Honey Limey Shrimpy

Here’s a quick dinner I wanted to share. Today I’m off to NYC for work after only been home from my honeymoon for 10 days. I was away for the weekend too. Phew! What a whirlwind! November definitely quiets down so I can’t wait to get some fall-ish meals going!

One night we thought a his & hers dinner would be good so we shared some roasted asparagus and each made our own thing. I had some grilled shrimp and Mr. J made some beefy thing. Chicken fried steak maybe? The only trick was that I started the asparagus wayyy too early, and my shrimp didn’t take long to cook either. Our tiny kitchen isn’t really conducive to 2 chefs so it didn’t surprise me that the timing wasn’t perfect.
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Anywho, onto my made up marinated & grilled shrimp!

Ingredients

7 shrimp, peeled & deveined (I buy them frozen that way)
1 tbs lime salad dressing (or lime juice)
1 tbs honey
½ tsp chopped garlic
½ tsp crushed red pepper
salt & pepper

Directions

Soak 2 bamboo skewers in water for 5 minutes to avoid splinters
Whisk marinade together and let shrimp rest in it for 10 minutes
Grill 4 minutes on each side, flipping once
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The asparagus was just roasted in the oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper. The shrimp was really delicious. It got a great carmelization from the honey and was perked up from the lime and red pepper.
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I like skewers just for the ease. Do you remember my ‘On A Stick’ appetizer for fried ravioli on a stick? I thought the stick just made it easier. Same story for the grilling.

I don’t always think about shrimp when I’m coming with up a quickie dinner but maybe I should!

Much Needed Scutra for Dinner

Before we return from our honeymoon, I needed to share a drool-worthy meal we had before the wedding.During major wedding planning crunch time we were lacking groceries, we were in need of a date night, and we definitely needed a fun distraction while racking our brains for creative table themes. The wedding wasn’t a DIY affair, but Mr. J designed everything and the table blurbs in frames was our only project. Luckily we had a gift certificate to Scutra in Arlington that was burning a hole in our pockets!
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It was such a blissful and relaxing evening. We got dressed up, kissed the pup goodbye, and headed to our reservation. Of course I scoured the website menu before going and honestly I’m sure I would have enjoyed everything on the menu. Love Mediterranean food!
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I started with the garlic baked muscles. Garlic butter and feta? YES PLEASE! They were beautiful and thought the feta was great for a touch of saltiness.
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Mr. J had the roasted tomato soup with Parmesan encrusted scallops. He just recently started to enjoy scallops and I think the Parmesan crunchy exterior was a perfect contrast in texture for him.
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These aps were awesome and got us really excited for the main dish. Each was a perfect size to leave us adequate room to keep eating!

I got seafood crusted salmon. Oh. My. Goodness. My perfectly pink salmon was topped with crab and lobster. It doesn’t get any better than that. It was served with an asparagus risotto and a pesto drizzle. This was one of the best meals I’ve ever had. It was hot and flavorful. Such a great combination of flavors that didn’t overpower one another.
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Mr. J got a special, and boy was it special. He had 14oz sirloin steak with a butter and raspberry beer sauce over mashed potatoes. Mr. J heard it listed with the specials and was hooked. He loved it and finished every bite.
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I had a crisp chardonnay knowing I’d have seafood for dinner and Mr. J had a final Sam Adam’s summer ale. I enjoyed every bite. This was such a wonderful dinner. Mr. J was happy with his choices and we definitely got dinners we couldn’t/wouldn’t make at home. There was no room for dessert.

The reviews seemed mixed regarding the service and atmosphere. We thought it had a really nice atmosphere, our server was friendly, and I’d be happy to go back anytime. I liked that it was classy and well decorated, allowing us to dress up a bit for a really special meal.

Have you had a meal recently that you just thoroughly enjoyed AND appreciated happening right when you needed it? This was one for me. I’ll be back next week with LOTS of tastes to relay from my trip to Spain & Italy! Stay tuned!

Lobstah

Just as the end of summer my mum and I squeezed in a lobstah fest. All the non-seafood eaters had burgers, which they seemed to enjoy, though nothing compares to a lobster.
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I love them! I really prefer to eat them at home. Having a server checking on you while you’re dredging meaty chunks into sweet butter isn’t necessary. Also, I don’t don the plastic bib.The thrill is actually in the meat. Mr. J peered over since we were crackin’ away after the burgers were gone. He inquired if the tail or the claw was better. It really made me think. I don’t think I have a preference. I love it all. Check out the size of the claw!
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I had a lobster roll at Anthem this summer and was unimpressed. Lobster as a roll is my least favorite form since I prefer it hot and buttery.

“Lobstah” makes it really feel like summer.

Fish-Fish Tacos

I’m usually on my own for dinner a few nights per week when Mr. J plays hockey. Sometimes I go for leftovers, sometimes it’s an opportunity be lazy (read as: ramen), and sometimes it’s my chance to whip up something I wouldn’t normally make for dinner.  A week ago I made some fish tacos that were amazing. I grilled some mahi-mahi and called in some leftovers to complete it.

Do you remember the movie House Bunny? “Instead of the mahi-mahi can I just get mahi cause I’m not that hungry?” hahaha

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Ingredients:

2 pieces of marinated mahi mahi
veggie mix (corn, red peppers, or taco veggies of your choice)
1 tsp lime juice or lime salad dressing
salsa
1 10” flour tortilla

Directions:

Marinate and grill mahi mahi
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When cooked, fork the fish apart
Mix veggies and drizle with lime juice or lime salad dressing
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Warm tortilla and assemble taco
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These were really good and especially easy. I get the frozen mahi mahi from Trader Joe’s and swear by it. It’s the best anywhere. Remember I made pepperjack chicken and succotash recently? I saved the leftover succotash and that’s what ended up as my veggies for the tacos. Love it when a little bit of leftover something can make another meal complete!

I think a lime aioli or something creamy with a zing would have made these even better, but for an unplanned dinner, these were awesome. It was the perfect light but interesting dinner. I ate some leftover fish on a spinach salad the next day and loved it just as much.

bermuda BAHAMA come on pretty mama

Ohh thank you Beach Boys for such a catchy tune for my vacay. Sis and I returned from our trip in the Bahamas after having a great time. It was beautiful and we loved the cruise and island stay combo.

I usually felt delayed by the slow pace but at meals it was perfect! We wandered towards the shopping and restaurants after spending the day between the pools and beach. After checking out the local fare, we ended up on the porch at After Deck.
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Our waitress was adorable! She brought some warm, local, potato bread and butter to us. It may not look like anything fancy but it had great flavor!
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We shared eggplant fritters to start. They were good, but I think the eggplant was a bit too thick. As eggplant can be, they were a bit bitter. The garlic yogurt on them was amazing and counteracted the bitterness. I’ve always shredded the eggplant for fritters so it was a nice change.
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I got stuffed red snapper with fries. It felt like the perfect beachy meal. It was stuffed with crab and shrimp. I loved it. I ate all of the fish.
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Sis got the fisherman’s platter. She asked for no shrimp and to double up on anything else. It included fried conch, conch fritters, and a few other items. The conch is a very popular fish for them so she wanted to try it. I found it a bit chewy when left in big pieces like calamari can be but it was pretty comparable to a tougher scallop.
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I really loved my meal and want to cook more fish at home.
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