Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Rosie Makes One Of Her Favorites - Coconut Fried Shrimp.


 
One of my go-to dishes is coconut fried shrimp.
I make a basic batter then dredge the shrimp
through a coconut/panko mixture
and fry at 350° - 375° for 60-75 seconds,
depending on the size of the shrimp.
And for this, you want large to jumbo shrimp.

The batter varies time to time, 
depending on what I have on hand.
Sometimes for the liquid,
 I use buttermilk,
sometimes beer,
sometimes milk,
sometimes club soda,
and sometimes I add an egg.
And sometimes I use a combination.
Depends on my mood and what's in stock.

Also I like a pineapple dipping sauce for my shrimp,
which, like the batter, 
varies each time I make it.

Here's one version of the dipping sauce:
In a small sauce pan, combine:
1 - 8 oz. can pineapple, minced, with juice
juice of one lime
1 TB orange marmalade
1 TB brown sugar
2 tsp horseradish
1 TB Thai chili sauce
1 TB rice vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce 
Heat, stirring, over low until simmering and sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat.
Stir in chopped parsley and/or cilantro, to taste.
 
Here's the shrimp batter:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp togarashi seasoning (Togarashi is a combination of red chile, black and white sesame seeds, nori [seaweed], poppy seed, and orange and lemon zest.  It's a nice little seasoning to have on hand, but if you don't, not to worry. It's not essential here.)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 egg
1/2 cup cream
1 TB vinegar
(Normally I would have used buttermilk here, but I was out, so I used the last of my cream plus the vinegar.)
I mixed everything together and my batter was still on the thick side, so I added in:
1/2 -3/4 cup club soda
 
You want your batter a pancake batter-like consistency, so stir in the club soda until the batter "looks right" as Mama would say.  Club soda offers several advantages here - it aerates the batter, making it lighter.  Also it inhibits the development of gluten, so weaker gluten means a lighter, less bready crust.

For the coconut/panko mixture:
3 parts coconut
1 part panko breadcrumbs
 
To prepare:
Peel and de-tract shrimp.  I say "de-tract" not de-vein because that black line running down the back of the shrimp is the digestive tract, not a vein.  For ease of handling and eating, I leave the tail on.  That way, I can hold the shrimp, dip it into the batter, letting any excess drip off, then dredge it through the coconut/panko mixture.

For the oil:
For frying, I use peanut oil.  It has a high smoke point and a neutral flavor. The smoke point of oil refers to the temperature at which the oil starts to smoke and to break down.  When the oil breaks down, quality and flavor are sacrificed.
In a heavy frying pot, heat about 2 1/2 inches of the oil to 375°. (My pot is 4 1/2 inches deep and 7 1/2 inches wide at the top and 5 inches at the bottom.)  I always use an instant read laser thermometer to take the guesswork out of frying.  Relatively inexpensive and worth every penny.

Drop the shrimp in one at a time, no more than 6 shrimp frying at one time.  And keep the shrimp separate.  You do not want them touching each other and you do not want to crowd the pan.  Dumping a bunch of shrimp in at one time lowers the temperature of the oil.  The breathing room in the pan allows heat and air to circulate, allowing your food to develop color, which means flavor, and locking in the moisture.   If you crowd the food while frying, you'll end up with soggy and greasy and your food won't brown.  Always fry in small batches so you get a proper, crisp sear and a golden brown crust.
 
When coconut crust is golden brown, remove shrimp. Let drain.

Step-by-steps:

Shrimp are battered and dredged and ready to fry.

Drop in one at a time.


One minute should do.



 Let drain.

The side salad was simply sliced cucumbers, sliced red onions, pineapple chunks, parsley, and a sprinkling of sugar along with some cider vinegar.  Salt and pepper to taste.




Sweet, succulent shrimp.







Like I said, coconut fried shrimp is my go-to dish.
I never follow a recipe.  I just do it.
And I write it down.  For you.
Here's another version.
 
For the dipping sauce: 
1/2 cup crushed pineapple
2 TB orange marmalade
1 TB soy sauce
1 TB horseradish
1 TB Inglehoffer stone ground mustard

For the batter:
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking powder 
1 tsp Gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes)
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk (Enough to make a pancake batter consistency.)

For the dredge:
3 parts coconut
1 part panko breadcrumbs

Fry technique is same as above.










Enjoy.


Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Not Yo Mama's Mac 'n' Cheese.

