Surf & Turf

Last Saturday, Ted, Allie & I cooked up a little coast-meets-the-heartland. Otherwise known as Surf & Turf: The Gathering. That was the theme at least. I elected to be the "surf", while Allie was the "turf", and Ted made some delicious non-theme-related desserts. I was a little scared to try my stuff out (my stuff being the crab dip, shrimp, and risotto) since I'd never made any of it before, but luckily things turned out OK!

So, you may be asking yourself, what are the steps for a successful Surf & Turf?

STEP ONE: Cut a hole in a box.

oops... wrong instructions.

STEP ONE:
Hot Spinach, Artichoke & Crab Dip
(loosely guided by this cooks.com recipe)
Melt 1 stick of butter in a medium sized saucepan. Saute 3 minced shallots and a few minced cloves of garlic, as well as 1/3 cup minced crabmeat, in the butter for a few minutes. Then add, in this order, melting / stirring well after each addition: 1 package of thawed spinach, 8oz cream cheese (1 philly block), 8oz sour cream (small pack), 1 cup parmesan cheese, 1 can/jar marinated artichokes (chopped), 1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese. Then what I could have done (but didn't) is put the dip in crocks / oven safe bowls, top with remaining monterey jack, and bake at 300 until cheese is melted.

Homemade Pita Chips
Buy as many small pitas as you want (the 8" ish ones), and slice them into 8ths. Lay slices flat on a baking sheet. Brush with mixture of olive oil, garlic salt, pepper and paprika. Bake for 10 minutes or so until nice and crispy.

STEP TWO:

[ PICTURE OF DINNER ]

Marinated Grilled Shrimp Skewers
Marinade one pound of deveined shrimp in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Skewer 3-4 shrimp on bamboo skewers until no shrimp remain. Grill shrimp about 3 minutes on each side on a George Foreman grill (or something of the like).

Roast Beef Sirloin
Allie made this one. And it tasted GREAT!

Marinated Roasted Asparagus
(marinated in a vinagarette, garnished with goat cheese)

Wild Mushroom Risotto
used this Rachael Ray recipe. came out ok but want to find a way to make it creamier next time.

[ PICTURE OF WILD MUSHROOM RISOTTO ]

STEP THREE:
Melt chocolate and dip delicious things in it. Decorate.
(courtesy of Ted)

[ PICTURE OF CHOCOLATE DIPPED THINGS ]

Banana Cream Pie
(courtesy of Leanne)

[ PICTURE OF BANANA CREAM PIE ]

Oh, and I forgot an important step. Perhaps Step Zero: wine. Thanks to everyone who brought some, and thanks to all who attended and took a chance on our amateur cooking skills!