nerditry

Lo siento mucho, no pictures this go round.

Last night, posse member Jimmy invited me and the lady to join the rest of the crew over for some grilling at theirs. He says it’s chill and he’s got some burgers ready to go on the grill and plenty of beers, whatever I can bring is just fine.

I’m not going to the store, I’m going freezer, fridge and pantry warrior and figuring out how to maintain my name and still bring something reputable. He’s got the turf handled with burgers, I think let’s surf with the shrimp being patient in the freezer for such an occasion. What else, what else?

Shrimp needs textural contrast, I just picked up some good looking apples at Costco, had some onions in the bullpen and the rest of the odds to make those ends.

Tools:
Cutting board
Knife
Mesh strainer or colander
Medium stockpot
Bowl of ice water
Spatula (bowl scraper)
Large serving bowl

Ingredients:
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined (31-35 is about right on)
3 apples cored, peeled, halved

-I used really crisp Pink Lady apples, otherwise use Braeburn, Gala or Granny Smith (adjust the sweetness for Smiths)

1 medium sweet onion, halved on the width
1/2 bell pepper (any color), seeded, ribs removed
1 clove garlic, finely minced
3/4 cup mayonnaise (may need an extra tablespoon or two)
1/4 cup blue cheese dressing

-If you don’t have this, get some good, funky, crumbly cheese and 1/4 cup of full fat sour cream

1/8 cup prepared yellow mustard
1 tbs honey
1 tbs white sugar
1 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 tbs hot sauce

-Here’s the deal. I added some Texas Pete, wasn’t hot enough. Did the remainder with some semi-nuclear hot sauce from a Guyanese friend’s personal recipe.

Large pinch of ground black pepper
2 tbs white vinegar (for poaching liquid)
4 cups of water
1/2 fresh lemon or lime

Let’s Build:

1. Bring 4 cups of water and vinegar up to a fast simmer. Let this sit ready on the stove.

2. Combine mayo, mustard, blue cheese dressing, hot sauce, minced garlic, mustard, honey, white sugar, granulated garlic and black pepper. Let this chill out so the flavors can combine for 15-20 minutes.

3. Slice the onion into half moons as thinly as you possibly can. Sharp knives make your work easier and the kitchen safer. Place in the serving bowl.

4. Since the apples into half moons, 1/8″ thickness. Place in the serving bowl and squeeze the lemon/lime to keep them from oxidizing (turning brown).

5. Finely dice the bell pepper. You thought it wasn’t going in the bowl?

6. Add the shrimp to the poaching liquid, cook NO MORE THAN 45 SECONDS!

7. Immediately drain the shrimp and add to the ice water to halt their cooking.

8. Once the shrimp has cooled, add it to the apples, onions and peppers.

9. Add half of the dressing, gently…GENTLY! stir it through. If you’re hesitant about how to gently mix it, use your hands instead of the spatula.

10. Continue adding dressing until you like the consistency.

11. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least an hour.

So, this dish was very popular, infinitely gratifying for me as a cook since it all came off the top. Here’s some thoughts I had afterward on variations.

1. Use the sour cream, omit the blue cheese, add 1/2 tbs jamaican curry powder.

2. Toast and add halves of walnuts or pecans.

3. Omit hot sauce, add hot chiles diced as finely as possible to suit your own tastes.

4. Replace shrimp with poached bay scallops or poached and shredded chicken (dark meat).

Hope you have a chance to try this fantastic salad. Make sure you report back on the rave reviews!

I grew up hating spaghetti and tomato sauce. We never had any sauce which hadn’t originated in a jar and it was dressed up mostly with chopped up veg like mushrooms, green peppers and onions. Buuuuut, none of those were usually cooked prior to inclusion in the sauce, so they didn’t add much and were more of a klugey obstacle in a boring dish.

Also, I really have never dug the food served at Southern Italian restaurants which were some combination of mozzarella, red sauce and pasta. Same way that I’m generally not down with Mexican restaurants which (stolen from Jim Gaffigan) are any combination of beans, meat, tortilla, lettuce, tomato, shredded cheese and mebbe the orange-tinted rice (though I really like the way those places make fajitas since I can’t replicate them at home).

My challenge is often to see how good of a meal I can make in the time in between getting home from work (30-45 minute drive) and when I’m out of patience to do anything other than eat. So I look not for shortcuts, but alternate methods of quality cooking in a condensed period of time. A pressure cooker mentality applied to other methods and techniques. From that, I turned my desire to make an excellent, long simmered red sauce into a 30 minute, chunky tomato sauce that turns the switch on a regular pasta dinner.

Roasted Tomato and Red Cubanelle Sauce

Tools:
Knife
Broiler pan covered tightly with aluminum foil
Spatula (not pancake turner)
Cutting Board
Food Processor (Or a blender)

Ingredients:
1 large red Cubanelle pepper, seeded, cut in half lengthwise
4 medium tomatoes, ripe, quartered, seeded
4 fresh garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tbs dried oregano
1/2 tbs dried thyme
1 tsp dried red chili flakes
3 whole black peppercorns
Olive oil

1. Preheat broiler and place rack on 2nd highest row.

2. Combine last six ingredients in mortar and pestle, grind into a paste. Marinate tomatoes and peppers for 15 minutes.

3. Place vegetables on broiler pan with enough space so they aren’t touching.

4. Roast until skins start to char.

5. Turn vegetables over to opposite side until lightly charred.

6. Place hot vegetables and marinade in food processor, pulse until halfway to desired consistency.

7. Add salt and more olive oil to taste, pulse to desired consistency.

8. Serve hot over hot pasta or let cool to room temperature.

This will keep in your fridge for a day or so. I don’t anticipate it lasting that long.

These are what I had available the first time I devised the recipe. If you happen to have onions available, use a small one or half a medium cut into quarters before roasting. If you’ve got fresh herbs, add some of those when it goes into the food processor.