small shrimp is not an oxymoron

it's just how we feel sometimes.

i am feeling small this morning,
so thought i would write about shrimp.

i just returned from a week in south carolina.
there is something about the shrimp down there.
it's swept from local waters and is always sweet and crisp,
seemingly no matter how it is prepared, how long it is cooked or
how long it sits under a heat lamp.

(whoops...sorry very famous restaurant on bay street
in Charleston.)

i use local shrimp here, too.
it comes from costco.

here is what i do with it, often or on occasion.


Baked Shrimp in Chipotle Sauce
Makes enough for 4 to pick on before dinner.
Can be doubled, tripled, quadrupled, quintupled, etc.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs U15 shrimp, deveined, shell on (or off)
1/4 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1 or 2 chipotles, minced plus 3 T of adobo sauce from can
a couple of dashes of worchestershire
a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme, picked
1 T or so brown sugar
S.P.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Make the Sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and sweat for a minute...do not brown. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for a few minutes to allow flavors to meld. Sauce should thicken just a bit.

Make the Shrimp: Fold prepped shrimp in with sauce and pour into an ovenproof dish. Bake for approximately 11 to 14 minutes, stirring shrimp once to ensure they cook evenly. Roll up your sleeves and dig in.

Have at the ready a crusty sour doe for sauce sopping, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, preferably from New Zealand and a large roll of paper towels to keep the mess manageable.



Dirty Shrimp with Remoulade Sauce
Makes 2 lbs of shrimp

Ingredients:

2 lbs U15 shrimp, deveined, shell on (or off)

The Rub:
1 stick butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/4 cup chili powder
1 T cumin
1 t cinnamon
1 t dry thyme
1/4 cup paprika
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
S.P.

The Sauce:
1/2 cup each mayo and sour cream
1/2 cup pickles, small dice
2 T capers, chopped
zest of 1 and juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 T dijon
1 shallot, very small dice
dash or two of tabasco
S.P.

For the Sauce: Combine all ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning. Let mellow.

For the Shrimp: Cook the shrimp in boiling salted water until just cooked and pink, approximately 2 minutes. Drain and cool under running water. Drain again. Set aside.

For the Rub: Sweat the onion and garlic in butter in a small saute pan. Add the spices and cook on low heat to release their fragrances. Finally, whisk in the balsamic vinegar. Let cool.

To Finish: Here's the thing. These shrimp can be eaten warm or cold. If you decide to eat them warm, toss the just cooked, uncooled but drained shrimp with the just cooked rub and serve. If you prefer to eat them cold/room temp, toss the cooled shrimp with the cooled rub. You can serve then, or refrigerate until some other time to allow the flavors to develop...but please note: the rub, made with butter, can congeal a bit if refrigerated so you may want to allow some time for refrigerated shrimp to come back to room temp before serving.

Another Note: Don't forget the sauce and the PAPER TOWELS!

Shell On Rationale: You may have noticed that I recommend leaving the shell on the shrimp for the two recipes above. The reason is simple. The sauce oozes underneath the shell and in the fins of the tail and bathes the shrimp in absolute deliciousness. These shrimp are succulent which means, in this case, you must suck them to achieve the utmost pleasure. The shell off option is for those uncomfortable with sucking. Fair enough. It's not for everyone.




Lemon Fennel Shrimp Curls with Tarragon Cream
Makes about 60 curls

Ingredients:

Shrimp Mixture:
2 lbs U15 shrimp, peeled and deveined
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, zested first, then thinly sliced, removing all seeds
4 sprigs fresh tarragon, chopped
1 T fennel seed, lightly crushed
1/4 t red pepper flakes
S.P.

Sauce Mixture:
1/2 c each sour cream and mayo
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2-3 sprigs fresh tarragon, chopped
S.P.


For the shrimp: Slice the shrimp as if you were butterflying them open, but cut all the way through. (Your knife blade will be parallel to the cutting board!) Poach the shrimp in boiling, salted, lemon water. Total cook time is barely a minute. The shrimp will curl and turn pink. Drain and cool under cold running water. Drain again. Towel dry to remove as much moisture as possible. Meantime, sweat the garlic for just a minute in a couple of tablespoons of the EVOO to take the bite out of the raw garlic. Let cool. Add all ingredients together in a bowl and allow shrimp to marinate for many hours, preferably overnight. As always, taste and adjust seasoning.

Make the sauce: Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth. Can (should?!) be done the day before for optimal flavor meldage.

Serve shrimp in a mound on a pretty platter garnished simply with a tulip, chive flowers, some nasturtium or any other beautiful flower on hand. Have the sauce on the side for dipping. For those with a fear of touching food with their fingers, offer toothpicks or small cocktail plates and forks, but only as a last resort. Watch them sweat first. It's fun.

Note: We serve this regularly on our catering gigs. If we have any shrimp leftover, which is usually quite rare, it becomes shrimp salad. Pulse the shrimp curls in the cuisinart until chunky and add leftover tarragon sauce. Eat by heaping spoons full or on a sammy. Whichever way...yum.

Eat.

Final notes on the shrimp thing:

First: I am sure these recipes would be equally successful with the shrimp from the southern waters. I just don't have the experience myself. When I visit the south, my sister in law Mimi does all of the cooking. She's whiz bang at it too. Maybe if I ask nicely, she will share her Shrimp and Grits with Tasso Gravy recipe. But be warned...if she does, it means 1000 extra miles on the treadmill. Guaranteed.

Lastly: I have other shrimp recipes I'd like to share, but life is calling (actually, a Ganache Coated Donut at Dottie's Diner is calling) so I've got to jump. Maybe a midweek blog is in our future. NO promises. Still have to deal with Taco Boy.