cold food for hot days … Mexican Seafood Cocktail

This weather. Ugh. It stifles my soul as well as my appetite. It’s over 100°F in Oregon and in Chicago, it’s been heavily raining with that god awful humidity that goes with it for a week now. We’re all drooping. Nothing sounds good. I want cold food that someone else makes because I can’t get up from the couch and that strategically placed fan. And yet … shrimp cocktail sounded good. Not the Costco tray that’s been sitting there god knows how long. No … homemade. That would be easy, right? Make a two-ingredient cocktail sauce and poach some shrimp? No big thing.

Famous last words. I went to buy the shrimp and noticed the seafood counter had some lovely bay scallops and gorgeous cleaned squid too. Then I remembered those crazy delicious seafood cocktails I’ve enjoyed at so many Mexican beachside restaurants and used to make back home for a spell. It had been a while and that sounded SO GOOD and it really is just a zhuzhed up shrimp cocktail so same-same, right? And just like that, my simple recipe became a whole other thing.

These tomato-y sweet spicy types of cocktails are often just shrimp – Coctel de Camarones – but depending on where you are along the coast, you’ll often see other types of shellfish or chunks of fish in the mix. They’re usually served with a sleeve of saltines or a bowl of tortilla chips to dip and scoop and pile on. Back home, my favorite combination is shrimp, scallops and squid but really, it’s usually just whatever looks good, or what I have in the freezer that drives my decisions. 

The key here, and this is where it gets a bit persnickety, is to cook the seafood separately and if I have shrimp shells, I like to make a quick shrimp stock first. I’ve noticed it’s becoming harder and harder to find shell on shrimp these days. So annoying. The shrimp I bought this morning only had tails, grrrrrrrr, so I pulled them off and made a quick stock with them. If you don’t have shells, that’s ok, just add salt to the water and move on. Regardless, the poaching step is the same for all the shellfish – bring the stock/salted water to a boil, turn off the heat, add the shellfish, give a stir, let sit for a few minutes, then into an ice bath. Note: if using squid, it really doesn’t take more than a quick dip in that hot water. Squid, like octopus, is one of those things that needs to be cooked very briefly or for a very very long time. There is no in-between if you don’t want to eat rubber bands.

For the sauce part, I like a sweet-spicy combo so I use tomato juice – V8 actually – and a bit of ketchup. Too much and it’s too sweet for my tastes. A good dose of hot sauce and then crunchy things – red onion and cucumber though you could throw in a bit of celery too. I add diced avocado because when is that not a good idea? It’s important to keep in mind that this is a meal not a drink so it’s on the chunky side with just enough sauce to coat the shellfish; not too sloppy, not too juicy. Mix it all up and you have a delightful snack or light meal. Shake up a margarita, make a michelada or pop a cold beer and you are all set.

STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: PRETTY LOW STRESS. Nobody has the time nor the energy for something super involved right now. There may be a few steps that you may – or may not – decide to take but overall, it’s a pretty easy, low key kind of recipe. Perfect for the upcoming holiday weekend that is destined to be a scorcher. This is also when you dust off those sundae glasses you got as a wedding present years ago. While you could use pretty much any kind of serving vessel, glass is best to show off all the ingredients and it’s just perfect in an old-fashioned sundae glass. I’m actually shocked I don’t own those. Shocked, I say.

make this for July 4^th! Big American Flag Cake

twelve years ago: Cajun Ginger Cookies, 

eleven years ago: Rhubarb Custard Pie, Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream

ten years ago: Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies, Classic Foccacia, Banana Tarte Tatin, Late Spring Pea Soup, Rhubarb Syrup – Hipster Cocktails, Puff Pastry Asparagus Spears,  Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Pie; Lard Crust,Strawberry Shortcake, Sweet & Spicy Beer Mustard

nine years ago: Banana Fudge Layer Cake,  Pear Frangipane Tarts, Fresh Ricotta, Ricotta Cheesecake, Farro Tabbouleh, Strawberry Hibiscus Popsicles  

eight years ago: Chocolate Bourbon Lard Cake, Roasted Asparagus w/Stilton Sauce, Pickled Garlic, Morel Hunting, Frybread for Navajo Tacos, Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Vanilla Cardamom Roasted Rhubarb, Mexican Chocolate Pudding Pops,  Lime Angelfood Cake, Roasted Strawberry Sorbet, Greek Meatballs, Passionfruit Chiffon Cake, BBQ Baked Beans

seven years ago: Guinness Crème Anglaise

six years ago: Parmesan Pea Dip, Pickled Green Strawberries, Mango Lassi Freezer Pops, Eton Mess, Onion Rye Berry Bread  

