A couple of things to clear off my desk before I start.
First I’d like to announce the winner of my book draw from September’s Book Blogger Appreciation Week. In between all of the busy this past week, it slipped my mind. My apologies for that. So, without further ado, it gives me great pleasure to announce the results of my draw.
The winner of one copy each of The Unwritten Girl and Fathom Five is (drumroll please) Elizabeth M!!! Elizabeth left this comment on my blog and I hope she’s still reading. If not, I’ll be dropping her an e-mail. Congratulations, Elizabeth!
Second, I’d like to advise you that blogging might be a bit sporadic this week. I’ve received another book commission, from the people that are bringing you Sports Science: Cycling. By October 10, I have to deliver 5,000 words on Earth Science and remote sensing, for young reluctant readers. No pressure, eh?
Truth is, I enjoy these commissions, despite not having much time to finish them. The research is fun and the sense of urgency is an adrenaline rush. Without it, I don’t think I’d do them nearly so well; the deadline focuses the mind.
Now, onto the meme. We had a good response with last week’s question about comfort movies, so I’m back again with this week’s question on the topic of food. It’s simply this:
Do you have a favourite recipe you like to make, either for yourself or for friends?
Now, I’ve talked about one of my favourite recipes before, the pulled pork sandwich. That went over very well at Nora’s baptism, I must say. Here’s another that I like to make occasionally. It’s a little expensive, and requires you getting your hands dirty, but you could have it done within an hour and it’s fun to eat. Erin taught it to me. It’s ginger butter shrimp.
First of all, get yourself a bag of uncooked tiger shrimp, about forty or so. You’ll also need two green onions, butter, garlic, pepper, crusty bread (like a French baguette, possibly two), and a selection of sharp cheeses, like blue, or a good five-year-old cheddar.
The really time consuming process of this recipe is getting the things peeled. I prefer them peeled before I eat them, but if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, or feel that the shells keep the juices in, you can leave them on, cook them, and peel them as you eat them. The important thing is that these shrimps must be uncooked. If frozen, get them thawed, and set them all in a bowl.
Now, in a sauce pan, take half a stick of butter, a single green onion chopped fine, and a clove or two of garlic. Fry these up until the butter melts, then pour in the shrimps. Stir things up quickly so that the shrimp are coated — they may turn red at this point and that’s fine — and then dump them in a ceramic pot or something that can withstand high heat in an oven. Pour it all in, put on the lid, and place the pot in the oven at 350’F for about a half hour or maybe longer. A good garlic smell should start wafting through the house after ten minutes.
Slice up the baguettes, the second green onion (slices should be about an inch long), and get the cheese ready for cutting.
When done, remove the ceramic pot and take it to the dining room table. (we pick the ceramic pot because it looks better on the dining room table than some metal pot from the stove). Give everyone a fondue fork to fish out their shrimps. The approved technique is to take a baguette slice, fish out a shrimp or two to press into the centre of the bread, put a slice of cheese over that along with a bit of green onion. Eat. Repeat.
You will notice that a buttery, shrimpy, garlicy, onion-y sauce all over the bottom of the ceramic pot. It’s perfectly fine to dip your crusty bread into that at the end of the meal. Indeed, it’s encouraged.
The shrimps will just melt in your mouth, and the sharp cheese and green onion provide a sharp counterpoint. It’s a little piece of heaven and a great party dish.
So what’s your recipe?