Coconut Shrimp

Two posts in one hour! Unprecedented. Don't get too used to it ;)

The main course for John's birthday lunch was coconut shrimp. He requested shrimp, and since our wedding (one week ago today!) I've been in mourning over the coconut shrimp that the State Room served at the cocktail hour. It was probably one of the top 3 things I've ever tasted in my life. Of course, it being my wedding, I didn't have much time to stop and savor. And since the State Room is a banquet hall and not a restaurant, it's not like I can go back there and order it again. Ever. :( . All I can hope for is that someone I know gets married, has their reception there, and orders the coconut shrimp. That's a lot of "if"s.

So the second best thing was to try to make it myself. Overall not bad! I'd never made shrimp before, and only recently even started eating it. But next to the State Room's shrimp, this was the second best I'd ever had. Even more fun since I made it!

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

John requested shrimp for his 26th birthday dinner, and I asked what he wanted as a side. He said, "I don't know, I think we still have that quinoa in the pantry." Having never made quinoa I wasn't quite sure what to do with it, so I searched through my collected recipes and found this Mediterranean Quinoa Salad. What a great way to start someone off on quinoa! It tastes like pasta, so you'd never know you were eating an incredibly healthy grain.

I plan to eat this salad for lunches for the rest of the summer (or until I get sick of it, which will be pretty soon, knowing me). I will definitely be using this recipe a lot in the future, and probably mixing it up a bit. Mostly vegetarian (except for the chicken broth) and super high in protein, I think this is one I can really stick to. So here it is!

Chicken with Pecan Cream and Mushrooms

Sorry I'm late with posting for this month's Daring Cooks Challenge! Wedding is in 2 days (:-O) so you'll have to forgive if this is post a bit short. Still lots to do!

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

The four challenge options were Chicken with Pecan Cream and Mushrooms, Asian Noodle Salad with Cashew Dressing, Chicken with Curried Tomato Almond Sauce, and Walnut White Bean Dip with Rosemary and Sage. The White Bean Dip sounded right up my alley. So of course I chose not to do that, as it wouldn't really be challenging my skills or taste buds. That one was just a bit too safe. The Asian Noodle Salad was out, as I mentioned before I'm really not into Asian cooking. I'll do it if a challenge ever requires it, but given the option, no Asian Noodle Salad for me. And curry is something I can't like no matter how much I try. And by "can't like" I mean I can't even be in the same room when it's cooking. So I was left with the Chicken with Pecan Cream and Mushrooms. I didn't feel this was too safe, as using nuts in savory dishes is completely new to me. I had an idea of what I thought it would taste like, but it ended up being completely (and pleasantly) different.