after a night away in palm springs, i'm feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. wes and i cooked our fist plated dinner party saturday night and it was AWESOME. since i left my former career in fashion for a life of cooking, it has definitely been a shock to my system. every event has been something brand new that i have never done before and i am TERRIBLE with nerves any time i do something new. 

basically i've been a nervous wreck for almost a year now. 

but saturday, for the first time since i started cooking professionally i actually FELT like a professional. the meal came out flawless, wes and i were in sync and the clients and their guests were thrilled. it was a home run. and there was no stress. i new we had it handled from prep to final clean up. and that feeling, is priceless. 

with my new found piece of mind, i'm getting back in the kitchen to whip up one of my favorite dishes from saturday night's meal. 

shrimp cakes + parsley aioli
serves: 4
prep time: 20 minutes
cook time: 20 minutes
inactive time: 20 minutes
total time: 1 hour
ingredients: 1 lb shrimp peeled, deveined & tails removed. 2 tbs garlic herb butter. 1 celery stalk, finely chopped. 1 shallot, finely chopped. 2 green onions, finely chopped. 2 tbs finely chopped bell pepper. 2 garlic cloves, minced. 3 tbs chopped flat leaf parsley. 1 cup panko (japanese bread crumbs). .25 cup mayonnaise. .25 cup greek yogurt. 1 egg. juice of .5 lemon. 1 tsp worcestershire sauce. 3 dashes hot sauce. 1 tbs salt. .5 tbs pepper. 3 tbs vegetable oil. mixed greens for serving.

start by patting your shrimp dry and seasoning it well with .5 tsp of the salt and .25 tsp of the pepper.

in a large pan, heat the butter over medium heat.

when the butter has melted, add in the shrimp in an even layer. 

cook, flipping once about 2 minutes aside. just till the shrimp is pink.

remove the shrimp from the heat and allow to cool to room temp. about 10 minutes. while the shrimp is cooking, reserve 1 tbs of the green onions and 1 tbs of the shallot. also reserve 1 tsp of garlic and 1 tsp of parsley. in a small bowl, combine the greek yogurt and mayonnaise and set it aside.

in a large bowl, combine the remaining green onions, shallots, garlic, parsley, the celery, the bell pepper and half the panko.

roughly mix everything together, season with 1 tsp salt and .5 tsp pepper and set it aside. in a food processor, chop the shrimp till it is in small chunks. you can always do this step by hand if need be.

add the shrimp, into the veggies and roughly mix. finely, add in the egg, half the greek yogurt and mayo mixture and stir till combined.

lay some parchment out on a baking sheet. using your hands, make eight equal sized cakes. 

pop the shrimp cakes into the freezer for them to chill for 10 minutes. while your shrimp cakes chill, make your aioli. add the remaining garlic, shallots, green onions and parsley to the remaining greek yogurt and mayo. stir in the worcestershire, hot sauce and lemon. season with remaining salt and pepper. 

set it back in the fridge till you are ready to serve.

once your cakes have chilled, heat the oil in a large cast iron or heavy skillet. while the oil heats, sprinkle the tops of all of your cakes with the remaining panko.

when the oil is hot (you will know it is hot enough if you drop a piece of panko in the oil and it sizzles), fry your cakes in batches, careful not to over crowd your pan. cook each cake until dark brown and crisped on both sides.

about 5 minutes a side.

when your cake is cooked, remove it to a drying rack or paper towel lined plate to dry off the excess oil.

serve hot with some mixed greens and parsley aioli. 

xo, a

shrimp cakes + parsley aioli
serves: 4
prep time: 20 minutes
cook time: 20 minutes
inactive time: 20 minutes
total time: 1 hour
ingredients: 1 lb shrimp peeled, deveined & tails removed. 2 tbs garlic herb butter. 1 celery stalk, finely chopped. 1 shallot, finely chopped. 2 green onions, finely chopped. 2 tbs finely chopped bell pepper. 2 garlic cloves, minced. 3 tbs chopped flat leaf parsley. 1 cup panko (japanese bread crumbs). .25 cup mayonnaise. .25 cup greek yogurt. 1 egg. juice of .5 lemon. 1 tsp worcestershire sauce. 3 dashes hot sauce. 1 tbs salt. .5 tbs pepper. 3 tbs vegetable oil. mixed greens for serving.
start by patting your shrimp dry and seasoning it well with .5 tsp of the salt and .25 tsp of the pepper. in a large pan, heat the butter over medium heat. when the butter has melted, add in the shrimp in an even layer. cook, flipping once about 2 minutes aside. just till the shrimp is pink. remove the shrimp from the heat and allow to cool to room temp. about 10 minutes. while the shrimp is cooking, reserve 1 tbs of the green onions and 1 tbs of the shallot. also reserve 1 tsp of garlic and 1 tsp of parsley. in a small bowl, combine the greek yogurt and mayonnaise and set it aside. in a large bowl, combine the remaining green onions, shallots, garlic, parsley, the celery, the bell pepper and half the panko. roughly mix everything together, season with 1 tsp salt and .5 tsp pepper and set it aside. in a food processor, chop the shrimp till it is in small chunks. you can always do this step by hand if need be. add the shrimp, into the veggies and roughly mix. finely, add in the egg, half the greek yogurt and mayo mixture and stir till combined. lay some parchment out on a baking sheet. using your hands, make eight equal sized cakes. pop the shrimp cakes into the freezer for them to chill for 10 minutes. while your shrimp cakes chill, make your aioli. add the remaining garlic, shallots, green onions and parsley to the remaining greek yogurt and mayo. stir in the worcestershire, hot sauce and lemon. season with the remaining salt and pepper. set it back in the fridge till you are ready to serve. once your cakes have chilled, heat the oil in a large cast iron or heavy skillet. while the oil heats, sprinkle the tops of all of your cakes with the remaining panko. when the oil is hot (you will know it is hot enough if you drop a piece of panko in the oil and it sizzles), fry your cakes in batches, careful not to over crowd your pan. cook each cake until dark brown and crisped on both sides. about 5 minutes a side. when your cake is cooked, remove it to a drying rack or paper towel lined plate to dry off the excess oil. serve hot with some mixed greens and parsley aioli. 

