Recipes WE Love!

Homemade Aioli / Mayonnaise

Here is a video on how to make your own mayonnaise or if you like aioli.  We filmed this while visiting our dear friends Richard & Xavi in Barcelona in October 2015.  Since Harris and I have not been blogging in so long I almost forgot about posting this video until today.  Richard our dear friend is gravely ill so in his honor I wanted to get this video out there into the universe in his honor.  Enjoy!

Super easy Gluten Free Shrimp Scampi

If you love Shrimp Scampi, you must try this recipe. It’s super easy to make and takes very little time from start to finish! Serve this dish up to your family or guest and they will think you’re a professional chef!

What makes it Gluten Free? Simple, we use no flour to thicken the sauce and we serve it on Gluten Free pasta! Our choice is Barilla but there are many options available.

In this short instructional video, Dave demonstrates just how easy this dish is to make!

We hope you enjoy!!!

Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined – tails left on
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Olive oil
  • 1 small onion, sliced thinly
  • (optional) red pepper flakes for heat
  • 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • ½ cup white wine
  • ½ cup shrimp stock
  • 2 tablespoons cold butter
  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
  • Lemon slices, for garnish
  • ¼ to ½ Cups Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese to taste
  • Spaghetti pasta, as an accompaniment. We prefer Barilla Gluten Free!

Directions:

  1. Season the shrimp thoroughly with salt and pepper.
  2. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add enough oil to lightly coat the pan. Add the shrimp and quickly sauté until just starting to turn pink, but not cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  3. Add the onions and sauté just until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes.
  4. Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds. If adding red pepper flakes, add them at this time as well.
  5. Add the lemon juice, white wine, and stock, and reduce by 2/3, about 5 minutes.
  6. Add the shrimp back to the pan and swirl in the butter. Check for seasoning and adjust as necessary.
  7. Serve over al dente pasta. Note: If using Gluten Free pasta, be certain to keep stirring the pasta while boiling to ensure it doesn’t clump and stick together. After you drain the pasta water, we also find it best if you toss the pasta with a little olive oil to also prevent sticking.
  8. After plated, sprinkle with fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and the fresh parsley. Garnish the plate with lemon slices and serve!

Shrimp Scampi Plated

Love this recipe? Follow us and share it with your friends! Let us know how it came out and send us some pictures! Questions? Ask The Dads in the comments or e-mail: HarrisandDave@gmail.com

Enjoy!!!

True to Harris’ Italian roots ~ Cioppino, Italian Seafood Stew!

Add this amazing recipe to your repertoire and impress your friends; great for a dinner party!!!

This is very similar to the French version, bouillabaisse, only this doesn’t have saffron and the base is tomato. Staying true to Harris’ Italian roots was his goal when creating this dish.

The star ingredient is the calamari!  If you’ve not cooked calamari before now, don’t be afraid.  Most fear cooking calamari any way other than breaded and deep-fried but fear not.  You will be surprised how tender and flavorful it is in this dish.  If you watch our video, you will also see how much liquid is released from the calamari as it simmers.  While I do believe in substitutions, we strongly recommend not replacing the star ingredient; you’re going to love it!!!

We recommend serving with garlic rubbed crostinis or a rustic bread as you’ll definitely want something to soak up the delicious broth while eating the shell fish!

Enjoy!!!

(Sorry, there wasn’t a photo of this dish once plated.  with everyone sitting at the table waiting to be served we got distracted!!)

Here in the video, Harris demonstrates how to cook our very special Cioppino! See below for the recipe!

Cioppino

  (Tomato based Seafood Stew)

This recipe will serve 8 or possibly 10

 Ingredients:

  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 1 large fennel bulb – chopped fine
  • 1 large white onion – chopped fine
  • 3 ribs celery – chopped fine
  • 1 ½ tablespoon dried oregano
  • ¼ or ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 ½ pound fresh squid, tentacles cut in thirds, bodies cut into ½ inch rings
  • 2 cups dry white wine
  • 1 26 ounce carton (Pomi) fresh tomato, strained
  • 2 lemons (zest only) – 1 peeled in strips and 1 finely grated
  • 2 ½ cups water
  • 2 bottles clam juice (2 cups)
  • 2 lbs. fresh mussels
  • 2 lbs. Cherry Stone clams
  • 1 lb. Rock fish, skinned and cut into 2 inch pieces
  • 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled & deveined
  • 2 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste

The dish requires a very large Dutch oven or clam pot.

