It's All About the Garnish!

From the Valentine's Day Dinner: Champagne Battered Tarragon and Shallot Shrimp

(This is Post 2 in a four-part series - Valentine's Day Dinner)

The second course in our Valentine's Day dinner was to be shrimp, but how would I make it a little different and luxurious at the same time? The husband had eaten enough spicy, garlicky shrimp and I wanted to serve him something different, but with big flavors.

 
Champagne Battered Tarragon and Shallot Shrimp

1 cup flour

2 egg yolks, beaten

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 cup champagne

1 large shallot, crushed

1 tablespoon tarragon, finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

8 large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail-on

Additional canola oil for frying

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, egg yolks, salt, pepper and tablespoon of oil. Slowly stir in the champagne, combining completely. Refrigerate for 3-6 hours.

In another medium bowl, whisk together the shallot, tarragon, olive oil and red wine vinegar. Toss with the shrimp and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Heat oil in a deep fryer according to manufacturer's directions. Shake marinade from shrimp and dip into the batter. Fry until goldn brown, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serves two.

Game Day Snack: Frank's Firecracker Shrimp Bites with #FranksRedHot

The big game is just a few days away, so I thought I'd share my recipe for one of the easiest and tastiest Super Bowl snacks out there:  Frank's Firecracker Shrimp Bites!

I made these last weekend and knew they were a hit when my husband said, "Yum! I could eat these ALL DAY!"

Frank’s Firecracker Shrimp Bites

2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
6 tablespoons Frank’s Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce, divided
36 raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail-off
4 bunches baby bok choy
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (In the Asian foods section of any grocery store)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
36 buttery crackers
Kosher salt to taste
* Additional Frank’s Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce if desired

In a large bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil and 3 tablespoons of the Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Refrigerate until ready to cook, mixing occasionally.

Remove the leaves from the bok choy stalks. Mince the stalks and set aside. Thinly slice the leaves into ribbons. Set aside.

In a food processor, whip together the cream cheese, hoisin sauce, lemon juice and remaining 3 tablespoons of the Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. Add the minced bok choy stalks and pulse to combine. Scoop into a small zip-top bag and gently push mixture toward one corner. Use scissors to snip a small piece of the corner from the bag.

To assemble, squeeze about a tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture onto the center of each cracker. Cook the shrimp on high heat for 2-3 minutes or until just opaque, stirring frequently. Add salt to taste. Place one shrimp on each cracker, then top with a sprinkling of the bok choy ribbons. Serve.

* Sprinkle with additional Frank’s Red Hot if desired.

#FranksRedHot

Vanilla Win!

I'm SO excited to share this with you:  I've been named the winner in the Spice Islands Flavor Explorer Vanilla Challenge.

The contest challenged entrants to use their Vanilla in a sweet or savory recipe. And, because their new vanilla extract doesn't contain corn syrup, I was happy to give it a try. I don't bake, so I racked my brain for any savory recipes in my arsenal that would be improved with the addition of vanilla. I'd been making my famous butter-poached halibut for a few months now and knew that chefs have been adding vanilla to their trout, lobster and crab dishes lately. Why not halibut? I had also perfected a nice Meyer Lemon Gastrique with which to drizzle on said halibut but thought it was a little too sweet to be paired with vanilla in a savory dish.

Then, inspiration struck and I came up with the Ancho-Orange Drizzle you'll see on the winning recipe here:  Vanilla Butter Poached Halibut with Ancho Orange Drizzle

Special thanks to head judge Matt Armendariz at mattbites.com

A Foray Into French

In the past year, my cooking skills have advanced quite a bit. Last year, I had never heard of sriracha, bonito flakes or microgreens. Since getting into competitive cooking, my horizons have broadened considerably and I'm always looking for ways to strech myself. So, when I asked my brother and his pescatarian girlfriend over for dinner, I decided to not only serve a variety of fish I'd never dealt with but to also go with a theme:  French.

