Pasta with Spiced Shrimp and Cilantro Pesto

I made this recipe a few months back, and am sad to say I have completely forgotten where I got it from! Note to self: keep better notes. I debated not posting about it for that reason, but it was so good I will anyway. I'll keep searching and update if I find anything. It's not the quickest recipe but all the parts come together nicely - the pesto and shrimp complement each other to make a satisfying pasta dinner.

To make the pesto, I got to use my new mini food processor. A full size one would have worked better, as I had to work in a couple batches, but it worked just fine. Pulse together 2 cups cilantro, the juice of one lime (2 Tbsp), 1/4 cup walnuts, the zest of one lime (2 tsp) and 2 sliced garlic cloves. This will make a flavourful, dry pesto, though the walnuts added a slightly milky touch. Set it aside.

In a large pan, heat 1/4 cup oil. Add in 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp cumin, and 1/2 tsp each cayenne, curry powder and coriander. Let the spices cook for about 2 minutes, then throw in about 2/3 lb shrimp. I used frozen, but fresh shrimp would only take a couple of minutes to cook. Watch what you're wearing - I got a few splatters on my work clothes.

Throw 1/2 lb spaghetti (cooked) into the pan, along with the pesto. I also added some pasta water to make it a little saucier. The shrimp itself was quite spicy but it gets tamed with the addition of the pesto. Top with some feta cheese and it's done! I found it a little hard to fully incorporate the pasta into everything else, as it was drier than I'm used to. By the end, however, it was a big bowl of oily, herby, spicy goodness. I hope to make more pesto-type things in my mini processor, since it worked so well.

Holiday Stuffing

So Thanksgiving is long gone, and Christmas is still a month away. What better way to stay in the festive mood than to enjoy the delicious side dishes we all love more than the actual turkey? Technically this is dressing, since it's not cooked inside the body cavity of a large fowl. Either way, it's the best part of the meal and the easiest to play around with. I make it the way my mother has always made it (very English/Anglo/Canadian, I imagine) with a few changes.

Stuffing is basically bread, of course, which is probably why it's so comforting and delicious. I used white french bread this time, but I also like using whole wheat, or those fancy breads with pumpkin seeds. The night before, cut a large number of slices into cubes, place in a large bowl and cover generously with poultry seasoning. With delicious herbs like thyme, marjoram and sage, it's the quintessential Thanksgiving flavour. Leave it out on the counter overnight so the bread can dry out. For her stuffing, my mother buys tubes of ground pork. For mine, I usually go vegetarian, but this year I had bacon on hand so bacon it was!

I sliced 4 or 5 pieces of bacon and fried them in a large pan with one diced onion and two diced celery stalks for 6-7 minutes. Stir the veggies into the bread, and mix in whatever else you'd like. Usually seeds, nuts and fruit make a good mix. I used fresh cranberries, sunflower seeds and pecans. Place in a well-greased, large ceramic dish. Now, since this stuffing is not actually being stuffed into something, it needs some added moisture or it will just be toasted bread. Unlike my mother, I follow the classic food magazine recipes which call for chicken stock, but I don't add too much. I usually just pour it straight from the carton and do a couple turns around the dish, Rachael Ray-style.

My mother instead uses large spoonfuls of margarine on top. I do this too - just not as much, since I use stock as well. Any fruit you add will help add moisture too, like cranberries or sliced apple. Once you're done creating your masterpiece stuffing, place a cover on the dish and either microwave it or stick it in the oven. I used the oven, mostly because the dish was too large for the microwave. I baked it @350 for about 45 minutes, uncovering it for the last 15 minutes or so so it can get a little crispy on top. This is obviously meant to be a side dish but whether there is turkey or not, it's front and centre on my plate - a classic mix of soft and toasted bread, fried bacon, tart cranberries, crunchy nuts/seeds, and savoury vegetables. Why wait until it's a holiday to make stuffing? Perfect for any autumn meal, if you ask me!

Candied Almonds

In the last post, I described a couple things I had made for holiday parties. Well, I also like to give food-based gifts! Most of the people I know don't NEED anything, but everyone likes some snacking food. And, if it's not to your taste, or you're ready to explode from Christmas chocolate/candy overload, you can re-gift or put it out at your next party. For the last two years I've made candied almonds, and now I'll share with you my secret recipe! I believe it came from the LCBO magazine years ago, but I'm not sure.

It's a two-step process. First, in a large pan, combine 1.5 Tbsp maple syrup (the real stuff, of course), 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp each cayenne and cinnamon. Bring to a boil over medium heat - this takes only a minute or two, then it gets kinda foamy. Throw in 1 cup raw almonds, and stir around for 2-3 minutes to coat the nuts. After a couple minutes it sort of dries out and isn't as syrupy, and that's when it's time for step two: the oven.

Set it to 325, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour the almonds on, try and get them in a flat layer and bake 15-20 minutes, stirring at least once. They will be fairly sticky, but stirring isn't usually too hard. Once they've cooled, you can break them apart (I just do it by hand - but some of those sugar shards are sharp, so watch out) and put them in a nice gift bag (thanks Bulk Barn!).

These make great gifts - crunchy, sweet, spicy, easy to make large batches, and fairly foolproof as long as you don't burn them. Very easy to snack on while making them too... so make extra. The first batch I found a little too salty, so I only put in half as much in the second batch. They were better, and the spiciness from the cayenne was a little more pronounced. I don't really care for salted nuts, though, so I may just be too sensitive to the sodium. Another Christmas classic, though I suppose I may have to come up with something new for next year.