NEW YORK -- If you want to kick up dinner a notch, Chef Emeril Lagasse has some help for you. One of America's favorite chefs, Lagasse has a new cookbook "Emeril 20-40-60 Fresh Food Fast." If features 140 recipes for get-it-on-the-table dinners, healthy and quick breakfasts, super-fast snacks, lunches, and more.
Divided into three sections, this brand-new cookbook is Emeril's first ever to organize delicious home-cooked meals according to time. You'll find recipes you can make in 20 minutes or less, 40 minutes or less, or around 60 minutes, so now you can make the meals you want in the time you have.
How about Kicked-Up Shrimp Fried Rice (18 minutes) or Spicy Pork Wraps with Creamy Coleslaw (26 minutes)? If you're really in a hurry, you can whip up the Simple Italian Wedding Soup (11 minutes). If you have more time to spare, try the Shrimp and Zucchini Fritters (35 minutes) or splurge on the Pork Loin with Apples and Prunes (60 minutes).
Lagasse is 9 News Anchor Tanya O'Rourke's Special Guest on 9News at noon on Monday.
Here's Lagasse's recipe from the book for the Kicked-Up Shrimp Fried Rice.
4 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces medium shrimp, peeled and devined
1/2 teaspoon Emeril's Original Essence or Creole Seasoning
3 green onions, white and green parts separately minced
2 teaspoons minced ginger
3 cups cooked white rice
1 tablespoon dark Asian sesame oil
2 cups (about 12 ounces) frozen stir-fry vegetables, defrosted
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat.
When it is hot, add the eggs and a pinch of salt and pepper, and quickly stir
until the eggs are fully cooked, moving the skillet off and on the heat as necessary,
about 40 seconds. Transfer the eggs to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
Chop the eggs into small pieces when cool enough to handle.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil to the skillet.
3. In a small bowl, season the shrimp with the Essence and a pinch of salt and pepper.
When the oil is hot, add the shrimp to the skillet, in batches if necessary, and cook
until pink and lightly caramelized, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from the skillet
and set aside.
4. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet. Add the green onion bottoms
(white portion), the ginger, and the garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 15
seconds. Add the rice and cook, tossing, until it is hot and golden, about two
minutes. Add the sesame oil and the stir-fry vegetables, and cook until heated
through, 1 minute. Add the soy sauce, the reserved cooked eggs, and the shrimp,
and cook until everything is warmed through, about one minute.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste, garnish with green onion tops and serve.
4 servings
