Xuxu and Shrimp with Chile and Lemon

Since I love playing with new ingredients, I was intrigued by this recipe calling for Xuxu. What the heck is a xuxu? Oh, well it's a chayote. Well what the heck is a chayote? See how much fun this is? (The picture above is of the chayotes.) Lucky for me I had seen chayotes at my fruit market and in fact I almost bought some once just to play. But this recipe found me instead.

Besides this fun new ingredient, the recipe calls for shrimp, artichoke hearts and jalapeños - three of my favorite ingredients. So this a simple and fun dinner that ends up tasting very flavorful but also light at the same time. It's a nice easy dinner and probably would be really great in summer.

Xuxu and Shrimp with Chile and Lemon Serves 4 6 garlic cloves 3/4 cup chopped white onion 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh jalapeño, including seeds 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 3 medium xuxu (chayote; about 1 3/4 pound total) 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined 1/4 cup olive oil, divided 1 (14-ounces) jar or can hearts of palm, rinsed well, patted dry, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1/3 cup chopped cilantro

With motor running, drop garlic into a food processor and finely chop. Stop processor and add onion, jalapeño (to taste), lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, then pulse until finely chopped.

Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes for flavors to develop.
Peel xuxu if skin is tough. Cut xuxu off pit in slices, then cut into 1/4-inch-thick matchsticks.

Toss shrimp with 1 teaspoon salt. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Sauté shrimp until just cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Sauté xuxu in remaining tablespoon oil in skillet until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.

Return shrimp to skillet, then add hearts of palm and sauté until just heated through. Remove from heat and stir in chile-lemon sauce and cilantro.

Grilled Kielbasa with Warm Potato Salad

I know this calls for a grill, but I used a grill pan instead of venturing out in the snow. Also, I substituted red fingerling potatoes which worked out perfectly. This recipe for Grilled Kielbasa with Warm Potato Salad comes from the June, 2008 issue of Gourmet magazine.

I strongly suggest you taste the "vinaigrette" before tossing in the potatoes because I didn't think it had nearly enough cider vinegar for that German potato salad taste. But this recipe does a good job of melding familiar German flavors in a different and easy way.

Grilled Kielbasa with Warm Potato Salad Serves 4 (Main Course) 2 lb. small red boiling potatoes, halved or quartered if large 1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion 3 Tbsp olive oil 2 Tbsp cider vinegar 1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley 1 lb. smoked kielbasa Accompaniment: grainy mustard

Generously cover potatoes with water in a large saucepan and add 1 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, whisk together onion, oil, vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper in a large bowl.

Add hot potatoes and parsley to vinaigrette and toss.

Prepare grill for direct-head cooking over medium-hot charcoal (medium heat for gas). NOTE: Kielbasa can be grilled in a hot lightly oiled large (2-burner) ridged grill pan over medium-high heat.

Cut kielbasa crosswise into 4 sections, then halve each section lengthwise.

Oil grill rack, then grill kielbasa, covered only if using a gas grill, turning once, until sizzling and grill marks appear, about 4 minutes total.

Serve kielbasa with potato salad (warm or at room temperature).

Thai-Style Beef with Noodles

I haven't made anything from Gourmet Magazine in quite a while so I was determined to find something to make. I decided to try out the Thai-Style Beef with Noodles featured in the February, 2008 issue.

This recipe turned out really amazing! The beef seemed to be a bit plain to me - the marinade didn't really soak in any flavor. But the broth was really impressive. It tasted like real authentic Thai food that I would get in a restaurant. I love when my recipes turn out as flavorful as this.

For me it was fun because I got to use the Le Creuset stove-top grill I bought myself for a Christmas present. While the beef cooked up well on the stove-top grill pan, the vegetables were what I was really amazed with. The grill marks really got in there and they actually tasted like they were grilled outside! The grilled peppers and green onions added a really great taste to this noodle dish.

Three of us ate this for dinner and we all gave it thumbs up. If I make this again though I think I may want to marinate the beef overnight or figure out a stronger marinade to use. I'd keep the broth and the rest of the recipe exactly the same though.