Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Shrimp Scampi with Linguine - Recipe #44 Stirring the Pot

I'm excited to say that I am now halfway through Stirring the Pot! There are 88 main recipes in the book and this Shrimp Scampi is recipe number forty-four. I started this adventure back in January of this year. I had just received Tyler's new cookbooks, Stirring the Pot and Dinner at My Place in the mail. I really liked both books, but Stirring the Pot featured recipes I hadn't tried before. On a whim, I decided to cook my way through it.

I am so happy I decided to start this blog. It is so refreshing to meet people who share the same deep passion for food and cooking. And, along the way I have met some great friends. Blogging is something that I will continue to do well after I'm through cooking through Tyler's book. A big thanks to everyone who has been following me along on my adventure! I appreciate all the feedback and kind words.

Cooking my way through Tyler's Stirring the Pot has been a learning experience. For example, I had never successfully baked any yeast bread prior to this book. I had to face my fears with yeast and was successful with Tyler's parker house rolls. Now I love baking with yeast and I'm no longer scared of it. Along the way, I've tried some dishes that I thought I wouldn't like and found out that I loved them. All in all, I have learned a lot and I am only halfway through. The next half is going to be even more of a learning experience as I move on to some of the dishes that are a little more unique to me.

In no certain order, here is a list of my top ten favorite recipes so far. These are the recipes I feel were outstanding and also that I have made over and over again in my kitchen. You can click on each recipe to view the post and my review, if interested.
Perfect Roast Chicken
Chicken with Mushrooms and Marsala
Chicken with Orange, Olives, and New Potatoes
Ultimate Onion Rings
Rosemary-Garlic Mozzarella Balls with Roasted Cherry Tomato Dipping Sauce
Lamb T-Bones with Smashed Potatoes and Peas
Grilled Flatbread with Caramelized Onions, Gorgonzola, Mascarpone, and Crunchy Red Grapes Grilled Brie and Tomato on Crusty Bread
Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
Parker House Rolls

*With Honorable Mention to:
Berry-Brioche Bread Pudding with Lemon Fondant
Crispy Asian Chicken Salad
Arugula, Fennel and Grape Salad
Shrimp with Sugar Snap Peas and Cashew Butter

Overall, I have enjoyed forty-two of the forty-four recipes I've tried. The only exceptions have been Tyler's California Bacon and Eggs and also his Lamb Shank Stew with Russet Potato Top.

I have also noticed that Tyler's recipes for baked goods are excellent. In fact, his Big Fat Chocolate Chip Cookie may just be my all time favorite recipe of his. Although they are not in Stirring the Pot, they are online at the Food Network. They are one serious chocolate chip cookie and I think I've made them a dozen times this year.

Notes on the Shrimp Scampi: I needed a quick recipe this week and decided to use up some rock shrimp I had bought at the grocery. My husband doesn't eat shrimp, so I made this for me and my mom today. It was another good recipe and my mom enjoyed it a lot. I am not a lover of shrimp, but I do like it. For me, the best part was the sauce. It was sweet, zesty, and a little spicy. I would make the recipe for sauce again. My mom, shrimp lover that she is, said that I could make it again anytime. She really liked it!! This recipe has received a five star review on the food network, so it is worth checking out! You can find the recipe here. I wish my pictures of this recipe had turned out better. I made this right before I headed out to work and was running out of time. I snapped some pictures real quick and ran out the door. After all, Kentuckians needs their bath bombs, bubble bars, and special potions :D

This is my submission for this week's Tyler Florence Fridays. Tyler Florence Fridays is so much fun. All the Tyler recipes are posted on Fridays and everyone always makes something different. Head on over there this Friday to see all the recipes and reviews.

17 comments:

  1. All I have to say is you'd BETTER keep on blogging after you cook your way through this book. The blogger world just wouldn't be the same without you!!

    I am so impressed with you for coming this far. You have faced so many of your cooking fears. Bravo!

    This pasta looks delicious. Tyler definitely knows his way around an Italian kitchen.

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  2. Good for you for making half way so far!! Great job! This shrimp looks wonderful!

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  3. Excellent recipe, and wonderfully executed by the looks of it. Im sure it tasted amazing!

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  4. Congrats on getting half way through!
    I loved this dish too, I think I have made it twice now. Great TFF entry!

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  5. great job for making it through those books, how fun! isn't food blogging the best! this dish looks SO good, i just might have to whip it up for dinner tonight!

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  6. Congratulations on the half-way point! I enjoyed reading about your experience with this project. Here's to an equally great second half! That's awesome that 42 out of 44 recipes were keepers...and that so many successes came even when pushed out of your comfort zone. Can't wait to see what you come up with next.

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  7. Wow - halfway through? That's quite an accomplishment. And you are eating real food, unlike at my house, where we subsist on sweets. :)

    I love shrimp scampi, and this version looks like it's definitely worth checking out.

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  8. I think I came across your blog a little while after you first started and I'm so happy to see how far you have come! I love your posts and as one of the previous posters had mentioned, the blogging world wouldn't be the same without you :)

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  9. I forgot to add that this dish looks really good. The picture looks fine to me :) I LOVE shrimp but my husband doesn't :( I'm sure I would love this recipe...him on the other hand...not so much :)

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  10. It looks marvelous! And darn you for giving me a whole new list of recipes that I NEED to try, I added them to my list :)

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  11. Such a fun idea. I buy a cookbook and don't think to pull it out and use it! Lots like a wonderful meal to share with you mom.

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  12. You, my dear, are a cooking fool! I love rock shrimp; bet they were great with the T's scampi sauce.

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  13. I LOVE Tyler Florence. His recipe for pork tenderloin with chimichurri sauce is one of my all time faves! I was cooking my way through Giada's Kitchen this summer but life got really busy and I kind of let it go. Thanks for the inspiration. Looking forward to reading your blogs!

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  14. Anything with shrimp and noodles--I am in! I don't eat noodles nearly enough though--I think I overdosed when I was younger!!

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  15. Yay You! Awesome you are halfway through the book! I love scampi and one of these days I am going to try Tyler's. It looks so good!

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  16. Shrimp is good. Sauce is good. How can you go wrong?

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  17. Looks yummy! Thanks for posting your Tyler faves. I'll have to try some of them :)

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