Choosing a protein is the easiest way to build a meal plan. It sets the tone for the flavor profile and helps when trying to figure out the rest of the food such as the vegetable and starch. I decided on halibut because it's in season and something that would easily pick up the nuances of whatever I cooked it in. Sure, I could do the whole sear-and-bake route, but that's too easy. Watching the various cooking shows such as Top Chef, I knew that poaching was a great way to keep fish moist. But what about imparting flavor? To me, poaching seems just a little more grandiose than boiling! So, because we all know that the secret to French cooking is 'butter, butter and more butter' I decided to poach the halibut in butter, then broil to make them pretty. But every blast of butter needs an acid to showcase it, I went with a lemon gastrique (equal parts vinegar and sugar, plus the zest and juice of one lemon) to drizzle on top.

But what of the side dishes? They needed to be flavorful to be able to stand up by themselves, but without spice because I didn't want to overpower the delicate nature of the fish. For the vegetable, I went with grilled endives, stuffed with a roasted eggplant and garlic puree, topped with caramelized shallots, d'Aubergine blue cheese and fresh tomatoes. They were delicious, with a smoky flavor and supple texture.

Next, the starch...I didn't want to do something trite, like a rice or bread. I felt they would be too heavy and demand the inclusion of spice to keep them bright. Aha! Vichysoisse! To keep things interesting, I first braised fennel and red onions, then added them to the mix, topping the whole thing off with an herbed creme fraiche. The fennel lent just the right amount of warmth to the cold dish, disappearing just before one could slurp up another spoonful. 

I feel really good about this meal; I stepped outside of my comfort zone and worked with ingredients (fennel, halibut, endives) that hadn't yet become part of my repertoire. I can't wait for the next dinner party!

 
 
 
 

 

A Feature in Taste of the South Magazine!

Wow! I'm in Taste of the South Magazine! I arrived home today to find a FedEx envelope containing four copies, with an article about my "Sweet and Spicy Shrimp with Onion, Bacon and Basil" on page 82! I feel so honored! While there's no online link yet, I'm more than happy to type the whole thing out for you here:

"Jamie Brown-Miller of Napa, California, wasn't always a great cook. "Ten years ago I was cooking with Hamburger Helper," she explains. But then, her family began having friendly cooking competitions. "From competing with my father and my husband, Kevin, I've become a better cook," Jamie says.

These cooking competitions are relaxed affairs. "It's an excuse for us to get together as a family," Jamie says. Last summer, her recipe for Sweet and Spicy Shrimp, a spicy combination of shrimp, bacon and seasoned butter that packs quite a kick, was declared the winner at one of the events. That's when Jamie was bitten by the recipe-contest bug. Now she chronicles the dishes she creates, along with her recipe contest entries, on her blog, itsallaboutthegarnish.com

"I cook dinner every single night of the week, and I love it," Jamie says. Although her domestic bliss sometimes horrifies her friends, she finds cooking with a glass of wine at her fingertips and her beloved Akita, Kodi, at her feet to be relaxing. "Cooking is my Zen," Jamie explains. "I like the sound of my knife on the cutting board."

Sweet and Spicy Shrimp with Onion, Bacon and Basil

2 pounds large shrimp, deveined, tail-on (approximately 48 shrimp)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup finely chopped Vidalia onion

2 to 3 teaspoons ground red pepper

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon kosher salt

48 fresh basil leaves

24 slices very thin bacon, split down the middle

12 wooden skewers, soaked in water

1.  Preheat a grill or large grill pan on the stove top to medium-high heat. Run a small knife down the back of each shrimp to create a pocket, leaving the tail in place but not cutting all the way through the shrimp.

2.  In a small bowl, combine butter, onion, red pepper, honey, garlic powder, paprika and salt, blending thoroughly to make a paste. Spoon approximately 1/2 teaspoon butter mixture into slit in each shrimp. Cover slit with a basil leaf and wrap with a slice of bacon. Slide onto a skewer. Repeat with remaining shrimp, placing four shrimp on each skewer.

3.  Grill until shrimp are just opaque, 2 to 3 minutes per side. If using a grill pan on the stove top, you may have to work in batches. Serve immediately.

