Quickie Tablescape for Thursday- Shrimp with Romesco Sauce and a Unique Ravioli

Hello friends! And I do mean friends. I want to take a second first of all to thank all our newest and latest followers. We have had so much fun with this blogging adventure and have made such wonderful friendships- we'll do our best to visit you all soon.

 We're linking up tonight to Tablescape Thursday at the lovely Susan's place- Between Naps on the Porch. Grab a glass of something cold, curl up in your favorite spot, and join us for inspiration and time with friends

Blogging will be a bit slow and sporadic for the next 2 weeks. We're leaving tomorrow for sunny south Florida where I'll get to hug and cuddle and love 2 very special little angels

     

Aren't they gorgeous?? (I am NOT prejudiced!)

Anyway, though I would normally be doing a 4th of July table, but since we're going to be in Florida this weekend (and I'm going insane trying to get some spoiled people who want Mom to do everything for them everyone packed and the house in some semblance of order for my parents while working all day) the best I could do was to show you our dinner table tonight. This afternoon I did a tasting for a potential client, so dinner was a bit of a conglomeration.

A starter of garlicky sauteed shrimp with a Romesco Sauce

        Romesco is a sauce originally from Tarragona, in Northeastern Spain. The story goes  that fishermen of the area made it to eat with fish. It is also wonderful with  meats and vegetables and can be served spread on a lovely toasted foccacia. It's a thick puree of roasted peppers, almonds, hazelnuts, tomatoes, and garlic

The client asked for a fresh pasta, so what could be better than ravioli- a roasted red onion ravioli dressed with a thyme- infused cream. This entire meal was inspired by our local Farmer's Market offerings- we'd love to hear what you all are creating with the season's herbs, fruits and veggies

I'll let the table speak for itself this week since it's a simple one- the recipe is at the end :)

Our nod to the Fourth- Liberty Blue bread dishes and butter server

Homemade Honey Buttermilk bread that we made yesterday. The flowers were brought to me by a very, very special little gentleman. I love you Spencer

Must have wine...

Shrimp with Romesco Sauce

3 roasted red bell peppers, seeded and cut into chunks

about 6 TBLSP olive oil, divided

1 1/2- 3/4 inch slice coarse textured or artisan type bread

1/4 cup blanched almonds

1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded, chopped ripe tomatoes (drain)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 TSP sweet paprika

good pinch (about 1/4 tsp.) crushed red pepper flakes

4 TBLSP sherry or wine vinegar

salt and pepper

About an hour and a half before serving, make Romesco. This can also be made in advance and refrigerated- bring to room temp before serving.

Heat 1-2 TBLSP olive oil in a skillet. Fry the bread, turning as necessary, till golden. Set aside. In the same skillet, toast the nuts till golden, tossing frequently to prevent burning

Put all ingredients except vinegar and remaining 4 TBLSP olive oil in food processor and pulse 3 or 4 times. Combine oil and vinegar and, with motor running, slowly pour into processor- you should end up with a thick puree. Season with salt and pepper (taste!) and pulse once or twice to combine. Set aside for at least an hour

Make shrimp:

2 TBLSP olive oil

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined

chopped parsley to garnish

Heat oil in skillet and saute garlic for 2 minutes, tossing. Add shrimp over medium high heat and toss till pink and just cooked- this doesn't take long. Serve with Romesco sauce and enjoy!

Allie says I should add the bread recipe, so here goes :)

Honey Buttermilk Bread

1/2 cup water, (warmed, no more than 110F)

1 TBLSP sugar

2 packet active dry yeast (I used rapid rise)

3 cups buttermilk, warmed just to a SLIGHTLY warm room temperature

6 tbsp honey

2 tsp salt

9 cups flour

1 egg

Combine water, sugar and yeast. Let sit until yeast is foamy, about 5-10 minutes. If you use Rapid Rise yeast, this isn’t really necessary- just give it a couple of minutes

In the bowl of an electric mixer with dough hook, combine all ingredients (except egg). Mix until dough forms a smooth, slightly sticky ball. Knead dough on a floured surface for a few minutes, just until you can shape it into a ball. Don't work too much flour into the dough. It should be firm, but still slightly sticky. Place in greased bowl, covered, to rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour 15 minutes).

Punch dough down and place in a greased loaf pan. Beat egg slightly and brush top(s) of bread.

Preheat oven to 375F while bread rises.

  Cover and let rise until almost doubled, 40 minutes. Bake 45 minutes, until loaf is browned and sounds hollow when tapped. Cover loaf with aluminum foil if top appears to be browning too quickly.

Let cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

Makes 2 standard loaves or one pan 16x4x4 1/2 (I always use this pan- I LOVE the high sides it gives the loaves. If you're interested, I think I added a link on Pattie's picks on our sidebar. It was a while ago and the memory is not what it used to be) 

Tutti a Tavola!!

Join us tomorrow for Foodie Friday at Gollum's- we'll be sharing the recipe for Roasted Red Onion Ravioli

As Always,

Buon Cibo, Buon Amici,

Pattie and Allie