Place fresh clams and mussels in a large bowl of very cold water with ice to flush out any sand in the shells.  Before adding clams and mussels inspect to be certain all are tightly closed.  If any of the shells are open or cracked, discard, as they are dead and not edible.  Also trim beard of mussels if needed.

 Directions:

  1. Place Dutch oven over medium heat and add the olive oil. When oil is hot, add the fennel, onion, celery, oregano, and red pepper flakes.  Season with Kosher salt to sweat the onions.  Cook until translucent, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Reduce heat to medium-low and add squid. Cook for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The squid will release their juices, which is amazing and will become very tender.
  3. Raise heat to medium-high and add white wine. Cook until reduced, about 20 minutes.
  4. Reduced heat to low and add tomato and lemon strips and cook until very thick, about 45 minutes. Remove lemon strips, add salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Raise heat to medium-high, add water and clam juice and bring to boil. Add clams, mussels, and shrimp, cover and cook until most of the shells have opened, about 5 minutes.  Add rock fish and cook another 2 minutes until the fish is opaque.
  6. In a small bowl, combine chopped parsley and grated lemon to make Gremolata.
  7. Serve in individual large bowls, placing seafood in the bottom of bowl, ladling over the seafood the broth. Sprinkle with the gremolata and serve.
Knock your socks off Amazing Italian Seafood Stew!

Knock your socks off Amazing Italian Seafood Stew!

Love this recipe? Follow us and share it with your friends! Let us know how it came out and send us some pictures! Questions? Ask The Dads in the comments or e-mail: HarrisandDave@gmail.com

Enjoy!!!

Garlic Rosemary Chicken for a perfect Sunday Dinner

Father’s Day is this Sunday and what better way to show Dad you care than by preparing a family dinner with a traditional Roasted Chicken with a twist. Our Garlic Rosemary Chicken, lovingly stuffed with rosemary and 15 cloves of garlic, is major flavor!  It would be heaven with some roasted vegetables and a simple salad. In fact, check out our recipes for sides and dressing!

When our children were growing up, we always insisted that everyone gather around the table for dinner. With teenagers who were busy and sometimes temperamental, this was not the easiest of tasks some days, but we believed it was important to share our meals as a family. These days, our children have grown and left the house, so family meals are precious. This Father’s Day, we will be celebrating by visiting Leah and Sean at their home for dinner. And who knows, maybe Leah will serve us up our own recipes!

So don’t forget to thank the Dads in your life for all of their hard work, and let them know that you love them this Sunday. And serve up some Garlic Rosemary Chicken, because It isn’t always easy being a Dad. And maybe some pie? Because, us Dads, we’re worth it!

Here in the video, Dave demonstrates how to cook our very special Garlic Rosemary Chicken! See below for the recipe!

Ingredients:

  • ¼ Cup Olive Oil
  • 15 cloves of Garlic
  • 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon Kosher Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Black pepper
  • 1 four pound Chicken
  • 3 Cups Chicken stock
  • 3 TBS fresh Lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a food processor, combine the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, kosher salt and black pepper.  Process to the consistence of a pesto/paste.  Rub the garlic mixture under and over the skin of the chicken and in the cavity.  Set chicken on rack in roasting pan and roast for 45 minutes.

Remove the rack with the chicken and discard fat from the pan.  Add the chicken stock and lemon juice to the pan and bring to a boil over moderately high heat, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  Place the rack with the chicken back in pan and roast for 30 to 40 minutes, basting often, until the juices run clear.

Transfer chicken to a carving board and cover lightly with foil to allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

CHX

Love this recipe? Follow us and share it with your friends! Let us know how it came out and send us some pictures! Questions? Ask The Dads in the comments or e-mail: HarrisandDave@gmail.com

Finally… Pasta Carbonara!

One of our favorite followers, Chris from Key West, has asked us to show him how we make our Pasta Carbonara! The thing is… that he actually asked us this a couple of months ago! We feel awful that it took so long to get up here, but truthfully this is not a dish for the diet conscious! So we waited to make it for when we had guests over to share the indulgence!

Here in the video, Harris shows you how to make a perfect Pasta Carbonara! See below for the recipe!

While our recipe calls for Hog Jowl, aka Guanciale at the Italian market, you can use Pancetta or a quality bacon.

