Challenged Cook?

Question

I’m not a very good cook, but I try. Is there a recipe that I can make my Girlfriend that’s fairly simple but would really impress her? She loves Seafood and spicy dishes.

Answer 1

What a nice guy you are! Here’s one that I just absolutely love and she’ll think you spent all day in the Kitchen! Hehe. Everybody wants this recipe when I make it and it’s really a very elegant and nice dish with lots of flavor! It’s a little messy eating it…but kind of sensuous! These ingredients sound really strange…but trust me, they go so well together.

Lobster and Shrimp with Sweet and Sour Hot Sauce –

You can use lobster tails or a whole lobster (have them steam it at the fishmarket or store!) Do the same for fresh shrimp.

2 cooked lobster tails or 1 large steamed lobster
About 10 large or jumbo shrimp – (You can use the cooked frozen ones, but fresh steamed or boiled are better)

3 green onions chopped (for garnish)

Sauce:

6 tablespoons chicken stock
9 tablespoons tomato catsup
3 tablespoons sherry
3 tablespoons A1 Steak Sauce (can you believe this?)
3 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
6 tablespoons Sugar
6 tablespoons Red wine vinegar
1 large clove of minced garlic
1 ½ - 2 tablespoons of Chili Oil (oriental section of the grocery store) - this really gives it the "kick"
1 very small piece of ginger minced (optional)


Combine all the sauce ingredients and set aside. You can make this well in advance and keep it in the fridge.

Cut up the lobster leaving the shells on. If you’re using just tails, pull the little spiny things off the underside, cut it down the middle in half and cut the halves into about 4 pieces. (8 in total per tail)

For whole lobster – do the same with the tail, but remove the claws, legs etc and crack for easier opening. Peel the shrimp, leaving the tail on.

In a large saucepan or Wok…pour in the sauce and bring to a boil. Boil for approximately 5 minutes or until thickened and keep stirring it. Add in your prepared seafood and reduce the heat. Simmer on low for about 5 more minutes just to heat everything up.

Pour into a serving platter and garnish with the green onions…and if you’re really out to impress, lay the cleaned lobster body with head on top as a decoration! (that’s if you used whole lobster).

You can also serve this on top of a white rice or rice or egg noodles…It’s very good!

Enjoy!

Answer 2

I recommend that you get the book "How to cook everything" by Mark Bittman. The book has a lot of basic technique stuff and some very simple recipes that can be quite delicious. As for a specific idea, try grilled or broiled salmon. It is is pretty hard to screw up salmon and it is always delicious.

An easy dish I like to make is teriyaki salmon with sautéed mushrooms and wasabi mashed potatoes. It sounds harder than it is, you can use store bought teriyaki sauce. Mashed potatoes are a breeze (just search for a recipe on epicurious) and you can add a little touch of store bought wasabi for a spicy and different taste. Sautéed mushrooms means just putting a little vegetable oil in a very hot pan and cooking sliced mushrooms in the oil until they are done. Just remember to add salt and that mushrooms shrink a lot when they cook.

Answer 3

This is easy..no problem for a beginner cook...and also impressive looking..

Plus it is seafood and spicy. (How spicy depends on how much red pepper you add. You could also add some Cayenne pepper if you really want to make it hot).
This dish is a snap to prepare and is always a hit.

Shrimp Scampi:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup dry white wine
Pinch of dried hot red-pepper flakes (alot more if you want very spicy).
Salt and black pepper
1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined

Directions:

1. Heat butter and oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat until foam subsides.

Add garlic, parsley, lemon juice, wine, pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste.

Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 3 minutes.

2. Add shrimp to skillet and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 6 minutes, until shrimp are pink. Remove from the heat.

Place shrimp on a serving plate and pour sauce from the skillet over them. Serve immediately.

Answer 4

Shrimp Creole
1/2 c chopped onions
1/4 c chopped green bell pepper
1/4 c chopped celery
2 cloves chopped garlic or 2 t. garlic powder
Saute these vegetables in 1/2 stick butter or oleo until wilted.
Add 2 cups tomato sauce, 1 t.salt, 1/2 t. each black and red pepper. Make a slurry of 2T. cornstarch and 2T. water. Stir into tomato and vegetable mixture. Simmer on low heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1lb. peeled and deveined shrimp. Cook over low heat 25 minutes or until shrimp are tender. Serve over steamed rice.
More or less salt and/or red pepper can be used according to taste. I use more pepper as I like it hot.
A nice salad is good with this dish.

Answer 5

Go to sam's and buy the shrimp scampi. Follow the directions. Then, boil some water in a pot and put in a little olive oil. Make some linguini. Follow the directions. Get a nice bottle of Mosel Wine the blue bottle from either France or Germany. Nice dinner.

Answer 6

Fresh Corn, Tomato & Scallop Pasta

Serves 6

1 pound Medium Shells, Ziti or other medium pasta shape, uncooked
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. olive or vegetable oil
3/4 cup sliced red onion
1 pound bay scallops or medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels (2 ears)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced (4 cups)
2 tbsp. minced fresh oregano
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1/2 to 1 tsp. hot sauce
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (2 oz.)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste



Prepare pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, heat 1 tbsp. oil in a large skillet. Add red onion and cook about 2 minutes. Add scallops, corn and garlic. Cook 4 minutes, stirring often. Add tomatoes, oregano, rosemary and hot sauce. Simmer just until scallops are done and mixture is thoroughly heated, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and lemon juice.

When pasta is done, drain well. Transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle with remaining 1 tsp. oil and toss well. Spoon tomato mixture over pasta. Sprinkle with cheese, salt and pepper and serve immediately.



Each Serving Provides:
369 Calories
23.3 g Protein
49 g Carbohydrates
9.2 g Fat
43.2 mg Cholesterol
362 mg Sodium
Calories from Fat 22%

Answer 7

This site will have everything you need including the photo so you know how to present it.

I think she would love anything you made just for the effort you are putting into it.

Good luck!

http://www.taste.com.au/index.php

Answer 8

Barbecue shrimps, scallops or fish fillets and make satay for sauce. I'm sure she will love it.