Once More Unto the Breach...

With the muck and mess in the Gulf of Mexico slowly, but surely wiping out the harvest of the best shrimp on Earth, I have lately been craving those scrumptious crustaceans. A few weeks ago, I whipped up one of my signature dishes, Shrimp with Chili Oil and Toasted Sunflower Seeds for an upcoming TV segment for At the Cook's Table and this past week, I've tried two versions of a new recipe, Sautéed Shrimp with Coconut Apricot and Chipotle Reduction. The first time, I used only the milk from a fresh coconut and then I tried it with about a half cup of the fresh coconut flesh. both times I served them over a Bacon and Squash Hash, but the second time, I added chopped Brussels sprouts and cooked it longer to make it browner and hashier. Both were quite good, but something is still missing. I'll keep working on it and keep you abreast of the progress. Any Guinea Pig volunteers?

Here is v1.0

And v1.1

I Love this Kind of Work

To prepare for a new "thing" that I'm currently working on, I spent an evening working on a couple of new dishes with my friend and mega-chef, Dan Blumenthal. My good friend and new partner in a business venture, Kim Brown, came along for the learning experience and entertainment value. Dan and I worked out the kinks in a chipotle/lime/ginger shrimp dish. The original version was a marinated shrimp, cooked on a grill pan. It morphed and evolved into a dish cooked in the same way as New Orleans Bar-B-Que Shrimp, made famous by Pascal's Manale Restaurant. We blended a bunch of chipotle peppers with lime juice, melted butter, cilantro, ginger, honey, and sunflower oil, then cooked the shrimp in this concoction for a short time and served them over soft polenta. Don's call this "Shrimp and Grits" or I'll stop writing about it. EVERYBODY now does a shrimp and grits dish. I swear we'll see it on the menu at Red Lobster within the next year.

To go with this searing hot delight, we made a cold soup of cucumbers and avocado with an island of whipped cream and buttermilk floating on top alongside a dollop of salsa fresca and some baked tortilla strips. It was great. Kim cleaned her plate and was only mildly disturbed by Dan's and my behavior.

Bon Appetit!
~Tom

Dinner with Monte & Amy

Kitty loaded up the car with Katharine, Zak and the puppy and headed out for a weekend in the Delta yesterday. The two big boys abandoned me for more exciting plans with people their own age, leaving me to fend for myself, alone in the big scary world. No need to fear, Monte and Amy came to the rescue and in return for them preventing me from being so all alone, I cooked them a new recipe that I dreamed up yesterday. I'm still working on the proportions, so I'll post the recipe later. For now, here are the photos of my Asian Chipotle Shrimp over Salsa Fresca and Cayenne Chocolate Mousse for dessert.
Bon Appetit!
~Tom