Looking for a quick meal that is easy to make? Try this Shrimp with garlic and ginger recipe. It is simple and can be cooked on the stove or out on the grill.

Ingredients:

2 Lbs raw Shrimp – cleaned and deveined

1 heaping TBS fresh Ginger – finely grated

1 TBS fresh Garlic – finely minced

2 TBS Olive Oil plus 1-2 Tsp

1 TBS Soy Sauce

1 Lemon

Salt and Pepper

Place cleaned shrimp in a glass bowl or Ziploc bag. Add ginger, garlic, olive oil, soy sauce and the juice of half of a Lemon. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and marinate for at least 1/2 hour. Coat a skillet or Wok with a small amount of oil (about 1 Tsp) to 350 degrees. Add shrimp with marinade in small batches and stir fry until the shrimp turns pink. 1 to 2 minutes. Be careful not to overcook.

Serve as an appetizer or entree. These also cook well on the Barbeque grill especially if you have a grill plate or skillet. Makes about 8 entree or 12-16 appetizer servings.

These taste great warm but can also be served cold.

The Teq Manny is a new mixed-drink we all created out of the sky. Well, actually from being outside, by the pool, in the sun. We all decided to have a mixed drink while in the pool on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. The problem was there wasn’t a drop of scotch in the house to make the family favorite "Manhattan". So, what would a group of mixed-drink connoisseurs do when faced with a dilemma, improvise. The following is what came out of our improvisation.

Ingredients: 

2 – 1 1/2 oz of Margaritaville Silver Tequila

1 1/2 oz of Martini and Rossi Sweet Red Vermouth

Preparation:

Fill a mixed-drink glass full of ice. Add two jiggers of the Margaritaville Silver Tequila into the glass. Add one jigger of the Martini and Rossi Sweet Red Vermouth. Stir gently with a mixed-drink straw until the tequila and sweet red vermouth is completely blended together.

Teq Manny is a portmanteau of the words "tequila" and "Manhattan". Manhattan, because the concept behind the Teq Manny is derived from this drink. tequila, because it is the core of the drink with two full jiggers and is what we used to substitute for the lack of scotch. Do not substitute the sweet red vermouth with the dry. It isn’t very palatable. Another suggestion is to try other tequila’s. We did give Jose Cuervo a shot [sic], but the white tequila did fit better and didn’t over power the sweet red vermouth.

Give a try!! Change is the spice of life!!! Let us know what you think.

A Pinot Noir With An Exorbitant Taste

This red wine is produced by Kenwood from the Russian River region of California. The two bottles we consumed had concentrated bouquet of luscious cherries and black raspberries. This well rounded Pinot Noir begins with a host of raspberry and plum flavors, swells with the cherries, and continues with a finish aligned with a nice drinking red wine. It finishes very well and delightful.  We have enjoyed this wine with pork, barbeque chicken, grilled chicken, and lightly grilled salmon. We are not big on lamb, but sources indicate this red pairs well. This Pinot Noir from Kenwood provides an excellent overall value for the price. Kenwood 2006 Russian River Pinot Noir – Red Wine

The Gumppertini Martini is here. Here is a new Martini that I came up all by myself. If you are looking for that right cocktail with a little bit of sweetness, full of flavor, and provides a little kick, don’t look any further. I know the folloiwng recipe isn’t to the ‘standards’ of the martini connoisseurs requirements, but I’m not a traditionalist anyway. I happen to enjoy my martini’s with different flavors and mixes.

Ingredients:

1- 1/2 oz of Gin

1- 1/2 oz of Vodka

1- 1/2 oz of Sweat Vermouth

1- 1/2 oz of Triple Sec

1/2 Slice of Lime

 Preparation:

1.) File cocktail glass full of ice.

2.) Starting with the Gin, add all the ingredients except for the lime.

3.) Shake do not stir the contents and strain into a Martini glass.

4.) Squeeze the 1/2 slice of lime and leave the remaining in the drink.