Shucking Down Some Deliciousness

Some friends and I went to a crab feed last night, and amongst the buckets of plain crab, watered-down pasta and stale bread was a bright, shining star:  grilled oysters. Situated in the back door area of a flourescent-lit event hall, a group of smiling guys in red aprons were busy grilling oysters. I was immediately drawn to them, as I had only recently discovered the joys of this dish. Before, I always thought of oysters as cold, mucous-like fish bits meant to suck down if you were presented with them and didn't want to seem like a wuss. But a few months ago we had them at a friend's house, grilled with garlic butter and a drop of hot sauce. One taste and I was a convert. THIS was how it should be!

At the crab feed, these guys were doing it on a grand scale:  a huge charcoal grill that was smoking as if was about to explode, cooking the oysters in their shells, topping them with a secret sauce and a pinch of parmesan cheese. Behold:

I tried to get them to reveal the recipe for the sauce, but they were tight-lipped. You'll just have to try for yourself:  www.oysterguy.com

 

Amuse Bouche: Jen's Almond-Dusted Crab Cakes

Our first course of the evening was Jen's Almond-Dusted Crab Cakes, served on a bed of arugula and mixed greens with avocado and lemony vinaigrette. If she'll share the recipe, I'll post it for you, but here's a shot:

She used king crab for the filling and coated each cake with pulverized almonds. They were absolutely delicious, and paired beautifully with the tangy salad!

Upcoming Cookery: The Tuna Trials

I really wish this fish didn't go by the Tuna name. When I think of tuna, I think of tin cans of shredded stuff you mix with mayo and stuff between two slices of bread, usually served with soup and a glass of milk on a rainy afternoon. No, THIS tuna is nothing of the sort. THIS tuna is deep red, carved at the butcher shop, sushi-grade and beautiful. You can serve it steak-style and the texture is a soft/firm presentation of delicate flavor.

The first time I made this dish at home, I decided to be faithful to the classic recipe:  chop the raw tuna into small cubes and marinate in a mixture of dijon, hot Korean chili sauce, vinegar and herbs. I served it on a bed of chopped romaine accompanied by fried wontons, and it was great:

But, we knew it could be better. First of all, the marinade was too strong and took away from the subtle flavor of the tuna. Secondly, the fried wontons felt a little greasy and needed to be crisper. Lastly, the romaine lettuce didn't hold up texturally to the rest of it. That's when the grilling idea hit me:  what if we grilled the tuna? With lots of spices rubbed in first? And, what about grilling the wontons? And, what about changing the marinade amount/time? AND, what about changing a few ingredients in the marinade?
Stay tuned for the next round in Team Tuna!       

Upcoming Cookery: Prepping the Poke' of Tuna

The Fourth of July may be a far way off for most people, but it's looming close enough for me that I'm already thinking about this year's Grilling Contest at the Napa County Fair. Here's the deal:  three years ago, I won First Place in the Fish category with my Spicy Grilled Shrimp, and also took Best of Show. It was a triumphant day, because not only did I beat a professional chef and loads of burly men with giant slabs of meat, it was the first food contest I had won entirely on my own. I skipped a year (due to camping) and returned last year to win First Place in the Beef category with my Deconstructed Beef Wellington, but lost the Best of Show title to the aforementioned professional chef. If I were a superhero, he would be my Arch Nemesis.
So, I need to step it up this year. Because I snagged the Beef category last year, Dad gets it this time around, and he also gets the Pork category because he's discovered some crazy Chocolate-Covered Bacon situation that sounds scary yet tasty. I'm not brave enough for the Wild Game category, Chicken is boring and it goes against my beliefs to enter the Vegetarian category. Fish it is!
For a few years now, the Husband and I have been enjoying Tuna Poke'. It's raw Ahi Tuna marinated in all sorts of yumminess and served with fried crisps. I've been making it based on a classic recipe and it's very good. But, I've always thought it would be better done my way:  grilled! I know, it' sounds strange, but you'll get the idea. From now until July, I'm going to make it once a month, serving it for friends each time and soliciting critiques. Taking notes, I'll tweak the recipe each time until it's perfect. I guess you could say I'm in training.
In the next post, I'll share my first round of adjustments, and chronicle the process.