recipes (In order)

Gabriela’s Linguine with Shrimp and Scallops in a Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

For the Shrimp:

1/2 lb medium or large raw shrimp peeled and deveined

1/2 lb of small or large scallops 

1 teaspoon of paprika

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of pink Himalayan salt

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

1/2 teaspoon of red pepper fakes (you can add more or omit completely)

2 teaspoons of olive oil

For the Pasta and Sauce:

1 box of linguine (454 grams)

1 tablespoon of olive oil 

2 tablespoons of salted butter

2 shallots, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup of dry white wine

2 cups whipping cream
1/3 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons of parsley, finely chopped

Directions:

Pat dry the shrimp and scallops and place in a bowl. Add the paprika, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and olive oil. Give it a good mix until fully coated and set aside for about 10 minutes.

Bring salted water in a large pot to a boil and add the linguine and cook according to instructions on box until al-dente. Drain and add a little olive oil to avoid from sticking.

While the linguine is cooking, place a large non-stick pan over medium high heat and add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the shrimp and scallops and cook 2 minutes per side, or until cooked through and no longer translucent. Place on a dish and set aside.

In that same pan, melt the butter. Add the shallots and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Add the white wine and cook until most has evaporated (about 5 minutes). Add the 2 cups of whipping cream, bring to a boil then simmer for 3 minutes. Add the shrimp and scallops along with the parmesan cheese and give it a good mix. Taste the sauce to see if you need salt and pepper. Stir in the cooked pasta and toss until completely coated in the sauce. Remove from heat and top with the parsley and serve! 

I always add extra parmesan cheese once I have the pasta on my plate. You can never go wrong with more cheese!!!

Ingredients

1 lb of dried elbow pasta

1/2 cup salted butter

1/2 cup of flour

2 cups of milk

2 cups of heavy cream

4 cups of grated old sharp cheddar cheese

2 cups of grated Gruyere cheese

1/2 teaspoon of paprika

1/2 tablespoon of salt

1 teaspoon of black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish with butter.  Grate the cheeses in separate bowls. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the elbow pasta and cook until a little less then al dente (about 1-2 minutes less than the directions indicated on package). Drain and place in a deep wide bowl and drizzle with olive oil - this will help keep it from sticking.  

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until well combined. Until you no longer have any flour showing. Cook for about 45 seconds, whisking constantly. Pour in the milk, cook for another 45 seconds then add the heavy cream. Keep whisking - this is important.

Keep doing this until the mixture has thickened - About 10-12 minutes. You must keep constantly whisking during this process. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 1/2 cups of the cheese, until melted, then another 1 1/2 cups of cheese until fully melted. The left over cheeses will be used to assemble the bake.

Add the creamy cheese sauce to the pasta - add half of the mixture. Mix it into the pasta. Then add the other half and mix until fully combined. Pour half of the pasta into the baking dish. Top with 1 1/2 cups of the cheese, then top with the remaining pasta. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown 

Ingredients:

Chicken Shawarma - You will be marinating the chicken for 12-24 hours (The longer the better)

Day before:

14 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs

3 Garlic Cloves, Minced

3/4 teaspoon of the following spices:

       turmeric, garlic powder, paprika, ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon of the following spices: 

        ground cloves, cayenne pepper (or more if you like it spicy)

2 teaspoons of salt

Black Pepper (to your liking)

1 lemon, juice of

1/3 cup of olive oil

1 cup of greek or plain yogurt (I like greek yogurt in this recipe)

Directions:

Clean your chicken thighs and remove any dry blood and little bones that hang off. I like to clean my chicken in a large bowl of cold water with 2-3 tablespoons of white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Pat dry and add into a large bowl. Add all of the spices, salt, back pepper, lemon juice, olive oil and greek yogurt to the chicken and mix until well combined. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 12-24 hours.
Day of:

7-8 wooden skewers (place in water for an hour before assembling the chicken)

1 large red onion, skins removed and cut in half  (I like the large ones that look a little flatter then a regular one - It’ll be easier to assemble)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, or 200 degrees C.  Remove the chicken from the fridge and let come to room temp (about 1/2 hour - 1 hour). In a deep dish, add half of the cut onion, flat side down.  Poke the onion with 3 skewers (Flat side of skewer poking through onion, leaving pointy part up (easier to pass the chicken thighs through). Leave 1/2 inch space between each skewer.  Pass the chicken thighs through the skewers.  You’re going to add them and rotate the direction each time you mount them.  So they look like the actual shawarma on a doner kebab machine.  You’re going to pile one by one until all of the chicken has been assembled.  Poke the other half of the onion (Flat side down again) through the skewers so it looks like the image below.  Next you are going to add the remaining skewers, one from each corner with the pointy part going into the red onion on the top.  Once all of this is done, it’s time to wrap it with parchment and then with foil paper.  Place in oven and bake for 1 hour.  Once that hour has passed, remove from the oven and remove the foil and parchment paper.  With a baster, pick up all of the juice the chicken has released and baste the chicken.  Place back in the oven for an additional 30 minutes. Remove from oven and start slicing the chicken.  Let those pieces fall into the juices. You will notice as you cut you will see raw chicken… this is ok!  We’re placing it back in the oven to cook. Y ou’re going to baste the chicken again, and back again into the oven.  Keep doing this every half hour until all of the chicken is cut and in the juice.  Change the oven setting to broil and place back into the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and wait about 5-10 minutes to plate.  Serve however you like. I like to serve it with Turmeric Rice and fries and a greek salad, topped off with garlic sauce (Recipe Below)

Garlic Sauce (I like to make this the day before - I find it more flavourful)

3 garlic cloves

1 1/2 cup of greek yogurt

1/2 cup of mayo

4 tablespoons of lemon juice
Add all ingredients into a food processor until completely blended. Place in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Turmeric Rice

4 tablespoons of butter (I like salted - It’s more flavourful)

1 large onion, chopped finely

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 teaspoons of turmeric 

2 chicken boullion cubes (or 1 chicken bouillon and 1 teaspoon of salt)

1 teaspoon of dry thyme

3 small bay leaves, or 1 large 

2 cups of basmati rice

4 cups of water

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium sized pot on medium to high heat, melt the butter. When the butter is melted, add the onion (Sprinkle with a little but of salt) - to sweat them out. Let it cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, turmeric, chicken bouillon, dry thyme and bay leave. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the basmati rice and mix it into the onion and garlic mixture. Let it cook for about 5 minutes (we want to toast the rice a bit). Add the water, cook on medium low heat until it’s cooked - about 15-20 minutes). Remove bay leaves and serve. You can serve as a side with the chicken and top with the garlic sauce.  

For a step by step tutorial with images and videos, click on the STEP BY STEP TUTORIAL button on the top right of the  page!