In my continuing quest to flex my Martha muscles, I made dinner the other night a little outside my comfort zone.

First up, Shrimp Newburg. There’s a recipe for this in the November issue of Rachel Ray Magazine, but I didn’t follow it closely. I started by cooking the shrimp shells (from about 1 lb of shrimp) in a little butter until they were crispy. Then I added 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of cream and simmered it a few minutes, until it looked pink. I strained it and set it aside. I cooked one onion in some butter then added flour to make a roux and added the milk/cream mixture.  I let that cook a while to thicken. I ended up adding Wondra to it and some water to get as much sauce as I wanted. Next, I added salt and pepper and about 1/4 cup of sherry. I let the alcohol cook out, then added the shrimp. I served this with brown rice, but wasn’t wild about it with the rice. The shrimp was delicious though – very rich and flavorful. It was even better cold the next day. It needed a lot more salt and pepper when served though, so I would increase the amount the next time.  I think it could also benefit from some extra seasoning, but I don’t know what  – dill? paprika? I’m not sure, but I would experiment. This was actually a fairly quick dish to make, even though it sounds complicated.

I also made some oven roasted root veggies – celery root (a discovery from Martha), rutabaga, carrots, and parsnips. I roasted them for about 45 minutes at 400 with olive oil, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar until they were soft and nicely browned.  I love roasting vegetables like this and thank Martha for the idea.