Naked cali rolls

Naked California rolls

These beauties are an app I came up with for a dinner party (did a Riesling tasting and dinner that included 3 kinds of Riesling (from dry to sweet). We had chicken Riesling and butterscotch/toffee sundaes also). I called these apps naked cali rolls because the ingredients are similar to those found in California rolls but these have no rice (that's the naked part). They came out really tasty and pretty. The best part, they are super easy to make!

Naked Cali Rolls

1 seedless cucumber cut into slices

1 small tub of jumbo lump crab meat (could prob use backfin or claw if you wanted, but thought the lumps were really pretty!)

1 avocado mashed w/ salt and lemon (to keep it from turning brown)

2tbl wasabi mayo (made my own w/ Hellman's mayo and wasabi paste)

*tip* put the avocado and wasabi mayo into plastic baggies so that you can "pipe"them onto the cucumbers. You could also use scallops or shrimp if you cant get crab. Keep everything really cold in the fridge until the guests arrive. I served this with a really fruity (not very sweet) Riesling and it was delish!

The linguine!

shrimp feta linguine tomato butter



Here it is, in all its delicious glory :) This dish is buttery, tangy, sweet and incredibly fresh! This dish came out better than expected (and expectations were high :)) considering I adapted it from a recipe I saw in real simple magazine a few years back. It's super easy to make and very fast. Hope you like it!




Shrimp and feta linguine w/ tomato butter

1 tbl extra virgin olive oil (and a little extra to finish)
1 lb shrimp (peeled and deveined)
2 cloves garlic (sliced)
1 small red onion or large shallot (chopped, minced or sliced, depending on how rustic you want this to be)
3-4 roma tomatoes (depends on how big and juicy they are)
1/3 c white wine (pinot grigio or savignon blanc)
2tbl parsley
2tbl basil
2 tbl butter
1/2 c pasta water reserved in case you need to thin out the sauce
1/2 c feta (I really love the Greek feta from Trader Joe's, but any will work for this)
1/2 box linguine (prepare using box instructions)

* in a medium skillet, saute the garlic and onions over medium heat. Cook until they start to caramelize, but are not browned (aprox 2-4 min) add tomatoes and white wine and let wine reduce by 1/2 (4 min?) . Add salt and pepper to taste then add in the shrimp (cook until just pink) then take off the heat and stir in the herbs and butter. Add linguine to the skillet and cook in the sauce over medium heat for about 30 seconds. Add pasta water to loosen the sauce if too thick or if the pasta is sticking together. Plate the pasta and finish with the cool creamy feta and an "anointing" of good olive oil.




I served this with the orange and fennel salad, a glass of cold wine and crusty french bread.