitely lives up to its name.


Slider U   Twitter: @slideruatl

Slider U has (you guessed it) a variety of sliders. And they arent exclusive to Georgia. They will be rolling out trucks at Penn State, Santa Barbara and Scottsdale.



I tried the Asian Fusion Chicken slider. Asian Marinated shredded chicken with slaw on a bun. I’ve always been a fan of asian fusion food and this little slider was great. My favorite thing about it was the little bit of caramelization and char on the shredded chicken.


The Pup Truck   Twitter: @thepuptruck

The Pup Truck specializes in serving locally made Bohemian hot dogs. Although there is nothing fancy or special about their toppings, this is where to go to get a good ol’ dog.



All the menu items have quirky, creative dog names. Seeing as I am picky about what goes on my dog or sausage I went for the Great Dane. It’s a smoked bratwurst with toppings of your choice. I settled on sauerkraut, onions and mustard. I wanted tomatoes but unfortunately they did not carry any. I topped it off with a local hot sauce for some heat.


Tex’s Tacos   Twitter: @texstacos


Serving up Nueva Texicana eats, Tex’s Taco was voted Atlanta’s Best Food Truck/Street vendor in the AJC’s Best of the Big A. 



The Chicken Fresca soft taco was tasty and fresh. The tortilla was filled with marinated grilled chicken breast, grilled onions, pico de gallo, shredded cheese and cilantro.



I couldn’t get enough of the lime fries. They were thick, super crispy and topped with a sweet and salty lime seasoning.


Honeysuckle Gelato   Twitter: @honeysuckleatl


It took a lot for me to pass up King of Pops but I was out to try something new. Honeysuckle offers made from scratch gelato and sorbet made with fine, fresh ingredients.



After eating so much food, my stomach was feeling heavy so I skipped over the gelato and went straight for the sorbet. I got a scoop of mango and a scoop of pear. When they say fresh, they mean fresh. I have never had a sorbet with the kind of flavor these had. They definitely embodied the flavor of the fruit.

Even though I did not order gelato, there was one flavor I just had to sample- waffle with maple bacon. BACON. I couldn’t resist. The syrupy waffle flavor of the gelato with the bits of maple bacon tasted just like breakfast!
 
Atlanta’s food truck community is still growing and I am glad to see it. They offer delicious, unique bites at an affordable price.

Chicken Italian Sausage Calzone

INGREDIENTS
Serves 2

• 1 package of pre-made pizza dough
•  whole milk mozzarella cheese
• Italian blend shredded cheese
• chicken Italian style sausages (or sausage of your choice)
• basil leaves
• garlic cloves
• vine tomatoes
• spinach leaves
• sliced mushrooms
• olive oil
• your favorite store bought or homemade marinara
• grated Romano cheese (optional)

The beauty of this is that you can use as much or as little filling as you'd like. Start by taking your pre-made pizza dough out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for an hour. While the dough sits, slice your sausage. Saute the sausage in a pan along with your mushrooms. Set aside. After the hour passes, lightly flour your working space and cut the dough into 2 even pieces. Lightly flour your work space and roll out each piece of dough into a circular (I used rectangular) shape.

 

The next step is to fill half of your pizza dough. Again, you can use as much or as little as you'd like. I layered mine with mozzarella, Italian shredded cheese, sausage and mushrooms, minced garlic, tomato slices, spinach and more mozzarella.

Fold over the other half of the dough to cover the filling. Make sure that the edges are secure and sealed so that the filling does not ooze out during baking (I used a fork to seal the edges of each calzon). Place the calzones on a baking sheet drizzled with olive oil. Drizzle more olive oil on top of each calzone. Bake them in an oven preheated to 425 degrees for 30 minutes.

While the calzones are baking, heat up your favorite marinara or prepare your own. I quickly put together a marinara consisting of crushed tomatoes, a freshly diced tomato, chopped basil, minced garlic, diced red onion, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. 

When your calzones are done baking, let them rest for a few minutes. Top it with your marinara and some grated Romano cheese. Or if you prefer, have your marinara on the side or none at all. Afterall, it's about what YOU like. Make it your own!

Coconut Lime Shrimp Dinner

I finally got around to trying out the Coconut Lime Shrimp recipe I posted a couple of days ago. The recipe says to let the shrimp marinate for 4 hours but I let mine marinate while I was at work so it was more like 8-10 hours. I paired it with cilantro lime rice and a spicy mango & roasted eggplant salsa.
Cilantro Lime Rice

• 2 cups cooked Jasmine rice
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• juice of 1/2 large lime
• salt & pepper

1. Prepare Jasmine rice according to package directions. I prefer Jamine rice because it’s fragrant but you can substitute for your favorite white rice.
2. Roughly chop 1/4 of cilantro leaves.
3. In a large bowl combine the jasmine rice, cilantro and juice of half a large lime.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 Spicy Mango & Roasted Eggplant Salsa

• 1 ripe mango, peeled and diced
• 1 small eggplant or 1/2 large eggplant
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1/2 small yellow or red onion, diced
• juice of 1/2 large lime
• 1/2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar (optional)
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp chipotle powder
• salt & pepper

1. Heat grill or grill pan to medium. Slice the eggplant lengthwise into 1/4” thick pieces. Brush both sides with vegetable oil. Cook on grill for about 3-4 minutes each side. Side aside to cool.
2. In a bowl combine mango, cilantro, tomatoes, onion and cilantro. When eggplant has cooled, cut into small cubes and add to bowl.
3. Add juice of 1/2 a large lime, seasoned rice vinegar (optional), cayenne pepper, chipotle powder.
4. Toss ingredients together. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Easy Eggplant and Zucchini Lasagna

I started by making my cheesey filling. I rarely use measurements when cooking so please forgive me. In a bowl, I mixed ricotta cheese and sauteed mushrooms, onions & garlic. I added a bit of fresh thyme & rosemary and salt & pepper to taste.

I then sliced 1 zucchini  and half of a large eggplant into slice lengthwise. I wanted this lasagna to be a bit heart so my slices were close to 1/4” thick.

For my tomato sauce, I used a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes and a can of plain tomato sauce. I added roughly chopped garlic, rosemary, pepper, garlic salt, pepper and dried Italian seasonings. I topped it all off with some good extra virgin olive oil.

I took out a medium glass baking dish and began to make my layers. To save time I used no boil lasagna pasta. I started with a bit of sauce in the bottom of the dish and placed a layer of pasta on top. I then began alternating between zucchini, riccota mixture, shredded mozzarella, grated romano cheese, eggplant and sauce. The use of zucchini and eggplant also cuts down on the amount of carbs in the dish because you use less of the lasagna pasta.

You want to top everything off with the last of your sauce, mozarella and romano cheese. I placed it in an oven I preheated to 375 degrees and baked it for about 45-50 mins. During the last 5 minutes of cook time, I switched the oven setting to boil so that the cheese on top could get a nice golden brown.

The end result is an ooey, gooey cheesy lasagna. Let is sit for about 5-10 minutes before cutting. With the eggplant and zucchini you really wont miss the meat. Eat it solo topped with extra romano chese or with a nice salad of mixed greens with a vinaigrette.