Day three: Three shrimps and one recipe
Posted on | October 1, 2009
Today, I got to play with food. In fact, today I invented a recipe.
It involved three shrimps and was pretty darn good. If I say so myself. And I do.
Let me share.
“What bread do elves use?”
~ Shortbread!
The day started with the directive to make an appetizer with three frozen shrimp. We could help ourselves to wine and any other cooking supplies we wanted and we could request herbs and some specialty ingredients, but we had to use those shrimp.
Fine by me. I make shrimp all the time. And heaven knows, I was happy to be cooking and not just cleaning or prepping.
Now, lest you think that is all I did today, you should also be aware that I had a three-hour lecture on restaurant costing and marketing. And I volunteered to help as waitstaff at the school restaurant during the lunch rush (I volunteered to get out of the lecture but, alas, was told to go after class ended).
But as the cooking is the good part, let’s focus on that.
And let’s focus on that in the best way possible: With a recipe!
Recipe: Shrimp and Peas on Toast with a Citrus Beurre Blanc
3 thin slices of baguette, cut on the diagonal
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 shallot, minced
3 shrimps, washed and shelled
1/4 cup white wine
8 – 10 English shelling peas, shelled (peas removed; pods discarded)
3 tarragon stems, leaves removed and minced, stems discarded
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 ounce butter, cubed
Salt and pepper to taste
The toasts
Toss the baguette slices with the garlic and a good sprinkle of salt. Place on a baking sheet and put into a 400 F oven until crisped (about 5 minutes). Keep an eye on them; they like to burn.
When they are done, place them artistically on a plate (I did a fan design).
The peas
Immerse your peas in a small pot of boiling water for 20 seconds. Remove and put into a bowl of icy water to stop them from cooking further and to retain that nice, pea-green color.
The shrimp
Place a saute pan on a hot burner. Once the pan is hot, add your canola oil and shallots. Turn the heat low – your goal is to sweat the shallots, not caramelize them (in other words, you want them to get soft, not brown). Once they are softened, add your shrimp. Take your pan off your burner and add your wine. Return your pan to the burner (you take it off when you add alcohol for safety reasons). Shake, shake, shake your pan back and forth. When the bottom of the shrimps are just starting to turn white and pink (and this only takes a minute or two), turn them over. When they are fully white with a bit of pink (no gray), take them out of the pan and place them on top of your toasts, one per toast.
The beurre blanc
Add your tarragon to your pan (if you don’t have enough liquid, feel free to add more wine), then whisk in your butter, one cube at a time. Once your butter is completely incorporated, add a squirt of lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Taste. Add more lemon juice and salt and pepper, if needed.
Stir in your peas. Pour over your shrimp toasts. Enjoy!
(Oh, and if you want to share, feel free to double or triple the recipe. Of course, this also works if you just want more for yourself!)
Comments
2 Responses to “Day three: Three shrimps and one recipe”
Leave a Reply
October 7th, 2009 @ 7:52 am
I love the way you write your method (peas removed; pods discarded)(leaves removed and minced, stems discarded). When I write out recipes, I always have my daughter in the back of my mind. She “doesn’t cook; I bake”. Yes, but one day she will do both. Since it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to teach her every recipe and method, I write the methods right in there. Makes the recipes longer, but she’ll know what to do!
December 16th, 2009 @ 6:52 am
At last a blog which is what it says on the side of the can. Thank you so much for all the content you have here, particularly Day three: Three shrimps and one recipe |. It’s really great. Billi Viltman.