Tag Archives: culinary

Shrimp Saganaki (Greek Shrimp)

Posted on by
Reply

Shrimp Saganaki in a cast iron skillet

Google hates me.   Or, avoiding hyperbole, my posts are looked upon ‘unfavorably’ by Google because they mess with Google’s algorithms.  In the SEO world, it’s subversive to write about self-doubt while posting a shrimp recipe.

Apparently, my post’s title should stick to the point – Greek Shrimp Recipe.   Nothing cute or fancy like “Goin’ Greek with this Shrimp-el Recipe” will be tolerated.  The photo should be just that – one photo of aforementioned dish.  Google doesn’t want to see a million step-by-step photos or a photo of my cat, Wasabi, no matter how cute.  Stick to the recipe, please.   Then, I’m allowed a sentence or two to describe why I’m posting this particular recipe.  Nothing too long, mind you; just a few words.  I’m not allowed to go into vivid details about how my family’s fortune was won on this specific shrimp recipe.  Finally, I need to include the recipe itself.  Succinct, yes, but Bore-ring!

It reminds me of those high school writing proficiency tests.  You remember – construct a paragraph by making a clear statement, providing three examples, and reiterating the first statement in the last sentence. Five sentences, maybe six, total.   Don’t get fancy!  Don’t deviate! No poetic license! That’s how you’ll pass.

Well, my high school days are long gone and I’m not about to change my posting style for Google.  If I want to talk about SEO while posting a shrimp dish, I’m going to do it; SEO be damned.

Shrimp Saganaki

Ingredients

  • ½ onion, sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper
  • ½ teaspoon oregano
  • 14 oz. can whole tomatoes, chopped with juice
  • ¼ cup kalamata olives, cut in half
  • 1 ½ pound shrimp, peeled and deveined (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh dill, minced
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • pinch salt
  • 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 loaf French bread

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. In an oven-proof skillet, sauté onion in olive oil until softened. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add Aleppo pepper and oregano and sauté for 15 seconds.
  3. Add tomatoes and olives and cook 5-10 minutes until flavors are combined and sauce is reduced.
  4. Add shrimp and cook until pink, covering with sauce, about 3-5 minutes.
  5. Remove from heat, stir in dill, parsley, lemon and salt.
  6. Cover with feta and transfer to oven. Cook 3-5 minutes until feta is bubbly and slightly melted.
  7. Serve with bread to sop up sauce.

Cinnamon Apple French Toast

Posted on by
Reply

Apple French Toast

This dish is my attempt at a dessert-like French toast served at Residence U Cerneho Orla, my charming B&B in Prague.  Each morning’s tray of delicacies included a petite dish cupping a slender raft of French toast and sautéed apples, afloat on a pond of syrupy butter sauce.   The toast absorbs the warm sauce like a sponge, transforming this humble breakfast food into a custard-like dessert.

Cinnamon Apple French Toast

Ingredients


-1 apple, peeled and thinly sliced
– ½ cup water
– 4 Tablespoon butter, plus more for pan
– ¼ cup sugar
– ½ teaspoon cinnamon(divided)
– 2 eggs
– ½ cup milk
– ¼ teaspoon vanilla
– 4 slices egg bread, such as challah

Directions

  1. In a pan, melt butter, sugar, and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon in water. Add apple slices and cook for 5 minutes covered until softened. Remove lid and continued cooking until sauce is reduced by half. Sauce should be the consistency of watered-down maple syrup. Add additional water, if needed. Remove from heat, cover again and set to the side.
  2. Whisk together eggs, milk, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, and vanilla.
  3. Heat butter in another pan. Dip bread into the egg mixture and cook in pan until puffed and browned. Remove from pan and dip in apple butter sauce.
  4. Serve French toast liberally covered with butter sauce and apples.