five years ago: Smoky Baba Ghanoush, Pete’s Special – Teriyaki Chicken & Vegetable Rice Bowl, Summer Fruit Ice Pops, Apricot Date Bars, Lemon Ricotta Doughnuts for National Doughnut Day, Vietnamese Flank Steak with Peanut Soba Noodles, Date Shake Popsicles, Easy Home-Cured Bacon, Oven Method, Radish Top Pesto with Sauteed Radishes, Julia’s Braised Cucumbers, Sedano e Pomodori (Braised Celery and Tomato), Shaved Asparagus Salad

four years ago: Cold Cucumber Buttermilk Soup, Green Garlic Soup with Poached Eggs, Cold Sesame Noodles, Cream Soda Sherbet, Michelada Style Clams

three years ago: Lemon Elderflower Quatre Quarts (French Pound Cake), The Perfect Light Crispy Waffle, Peruvian Roast Chicken with Spicy Green Sauce, Chicken Wing Friday … Sticky Northern Exposure Wings, Lemon Sour Cream Pie, Greek Salad Piadini Sandwiches

two years ago: Strawberry Mascarpone Galette

last year: Chorizo & Cornbread Strada (Savory Bread Pudding)

MEXICAN SEAFOOD COCKTAIL – loosely adapted from this recipe

serves 4 as an appetizer or part of a lighter meal.

I like a mix of shellfish, but you could go with just one type if you like. Because of the different cooking times, it is important to cook each separately but since each only take a few minutes – or seconds in the case of squid – it moves quickly. I also very much prefer to make a quick shrimp stock with the shells but am finding that shell on shrimp are becoming harder to find. If that’s the case, just add the salt and go forward or use the tails as those are usually left on peeled shrimp. If you opt for squid, try to find it already cleaned to save some work but if you must do it yourself, clean the squid and inspect it for featherbones, remove the beaks and ink sacs. Slice into ¼” rings and cut the tentacles in half if overly large. For the hot sauce, Valentina, Cholula or Tapitio work perfectly but use what you have, however, if it’s a particularly spicy brand, go easy at first. 

For the shellfish:

3 ½ cups water

1 Tablespoon kosher salt

Shrimp shells, if you have them

1 ¼ pounds shellfish

• large shrimp (26-30 per pound), peeled (shells/tails reserved) and deveined
• bay scallops
• squid/calamari, cleaned (see note above) sliced into ¼” rings, larger tentacles cut into bite sized pieces.

Ice bath

For the cocktail:

1 ¼ cup V8 or tomato juice, chilled

¼ cup ketchup

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

3 Tablespoons lime juice (about 2 limes), plus lime wedges for serving

2 teaspoons hot sauce, plus extra for serving

½ cup English or Persian cucumber, cut into ½” dice

1 cup finely chopped red onion

1 avocado, halved, pitted, and cut into ½” dice

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

For serving:

Saltines or tortilla chips

Lime wedges 

Hot sauce 

1. for the shellfish: if you have shrimp shells, make a quick shrimp stock by bringing the water and salt to a boil.
2. Add the shrimp shells (or tails), reduce to a very low boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Strain out and discard the shells and return the liquid to the pot. 
4. Bring the poaching liquid back to a boil (if you don’t have shrimp shells, bring the water and salt to a boil and proceed).
5. Prepare an ice bath and set aside then cook the shellfish separately:
   • Shrimp: bring the poaching liquid to a boil then turn off heat. Add the shrimp, give a stir and let sit off heat for 5 minutes. Remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon and plunge immediately into an ice bath to cool completely.
   • Bay scallops: bring the poaching liquid to a boil then turn off heat. Add the scallops, give a stir and let sit off heat for 5 minutes. Remove the scallops with a slotted spoon and plunge immediately into an ice bath to cool completely.
   • Squid/Calamari: this is a quick one. Bring the poaching liquid to a boil then turn off heat. Add the squid, give a stir and let cook off heat for 10 seconds. Remove the squid with a slotted spoon and plunge immediately into an ice bath to cool completely.
6. Remove the shellfish from the ice bath, pat dry then cut into bite size pieces – the shrimp into 3-4 pieces, the scallops in half if large and any large squid pieces into smaller bits if needed. 
7. For the cocktail: combine V8 or tomato juice, ketchup, lime juice, hot sauce, salt and pepper in medium bowl. Taste and adjust for seasoning if needed.
8. Add cucumber, red onion, and cooked shellfish and stir until evenly coated. 
9. Gently fold in the avocado and cilantro. 
10. Divide the mix between individual bowls or glasses and serve immediately with saltines, lime wedges, and extra hot sauce.

Read Full Post »

summer food and bean hoarding …. Pico de Gallo White Bean Salad

Even before this pandemic began, I was a bean hoarder. You see, I’ve got a real thing for Rancho Gordo, those utterly delicious heirloom beans. They are fantastic and live up to all the hype. I’ve bought them in stores, I’ve ordered them online, I’ve received them as gifts. I even went to the home base in Napa, CA … and bought more beans. Back in October, I received an email that their Bean Club was open to new subscribers. This rarely happens. There’s a 5,000 person waiting list and somehow, I had the golden ticket. I’d passed on it once, years ago, and wasn’t going to let it happen again. On a whim, I quickly joined and a month later, a box with 6lbs of beautiful beans arrived in the mail. It was glorious. A few months later in the midst of a nationwide lockdown when everyone was clamoring for beans, and these beans in particular, my little whim seemed pretty damn smart.