I’ve never had a drink that contained both vodka and gin and  tasted all that well. This Martini is the exception to this cocktail rule. I hope you enjoy this one and let us know your thoughts on the Gumppertini Martini.

This is a great recipe for Sunday afternoons when you have time to relax and enjoy cooking. It’s great if the air is crisp and cool, although I’ve also served this in the heat of summer and have gotten rave reviews! The ingredients are simple, even though this recipe is time consuming to prepare. In my family, we enjoy food that has that little extra “Kick” to it. I guarantee this recipe will satisfy the heartiest of appetites. Serve with a fresh salad and crusty bread you will have a meal that your family will love!

Makes: 10-12 servings at least!

For the Roux:

1 1/2 Cups Vegetable Oil

2 1/2 Cups Flour

For the Gumbo:

Large Sweet Onion – finely chopped

1 cup chopped Celery

1 cup sweet green or red bell Pepper

2 TBS Garlic

1 Tsp Oregano

2 quarts of Chicken Stock

1 Cup white Wine

2-4 Cups of water

4-5 links of Hot Italian Sausage or Chorizo (about 1 LB) crumbled into small pieces

1/2 lb boneless Chicken Breast – chopped into bite sized pieces

2 Bay leaves

Worcestershire Sauce – about 15 dashes

Hot Sauce – about 15 dashes or to taste

1/4 Tsp Cayenne

1 Tsp Salt – to taste

1/2 Tsp ground Black Pepper – to taste

1 -2 TBS of parsley

1 LB Small to Medium Shrimp

1/2 to 3/4 LB of firm mild White Fish fillets (about 3) – Monk ,Cod or Grouper work well

1/2 to 3/4 lbs of crabmeat – Use imitation crab if fresh hard to find or costly

5-6 plum tomatoes seeded and chopped or 1 large can of diced tomatoes

1- 1 1/2 cups of chopped Okra- frozen is fine but thaw and rinse

3 green onions chopped

1 Tbs thyme

1 heaping TBS of Basil Pesto- (I like Classico)

Filé powder – 1/4 to 1/2 cup to taste-( I like Zatarain’s )

2 Cups – Cooked White or Brown Rice (I like Brow Rice for this!)

Crusty French or Italian bread

In a large soup pot, prepare the roux by heating the oil and slowly mixing in the flour over low to medium low heat. This is gonna take a while so be patient and don’t try to rush! Stir the mixture constantly for at least 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until mixture is slightly darker than the color of peanut butter. It should have a copper color. Do NOT allow the roux to burn.

Remove the casings from 4-5 links of Hot Sausage. Try to crumble it into small pieces. Brown the sausage until fully cooked. Remove the sausage and brown the pieces of chicken in the sausage drippings. Drain off the excess fat.

Once the roux is copper in color, add the chopped onion, celery, pepper, garlic,oregano, salt and pepper. Allow the celery, onion and pepper to soften. Add the cooked sausage, chicken, chicken stock, wine and tomatoes. Add about 1 cup of the water. Add the Bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce ,cayenne , thyme and basil pesto. Cook for about 45 minutes or until the flavors begin to meld. You may need to add an additional cup or two of water if soup becomes extremely thick. Now is the time to make whatever kind of rice that you want to serve! I recommend Brown Rice as I love the hearty flavor that it imparts.

To the Soup, add the green onions, Okra, parsley and White Fish. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the fish looks white and firm and then add the Shrimp. Cook until the Shrimp begins to turn pink. Add the crabmeat. Cook about 2 minutes or until the crab is heated. Turn off the heat and add 1/4 cup of Filé and adjust to your taste. You may need to add salt, pepper, filé or more hot sauce! To serve, place a scoop of rice in a large bowl. Ladle a generous serving of Gumbo into the bowl. Serve with crusty bread and salad. Once again, this is a great recipe for a day when you have time to relax and enjoy some great cooking! It is very hearty and very delicious. Yummy……

You will need a LARGE Soup pot for this recipe. My recommendation is Cooks 4gal copper bottom.