LSH 1 - Lip Smacking Hopefully It's time to give thanks...

If you think about it, everyday is a great day to give thanks. Hey, you are breathing right? You have a roof over your head? You have a computer so that means you have electricity. If you are using a net cafe machine, that means you are wearing clothes and have money to pay for it. So, every day is a GREAT day to give thanks.

We've just finished our Thanksgiving lunch. Usually people in the US celebrate Thanksgiving dinner. We prefer lunch. That gives everybody time to ride home safely. Also, that gives a lot of people time to come by our place and partake of the Thanksgiving buffet.

Like every year, or more like every time I get the cooking itch, I get to cook something special. The night before, my mom bought a box of large frozen shrimp, a nice salmon and two bags of clams. I told her that I would take care of the shrimp and salmon if she makes clam soup. When I woke up today, I just went looking for some shrimp recipes that I could whip up in a jiffy. Here are the recipes I used.


Herb Salmon
1 large salmon
mixed herbs (oregano, thyme, dill, rosemary, whatever you want to use)
olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Prepare the baking dish by pouring some olive oil on the bottom and spreading it around. Place the salmon on the baking dish skin side down and "wash" it with some more olive oil. You could also use melted butter if you like.
3. Season the salmon with the herbs, salt and pepper.
4. Place salmon in the oven for 15 to 25 minutes. If you start seeing the salmon fat dripping and bubbling, give it 2 more minutes before you cut into it and check to see if it is done. Don't overcook it as dry salmon is not tasty.

The Lemon-Butter-Garlic Prawns are on the left and the Salt and Pepper Shrimp are on the right. As you can see, they didn't last long and my sister had to save the last couple of pieces for me before they were all gone.

Lemon-Butter-Garlic Prawns
(I got this recipe from the Pinoy Cook's blog and slightly modified it. Here is the original recipe if you would like to take a look.)
17 Large Shrimp
Butter
Lemon juice (try calamansi if you want)
Garlic
Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
2. De-vein all the shrimp. Save the shrimp shells in a bag and place in a freezer. It should be ok just as long as you don't thaw and refreeze the shells. The shells could be used for soup or seafood stocks.
3. Chop the garlic into small pieces.
4. Spread some butter on the bottom of a baking pan. Place the shrimp on the baking pan.
5. Pour the juice on top of the shrimp.
6. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and spoon the garlic on top of the shrimp. Place some pats of butter on top of the shrimp also.
7. Place the baking pan in the oven for about 10 minutes. When the garlic smells heavenly and shrimp have pink to red stripes they should be ready. Serve immediately!


Salt and Pepper Shrimp
(I got this recipe from Tyler Florence on Food Network. I modified it because I did not have chilies nor club soda. Here is the original recipe if you like.)
17 Large Shrimp
Cooking oil (peanut, vegetable, or whatever you have on hand)
2 large eggs
3 cups cornstarch
1/2 cup COLD, COLD, COLD water
ginger cut into slivers
salt and pepper

1. De-vein shrimp. Save those shells!
2. Pour cooking oil into a wok or frying pan. It should cover about an inch of the bottom of the pan. Place the wok on the stove and let it heat up. To check if the oil is hot enough, place a SMALL amount of water (A couple of drops at most! Please ensure no kids are around and that you protect yourself from the hot oil.) on a long wooden spoon and let it drip into the wok. You should hear the familiar crackling sound of hot oil. If you don't hear anything, wait. Let me say that again, unless you hear that crackling sound, don't fry anything!
3. Mix the oil and water in a large bowl. Whisk in the 2 cups of cornstarch and get rid of any lumps. It should have the consistency of heavy cream. Season with lots of salt and pepper. As Chef Florence said, "... remember it is called Salt and Pepper Shrimp!"
4. Fry the slivers of ginger and remove them once they turn slightly brown.
5. Mix the last cup of cornstarch, fried ginger and salt and pepper in a separate bowl.
6. Dredge a shrimp in the cornstarch and shake off any extra seasoned cornstarch. If any ginger pieces come with it, let it be. Dip the dredged shrimp in the batter and let the excess drip off.
7. Slide the shrimp into the hot oil. It should only take a couple of minutes to cook one side. Once it's done, turn over ONLY once. Remove after a couple of minutes and let it drain on paper towels. Season the shrimp again with salt and pepper. Serve with sweet and spicy sauce immediately.