Herb Roasted Shrimp

This is a great little recipe. Requires almost no effort, very little time, and turns out looking elegant and tasting delicious. My kind of recipe!

What you'll need:
6 tablespoons olive oil
6-10 sprigs thyme
3 large sprigs of rosemary, halved
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1.5 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar

Preheat your oven to 400. Combine the olive oil, rosemary, thyme, and pepper in a 13x9 pan. Bake the oil in the oven until the herbs are aromatic, which should take about 12 minutes. Remove the oil from the oven, and add the shrimp to the mixture. Toss the shrimps with tongs until they are coated with oil. Bake for another 8 to 10 minutes, or until the shrimp are just a bit pink.

Remove the pan from the oven and immediately mix in the salt and the vinegar. Toss the shrimps again, and then let them stand for about 5 minutes.

And that's it! I served this over some quinoa that I made in a rice cooker. I tossed the quinoa with a little salt and champagne vinegar to give it the same notes, and used some of the excess oil as a sauce. On the side I served sauteed spinach with roasted tomatoes and garlic. Everything was very simple, really tasty, healthy/wholesome, and safe for my guest (she is lactose intolerant and allergic to gluten). As Charlie Sheen would say: Winning.

Back blog 3... Spanish paprika is smokey!

So, I had the girls over for dinner. My first girls night in a loooong time. I ended up making paprika shrimp, which were bright red gorgeous! The cream sauce that went on them, um, not so gorgeous. Sigh. Lesson learned. I just wasn't patient enough with it. It needed to reduce by a lot more, so the flavors were great, but the consistency was just off. Too liquidy. Sides were asparagus and couscous. My go to sides. I also made lovely nectarine tarts that are SO easy. But I forgot to take pictures! Boo. Anyways, it was plated nicely. I stole Dean's silver serving platter, which makes everything look better! Oh, and I started the meal out with homemade hummus. Super easy, as long as you know where to find the Tahini in the grocery store!

The menu:
Hummus: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/hummus-recipe/index.html
Shrimp: www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/grilled-shrimp-marinated-in-paprika-garlic-and-thyme-with-white-wine-sauce-recipe/index.html
Tart: www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/danny-boome/honey-apple-and-nectarine-tart-with-whipped-mascarpone-recipe/index.html

A little tip for the mascarpone - add a LOT of cointreau if you actually want to get that lovely orange taste. I've made this recipe twice, and both times I added a whole heck of a lot more than what the recipe called for. But it was totally delish.