Shrimp & Tomatoes in Wine Sauce in 15 Minutes? Yep!

So this is the shrimp and tomato mixture simmering in the pan. This dish is so easy and amazingly tasty... and, it's very inexpensive to make. Cool, huh!

So, start by boiling a pot of water to cook the noodles. I used linguini and it seems like a thicker pasta will work better (instead of angel hair or something like that). Cook pasta until al dente. Typically 2-3 oz. pasta per person is a filling portion.

1 yellow onion (chopped)
4-5 cloves of (minced)
4 or 5 roma tomatoes (cut in chunks and seeds scooped out)
1/2 cup dry white wine + 1/2 cup addt'l to mix with corn starch
1 cup frozen peas
1 tsp corn starch 
salt & pepper to taste
25-30 frozen or fresh rock shrimp or larger shrimp (peeled and deveined)

While pasta is boiling, heat a tsp of olive oil (or use your Misto spritzer - see previous blog post) in a large saute pan. When pan and oil are hot, drop in the onions. Cook them for about 3 minutes...onions will 'sweat.' Then put in tomatoes, peas, garlic and sautee for a few more minutes. (It's o.k. that the peas are frozen.) Tomatoes will start to break down and peas will cook. Add shrimp then the wine.
Let everything sautee for about 4 mins. Mix the addt'l 1/2 cup of wine and the tsp of cornstarch together in seperate bowl or cup. Add this in increments to the sautee pan and keep stirring. Mixture will get slightly thicker. Once it's all heated through, it's ready to serve.
oh, yeah... don't forget to drain the pasta. Serve the shrimp/tomato/wine mixture over the pasta and enjoy.
Maybe pour you and your dinner parter a glass of the wine you used for cooking, if it's something you like drinking, too.

Things I Love!

So here are a few 'tools of the trade'...not that I'm really in the cooking trade by profession... but these things always make cooking so much better, easier, and for some reason they make stuff taste better!

If you like to cook and come across these items, seriously consider them.

• Cast Iron Grilling Pan - a friend of mine used a Mario Batali cast iron grilling pan to make zuchini and butternut squash. Yes, I know. Sounds...earthy, right? But, it was delicious because the squash was put into risotto and had a ton of flavor. I've prepared zuchini, portabello mushrooms, salmon and a few other items in the pan and they turned out fantastically. I found our grilling pan at Crate & Barrel on sale! There are plenty of others out there if you don't feel like making Chef Mario any richer. 
• Good Set of Knives - This was one of the things that came into the kitchen courtesy of my husband. Instead of the random knives accumulated over the years and using them for everything, a set of knives include steak knives. Good knives make chopping so much faster and while you need to be careful while handling them, they're actually less likely to slip and cut you. 
• Olive Oil Spritzer - a coworker got me this for Christmas and it's one of the most used things in the kitchen. Now instead of spraying a chemical cooking spray in the pan before sauteing, you just spray a quick spritz of olive oil. I think it's about $10...hey, it was a gift! 

So I'll add more great tools of the trade in the posts to come. Hope these help you!

Want A Tasty Appetizer? Bet on Bruschetta

Bruschetta has different meanings to different people so what we're talking about here is the basil, garlic, tomato and olive oil mixture + the crostini bread slices you typically get with that mixture.
Getting the right balance of all the ingredients is tough. This is one instance where it definitely does help to play with your food. For the Bruschetta mixture you see in the photo, I used:

• About 20 large basil leaves 
• 4 medium sized cloves of garlic
• 4 large roma tomatoes (cut in 1/2 and scoop out the center)
• Tbsp of olive oil
• pinch of sea salt

Throw all these into a food processor and give it about 5 pulses. You can choose to keep it more chunky or pulverize it - whatever works for you. Oh, pick up a loaf of thin French bread at the store cut it into thin slices and toast the slices. Spoon the Bruschetta mixture onto the toasts and mmmmmmm!!!

This stuff does not last long in my house. You've probably guessed this is a low fat appetizer. True. And it's packed with flavor. Going to make it next time guests come over for sure!