Pastor Ryan's Shrimp Risotto

The boy had a rough day at swim class today, so I think we need to have a little at-home practice session this afternoon. Since shrimp is fast-thawing, I figure I can swim with my son and then start dinner a little later than normal. I have been dying to try this risotto recipe, so I am pretty sure it will all work out beautifully. Rather than retyping the steps for the shrimp and risotto, I am just going to post the link from the Pioneer Woman website. I think I will pair our risotto with a side salad and that is about it. This recipe looks absolutely luscious, so I am really jazzed about trying it out!

Pastor Ryan's Shrimp Risotto

Yum! I love the accompanying photos on PW's website, for this post. Just looking at the pics makes my mouth water!



The Result:
Holy Moly. I am a lover of this risotto. Whoa. This was DELICIOUS! This turned out to be one of the best risottos I have ever made.
First, the shrimp...oh man, the shrimp. Awesome. I had a hard time not just eating the shrimp straight off the grill. They were so flavorful...all garlicy and buttery and Worcestershirey...simply awesome! The only issue with the shrimp was that they could have used a wee bit of a lemon juice spritz for an extra zip, but that would just be my preference. I love the citrus brightness and acidity that lemon brings to shrimp and fish. Other than that, I would say the shrimp were darn near perfect!

Now, on to the risotto. The last batch of chicken stock I made was from the whole chicken we did on the grill a week or so ago. Therefore, my chicken stock is slightly smokey and has a perfume of BBQ grill flavoring. Yum! That BBQ stock matched with the grilled shrimp, and it infused the whole risotto dish with a slightly smokey undertone. The result was both subtle and complex at the same time. The risotto had a depth that it would not have had otherwise. Again, awesome! I used PW's basic risotto recipe, except for my special chicken stock. It was a pretty straightforward method, and then the grilled shrimp were just added in at the end. Sooooo, sooooooo good! I don't think I can say enough good things about this dish. I think I will just sum up by saying that this is a great recipe, and leave it at that!

Pastor Ryan's Bread

I thought some homemade bread would go great with our meal tonight, so I decided to whip up a batch of this Pastor Ryan recipe. Yum! I added chopped, fresh parsley for the herbs and some dried, minced onions for fun. I hope that it turns out as good as his looks!!!

Pastor Ryan Bread

Ingredients:
20 oz. of bread flour (all purpose is okay, too) - about 4 cups.
8 oz. of water (or 1 cup.)
4 oz. melted butter with chopped herbs of choice
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon active or instant yeast


Directions:
Combine these ingredients all together in the KitchenAid stand mixer with the dough hook (it can be done by hand…it just takes longer).

Mix together for about 10 minutes or so until you achieve a windowpane with the dough. This is where you can pull off a small chunk of the dough you’re kneading and stretch it gently to see if it is somewhat translucent. If you can do this without it tearing, it’s ready.

Once this elasticity has been achieved, the dough can sit out with plastic wrap over it for 1-4 hours to double in size. After it’s gotten bigger, it should be kneaded for a minute or two so that the yeast can redistribute.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Cut a large ‘X’ into the surface of the bread dough so it can bloom!

Bake inside a covered cast iron pan after coating the rounded dough with olive oil and sprinkling with kosher salt. Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, then remove lid to finish it off for another 15 to 30 minutes.

If you like to use a thermometers, we’re looking for an internal temp. of around 200-210 degrees. (The bread can get brown on the bottom if it’s too close to the heating element; if that happens, just slice it off with a sharp knife.



The Result:
This was really yummy and easy bread. I am not the best baker, so I am pleased with the results. I did have an issue getting the bread to the "windowpane" stage in my mixer. I let it mix for 10 minutes, as per the instructions, but it didn't stretch properly. Instead, I took it out of the mixer and hand-kneaded for a few minutes. Finally, it got where it needed to be. Other than that little snafu, the bread turned out perfect!

Pastor Ryan's Spicy Orange Garlic Shrimp

The Pioneer Woman often has a guest cook on her website; her friend, Pastor Ryan. Judging from his posts, it seems that Pastor Ryan also knows his way around a kitchen. His recipes look really yummy and fairly easy to make. This recipe debuted on November 1st and I have been drooling over it ever since. Unfortunately, the recipe steps are not spelled out in written format, but rather explained with pictures. Instead of trying to piece together a recipe, I will include the link below so you can click and go see the photos/recipe for yourself. I think I will serve this dish with some brown rice and broccoli. Also, I have some green onions that need to be used, and will make a nice garnish. I will let you know how it turns out later.

Just click on the title to be redirected to shrimpy goodness...

Pastor Ryan's Spicy Orange Garlic Shrimp


Ummmm.....I can't wait for dinner!!!!!




The Result:
This dish was SHRIMPLY DELICIOUS! Hardy-Har-Har. Seriously, this is a keeper. It was really quick and easy to put together and oh-so-good. As you can tell by the photo, I totally forgot to use my green onions. Oh well, today is a new day, and I think they are still okay. My only critique is that it could have used a little salt and I wish there was more "glaze". It was still fan-freakin'-tastic despite those little changes. The salt thing was easy to correct with a sprinkle of table salt. The glaze was so spicy and yummy I could have drank it as a beverage. This dish went perfectly with the brown rice and broccoli...I highly recommend trying it!