Valentine's dinner with what's in the fridge

First, what do I have?

Frozen shrimp, leftover pasts, butter, lemon, parmesan 

Melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a pan

 

  

Squeeze in the juice of one lemon.  Usually, I would add the zest but my zester has disappeared and when I find out who took it there's going to be some zest coming their way!

 Toss the shrimp into the pan and stir it around until the shrimp is heated through.  I am using pre-cooked shrimp, raw shrimp would be done when they turned pink.

Remove the shrimp and set them aside.  Put a generous amount of cheese and an egg yolk into the pan.  Whisk it around until you have a thick sauce.  You can thin it with lemon juice, milk or cream.

I don't have photos of the next steps because my whisk turned on me and flicked hot cheese/lemon sauce on my face.  In my upset state I forgot to take pictures until I plated the dish.

Once the sauce is done, stir in the pasta until it's all coated with sauce and let it get warm.  Add the shrimp back to the pan, put on the cover and turn off the heat. 

Set the table while everything stays warm.

Serve with a sprinkle of fresh parsley and the beverage of your choice. 

I also made a flourless chocolate torte from sugar, cocoa, egg and butter.  I topped the cake with a sauce made from frozen raspberries and sugar.  

Here's to love!

Tortillas

Yes, you can make tortillas. It's very easy, easy enough to make them whenever you need them.

You'll need:

1 1/2 cups flour + more for dusting the dough

2 Tbsp oil 

(I use vegetable oil but olive oil works very well)

1/2 cup warm water

Combine the flour and oil in a medium-big bowl and mix it up until it's well combined.  You may use a wooden spoon, a fork or your hands, just make sure the big lumps are smooshed out.  

Pour in the water and mix again until the mixture becomes a dough.  

Plop it down on your countertop if you have a granite or formica surface, on your cutting board if you have a tile countertop.  You'll see I use a cutting board, so now you know I have a tile counter top.  Dust the surface and the dough with flour if the dough is sticky. 

Knead it for a few minute until it's smooth and elastic.  Smooth, meaning smooth.  And elastic, meaning when you poke it, the dough springs back.  Any sign of springy-ness is good for this recipe.  

Divide the dough into 8 balls and let them rest for about 5 minutes.  I imagine all that pummeling tires them out.  

While the dough is resting, put your pan, either cast iron or non-stick on the stove over medium-high heat. 

Using a rolling pin, roll out one ball of dough until you have a thin disk.  You will probably find the need to apply some pressure to do this as this dough tends to resist being smushed. 

The disk needs to reach a state called "window pane" where you can see your hand through the dough if you hold both to the light.  This part can take some practice, at least, it took ME some practice.

Now, get that disk of dough into your hot pan.  Let it cook for about 1 minute on each side.  

Look!  You made a tortilla!  

Apply fillings of choice and put it in your face.