Long Lines and Frozen Shrimp

I went to my local Pathmark today.  I had just changed the left taillight of my car at the insistence of a very nice and respectful officer in the NYPD.  It would seem I had a taillight out and that caused said nice young officer to pull me over, run my name and bid me a good day; my thought is he was looking for somebody else and was slightly disappointed that I was not he.

There were no red baskets available at Pathmark; and the lines were too long to contemplate so I bid my supermart good day and went off home (by way of the "Super Lube" for an oil change and a free car wash).  This tactical retreat away from the clogged checkout lanes of my local grocery left me at the tender mercies of the food I have stockpiled against such a day.  There was nothing in the 'fridge, but some frozen shrimp in the freezer, tomato sauce and pasta in the cupboard and onion in the root cellar. (the empty space between the microwave and the coffee maker) 

I made a very nice shrimp Giopinno (Italian seafood in spicy tomato broth) served over the corkscrew pasta (caviatelli) and an olive feta foccacia. 

Recipes is as follows:
Giopinno

Two small onions, one diced one frenched
Four cloves of garlic
10 medium pitted olives rough chopped
Spices (salt, pepper, chili powder)
6 glugs of olive oil
one pat of butter (about one Tablespoon) 
two medium (one large) can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine
Rice Wine Vinegar to taste

3/4-1 pound of shrimp (shelled and de-veined)

I use my large straight sided sauce pan (oddly enough, it is fantastic for cooking sauces) and put the onions into a cold pan with three glugs of olive oil, a pat of butter and turn the heat to medium.  I stir this until the onions have a "see through" quality (between 7-10 minutes) and are ready for spicing.  Sprinkle on salt, freshly ground black pepper, chili powder and anything else you want.  I like my supermarkets "Pizza Blend" for some depth of flavor.  I toss in the diced garlic at this point and cook everything for another 7-10 minutes over medium heat; stirring as needed to layer flavor and keep anything from sticking.  Then put the two cans of sauce and the wine into the pot, turn heat to high and wait for bubbles; upon bubbles I turn the heat back to medium and leave the sauce alone, stirring occasionally, checking for seasoning and balancing the sweetness of the canned tomato with the rice wine vinegar.
Let it simmer untill you introduce the pasta to the boiling water. 

Pasta

Cook as per the package, using plenty of salted water, to "Al Dente" or slightly firmer than you would think you would like.  Don't worry, the carry over heat, and the heat from the sauce will cook the last few bits of the pasta.

As you put the pasta in the water, stir and cover put the shrimp into the sauce, it will be done by the time you are ready to serve. 

Foccaia

1 and 1/8th cup of warm water
two tablespoons of oil
one teaspoon of salt
3 and 1/3 cup of flour
two teaspoons of sugar
one packet of dry active yeast

toppings

Feta Cheese
Olives
Olive Oil
Spices

I put all the ingredients into my bread-maker (breadman 3million), set it to dough and let it do its job.  One hour and 20 minutes later I kneed the dough out on a floured surface, dimple with my fingers, introduce the toppings (feta cheese and olives today) drizzle with olive oil and let it sit for 10-20 minutes.  Put into a 400 degree oven (on a pizza stone) and let cook until bottom is crispy
 and top is done.  I would love to give you times, but your best bet is to stay in the kitchen and check the progress through the window in the oven.  Don't open the oven door more than twice because you loose alot of hot air that way, and hot air belongs IN the oven, not OUT of the oven.  When it is done, take it out, rest it for AT LEAST 10 minutes, cut it and serve with your sauce over pasta. 

It was a delicious meal born of an impatience with long lines.  I would say the lesson today is keep food in your larder and be prepared to be inventive. 

Onions and Oil, ready for the medium heat

Onions and Oil, after abotu 10 minutes I just put in the olives and garlic.  Note the Frenched onion wilted and *just* taking on color

Foccacia, proofed and ready for the oven; remember flour the Peel (Emma) for easy transfer

The bottom of the foccaia, note the brown and crispy; if you see this you are done

Dinner is served!