My version of an Aarti Paarti (Indian inspired shrimp, naan pizza, fig martinis and a lesson in Geography)

Whew! Now that you've gotten through the longest post title ever - let me explain!

If you've followed my blog for awhile, you know that I love to have "theme" parties, as evidenced, here, here and here. Well, I couldn't have been more thrilled when Aarti Sequeira won The Next Foodnetwork Star this year. I've watched it for the last 3 or 4 seasons, and knew from the first episode that they haven't had talent like hers competing on that show for a long time. Thankfully they chose the right person (I feel like viewers were owed this after sitting through an entire season and having Aaron McCargo Jr. win a couples seasons ago).

I've really been wanting to expand my cooking horizons into different types of cuisines, and Aarti makes Indian food more approachable. Even more important - she embraces entertaining and an Aarti Paarti is such a fun way to entertain. To clarify, I suppose the definition would be having your girlfriends over and making some Aarti recipes, but I guess its a flexible definition - this is just what I did.

My friends (well, some of them) can be somewhat skeptical of my theme parties from time to time (my first Mamma Mia party confused people when they saw what it was all about) - so I just invited some friends over for a girls night, and didn't tell anyone what it was about. I also didn't want people to be skeptical of trying Indian food. The night was a success, the food was delicious, and I will definitely be throwing more Aarti Paartis!

First up, my only non-Aarti recipe, was a fig martini. I've been wanting to try this since I had one in London. But figs are used a lot in Indian cooking (right?) - so I figured - close enough....



I don't have the exact measurements so here is how I made them (this should give you 2 martinis):

• 2 spoonfuls fig puree
• Shot of vanilla vodka
• Ice
  
• Cranberry juice (top off the rest of your cocktail mixer with this)

These were delicious and pretty close to the ones I had in London. A great way to kick off our party.

Next up was Aarti's "Friday night shrimp" which won oodles of praise during the Iron Chef challenge. These did not disappoint and were incredibly delicious and flavorful. This was really my first time cooking with Indian flavors so I was nervous I wouldn't like the tumeric and coriander - no need to worry - this will be one of my go-to party appetizers for some time!



Recipe - Foodnetwork.com

A word of warning - wear gloves when you are working with tumeric - at least if you have white nail polish on like I did - it will turn your nails yellow : )

Next up was the Naan Pizza Aarti made in her pilot episode. This was equally as delicious - the mango chutney used in the sauce really gives this pizza an interesting flavor. It was so easy to make, I used Trader Joe's frozen naan as the recipe suggested, and substituted queso fresco for paneer, as a lot of the FN reviewers suggested if you can't find it.



Recipe - Foodnetwork.com


All in all, my friends and I had a blast and enjoyed Aarti's recipes, I can't wait to try more of hers - I'm already planning on making the chicken and bread budding recipe from her lastest episode!

Oh yeah, and the geography lesson I mentioned - as we were discussing Indian cuisine, turns out some of my friends (and myself) were a little unclear on where India really is located. Thus ensued a ridiculous conversation about world geography that involved me pulling out a globe.


Even worse? I had invited a new friend over who is a colleague over from my company's London office. She grew up in Australia and is quite the world traveler so helpfully educated us on world geography. We wonder why Americans get the stereotype we do! How embarrassing.

Mango & Jalapeno Shrimp Kebabs

As the summer is winding down (er...actually we are finally getting the weather we should have been getting in July...but technically its not summer anymore), I feel like I've exhausted mango salsa in our little household. I just have a really hard time NOT buying mango from the grocery store though because they are ONLY $1!!!

So I was trying to think of a different way to use it and decided to do kebabs. I love the taste of grilled pineapple so thought that grilling the mango along with jalapeno marinated shrimp would be a great combination (Jalapeno compliments of our herb garden!).

I served it over a bed of rice with black beans, cilantro and lime. The creaminess of the rice and sweetness of the mango were a great compliment to the spicy shrimp.



Mango & Jalapeno Shrimp Kebabs

12 shrimp
1/2 jalapeno (finely diced)
1 mango
1 lime
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt
pepper

*Combine the juice of the lime with olive oil in bowl. Add the jalapeno, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

*Toss the shrimp in the mixture and let marinate 30 minutes.

*Skewer the mango an shrimp, alternating.

*Grill on a hot grill, about 4 minutes on each side.

*Serve over a bed of rice. For the rice I just followed basic rice cooking directions, and added 1/2 can of black beans, cilantro and lime juice at the end.

Very tasty and healthy meal - enjoy!

Cilantro & Lime Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa

One thing I've been making a lot of this summer is mango salsa. I love how well it goes with chicken and really any type of seafood. Usually I make it with avocado, but switched things up tonight since 1) the avocado I had was not ripe enough and 2) our jalapeno plant has finally produced!

