Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp

My oldest Ella loves shrimp, I mean really LOOOVES it! I have an aversion to raw meats in general though, so the thought of raw seafood has always really freaked me out...and I therefore have never prepared it at home, except for the occasional fish dish. When figuring out what to make for our back to school dinner I saw this (on The Pioneer Woman Cooks) and knew Ella would love it, so I decided it was about time to give it a try, for her sake :-). It wasn't actually bad at all, although de-shelling the shrimp to eat them was a pain and I think the recipe would still be delicious if they already had their shells off, so that's what we'll do next time. And there will be a next time!

Ingredients:
* 2 pounds Raw Shrimp, Deveined, Shells On
* 2 sticks Cold Unsalted Butter Cut Into Pieces
* 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
* 4 cloves Garlic, Peeled
* 1/4 cup Fresh Parsley
* 1/2 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
* 1 whole Lemon, Juiced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse frozen shrimp to separate, then arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet.
In the bowl of a food processor, add cold butter, garlic, lemon juice, salt, parsley, and red pepper. Pulse until combined. Sprinkle cold butter crumbles over the shrimp.
Bake until shrimp is opaque and butter is hot and bubbly.
Serve with hot crusty bread. Peel and eat the shrimp, then dip the bread into the butter in the bottom of the pan.

Fried Catfish with Hush Puppies & Tartar Sauce

We had a couple catfish fillets in our freezer so when I saw this recipe in April's Cooking Light, it was a perfect fit. This was definitely my best frying experience to date! I think the mixture of flour and corn meal may have been the secret. I was especially proud of the hush puppies! They were nice and soft on the inside but crispy on the outside...SO good. And the tartar sauce was my favorite part of the meal! I used the batter on one piece of chicken too (the girls love fish so I knew there wouldn't be much left of my fillet) and it turned out great as well, so you don't have to use fish if you aren't a seafood person. It was a bit messy to prepare (as battering and frying always is), but definitely a fun and tasty meal to eat!
Ingredients:
* Tartar Sauce:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon dill pickle relish (I just chopped a dill pickle up)
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
Catfish:
8 cups peanut oil (I used canola)
6 (6-ounce) catfish fillets
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 1/4 cups cornmeal
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
Hush Puppies:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup buttermilk
3 Tablespoons grated onion
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions:
1. To prepare tartar sauce, combine first 6 ingredients. Cover and chill.
2. To prepare catfish, clip a candy/fry thermometer to a Dutch oven; add oil to pan. Heat oil to 385°. (I just used a large, deep saucepan)
3. Sprinkle fillets evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place 1 cup flour in a shallow dish. Combine remaining 1 cup flour, cornmeal, and black pepper in a shallow dish. Combine 2 cups buttermilk and 2 eggs in a shallow dish. Dredge fillets in flour; dip in buttermilk mixture. Dredge in cornmeal mixture; shake off excess breading.
4. Place 2 fillets in hot oil; cook 5 minutes or until done, turning occasionally. Make sure oil temperature does not drop below 375°. Remove fillets from pan using a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Return oil temperature to 385°. Repeat procedure twice with remaining fillets.
5. To prepare hush puppies, weigh or lightly spoon 3/4 cup flour in dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and remaining ingredients. Drop batter 1 tablespoonful at a time into pan; fry at 375° for 5 minutes or until browned, turning frequently. Remove hush puppies from pan using a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.

Artichoke (Crab) Dip

I got this recipe from Mckell and made it for my book club meeting last night (along with the Black Bean Salsa from the first time I hosted). I doubled the recipe and left the crab meat out, but it was SO good and a BIG hit! (I served with tortilla chips)

Ingredients:
1 package cream cheese (I used 1/3 fat)
1 cup mayo (I used light)
1 clove garlic minced or pressed
1 can artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped (NOT the jarred in oil kind!!!)
8 oz. package imitation crab meat (optional)
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 bunch green onions, whites and greens chopped
1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:Combine all ingredients in bowl or food processor (I just chopped up the artichokes pretty small). Transfer to small baking dish (or 9x13 if doubling) and cook for 25-30 minutes at 350 or until top is golden brown. Serve with pita or tortilla chips.