Jessica Merchant's Blog, page 375

Homemade Pub Cheese Spread.

I’m almost on the verge of letting us all down.

Every year around Saint Patrick’s Day, I share some sort of recipe with Lucky Charms cereal. Every year! I’ve made boozy shakes, one bowl chocolate cake and even cereal milk chia pudding.

But here’s the thing.

I have officially EXHAUSTED my brain of worthy Lucky Charms recipes. I’ve been thinking about it for months and even made a Lucky Charms snack cake last week, but it was just… meh. Not worthy of sharing with my invisible internet friends. And I just can’t share a recipe that I don’t 100%OMGLOVE.

So I have something even better for you today. Homemade PUB CHEESE.

Please tell me that you know what pub cheese is. Beer cheese spread… it’s mousse-like. It’s super cheddar-y. It’s incredible on crackers and even better on pretzels.

It’s totally addictive. I even like it occasionally on VEGETABLES.

If that tells you anything.

Let’s chat about it?

Okay pub cheese. It might sound weird if you’ve never had it. It might sound (or even look?) gross. But if you’re a dip person, you’ve most likely had it with a bunch of snacks and appetizers and have lost your mind at how good it is. Right right right?

I had NO idea how to make this. I didn’t even realize that it could be made at home! Truth be told, I was sort of horrified when I found the recipe on how it was made. I mean, I really didn’t know what pub cheese WAS, but it is just so freaking good that my mindset was… um… who cares what it is? It’s not like we eat it daily or weekly here. It’s a treat! It’s a party snack! A drunk snack?

It’s one of those things where I didn’t even want to know about the ingredients. I just wanted to ignorantly eat my pub cheese and go on with life.

Then I found this.

The recipe is really SIMPLE. You blend cheese and beer. I am not even joking. It does seem odd, right? In fact, I think it even seems gross… when you just think about it like THAT.

I wouldn’t taste it first. I made it and my brother tasted it and he was like… this is really good. No. This is REALLY GOOD. This is BETTER than the pub cheese in the container.

I tasted it. OH MY GOSH. This is so good. If you like pub cheese, your life is forever ruined now that you can make it at home.

So be it! Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Eat some pub cheese with your Lucky Charms.

How to make Pub Cheese

Yield: serves 6 to 8 as an appetizer

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

6 ounces amber or brown ale, at room temperature
8 ounces mild cheddar, freshly grated
8 ounces sharp cheddar,freshly grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon hot sauce
pinch of salt and pepper
2 teaspoons freshly snipped chives

for serving

crackers
pita chips
pretzels
veggie sticks



Directions:

The first step is to flatten the beer! Remove as much of the carbonation as possible. Add the beer to a bowl and whisk it well  - off and on for 5 to 10 minutes. Set it aside.

Place the cheeses and garlic in a food processor and pulse until it’s in coarse crumbs. Add the Worcestershire, mustard, hot sauce and salt and blend until combined. With the processor on, slowly stream in the beer until the mixture is smooth, about 5 full minutes. The cheese will look mousse-like. Scoop it into a bowl, top it with the chives and serve!

 

[recipe from bon appetit]

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

Just don’t eat Lucky Charms IN your pub cheese.

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S’mores Stout Milkshakes.

How about we have a little chocolate with our beer?

If you’re super busy thinking about layers of flavor in your milkshake right now (because, um, what ELSE would you be thinking about?!), you’re not alone. We have dark beer, vanilla ice cream, marshmallow cream, chocolate ganache, whipped cream and graham cracker shards all up in this glass.

Complete with a flaming marshmallow because torched marshmallows are the only way to go. Who’s with me?

The first experience I ever had with a stout was a chocolate stout… and it was allll because of the name. We were on vacation in Boyne City one summer soon after I turned 21 and I’m almost positive the one I ordered was called Mackinac Island Fudge.

Um hello. You don’t need to twist my arm to consume something like that!

My dad ordered one first and kept saying that you could “really taste the chocolate.”

After that kind of description, I obviously needed to order one myself, but much to my dismay, it didn’t taste like a Lindt truffle. I will never get over chocolate descriptions.

If I’m told that coffee or beer tastes like chocolate, I want it to taste like ACTUAL chocolate. Not just have hints of chocolate.

Which of course, makes a lot more sense. The Mackinac Island Fudge beer was pretty good, albeit heavy, and definitely had hints of chocolate. Just hints though.

I think about that moment often, especially whenever I hear about or see a certain stout on a menu. It 100% inspired me to make chocolate stout milkshakes, which turned into s’mores milkshakes instead of just chocolate since I can’t let anything be. And must create the trashiest drink known to man. I just don’t knoooow any other way.

While I didn’t use a chocolate stout for these shakes (Guinness was the first stout to catch my eye and I ran with it), if you by chance have a chocolate stout somewhere around your house, I think it would be absolute perfection.

In fact, it’s going to be my March goal to: just *happen* to have chocolate stout hanging out in my fridge for frosty moments like these.

S'mores Stout Milkshakes

Yield: serves 2, is easily multiplied

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

chocolate ganache for swirling the glasses
1 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream
2 tablespoons marshmallow cream
1 tablespoon chocolate ganache
6 ounces Guinness or a chocolate/coffee stout
whipped cream for topping
toasted marshmallows for topping
graham cracker pieces/crumbs for topping

chocolate ganache

6 ounces high-quality dark chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup heavy cream



Directions:

Take a tablespoon of the chocolate ganache and swirl it around the inside of each glass.

Place the ice cream, marshmallow cream, ganache and beer in a blender and puree until smooth and creamy. Pour the shakes into the glasses and top with a few spoonfuls of the ganache, a dollop of whipped cream, toasted marshmallows and the graham cracker crumbs/pieces. Serve immediately!

chocolate ganache

Add the chopped chocolate to a bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan over low heat just until bubbles appear around the edges and it's warm. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds, then stir continuously until it's smooth.

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

On firrre.

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Asparagus Potato Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing.

The Irish in me is feeling so good about this salad.

GUYS. Potato salad. In bacon dressing. With crunchy-ness! My inner texture freak is thrilled.

Can we discuss the neon-ness of these raw purple potatoes below? The minute I sliced them open, I was blown away. I’ve been on a purple sweet potato kick this winter (made an awesome recipe for the book with them… eeep!) and grabbed this colorful medley of baby potatoes at the grocery store.

They.are.stunning. 

The regular old potato salad never floats my boat. I’ve never been able to get into the mayo-based summertime salads, much to my BBQ loving brain’s dismay. I really WANT to love traditional potato salad, but I just… don’t.

However! In my opinion, the best salads are warm and drizzled with hot bacon dressing. When I was growing up, hot bacon dressing was this magical thing. Mother Lovett and my mom loved it and talked about it all the time – more so the spinach salads with hot bacon dressing – but we couldn’t always find it on menus. I always wondered why the heck we didn’t eat hot bacon dressing with other salads. Why only cold spinach salads? Wouldn’t it be incredible on warm potato salad?

Yes. The answer to that is yes.

And the thing is that these potatoes don’t HAVE to be warm. I like the whole mess served warm. But! You can totally eat the salad cold and just drizzle the warm bacon dressing on top for loads of flavor.

Or you might just want to drink the bacon dressing. I mean, I have no idea who would ever do that.

I’m not a newbie with it comes to potato salads like this, my first one being a bacon blue version with soft boiled eggs (so good!) and a vinaigrette. So many flavors going on there. I love to have that for a meal alone.

This salad though is a little greener. A little more in tune with spring. I love that asparagus is coming into season at the moment. I know that technically we are able to get asparagus all year round since it’s 2017, but it’s truly the best right now. Those skinny little spears are perfection!

And the texture is super great too. The potatoes are soft but the asparagus and radish slices are crunchy! And the bacon. Of course. Also crunchy. I would just like to live in this giant vat of flavor, okay?

Asparagus Potato Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing

Yield: serves 4

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

2 pounds baby red, golden and/or purple potatoes
4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
1/2 pound asparagus spears, woody stems removed
4 radishes, thinly sliced (I use a mandolin)
pinch of salt and pepper
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh chopped chives

hot bacon dressing

3 tablespoons bacon fat
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 slices bacon, crumbled



Directions:

Place the potatoes in a pot and fill it with cold water. Bring it to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes - just until the potatoes are fork tender. This will differ based on the side of your potatoes, but you don't want them mushy or falling apart. You want them slightly firm so they hold up in the salad. Slice the potatoes in half or in quarters - depending on their size and how you'd like them. Place them in a large bowl to cool.

While the potatoes are cooking, heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until the fat is rendered and the bacon is totally crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel to drain any excess grease. It will be used for the dressing! Spoon out about 3 tablespoons of the bacon grease to also reserve for the dressing. Throw the asparagus in the skillet and cook, stirring often, until it's bright green and just crisp, about 3 to 4 minutes. Place the asparagus aside.

In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, asparagus, radish slices, green onions and a pinch of salt and pepper. I like to watch the salt here since the bacon is salty... and the dressing is salty. You don't want to overdo it! But add however much you think is necessary to taste great. Toss the mixture with the hot bacon dressing. Sprinkle it with the chives. Taste and season additionally if desired. Serve!

hot bacon dressing

Add the bacon grease, minced garlic, vinegar, sugar and mustard to a saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the dressing slightly emulsifies. Season with the salt and pepper. Before serving, add in the crumbled bacon. You can keep this over low heat while stirring occasionally until ready to serve. I suggest reheating it in a saucepan like so. This is the combo I've come to love over the years, but you can experiment with different vinegars, more bacon fat and other spices too!

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

It’s just so colorful!

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Tuesday Things.

1. I may be one of the few freaks who looks forward to daylight savings time. I am SO happy that it’s light out again until well into the evening. Makes work so much easier!

2. Speaking of, our snowmageddon forecast was a HUUUUGE bust. Six plus inches turned into a light dusting so I am ready for you, spring. But don’t worry – there wasn’t any bread left at the grocery store last night.

3. How fun is this layered rainbow jello?! Super cute.

4. I know that it’s pi day, but here’s the thing… I have always loathed any and all sort of math and science. In school, they were my worst subjects and I have no interest in them, therefore I could just never get into pi day. I was reading and writing all the day. Except nowm for the actual PIE. 

5. It’s official: I can’t stop listening to the Missing: Richard Simmons podcast. Um, it is SO good.

6. Um HOMELAND!! Holy cow, how incredible was that episode? I also am still really loving Billions. And Big Little Lies! Even Eddie is into it now, and it’s fun watching it with him since he hasn’t read the book. GIRLS? Ugh! Elijah killed me and broke my heart.

7. What do writers do when they write? Absolutely love this.

8. What was your favorite childhood cereal? Mine was Oh’s! which I can still find at Target and also Oatmeal Crisp – the almond version. And of course, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but I didn’t have it everyday. I want a cereal bar in my own house.

9. Oh my gosh. 100 90s kids memes. True life: I still doodle #31 on everything.

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Pesto Chicken Parmesan Sliders.

Today we’re talking about little bites of cheesy heaven.

The rate that I would survive without cheese in my life is… 0%. No survival.

And If Eddie could eat one meal for the rest of his life, this would be it.

Before or after pepperoni sausage pizza, of course.

And a grilled steak. With sweet potatoes.

But give or take those… this is it!

These little bites of love are totally homemade and full of flavor. The chicken is SO good.

While it’s easy, it does require an extra step of actually, well, MAKING the chicken before you make the sandwiches. But it’s not so bad – just pretend that you are going to make chicken parm… then sandwich it!

I like to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs because they have so much flavor. I trim any excess fat and cut them into pieces depending on the side of my slider buns. You can always make a regular sandwich here, but I find that it’s insanely filling. Plus, sliders are cuter. And you can eat two of them with a greens salad and feel good about life.

The rest of the slider comes together with some marinara and grated cheese. And my favorite part: the pesto! I’ve had a ton of pesto on hand while I finish up shooting the book – like a CRAZY amount – and that is exactly where the inspiration came from. At first I thought I would just make some sort of pesto chicken parmesan, but HELLO.

Everything is better when it’s enveloped by carbs. Obviously.

There is a little bit of a sweet and savory thing going on here since I used the sweet Hawaiian rolls. The contrast in flavor makes these ridiculously appealing as soon as you take a bite. There’s just a little extra something about them. Sweetness, spice and savory taste buds freak.

And one more thing that is awesome? These actually reheat pretty well. Eddie and my brother ate them for a few days after I initially made them and still raved over the flavor. The chicken doesn’t stay quite as crispy, but the flavor is still spot on. I’m trying desperately to not make them every WEEK!

Pesto Chicken Parmesan Sliders

Yield: makes 9 to 12 sliders

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into pieces
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
½ cup seasoned fine breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
9 to 12 Hawaiian bread dinner rolls or slider buns
2 cups freshly grated provolone cheese
2 cups marinara sauce
1/2 cup pesto
parmesan cheese, for sprinkling



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Take the chicken and cut it into pieces based on the size of your slider buns. I cut the thighs into halves or thirds.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs. In another bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, flour, basil, salt and pepper.

Heat a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Take the chicken and coat it in the beaten egg then dredge it through the bread crumbs, pressing gently to adhere. Place the chicken in the skillet. You just want to cook it until the bread crumbs brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Once the chicken is finished, place it in the oven and bake it for 15 minutes, or until cooked through the center.

While the chicken is baking, prepare the rest of the sliders. Grate your cheese and slice open your slider rolls. Place the slider rolls on a baking sheet. Spread marinara sauce on the bottom slider bun and add a spoonful of pesto. Add a little sprinkle of cheese. Top each with a piece of chicken, then cover it with more marinara, a touch more pesto, and a big handful of cheese. Gently place the top bun on top.

Bake the sliders for 10 to 15 minutes, just until the cheese melts. When the come out of the oven, you can add on a big basil leaf depending on how much you love basil. Serve immediately with an extra sprinkle of parmesan!

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

Ice cold beer too. For Monday!

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Exciting News! NYC MacKenzie-Childs Meetup!

GUYS! I am so, so, so freaking excited to tell you about a little meetup party I’m hosting with MacKenzie Childs at their NYC store on Saturday, April 22nd. Remember when I visited the MacKenzie Childs headquarters last fall and completely fell in love?! Eeeep!

We will have treats and bubbles and I’ll be signing copies of Seriously Delish, which will also be available for purchase in store. And they are offering 20% off their Courtly Check and Flower Market Enamel Cookware, which is SO stunning! 

I’ll probably remind you of it approximately 56 times in the next few weeks. I hope to see you there!! How fun would this be for an early Mother’s Day outing?

In the meantime, I’ve developed three recipes for the launch of their GORGEOUS flower market cookware. I’ll be telling you more about them in the next few weeks!

DETAILS

Saturday, April 22, 11AM – 3PM 

MacKenzie Childs, 20 West 57th St, New York City

20% off all Courtly Check and Flower Market Enamel Cookware in NYC store only! 

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Currently Crushing On.

{via}

Happy Saturday! We’re stuck in a late winter freeze this weekend after having near 80 degree days, but I am SO excited that we turn the clocks ahead this weekend. More daylight, woohoo! We have another no-plans weekend but I have a ton of work to do on the book, so I’m going to hibernate. What are you guys up to?

P.S. it’s peeps s’mores season!

Favorite links of the week:

the most stunning winter citrus salad i’ve ever seen.

dying over this tempura asparagus with matcha salt.

kumquat honeycomb tartines. so cute.

so obsessed with tracy’s bullet journal supplies.

craving a huge jar of baileys chocolate mousse.

the cutest ever DIY unicorn balloons.

chocolate snack cake with guinness ganache. ooooooh.

yes yes yes to pistachio matcha snack balls.

love the idea of this linguine with broccolini pesto.

breakfast crostini! i’d never say no.

whoa: the millionaire surf and turf sandwich.

coconut blood orange margaritas! cheers.

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Irish Soda Bread French Toast with Whiskey Syrup and Whipped Cream.

I’m pretttty sure that if you’re Irish, it’s practically acceptable to have whiskey at breakfast.

We can get around it in a let’s-not-take-a-shot kind of way, and it includes chocolate chips, syrup and whipped cream. What’s not to love about this? FRAAANCH toast. 

Up until last year, my experience with soda bread was pathetic to say the least. It’s no secret that I’m of the strong belief that raisins ruin everything (although I can eat them on their own, there is NOTHING worse than thinking you are biting into a chocolate chip cookie only to discover that it’s… RAISIN) and since bread isn’t that thing that makes me go wide eyed, I’d never found one I enjoyed.

On top of that, I had a terrible meeting with soda bread in elementary school that I’ve just never got over. It was dry. There were way too many raisins. I had high hopes for thinking it would taste like dessert and it tasted like cardboard. On top of that, it was paired with an Irish jig that we had to participate in in the school cafeteria and the whole thing was a whole big NO.

I was only probably ten or something too. How do I remember a day like that? I must have been scarred for life.

Anyhooooo. WELCOME. Welcome to the best way ever to eat soda bread. If you ever have a “meh” piece of bread, coat it in custard, fry it in butter, cover it in whiskey syrup and whipped cream. Life is instantly better.

Oh but first. Make sure that soda bread has chocolate chips in it. Because that’s the only way to go.

French toast is one of those recipes that I like to consider breakfast dessert. I rarely order a plate of it alone at breakfast or brunch because I’ll fall into a SERIOUS food coma after and not want to consume one green thing for the rest of the day. But when I’m at brunch with friends, French toast or pancakes becomes the dessert that the table can pick at.

Or the sweet bite of breakfast that we crave with the rest of our eggs or sandwiches or heck, even burgers. You know.

I’ve deemed soda bread as theeee perfect bread for french toast. It’s thick and hearty and a little more dense than regular bread. There is nothing worse than soggy french toast. Nothing!

Oh and P.S. you should probably serve this with some whiskey iced coffee. Word.

Irish Soda Bread French Toast with Whiskey Syrup and Whipped Cream

Yield: serves 2 to 4

Ingredients:

4 slices irish soda bread 
3 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, plus extra for sprinkling
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter
powdered sugar for sprinkling
sliced banana for serving

whiskey maple syrup

2/3 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons irish whiskey

whiskey whipped cream

1 cup cold heavy cream
1 tablespoon irish whiskey
1 tablespoon powdered sugar



Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and salt.

Heat a large skillet or grilled over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter. Dip each piece of bread in the egg mixture and coat it evenly. Place it on the hot skillet and cook until golden brown. Repeat with remaining bread. When you're ready to flip the slices, add the remaining tablespoon of butter.

Once the french toast is finished, you can cut some of the larger slices in half if you have them. Serve with the whiskey syrup, whipped cream, a powdered sugar sprinkle and banana!

whiskey maple syrup

Heat the syrup and whiskey together in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly before serving. But serve warm!

whiskey whipped cream

Place the cream and whiskey in the bowl of your electric mixer. Beat until peaks form. Beat in the sugar until combined.

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

Happy boozy breakfasting.

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Matcha Ginger Kombucha Fizz.

Now this is the kind of green consumption that I can get behind.

This surely can be on the superfood list with kale and broccoli and all that jazz.

I’m reeeeeally into matcha at the moment! While I’m not longer boycotting coffee (that lasted, like, two weeks), matcha makes me feel energized without the crash and the flavor is mostly growing on me. I highly doubt I’ll be able to consume it anytime soon without some sort of sweetness, but who knows.

We could get there!

In the meantime, I’ll shake it with some honey, vodka and ginger kombucha (the best best best!) and drink it like a freak. Isn’t it the prettiest color ever? Please please please drink this next weekend on Saint Patrick’s Day in lieu of green beer or green vodka.

I’ve been there. It does not end well.

I thought there were a few spirits that I could combine matcha with and vodka stood out the most. Even though I’m generally not the hugest fan of vodka (however, my quick drink of choice when I don’t want to be hungover would be vodka soda with tons of limes), I find it to be the easiest to combine with, well… weird flavors. You know? Like it’s basic enough that it can let other ingredients shine.

PLUS! I’ve had it a bunch with ginger kombucha so I already know that combo is the business.

Hold up. Does this drink remind anyone else of the old school Ecto Cooler juice boxes from the 90s? Please say yes.

I am seriously loving the flavors in this drink. It tastes super FRESH to me (who else things of Kristen Wiig in Bridesmaids? Annnd you don’t even want to know how often I quote “haallllp me I’m poor” on the regular) and like spring is right around the corner, which is it.

And let’s be real, that might be because matcha sort of tastes like grass. But if I’m enjoying it, you will probably enjoy it. Mix it with some honey and you’re good to go. That fresh bite also comes from the ginger kombucha (a little spice) and the fresh mint which semi-infuses the drink after it sits in it for a minute. I’m in LUST.

Matcha Ginger Kombucha Fizz

Yield: makes 2 drinks, is easily multiplied

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 ounces vodka
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon matcha powder
8 ounces ginger kombucha
1 lime, cut into wedges
a handful of fresh mint for garnish



Directions:

Add the vodka, honey and matcha powder to a cocktail shaker. Shake for at least 30 seconds - until the matcha is dissolved. I like to add ice then and shake for 20 seconds more.

Fill two chilled glasses with ice and pour the matcha vodka over. Squeeze in the juice from a lime wedge. Fill the rest of the cup with ginger kombucha and garnish with a few fresh mint leaves. Serve immediately!

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

Definitely a health booster.

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Sesame Crusted Shrimp and Mango Quinoa Bowls.

I’ve got your dinner tonight!

No. Seriously. I’ve GOT your dinner. There is so much love here in this little bowl that my heart might explode. I must share.

I mentioned last week that I’ve had a weird thing going on with shrimp. I’ve always enjoyed it, but it must have been when I was pregnant with Max that I become completely disinterested in it. It’s not like I HATED it. But? Meh. For the last two-ish years, it’s rarely been my meal of choice. Why do these wacko things happen to our taste buds and brain?

When I was kid and hated pasta, I remember telling my grandma how sad I was that I didn’t LIKE pasta. She told me that my tastes would change over time and I thought she was nuts. I was like… now that is bizarre. My tastes are not going to change!

Boom. They did.

And they did again!

So.

WHY did it never cross my mind to encrust shrimp in sesame seeds? I mean, I’m completely obsessed with EVERYTHING sesame flavored. It’s easily in my top five favorites at the moment. And the seeds add this amazzzzing crunch to the shrimp. Eeeeep.

Here’s the rundown for this bowl:

Quinoa with mango and cilantro. Dooooo it.

The lovely sesame crusted shrimp! Best texture ever.

Sliced avocado.

Lots of sesame seeds and toasted sesame oil.

Extra mango!

Tons of lime. Of course.

GUYS. There is so much flavor going on here that it’s mind blowing.

Mix everything together or eat it piece by piece because it’s perfect. And then, instagrammable. Of course.

Sesame Crusted Shrimp with Mango Quinoa

Yield: serves 2

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

½ pound jumbo shrimp
2 large eggs, beaten
½ cup sesame seeds
1 tablespoon flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil for drizzling
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds for topping
sliced avocado for serving

mango quinoa

2 cups water
1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
1 tablespoon coconut oil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 mango, peeled and chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro



Directions:

Pat the shrimp completely dry. In one bowl, add the eggs. In a second bowl, stir together the sesame seeds, flour, salt and pepper.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the coconut oil. Take the shrimp and dip it in the beaten egg, then dip it in the sesame seed mix, pressing gently so the seeds adhere. Place the shrimp in the skillet, being careful not to crowd the skillet, and cook until the sesame seeds are toasted - about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Place the shrimp on a plate and repeat with remaining shrimp.

Assemble the bowls by scooping the quinoa into the bowl, topping with the sesame shrimp, adding some mango chunks and avocado. Drizzle with toasted sesame oil, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

mango quinoa

Place the water, quinoa, coconut oil, salt and pepper in a saucepan and heat over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer and cover. Cook for 15 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove the quinoa from the heat and stir in the mango and cilantro.

[shrimp method from martha]

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

Now margaritas? Seems like a fit.

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