Camarones al ajillo


My friend Luis had a dinner party featuring foods from his native land, Puerto Rico. He let me bring the Shrimp with Garlic. It was all very tasty! Thanks to Stacy for snapping the photo for me.

1 tsp Olive Oil
1 Large Onion, chopped
1 Large Bell Pepper, chopped (I like red)
4 Minced Cloves of Garlic
Adobo to taste (Puerto Rican seasoned salt)
1 lb of peeled deveined shrimp - tail on
1 Stick of Butter
Black Pepper to taste
Red Pepper to taste
1 package Sazon Achiote (Luis insists on the Goya brand)



In a large sautée pan, heat olive oil to medium heat. Add onions, bell peppers, garlic. Cook for 3 minutes or until onions and bell peppers are soft.

Add butter and shrimp to pan. Sprinkle with Adobo, pepper, and Sazon. Cook shrimp until pink.

Serve with Tostones, Mofongo, or Arañas (these are all differently prepared plantains). Luis fried us up some tostones - que bueno!


I also brought a ensalada of our lettuces and the lone red cabbage that we got to grow - it was about the size of a baseball. The dressing was mostly homegrown (except for the olive oil, salt and pepper) - the lemon juice, herbs, scallions were all from our yard. People jokingly asked if I had harvested the shrimp from our own aquaculture pond in the backyard. Ha ha! Maybe someday...

Amanda's Decadent Crab Dip

I've been looking for an excuse to make this dip ever since I read it on this blog, but I knew I needed a crowd since my family wouldn't eat enough to put a dent in it. Fran's party was just the ticket.

It starts out with crab and lemon juice (one of our homegrown Meyer Lemons, of course). Amanda calls for 3 cloves of garlic and 1/2 finely chopped white onion, but I have these huge beautiful spring onions growing in the garden, so I thought why not?
Then you add all the yummy white dairy products:
Cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream. Oops, I didn't have sour cream, so I used plain yogurt and butter instead.
You need a little bit of white wine and a dab of good mustard, then a whole bunch of really good cheese.
Even Colin has learned to say "Parmeggiano reggiano!"
That's it. Well, I added some asiago I had, too.
And I have fresh parsely and thyme growing, so I threw some in as well.
Here is it, all warm melty and delicious. It perfectly fit in my crock pot -ito, a small crock pot I have that keeps things warm (like queso). Serve with toasts or big potato chips. I'll definitely repeat this one, especially for the right crowd, and maybe next time I'll try it as a mushroom stuffing....