the last couple days in socal have been raining and i freaking love it. LOVE IT. the last two days were spent at home, fireplace blazing and lots of action in the kitchen. 

wes had to work all weekend, so i asked him what he wanted for dinner. no surprise, i got the same answer i usually get from my VERY italian husband. bolognese of course. 

since the rain was coming down, there was no way i was leaving the house for additional ingredients so i decided to adjust for what i had in the house. and thank goodness i did. this version is much lighter in fat, but is very full in flavor. perfect for a rainy day, or a just because we want to day. 

turkey bolognese
serves: 6
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 1 hour
total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
ingredients: 1 lb ground turkey. 2 slices thick cut bacon, chopped. 1 onion, diced. 2 celery stalks, diced. 2 carrots, diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped. 2 tbs + 1 tsp basil, finely chopped. 1 tsp dried thyme. 1 c white wine. .25 c tomato paste. 32 oz can crushed tomatoes (if you only have whole, you can crush them yourself). 1.5 c milk. 1 tbs salt. .5 tbs pepper. 1 lb your favorite pasta. grated parmesan for serving.

start by crisping your bacon pieces in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. about 15 minutes. stir occasionally to break the pieces away from one another and all sides brown. 

when the bacon is crispy and browned, add in the onion, carrots and celery. season with a few pinches of salt and a bit of pepper and cook over medium heat until onions are translucent. stir every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes. 

push all your veggies to the sides of the pot. pat the turkey dry, season with half your remaining salt and pepper and add to the pot. cook until browned, breaking it up and stirring every couple minutes. about 7-10 minutes. as the turkey browns, work your veggies back into the mixture. 

stir in the thyme, oregano, 1 tsp of the basil and the garlic. cook until the garlic is fragrant. about 1 minute. 

when the garlic is fragrant, pour in the wine. cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated, stirring every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes. 

stir in the tomato paste until everything is lightly coated. season with remaining salt and pepper and pour in the tomatoes. stir well to combine. 

simmer until the liquid from the tomatoes has reduced slightly. about 10-15 minutes.

while your tomatoes are simmering, heat a large pot of salted water over high heat until boiling. when your tomatoes have simmered, pour in the milk. stir well to combine and bring the bolognese back up to a simmer. once the sauce simmers, reduce the heat to low just to keep it warm. 

cook your pasta per the instructions. when your pasta is al dente, strain and pour right into your sauce. stir well to coat the noodles.
serve pasta topped with fresh parmesan and basil.

xo, a

turkey bolognese
serves: 6
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 1 hour
total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
ingredients: 1 lb ground turkey. 2 slices thick cut bacon, chopped. 1 onion, diced. 2 celery stalks, diced. 2 carrots, diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped. 2 tbs + 1 tsp basil, finely chopped. 1 tsp dried thyme. 1 c white wine. .25 c tomato paste. 32 oz can crushed tomatoes (if you only have whole, you can crush them yourself). 1.5 c milk. 1 tbs salt. .5 tbs pepper. 1 lb your favorite pasta. grated parmesan for serving.

tart by crisping your bacon pieces in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. about 15 minutes. stir occasionally to break the pieces away from one another and all sides brown.
when the bacon is crispy and browned, add in the onion, carrots and celery. season with a few pinches of salt and a bit of pepper and cook over medium heat until onions are translucent. stir every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes. 
push all your veggies to the sides of the pot. pat the turkey dry, season with half your remaining salt and pepper and add to the pot. cook until browned, breaking it up and stirring every couple minutes. about 7-10 minutes. as the turkey browns, work your veggies back into the mixture. stir in the thyme, oregano, 1 tsp of the basil and the garlic. cook until the garlic is fragrant. about 1 minute.

when the garlic is fragrant, pour in the wine. cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated, stirring every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes.

stir in the tomato paste until everything is lightly coated. season with remaining salt and pepper and pour in the tomatoes. stir well to combine. simmer until the liquid from the tomatoes has reduced slightly. about 10-15 minutes.
while your tomatoes are simmering, heat a large pot of salted water over high heat until boiling.
when your tomatoes have simmered, pour in the milk. stir well to combine and bring the bolognese back up to a simmer. once the sauce simmers, reduce the heat to low just to keep it warm.
cook your pasta per the instructions. when your pasta is al dente, strain and pour right into your sauce. stir well to coat the noodles.
serve pasta topped with fresh parmesan and basil.