I was worried that it would be too spicy and powerful, but the balance with the mango was perfect.

Lime and Cilantro Grilled Shrimp

12 pieces shrimp

1 lime

1 tbsp olive oil

1 handful cilantro leaves - chopped

salt

pepper

Whisk together the juice from the lime, olive oil, cilantro, salt and pepper.

Add the shrimp and let marinade up to a half hour.

Grill shrimp for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Mango Salsa

1 mango - chopped

1/2 jalapeno - diced finely

10 cherry tomatoes - chopped

1 scallion - chopped

1 handful cilantro leaves - chopped

1 lime

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cumin

salt

Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, squeezing the lime juice over.

Let chill in the fridge for at least a half hour to allow to the flavors to marry.

Assemble the tacos, adding ingredients as desired. I added black beans and a little bit of cheese.

Very, very healthy and tasty summer meal - enjoy!

Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Risotto with Spring Vegetables

Yum, yum, yum, I LOVE this flavor combination! I found these two (separate) recipes in my William Sanoma Essentials of Italian cookbook when I first got it, and now I make them together and combine into one dish.

Its a great warm weather dish because of the flavors and the fact that you can grill the shrimp for added fantastic flavor, but also great in the dead of winter (made on a grill pan) when you are dreaming of warmer weather!

The recipes are adapted from WS, I have made it so many times I'm sure I am not following it exactly.



Shrimp

Ingredients:

Raw shrimp, peeled and deveined - about 12 pieces for 2 ppl
1 lemon
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup of parsley, chopped
salt
pepper

- Whisk together the lemon juice, wine, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and parsley.

- Add the shrimp and let marinate about 15 minutes.

- Grill the shrimp on a grill pan or directly on the grill



Risotto

For the risotto, just use a basic risotto recipe, using white wine and chicken broth as your liquids.

For the vegetables, add in whatever fresh spring vegetables you can find. All I had this time were green beans, but I've used peas and asparagus before too.



If using green beans or asparagus, blanch for about 4 minutes and shock in an ice bath while the risotto is cooking. Then add at the last minute, with parsley and parmesan cheese.

Venetian Mac 'n' Cheese with Radicchio and Shrimp

Oh my gosh, this was sooo yummy, the picture really does not do it justice. The cheese sauce on this was just delicious, there is a pinch of nutmeg in it and the flavors worked very well with the shrimp.


I got the recipe from Everyday with Rachel Ray. The next time I make it, I will make a few changes though. The shells are cool and all, but kind of a pain to eat, in my opinion. Also, I wasn't a huge fan of the radicchio in this dish. I cooked it even longer than the recipe did to let it wilt more, but it was still kind of tough. Also, the flavor was a bit too bitter for my liking.

So next time, I think I'll use a smaller pasta and maybe use spinach instead of radicchio.


Ingredients

• Salt
• 1 pound medium shell pasta
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half or whole milk
• 1 cup chicken broth
• Pepper
• Pinch Nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 3 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional) - I did not use this
  

Preparation

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute,then whisk in the half-and-half and chicken broth. Season the sauce with salt, pepper and the nutmeg and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 6-7 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium heat. Add the garlic and anchovy paste, if using, and cook for 1 minute. Add the shrimp and radicchio, increase the heat and cook, stirring, until the shrimp is pink and the radicchio is tender, 3-4 minutes.

Pre-heat the broiler. Stir the Parmigiano Reggiano into the white sauce. Add the pasta, shrimp and radicchio and toss. Pour into a buttered casserole and sprinkle the asiago on top. Broil until the cheese is melted, about 3 minutes; serve hot.

Shrimp Linguine with Creamy Tomato Sauce

So this dish is loosely based on Giada's Penne with Shrimp and Herbed Cream Sauce, "loosely" because I searched for a recipe last night before I made it, and had to use what I had on hand, so this is HEAVILY substituted.


It came out ABSOLUTELY delicious though!


The substitutions I made were:
Linguine for penne
Tomato sauce for whole tomatoes
Shredded mozeralla for parmesean


Omitted:
Basil
Clam juice


This was so good, I definitely am going to make it again (maybe with all the right ingredients). I have leftovers today - minus the shrimp of course, microwaving seafood at work is my #1 pet peeve!

Coconut Crusted Shrimp

So, I had some shrimp I wanted to make the other night, and was just going to go with our standard, shrimp scampi, but I had no fresh lemons and didn't want to open my last bottle of white wine (we had cases of leftover booze from our wedding in October and after all the entertaining we've been doing our supply is nearing its end).

I started thinking and remembered that I had leftover coconut from holiday baking and the lightbulb went off! I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and it was actually pretty easy. I don't really fry all that much and was worried the batter will fall off in the process but it turned out great!

Had I planned this advance, I probably would have made some kind of dipping sauce to go with it, we just used cocktail sauce.