 

I’m taking a childhood favorite and putting a Rosie-spin on it.  I’m making an adult version of macaroni and cheese with grown-up flavors.  The bold umami enhancement of mushrooms, the earthiness of truffle oil, and a liberal splash of sherry all elevate this dish to another level of richness and complexity.  To bind it all together, I have the bold and pungent flavors of a sharp Wisconsin cheddar cheese and the creamy nuttiness of a Gruyère cheese which are combined in a basic Béchamel white sauce.  A bread crumb, garlic, and parsley topping crowns the dish.

  The pasta I’m using is cavatappi which means corkscrew in Italian.  The noodles are spiral-shaped and ridged so the sauce clings to the pasta.  The twisting shape catches all the sauce so you get more flavor for the bite.  Other shapes you might consider using for this dish would be rigatoni, penne, or fusilli.  In selecting pastas, I prefer to go with “bronze-cut” pasta. Bronze-cut refers to the die that cuts and extrudes the pasta.  Bronze-cut produced pasta (as opposed to Teflon-cut) gives you a rougher, more porous texture than a Teflon-cut, allowing the sauce to better adhere to the pasta because the surface is filled with tiny imperfections which capture the sauce, aroma, and flavor.  

  Not Yo’ Mama’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese

2 TB butter
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced (I used a combination of cremini, portabello, oyster, and shiitake.)
3 TB sherry (I used a cream sherry which is sweeter than dry sherry.)
½ lb. cavatappi pasta
2 TB unsalted butter
2 tsp white truffle oil
3 TB flour
1 ½ cups skim milk
½ cup cream
2 cups grated Gruyère cheese
1 ½ cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
1 cup diced white bread
1 garlic clove 
 2 TB chopped fresh parsley

 Melt 2 TB butter in large sauté pan over medium heat until bubbly.  Let the shiitake hit the pan! (Along with the cremini, portabello, and oyster mushrooms.)  Cook about 3 minutes.  Pour in the sherry and cook another 2 minutes over low, until sherry is dissolved.  Set aside.

 Cook the pasta.  Add a TB of salt to a large pot of water.  Bring to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook according to directions, until al dente.  Drain.

 Scald the milk and cream.  Now you could use 2 cups whole milk, but I never have whole milk on hand.  I always have skim and cream, so I substituted going heavy on the cream side. 

 Rosie Note:  To approximate 1 cup whole milk using skim and cream, combine 1 oz. heavy cream with 7 oz. skim.  As I said, I tend to go heavy on the cream, so I probably used ¼ cup cream to ¾ cup skim for a cup measure for my mac ‘n’ cheese.

 Next, make a roux.  A roux is simply flour and fat (in this case, butter and truffle oil) blended and cooked together and used to thicken sauces.  Combine 2 TB butter and 2 tsp truffle oil over low heat until butter is melted, then whisk in the 3 TB flour, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes.  You want to cook the raw taste out of the flour but you don’t want to brown it.  Slowly add the scalded milk and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring, until thick, smooth, and creamy.  This white sauce is officially a Béchamel sauce now, one of the “mother sauces” of French cuisine. Remove from heat and stir in Gruyère and Cheddar until melted.  Add in freshly grated nutmeg.  Season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste.

 In a large bowl, combine the pasta, the cheese sauce, and 2/3 of the mushrooms, stirring to combine.  Pour into buttered 1 ½ quart baking dish.

Place bread cubes, garlic, and parsley in bowl of small processor and pulse to make crumbs.  Sprinkle parsleyed crumbs evenly over top of pasta and spoon remaining mushrooms down the middle.

 Bake at 375° for about 30 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly and crumbs are golden brown.  Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

For the step-by-steps: 

I like to have everything ready to go.
My mise-en-place.




Melt butter.
Add mushrooms.
Sauté.




Add in the sherry.
Let it simmer a few minutes, then turn off heat.
Let the mushrooms soak up the sherry.
Cook pasta in salted water according to directions.
You want it al dente, since it's going to be baked even more.

Scald the milk and cream combo.  
Just bring it to a boil and remove from heat.
Make the crumb topping mixture:  white bread, parsley, and garlic.

Melt butter and add truffle oil.

Add flour.
Cook over medium heat, whisking, for a minute.
Cook the roux.
Slowly stir in milk/cream, letting it thicken.
This is a béchamel sauce now.
Season to taste.

Grated nutmeg.
Add the cheese to your white sauce.

Stir to combine.

Add in the cooked pasta.


Stir in 2/3 mushrooms.

Pour mixture into casserole dish.  
Arrange remaining 1/3 mushrooms on top and sprinkle on crumb mixture.
Ready for the oven.




Ooey gooey goodness.

















Enjoy.