Florida Dinner

Florida Dinner (for four)

Shrimp Diavolo

Shrimp, Grouper and Avocado Salad

Seafood Stew with Stilton Popovers

Raspberry-Lemon Glace

Basel Rainbow Trout in Puff Pastry with Angel Hair Pasta and Sugar peas with scallions and Baby Portabellas

Strawberry Souffle
with Godiva Chocolate Martinis

Had some friends in from 'the north' for the weekend and a trip to the opera. Thought I'd give them a taste of Florida (fish/shellfish) so I dreamt up the above menu. In the next few blogs I'll detail most of what I did. If I leave something out -- remember, I just tend to throw things together -- and you want clarification, let me know.

The Menu

The local supermarker still had some nice fresh steelhead trout available (btw NOT from Florida), so that became the centerpiece for dreaming up the rest of the meal. I also had a bit (2/3 of a pound) of fresh grouper and some angel hair pasta left over from another meal so I decided to incorporate them as well.

Shrimp Diavolo

1 whole dried ancho pepper (available at Latin/international markets)
tamarind (you can use paste -- I used a small chunk -- two tbls from a pressed block)
Oriental fish sauce (at oriental markets)
Lots of garlic finely chopped(half to whole bulb)
drizzle of vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
ground white and black pepper (dash, pinch, smidgen, or heavy-handed sprinkle of each)
Juice from a fresh lemon
Pound of large to extra-large shelled, cleaned, and butterflied shrimp

Okay, yeah, I'm a bit of a slacker when it comes to HOT and spicy, so this was more spicy, than hot. Add some heat if you wish.

Soak Ancho pepper and tamarind in very hot water until soft -- drain (save the liquid -- I used it later for two other dishes on the menu). Cut open pepper and remove seeds and hard parts, chop finely with tamarind and then mix with all the other ingredients in a bowl for marinating. Toss shimp well in marinade and place in refrigerator until ready to cook.

Butterflying: I just run a sharp knife down the spine of the shrimp until almost cut through (watch your hand holding the shrimp!). I often prepare shrimp this way as I like the presentation and the ease in cooking.

You can do all of the above a half or even whole day in advance or several hours will do for marinating.

I skewered the shrimp on long bamboo skewers and broiled on high heat for about one minute per side (turn once). Charcoal on the 'barbie' would have been better, but I didn't want to start a fire for just this appetizer. [Note: you will likely have bits of pepper, tamarind, and garlic clinging to the shimp -- fine, adds falvor!]

Remove from skewers with a fork (slide them off the pointy end!) and enjoy. I served these in a communal dish and we all just dug in with our little forks.


Shrimp, Grouper and Avocado Salad

1/3 pound of large to extra-large shelled, cleaned, and butterflied shrimp
1/3 pound of fresh grouper
1 ripe avocado
mayonaise
a tangy salad dressing
white wine vinegar
ground white pepper

This is fairly basic and I kept it simple. The purist in me (which is not always there) would have insisted on making my own mayonaise. But I only needed a dollop, so I used the store-bought stuff. (Horrors of horrors -- I even tend to buy the 'lite' or 'low-fat' varieties -- I have to make some concessions to the cholesterol Gods!).

I steamed the shrimp and grouper in the fish stock I was making for the soup course until just done. [Note: overcooking shimp and fish is a bad-d-d-d thing! When in doubt, check, check, check, so you get it right. Otherwise you will be dealing with tough and dry versus soft, moist, and yummy.] Cool slightly before making the salad.

Chop shrimp and grouper into medium pieces, add a dollop of mayo, a sprinkle or two of white wine vinegar for extra tang, and the salad dressing. (Again, horrors! I do sometimes make my own, but here I used about a tbls and a half of Ken's Sun-dried- tomato dressing. {Note: I don't typically 'hawk' products, truly, but I do like many of Ken's dressings.] And white pepper to taste. Mix well and place in refrigerator to cool down (needs to be made a half hour or so before serving so it will get chilled). Slice avocado onto plates, dollop portions of salad over. Serve.

More from this menu next time. Enjoy.

Joe Koob