Ingredients

(Serves four)

3 – tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

8 ounces Guanciale (which is cured pork jowl) or Pancetta or good Bacon

1 pound Spaghetti or pasta of choice

1 ¼ cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

4 – Large Eggs (room temperature)

Freshly ground Black Pepper

2 – tablespoons Kosher Salt

Frozen peas (Optional)

Directions

The Dads Tip: Guanciale is our first choice, but it may be difficult to find. Try your local pork butcher. Also, adding half the olive oil at the end adds that fresh olive oil flavor!

Bring 6 quarts of water to boil in a large pot and add 2 Tablespoons salt to the pasta water. Cook the spaghetti/pasta in the boiling water until just al dente.  

Meanwhile, combine half the olive oil and bacon/pancetta in a 12- to 14-inch skillet on medium heat.  Cook until the bacon/pancetta has rendered its fat and is crispy and golden.  Place cooked pork on paper towels to drain, set aside.  Retain about half of the dripping for coating the cooked pasta.

In a bowl, mix together the cheese, eggs, and pepper until smooth.  We like to add just a little bit of the hot pasta water to help temper the egg mixture.  This will prevent the eggs from cooking when added to the hot pasta.

When the pasta is done, reserve a cup of the pasta water.  Drain the pasta and place it in a bowl or back into the pot.  While the pasta is still really hot, slowly drizzle in the egg mixture, stirring the pasta the whole time.  The sauce will become very creamy as it coats the pasta.  If you need to loosen it up a bit, you can add some of the reserved pasta water. 

Now add the peas (optional) and crispy bacon to the mixture.  

Serve immediately and sprinkle the top with remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese!

The Dads Pasta Carbonara

Love this recipe? Follow us and share it with your friends! Let us know how it came out and send us some pictures! Questions? Ask The Dads in the comments or e-mail: HarrisandDave@gmail.com

We Quinoa believe how tasty Quinoa can be!

Quinoa: It looks like a grain, it cooks like a grain, it even fills you up like a grain, but this high protein, gluten-free seed is packed with nutrients and amino acids. It can even replace rice in most dishes. So, it makes sense that such a beneficial ingredient is so popular, but we had to know: can it taste good?  Yes. Seriously.

Quinoa’t are we talking ’bout?! (Quinoa is pronounced Keen-Wah, in case you were wondering.) Well, here at HarrisandDave.com, we put together a few test recipes. We wanted something healthy that we could eat, but tasty enough for company. We came up with Mushroom Quinoa with Roasted Butternut Squash & Fennel. It’s our favorite way to enjoy this superfood. Maybe it will be yours too? Give it a try and we promise we won’t make anymore quinoa puns.

Mushroom Quinoa with Roasted Butternut Squash & Fennel

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cups quinoa (rinsed)

  • 1 ½  cups chicken stock

  • 1 ½  cups water

  • 1 cup  baby portabella mushrooms

  • 1 cup shiitake mushrooms

  • 4 tablespoons butter

  • 3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce  

  • 1 butternut squash cut into chunks

  • 1 fennel cut into chunks

  • 1 red onion cut into chunks

  • Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Rinse your quinoa in a sieve. This is an important step to ensure all of the coating of bitter-tasting saponins have been removed from the quinoa seeds.

Place the rinsed quinoa into your rice cooker or medium saucepan and add the water and chicken stock. If cooking in a rice cooker, press the cook button and wait for quinoa to fully cook. If using the traditional method of a saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, place your chopped butternut squash, fennel and red onion on a roasting pan and lightly coat with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Place into 400 degree oven and roast until tender and caramelized; about 20 minutes. Stir part way through cooking time to ensure even caramelization.

While your vegetables are roasting and the quinoa is cooking, melt butter in large sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter is hot, add the mushrooms and sauté. Add Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper to taste. Cook mushrooms until tender; about 5 minutes.

Fluff the quinoa with a fork and combine the mushroom and place onto a large serving platter. Place on top of the mushroom quinoa the roasted vegetables, adjust seasoning (I sometimes like fresh olive oil) and serve.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Image

 

Smokey and Sweet Baby Back Ribs!

Opening Day is next Monday, and spring is in the air. Well, it’s supposed to be anyway, but here in Baltimore we just got some snow! But we’re still trying to get in the spring spirit, and nothing says warmer weather like BBQ! We slow cook our ribs for four hours to ensure that the ribs get super tender. We also use a dry rub which encrusts the ribs in a beautiful crust, or bark. So, never be intimidated by ribs again! Don’t believe us? Give it a try!

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