Shrimp Francaise

I’ve been dying to make Shrimp and Grits and finally got around to buying some grits.  I was all set to make it for dinner tonight but was told by the Golden child that “ugh, I don’t like grits”.  Time for plan B.  He suggested Shrimp Piccata, but I decided to take it a step further and make it Francaise style, which basically means dipped in flour and egg and sauteed.

This is an adaptable recipe.  Use the same method on any kind of fish, chicken cutlets, pork, veal, even vegetables.  Serve with pasta (I just tossed some rotelli with a bit of olive oil and 1/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese) and a salad or green vegetable (I made  roasted broccoli.)

I’ll make the Shrimp and Grits later in the week.

1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 eggs, beaten with 1 TBS water

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock

3 TBS lemon juice

1/4 cup cream (you could use evaporated milk or soy milk)

2 TBS butter

1 TBS flour

Oil to cover the bottom of the pan

Pat shrimp dry with a paper towel and dredge in flour.  Coast with egg, and then in flour again.

Heat oil in pan.

Add shrimp to the fry pan in batches but be careful not to crowd.  Saute until both sides are a medium golden brown.  Remove from pan, and continue until all the shrimp are done.

Pour out all but a little bit of oil, and deglaze pan with wine over medium heat.    Add chicken stock and lemon juice.  Stir for two minutes.

Mix four and butter, and add to pan juices to thicken.  Add more chicken stock as needed, and more lemon juice to taste.

Add cream and stir.  Take pan off heat.

Return shrimp to pan to coat.

Enjoy!

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Marcella Hazan’s simple tomato sauce

I’ve been meaning to give Marcella Hazan’s simple tomato sauce for eons now (how long is an eon actually?)  I know I should use fresh tomatoes, especially since I live in New Jersey, but I just have Trader Joe’s brown tomatoes here, and I’m planning on using those in a Caprese salad.  Not to mention I have several cans of San Marzano tomatoes sitting here, just waiting to be used.

Here it is, from Marcella Hazan’s  Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking (my second favorite cookbook, my first being The Silver Spoon by Phaidon Press.)

Ingredients:

2 cups canned imported Italian tomatoes, cup up (include juice) I use San Marzano; or if you’re feeling the need to not cut corners, 2 pounds of fresh ripe tomatoes, skinned **

5 TBS butter

1 medium onion, peeled and halved

Salt (to taste)

Now cook:

1. Put either the prepared fresh tomatoes or the canned in a saucepan, add the butter, onion, and salt, and cook uncovered at a very slow, but steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until it is thickened to your liking and the fat floats free from the tomato.
2. Stir from time to time, mashing up any large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon.
3. Taste and correct for salt. Discard the onion before tossing with pasta. Serve with freshly grated Parmigiano cheese for the table.

Serve over your favorite pasta.

**  (You can either blanch them by plunging into boiling water for 45 seconds…cool before skinning—or you can put them in the freezer until hard, thaw and then skin.)