Shrimp Tacos

I attended a retirement potluck for my friend and co-worker, Sheila today.  It was a lovely party and everyone got together for one of the last times with our office closing in the not too distant future.  My friend, Cindy helped prepare these (it's her lovely hand modelling the taco!).  Sorry for the quality of the pix but they were taken on the fly...

I got this idea from Red Lobster's shrimp fest (we went last week).  I bought small soft taco shells and they are layered with some coleslaw mix, then cooked, chopped shrimp (a bag, thawed, cleaned and stir fried in 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter - salt and pepper to taste).   This is topped with a sauce I made from 1 cup of mayo and 2 Tbsp of sriracha (easy to serve if you use a squeeze bottle) and sprinkled with chopped tomato and onion.

It was easy to take to the party by putting the ingredients in containers and carrying them in on a heavy baking sheet.

A good time was had by all - congratulations Sheila!!!

Julie

Frozen Lemon Mousse with Blueberry Sauce

I tried out a new recipe for dessert tonight.  It was easy and delicious so it will definitely be added to my regular repertoire.

Basically, you make lemon curd and whip cream.  They get folded together and frozen.  A blueberry sauce is spooned over it...Yum.

Ingredients

6 large egg yolks

1/2 cup of sugar

juice and zest of 2 lemons

2 cups of whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

Sauce

2 cups of blueberries

1/4 cup of sugar

juice of one lemon

1 tsp of Grand Marnier

Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and lemon together and cook over medium-low heat.  Whisk constantly for about 10 minutes until it turns into a light pudding consistency.

Spoon the curd through a fine strainer into a glass bowl.  Cover the pudding directly right on top with plastic wrap so a skin doesn't form.  Refrigerate til cool.

Mix the sauce ingredients together and bring to a boil.  Let it simmer for a few minutes to thicken.

Then whip the cream with vanilla until soft peaks form.  Then fold the lemon curd gently into the whipped cream.

I used individual Pyrex dishes lined with large muffins cups and spooned in the mousse.  Cover and freeze at least 3 hours.

Put the sauce into a measuring cup to refrigerate.  It makes it easier to pour over the mousse and if you want to warm it up a bit, just pop in the microwave.  Take the cups out of the freezer 20 to 30 minutes before serving.  Overturn onto your plate and remove the paper muffin cup.  Pour some sauce over and enjoy. It was really good - in fact, I forgot to get pictures until after we had already dug in!

Julie

Steak Frites

Tonight we had a French bistro experience for dinner - Steak Frites.  I had a couple of lovely melt-in-your-mouth bacon wrapped sirloins from Flannigan's butcher shop.  I sliced up a fresh tomato and sauteed some mushrooms and onion as sides.

I started by peeling a very large potato and used a mandoline to cut them into a julienne cut.

These were left covered in cold water while the oil heated up.  

I then browned the steaks and crisped the bacon on all sides.  They were then put in a 350 degree oven to finish cooking while I sauteed the mushroom and onion.

I fried the chips in batches and kept them warm in the oven.  The mushroom and onion was added to the steak pan in the oven.

A couple of Tbsps of cognac and a couple of Tbsps of cream were added to the pan and poured over the steak when it was plated.  We like our steak medium rare and so they were in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

It was wonderful and with a crisp glass of wine, I could imagine sitting in a small bistro in Paris.

Julie