Join me?

In a recent post which you can view here, I promised you a new recipe each week.   I would like to propose a challenge...

Join me!   


Go through your cookbook stash and cook up something new each week.  When you see my new post come back and tell me what you made with a review of your recipe.

Rules: 
1.  Your recipe should come from a cookbook or magazine.  Try not to use the internet unless you don't own any cookbooks.  The idea is to actually use some of those cookbooks collecting dust in your cupboards!

2.  Make something new.

That's it! 


Now for this weeks recipe...

I chose this beautiful cookbook by Ina Garten.

Roasted Shrimp with Feta
serves 4

Ina says:  Assemble this early in the day and throw it in the oven before dinner.  I serve big chunks of crusty bread so everyone can mop up all that delicious sauce.  I love the Greek combination of tomatoes, garlic, oregano, wine, and feta; they enhance- but don't overpower- the briny flavor of the shrimp.  Using peeled shrimp makes this dish so easy.

4 tablespoons     good olive oil, divided
     1 1/2 cups     medium-diced fennel
 1 tablespoon     minced garlic (3 cloves)
         1/4 cup      dry white wine
                   1      (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
  2 teaspoons      tomato paste
    1 teaspoon     dried oregano
 1 tablespoon     Pernod
    1 teaspoon     kosher salt
 1/2 teaspoon     freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 pounds      (16 to 20 per pound) peeled shrimp with tails on
       5 ounces     good feta cheese, coarsely crumbled
            1 cup     fresh bread crumbs (see note)
3 tablespoons    minced fresh parsley
    1 teaspoon     grated lemon zest
                   2     lemons

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a 10- or 12-inch heavy oven-proof skillet over medium-low heat.  Add the fennel and saute for 8 to 10 minutes, until the fennel is tender.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add the wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits.  Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by half.  Add the tomatoes with the liquid tomato paste, oregano, Pernod, salt, and pepper to the skillet.  Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionlly, for 10 to 15 minutes.


Arrange the shrimp, tails up, in one layer over the tomato mixture in the skillet.  Scatter the feta evenly over the shrimp.  In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, parsley, and lemon zest with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle over the shrimp. 


Bake for 15 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked and the bread crumbs are golden brown.  Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the shrimp.  Serve hot with the remaining lemon cut into wedges.

Note: for 1 cup of fresh bread crumbs, remove the crusts from 4 slices of white bread and process them in a food processor fitted with the steel blade until the bread is in crumbs.  

Notes and tips from the cook:

I have never cooked with fennel before and wasn't sure if I should use the white and green parts, so I used all the white and some of the green.  Also, I forgot to buy Pernod- which I had never heard of.  It is a liqueur with an anise and licorice flavor.

We loved this recipe!  The two things I would do differently... Pop the tails off.  It was a hassle to pop them  off with the sauce all over them.  Also, I would cook this for 30 minutes instead of 15.

I would definitely make this again, in fact my daughter is coming home this weekend and I will be making it for her!

Happy cooking...
Laurie