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DINING OUT
ANNIE’S GOURMET ITALIAN, 75 S. VALLE VERDE DRIVE, HENDERSON
After five years on Horizon Ridge Parkway, owner Annie Payton in May moved her restaurant to a larger location with a full bar. Payton has continued to emphasize family in her new restaurant; a focal point is a 1946 photo of her father and his friends at the “corner pool hall” in South Ozone Park, Queens, which marks the entrance to Annie’s bar, The Lost Weekend. The dividers between the dining room’s booths are decorated with panels telling the love story of Payton’s parents, Frank and Connie DeFalco, and Connie DeFalco still cooks with her daughter. And family members of the canine persuasion aren’t forgotten; as at the original Annie’s there’s a patio for customers with dogs, and a pet menu of meatballs, chicken balls and organic frozen yogurt.
Here’s a sample of the dinner menu for humans:
Appetizers: Annie’s famous stuffed mushrooms, $12.95; baked artichoke hearts, $15.95; fried ravioli, $7.95; stuffed roasted red pepper, $8.95; shrimp scampi, $16.95; blackberry-walnut brie for sharing, $15.95; Aunt Mary’s antipasto platter, $15.95.
Entrees: Chicken picatta, $18.95; eggplant Parmigiana, $18.95; veal marsala, $22.95; baked rigatoni, $16.95; lasagna, $17.95; potato gnocchi, $16.95; shrimp scampi, $22.95; spaghetti and meatballs or sausage, $15.95; tortellini Alfredo, $17.95.
Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, dinner from 4 to 11 p.m. Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays, 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays. Call 702-254-3663 or visit www.anniesgourmetitalian.com.
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GARLICKY ROASTED SHRIMP WITH PARSLEY AND ANISE
¼ cup salt
2 pounds jumbo shell-on shrimp (16 to 20 per pound)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon anise seeds
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Lemon wedges
Dissolve salt in 1 quart cold water in large container. Using kitchen shears or sharp paring knife, cut through shell of shrimp and devein but do not remove shell. Using paring knife, continue to cut shrimp ½ inch deep, taking care not to cut in half completely. Submerge shrimp in brine, cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Adjust oven rack 4 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Combine melted butter, oil, garlic, anise seeds, pepper flakes and pepper in a large bowl. Remove shrimp from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Add shrimp and parsley to butter mixture and toss well, making sure butter mixture gets into interior of shrimp. Arrange shrimp in single layer on wire rack set on rimmed baking sheet.
Broil shrimp until opaque and shells are beginning to brown, 2 to 4 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through broiling. Flip shrimp and continue to broil until second side is opaque and shells are beginning to brown, 2 to 4 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through broiling. Transfer shrimp to serving platter and serve with lemon wedges.
Serves 4 to 6.
Recipe from “The New Family Cookbook” by America’s Test Kitchen (America’s Test Kitchen, $40)
— Heidi Knapp Rinella
