Liguine with Shrimp and Broccoli Rabe

Did you know that Broccoli rabe (my vegetable of choice) is a member of the turnip family whereas broccolini is some sort of mesh between actual broccoli and Chinese broccoli. This delicious veggie sports a bitter flavor while the broccolini is a milder alternative. You'd be surprised how well it goes with seafood!

• 1 pound broccoli rabe with tough ends cut off
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lb of your favorite Linguine ( I like Barilla )
• 1 lb. large shrimp cleaned and deveined
• 1/4 stick salted butter
• 1/4 cup of good olive oil

Salt the water and boil the pasta. Prepare the broccoli rabe while you are waiting for the pasta water to boil.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Scatter the garlic over the oil, and cook, shaking the pan, until almost brown, about 1 minute. Add the broccoli rabe, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Pour 1/4 cup water into the skillet and cook until almost all of the water has evaporated. Cover the skillet tightly and cook until the broccoli rabe is tender for about 13 minutes. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper and set aside. 

Add pasta to boiling water and prepare your shrimp. Melt butter in a pan big enough to hold 1 lb of pasta and rest of ingredients. Once the butter is melted, add the olive oil. Keep a medium to high flame and saute the shrimp, about 2 minutes on each side. It is important to start with shrimp that has been dried using paper towels to remove the moisture, you will get a better sear.

Add the broccoli rabe to the shrimp pan and continue to saute until flavors mesh. Drain your pasta and add to the pan, tossing to mix all of the delicious flavors together. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. You can even throw in some crushed red pepper if you like!

Chunky Eggplant Caponata

I was recently at a restaurant with friends and they served a "chunky" Caponata with Burrata on the plate. I have to say, it was quite good! Here is my original recipe, edited. I think you will love it!

• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 long thin eggplants, unpeeled, cut into large cubes
• 1 medium onion, sliced
•  4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 14 oz.  can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 4 tablespoons drained baby capers
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 squeezed lemon
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Extra olive oil to finish it off
• salt and pepper to taste
• 10 coarsely chopped pitted green olives
• 10 coarsely chopped pitted black olives
• 1 red vinegar pepper diced
• 1/4 cup pignoli nuts (optional)
• 2 stalks celery, sliced (optional)

Heat oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add eggplant, onion, and garlic cloves. sauté until eggplant is soft, about 15 minutes. Add diced tomatoes reserving the juice, then drained capers. Cover and simmer until eggplant and onion are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Season caponata to taste with salt, pepper, lemon, and vinegar. Mix in fresh basil. At this point, you can add the optional chopped olives and red pepper. Add some of the reserved tomato juice if needed. Transfer caponata to a serving bowl. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold. (Caponata can be made ahead of time and canned/jarred. It's delicious with Burrata (a fresh Italian cow milk cheese made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella, while the inside contains stracciatella and cream, kind of like ricotta.)

Note: Drizzle some fresh good olive oil on it before you serve it!

The Rum Runner, Sea Bright, NJ - Run the Other Way!

One of my favorite places to dine in the summer used to be The Rum Runner in Sea Bright. In case you haven’t noticed I said: “used to be”. An escalated price tag came along with the elevated rebirth of the old McLoone's. I don’t mind paying a hefty price for a good meal and as much as I appreciate the restaurants' desire for a fine dining experience, it just doesn’t cut it. 

Let’s talk about the staff. Well, the staff looked like spring break revisited. One young boy brought bread to the table and gave us one bread plate for four people. Needless to say, we had to ask for more plates. While the bread came with a very tasty oil and tomato dipping plate, they did not offer us butter for our bread, again we had to ask for it.

My friend inquired about how a particular entree was prepared because she was thinking about ordering it but our "waiter boy" had no idea and was of no help. He didn’t even offer to go back to the kitchen and find out for her. My thoughts on this? Fine dining is about the whole experience. The wait staff should be ready to answer any questions and be attentive to the tables needs.

Another guest ordered a specialty drink and our waiter informed him that it was unavailable and couldn’t even recommend something else. It seemed like our waiter was a high school student who had no clue about being a professional. Not good.

I ordered the Seafood Risotto and the ratio of risotto to seafood was off. When I think of risotto, I think of a warm steamy bowl of creamy risotto with add-ins and what I got was a small, and I mean small clump of risotto in the center of the dish that stood up on its own surrounded by 3 shrimp, 3 clams and 3 mussels. It did, however, have a scrumptious juice that surrounded the risotto, but nothing to soak in all that deliciousness.

Another at our table ordered the pork chop and it came out raw and had to be sent back. The salmon was overcooked and the Mahi was so-so. Overall, the food execution was inconsistent.

Let me summarize by saying, I felt that this restaurant takes advantage of its fabulous location and views of the water and it is not ok to serve mediocre food and employ a young inefficient staff that does not know how to serve. Train your staff! I will finish by saying overpriced and underwhelming. No plans to go back.