Spiced Cilantro Shrimp

I got this recipe from one of my favorite sources: Katie at Good Things Catered. I was going to hold off and try it later in the summer, but my husband really wanted to grill last weekend. It ended up being a perfect topping for a fresh salad, and was very easy and quick to put together and cook!



Spiced Cilantro Shrimp Skewers
Source: Good Things Catered

Ingredients:
50 extra large shrimp, shelled and deveined
10 bamboo skewers
juice of 1 lime
juice of 1 lemon
3 Tbsp tequila
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp chili powder
large pinch of salt
freshly ground pepper
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, finely minced

Directions:
-Soak bamboo skewers for 1 hour
-Shake off bamboo skewers and skewer 5 shrimp onto each skewer.
-Place skewers into 9x13 baking dish and cover with remaining ingredients, except cilantro.
-Toss to combine and let marinate for 10 minutes.
-Preheat grill on high
-Toss skewers to combine again and let marinate for another 5 minutes.
-Bring shrimp to grill, turn grill down to medium and place skewers on racks to cook and get grill marks, about 4 minutes.
-Flip skewers and cook through, about 3 more minutes.
-Remove from grill, plate and sprinkle with fresh cilantro to serve.

Tuscan Grilled Chicken Salad

This recipe came in a free issue of Cook's Country magazine that somehow landed in my mailbox. I cut it out and was saving it in my recipe binder. We had some fresh mozzarella cheese in the fridge that needed to be used up, and when I searched my recipe file, this came up amongst a sea of baked pasta ideas. I decided to use it on the salad since that would be a nice break from the typical heavy winter fare. I grilled the chicken inside on our grill pan (still too cold to go outside for the grill!) and it was very quick and easy to throw together. The flavors were wonderful together, even though I had to use sherry vinegar instead of red wine vinegar in the dressing.


Tuscan Grilled Chicken Salad
Source: Cook's Country

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 small garlic cloves, minced, pressed or grated
salt and pepper
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 pint cherry tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 (1-inch-thick) slices crusty Italian bread
1 (8-ounce) bag baby arugula (about 8 cups) (I used iceberg since I was being lazy)

Directions:
Whisk oil, vinegar, and garlic in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Toss mozzarella, tomatoes, olives, and 2 tablespoons vinaigrette in a large bowl.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Grill over hot fire until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Brush bread slices with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette and grill over hot fire until golden brown on both sides, about 1 minute per side.

Add arugula and remaining dressing to bowl with mozzarella mixture and toss until combined. Transfer to individual plates. Slice chicken and place on top of salad. Serve with grilled bread.

BB: Panzanella

Panzanella is a bread salad. I had never even heard of it before, but it definitely sounded interesting! My parents were visiting last weekend, and it turned out to be the perfect light lunch before we headed south for a Cubs game. I made the full recipe, and it was great for 4 adults. I only used 1/2 to 2/3 of the dressing, though, as I didn't want it saturated in oil. We all thought it was great! It came together very quickly, I can definitely see us having it again!

Panzanella
from Barefoot Contessa Parties! on page 102
Chosen by Melissa of It’s Melissa’s Kitchen
See the other Barefoot Bloggers here.

~3 tablespoons good olive oil
~1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
~1 teaspoon kosher salt
~2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
~1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced
~1/2-inch thick 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
~1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
~1/2 red onion, cut in 1/2 and thinly sliced
~20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped
~3 tablespoons capers, drained

For the vinaigrette:
~1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
~1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
~3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
~1/2 cup good olive oil
~1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
~1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.

For the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together. In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, basil, and capers. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Serve, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend.