Laura’s Kitchen

I will share this disclaimer before you even get to the recipes, I am not a chef or professional.  I am just a person who loves, loves food and experimenting in the kitchen.  I’ve shared my approximations to the best of my ability; use them as a guide, but in the end do you what feels and tastes good to you.

Happy eating & Wear this day well... -Laura

Hot Honey Garlic Roasted Shrimp

If you love shrimp cocktail but have not had it roasted, your life will never be the same.  If you want to be really sensational add your favorite hot honey after it’s done.  I use a peach sriracha honey from The Spice Suite in Washington, DC, but any spicy or hot honey will do.

Ingredients

2 pounds of shrimp (12 to 15 count)

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 to 2 tablespoons of garlic paste depending upon your love of garlic

½  teaspoon of kosher salt

½  teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

Your favorite hot honey

Lime wedges

Instructions

• Peel and devein the shrimp, leave the tails on
• In a bowl toss the shrimp, olive oil, garlic paste, salt and pepper, coating all shrimp
• Spread the shrimp on a baking sheet in one layer
• Roast in a 400 degree for approximately 8 to 10 minutes or just until shrimp is done
• Once shrimp is done, warm and drizzle your favorite hot honey over shrimp
• Garnish with lime wedges, of course you can squeeze lime over all this goodness if you like
• Lastly, and more importantly, email me and let me know what you think about this “Hot Honey Garlic Shrimp”

 

Ham & Jam Sandwich

Ham is literally my “Jam.”  I feel like Dr. Suess when I eat ham.  May I have some ham ma’am?  May I please have it with jam?  If you let me have jam with my ham, I will be most appreciative ma’am.  Ok, I’ll stop now. 

This simple and quick sandwich will become one of your favs if ham is your jam, then add jam and see if it doesn’t change your life. The saltiness of the ham, the sweetness of the jam, the creaminess of the goat cheese butter...let me stop right now!

Ingredients

Ciabatta Rolls

Prosciutto                       Fancy Italian ham, because we feel fancy sometimes

Good Jam                        Use your favorite jam, but you want to use some good gourmet jam that has a rich fruit flavor. I’ve used blackberry, apricot and fig jam and they were all equally delicious

Goat Cheese   

Butter                               Room temperature

Arugula                            Optional, but I think it makes it fye!

Instructions

• Toast your ciabatta rolls in the oven. I broil mine until they are lightly toasted
• Because I struggle with recipes, I’m going to tell you to mix equal parts butter and goat cheese either in a bowl with a fork or in a food processor. You determine how much you want to make, just make sure it’s equal parts.  However, if you like the unique “pungentness” that goat cheese imparts (and I do) you can do a 2 to 3 ratio. For example, 2 ounces of butter and 3 ounces of goat cheese.
• Spread the goat cheese butter on one side of the toasted roll, then top with as much prosciutto as you think you want
• Optional: add arugula on top of the Prosciutto
• On the other bun spread the jam of your choice
• Put it all together and you know what to do after that

 

 

Tomato Salad

There is no easier salad that truly wows people.  I had girlfriends over and made this salad and the oohhs and aahhs never stopped.  They continued to say what did you do to these tomatoes.  When I told them what I did, they said you must have done something else. 

I will tell you the secret to this common salad that makes it special…fresh, high quality ingredients. Use the best, freshest, organic tomatoes you can find; fresh basil; fresh garlic; good olive oil; and the best cheese you can find.

Ingredients (for one, scale up if you want more)

1 large tomato sliced, the best in season organic tomatoes you can find, someone’s farm or farmer’s market is probably your best bet

2-3 fresh basil leaves

1 clove of fresh garlic (I love garlic, so I sometimes use 2 cloves)

Good olive oil

Good feta, crumbled

A dash of kosher salt

A dash of cracked black pepper

A dash of balsamic:  optional

Instructions

• Slice tomato and arrange on your plate
• Tear or use kitchen shears to cut basil and sprinkle over tomatoes. I find the more basil the better, but add as much or as little as you want
• Use a garlic press to press garlic and sprinkle over tomatoes and basil
• Drizzle olive oil over the tomatoes, basil, and garlic. Please don’t ask me how much, as much as you like, but you shouldn’t drown the tomatoes.
• Sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper…don’t eat it yet. Wait five minutes for the flavors to come together
• Now you can add crumbles of your favorite feta, a little more basil and dig in!

 

 

 Smoked Salmon Slider

I created a recipe for spicy salmon sliders, and it was hit, but I also love, love smoked salmon.  In fact, a bagel, smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, tomatoes and red onion is one of my all-time favorite breakfasts on the go.  So…I was looking for a way to have the best of both worlds. As a result, smoked salmon sliders were born.

Ingredients 

Arugula

Brioche dinner rolls

Capers

½ cup whipped garlic & herb creamed cheese

2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon honey

Smoked salmon (wild caught if you can find it; it has a much better flavor)

Tomato

Instructions

• Slice buns in half, butter and broil in the oven. I like mine lightly toasted.
• Mix cream cheese, Dijon, and honey until well incorporated
• The rest is easy, spread the honey mustard cream cheese mixture on the bun, sprinkle with as many capers as you like
• Next layer on the smoked salmon, tomato and arugula
• Place the top bun on your slider; you know what to do next

 

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