A Little of This and That

I love tampering in the kitchen. Sometimes that is how I come up with some of my original recipes. Everyday I cook it's like learning something new.

For instance, last night after dinner I saw that a couple of lemons I had were going to be going bad soon and I decided to use them in a dish. But what? I thought...maybe a pasta dish...a dressing...a mixed drink...then it came to me! A Pie!

I hadn't had a lemon pie in awhile, so I decided that is what I would make. But how?

I preceded to look at a bunch of pie cookbooks and see what I could come up with. There were lemon pies with sour cream, cream cheese, gelatin and whatever else you could imagine. So, now that I saw what most lemon pies include I went about tampering to find my own recipe.

Sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, zest, heavy cream, more sugar, salt.....

You'll have to wait till tomorrow for the rest....I'll have photos and the recipe for this luscious lemon pie.

Fettuccine with Spicy Vodka Shrimp and Vegetables

3 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lbs large deveined raw shrimp, peeled but with tails left on
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 to 1 tsp chili pepper flakes, or to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup vodka
2 small red bell peppers, cut into thin strips
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into thin strips
1 cup fish or chicken stock
1 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp grated orange zest
3/4 lb fettuccine
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Place half of the oil in a large nonstick heavy skillet and heat over high heat until almost smoking. Add shrimp, garlic, chili pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, for about one minute or until shrimp are pink and almost cooked through. Add vodka and ignite with a match. Cook, shaking pan, until flames subside. Transfer shrimp and juices to a bowl. Add remaining oil to skillet and heat until hot. Add red pepper and fennel strips and cook, stirring, for two minutes or until tender-crisp.

Transfer to bowl with shrimp. Add stock, cream and orange zest to skillet. Bring to a gentle boil (take care that it doesn't boil over) until sauce has reduced by about half in volume. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Return shrimp and vegetable mixture to skillet and heat through. Meanwhile cook fettuccine in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but firm. Drain well. Return to pot.

Toss with shrimp and vegetable mixture and sprinkle with parsley. Divide among warm pasta bowls or plates and serve immediately.