Rosie Makes Shrimp Tacos.

Let's make shrimp tacos.



I always have frozen shrimp on hand and I had thawed out two packages yesterday, peeled and de-tracted both (That's the digestive tract, not a vein, so I de-tract, not de-vein.), and boiled half the shrimp and made a sinus-clearing cocktail sauce to go along with it.  I was saving the second batch for the next day, not sure what I wanted, but then YH came up with the shrimp taco idea, and everything came together.

Checking out my pantry and fridge, I found:
6-inch flour tortillas
cabbage
carrot
pineapple


And now I have a plan.
First, I'm going to make a cole slaw.  Next, I'll fry up the tortillas - some puffy, some not. Then I'm battering and frying the shrimp.  And then I'll spoon some cole slaw inside the fried tacos, tuck in some fried shrimp, drop in some pineapple chunks and chopped onion, and sprinkle on some cilantro which I have growing all over the garden.  And that's my plan.

For the cole slaw, I shredded some cabbage along with a carrot, and then I made a dressing with mayo, sour cream, buttermilk, cider vinegar, sugar, and salt and pepper.  (I like the tang of the buttermilk.) You've made cole slaw before.  You can figure out the amounts. Also, sometimes I put the cabbage in a mini-processor and pulse it a few times.  Mr. H. prefers this texture to the shredded.

For the fried shrimp, I've got a 3-step process going on.
Flour for the first step.
Beaten eggs for the second..
And the third step is a mixture of:
     1/3 cup corn meal
     1/3 cup flour
     1/3 cup breadcrumbs
     1 TB oregano
     1 TB cumin
     1 TB cayenne

Shrimp go into the flour first, then the eggs, and then the corn meal mixture.

Heat a large pan of peanut oil to 375° and fry the shrimp in batches for about 60-90 seconds.
Drain.

For the taco, you can either fry a tortilla or hold a tortilla over a flame to char it a bit.  I like mine fried.  If you want a puffy taco, have the oil very hothothot (400°+) and the taco will puff up like a balloon.  Drain the tacos on paper towels.

Then spoon in the cole slaw along with some pineapple chunks.  Tuck in the shrimp and sprinkle on some cilantro and a little chopped onion.

And there's your shrimp taco.

Enjoy!

Rosie Makes Shrimp Curry.

02-11-2020

I thought I'd try something different today - SHRIMP!

Hahahaha!!!!

Really.

This is going to be different.

I'm making shrimp curry, per Youngest Hawthorne's request.

Now, when we're talking about curry,

you're talking about one of two things -

there's curry and then there's curry.

First, there's commercial curry powder, the yellowish spice.

Curry powder is a combination of spices,

containing, cumin, turmeric, coriander, cayenne, and a few others

that when mixed together give you the

flavor and feel of India,

even though the mixture itself really isn't used in India.

In India, you have the combination of spices,

notably garam masala, 

but not curry powder per se.

Second, you have a good curry,

which generally refers to a gravy like mixture

and a stew-like dish

containing Indian spices.

In South India, the word for gravy is "kari"

which is probably where the name comes from.

Curries came into being when the British

invented the term and introduced it to the rest of us

via traders, conquerors, and slavers.

It's a bastard with many potential parents

and no clear pedigree.

Oh, wait a minute.  

There might be a third.

That would be the actual curry leaf from the curry tree,

which grows in south India and Sri Lanka
and has an earthy, citrusy taste

and is used in India in various curries and other dishes.

Oh gosh.
I just thought of something else.
Curry could have come from the French verb, cuire,
meaning "to cook."

Confused yet?

Or you can just say to hell with all that
and buy a jar of Thai Red Curry sauce.
(How did we get to Thailand?
Oh yeah.  Via Harris Teeter.)

So, I'm making a bastardized Shrimp Curry today.

Now That's Some Good Pie!

All this quarantining is making me hungry.

Add a sweet tooth to that and I gots me some PIE!

Make that chocolate pie.
With pecans.
And because I can't just leave well enough alone,
I had to add some chocolate ganache.
And then some vanilla ice cream for good measure.

This pie was soooo good,

I've already made it twice.

In three days.

And they're asking for more.

The secret to my pie,

which is no secret anymore,

is the ESPRESSO.

Rosie's Chocolate Espresso Pie

1 9" pie crust, unbaked, placed in glass pie dish

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

2 TB espresso powder

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

5 oz. evaporated milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 TB vanilla

1 cup pecans, sorta chopped

Heat oven to 400°.

For the pie crust, you can make your own

or use a store-bought crust.

For store-bought crusts, 

I recommend the refrigerated ones that come rolled up,

two to a box (They're near the eggs.),

NOT the frozen individual crusts.

Mix together:

sugar, cocoa, and espresso powder

Stir in:

melted butter

evaporated milk

beaten eggs

vanilla

Pour into:

1 unbaked pie shell

Press:

chopped pecans onto surface

Bake at 400° for 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to 325° and bake 25 more minutes,

rotating pie halfway through baking time.

I also slipped on a pie crust collar after the first 10 minutes

to keep the crust from burning.

Let cool, then refrigerate.

RESIST the temptation to slice right into this pie.

It needs to sit OVERNIGHT to set.

Now, for the step-by-steps:

Combine sugar, cocoa, and espresso.

Add in buttah.

And mix.

Add in evaporated milk, mixing.

Finally, whisk in eggs and vanilla.

Pour into unbaked pie crust with fluted edges.

Pecans go on top.

Just sorta poke 'em in.

Lightly.

Ready for oven.

Resist the urge to dig in as soon as it comes out of the oven

This pie needs to cool, then be refrigerated for hours so everything sets.

Dense and fudgy.

Oh my.

This is wonderful.

So then I just had to add some ganache.

Or chocolate sauce.

Simply heat up some cream

and pour it over bittersweet chocolate.

Let the chocolate melt.

And stir.

How much cream?

How much chocolate?

Well, it depends.

Depends on whether you want to make truffles,

or a glaze, or an icing.

For a pourable glaze or soft icing, 

you want one part chocolate to two parts cream (by weight).

For a thick glaze, try 1:1.

For chocolate truffles, where you chill the mixture,

then roll it into small balls, then coat it with whatever,

try a ratio of 2 parts chocolate to 1 part cream.

I went with 1 part chocolate to 2 parts cream.

If you want to add some more pecans in there,

I won't stop you.

Then I just HAD to have some ice cream.

Enjoy!