Philly cheesesteak and shrimp with tasso

A lunch posting to go with a dinner posting (so much to cook, so little time.) We had ribeye steak leftover from Wed’s dinner and some cute little ciabatta rolls (from King Soopers). So it didn’t take a lot to make these lovely ‘wiches.

I made a quicky creamed spinach too. Nothing elaborate, just a bag of IQF (individually quick frozen) spinach, a bit of left over mascarpone, a bit of leftover heavy cream, some salt and pepper - a nice and easy side dish (and enough for another meal).

Philly cheesesteak sandwiches (2 servings)
Leftover ribeye or other steak
½ medium onion, sliced
cheese (we used a combo of pepper jack and gruyere)
2 sandwich rolls

Slice the steak into thin pieces. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet. Add the onions, sprinkle with salt, and sauté until caramelized.

Push the onions to the side of the skillet and toss in the steak. Toss with tongs for 1 minute, then top with cheese and tent with foil until the cheese melts. That’s all there is to it!

Last night we decided to have shrimp with leftover potatoes and some creamed spinach. There was a little piece of tasso ham left and that would flavor the shrimp. I went with a very simple, minimal ingredient prep for the shrimp. Served the shrimp over some re-crisped hash browns from the other day.

On Food Network, a lot of folks like to cook shrimp with shell on or at least tail shell on. For a messy, eat with your hands meal that’s fine, but I like to use a fork.

Shrimp with tasso (2 servings)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 oz. tasso, finely diced (substitute chorizo)
1 small shallot, sliced thin
Splash of chicken stock or water
12 oz. shrimp, peeled
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil and butter in a large sauté pan (the shrimp must fit in one layer) over medium heat. Add shallot and saute 3 minutes. Add tasso and cook 1 minute, stirring once or twice. Lay in the shrimp. Sprinkle with a little salt and black pepper. Cook until the bottom half of the shrimp have become opaque. Turn them and cook until the second side turns opaque. Remove from the pan immediately and serve right away.

My only regret about yesterday’s foodie lunch is that I couldn’t interrupt my progress by taking pictures. Everything on the menu is something I will make again. However, in the meantime, I’ll relate my journey to shrimp mac and cheese.

When I started on it yesterday morning I knew what I wanted it to be but had no clear concept of how to get there. I wanted it to be loose, as opposed to a more traditional dense mac and cheese. It needed to be just so cheesy and no more. After all cheese and seafood are tricky to balance.

And I was cooking for 10! The timing of getting it ready at just the right moment (so as not to keep my guests waiting, but also having it come to them fresh off the stove) was tricky. The pasta I knew would take 7 minutes. The sauce I was comfortable making ahead. Then there was the problem of the shrimp which would take 3 minutes max to poach. I threw the pasta in right after serving the course that preceded the mac and cheese. And hit on an inventive way to do the shrimp.

Behold:

Shrimp mac and cheese (10 servings)
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 oz. tasso or chorizo, diced fine
2 tbsp flour
4 cups chicken broth
4 oz. mascarpone cheese
¾ cup gruyere cheese, grated
40 shrimp (31-40 count), shelled and cleaned
1 tbsp grill seasoning for seafood
16 oz. mini shell pasta

Using a large skillet, heat the butter and oil. Add the tasso or chorizo to the pan. Saute 1 minute. Whisk in the flour. Cook 1 minute. Add chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add mascarpone and stir to melt it. Cover and remove from the heat. Reheat over low flame while the pasta cooks. It may form a skin on the top, but energetic whisking will make that go away.

Put the shrimp in a heat-proof bowl and toss with the grill seasoning (or use salt and pepper if you prefer). Put a teakettle full of water on to boil.

Drop the pasta into a large pot of well-salted boiling water. Just before the pasta is done pour the boiling water from the teakettle over the shrimp. They will poach in it in just 2-3 minutes, at which point you should drain in a colander.

Use a spider and transfer the pasta to the pan with the sauce. Stir to combine.

Put a ladle full of pasta and sauce on each of 10 heated plates. Top with 4 shrimp each, sprinkle with a pinch of gruyere and serve.