Read Full Post »

best of the season … Almond Summer Fruit Galette

When it comes to bringing a dessert to a party or summer bbq, a fruit galette is the way to go.  Absolutely, no question. First off, they are way easier to make than a traditional pie especially in an unairconditioned summer kitchen (hello, welcome to my world.) The pastry is a lot friendlier and forgiving than a pie dough due to the addition of a bit of sugar and is much easier to handle. Since galettes are free-form, they scale up or down easily and take any extra fruit additions like a champ. The filling is simple: some kind of fruit, sugar, a bit of thickener and if you’re feeling super duper fancy, some citrus zest and/or juice. But the number one reason you should be bringing galettes to parties is that there is no need to bring a pan home. Nope. No driving back the next day to get your pie tin, no wondering where the hell the bottom to your tart pan went. Slide that thing off the sheet pan onto a piece of cardboard or a cheap thrift store plate and you’re off. How many pie plates and tart pan bottoms have you lost over the years, left at long forgotten parties? Exactly my point.

Read Full Post »

four bite summer … Catalan Tomato Toast (pan con tomate)

Pan con tomate. Pa amb tomàquet. Or, simply put, tomato toast. Crusty bread, juicy tomato, maybe a hint of garlic, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. That’s all there is to it. Summer in a few bites. When the tomatoes are bursting to the point of juicy ridiculousness and its too damn hot to think about doing much, this is what you make. When done properly, you’ll wonder why you eat anything else.

Read Full Post »

the very best of summertime … Homestyle Creamed Corn

If there’s one thing I love about the Midwest, it is sweet corn. Holy hell. I never experienced this growing up in Arizona. Fresh picked, it is crazy good and I buy several ears multiple times a week from the farmers markets during August and September. Can’t stop, won’t stop. I’ve been known to skid off the road, doing a messy gravel filled u-turn rather than pass a roadside stand deep in farm country. My new favorite way to cook an ear or two at a time is with this microwave method – perfectly steamed every time with little fuss and muss. A good slather of butter, a bit of salt then watch out. During these late summer days, I’ve been known to eat a few for dinner with maybe some watermelon because that’s really good right now too. Heavenly.

Read Full Post »

freeze a classic … Cream Soda Sherbet

I’ve never been much of a soda drinker. The six Diet Cokes a day? Not me. Once in a while, I’ll make an exception. For example, there’s always whiskey in my Coke and I have a real soft spot for Squirt, that deliciously sweet grapefruit soda that is my go-to when I’m not feeling well. I also occasionally enjoy a spicy ginger ale and a cold cream soda. Man, I do love a cream soda.

Read Full Post »

the new summer go to recipe … Cold Sesame Noodles

I love a good cold Asian noodle dish – peanut noodles, sesame noodles, cold soba noodle salad. They are perfect as the weather heats up; cool, refreshing, filling and easy to make without heating up the kitchen. But I’ve never quite gotten the recipe right on my own. The flavor is always slightly off, the mixture sticky and gloppy. I made them but I never really enjoyed them. About this time last year, I posted a Vietnamese steak and peanut noodle salad that I loved, thought I had finally nailed it. But then I tasted these noodles and realized this version is better. Dang it.

Read Full Post »

simple simple … Cold Cucumber Buttermilk Soup

I keep a strange schedule that follows no patterns. Such is the life of a freelance recipe developer – it’s a drought or a tsunami – and right now I’m drowning. Given that I’m cooking all day, when it comes time to actually make something for myself, I usually punt. Classic case of the cobbler’s children having no shoes, I tend to default to delivery, take out or nibbles here and there of leftover scraps from whatever I’ve made that afternoon. Sometimes it works out well, other times not so much. Case in point: my dinner the other night was a bowl of partially mashed edamame. That’s not even a thing. I spend a lot of time staring at the contents of my fridge and while I may shut the door and dial the number for Chinese delivery instead, I do get a lot of ideas this way. That’s how this post came together.

Read Full Post »

It’s National Zucchini Day (yep) … Zucchini Ricotta Galettes

Today is another of those goofy food holidays but this one actually makes sense given the season: National Zucchini Day. It’s that time of the year when for a lot of people, zucchinis grow 2 feet overnight and overwhelm their lives. Enthusiastic gardeners plant a little too aggressively in the spring and to their delight, the plants flourish. Come August, these formerly delightful gardens are spitting out giant zucchini like aliens. I’ve seen them abandoned in office kitchenettes, in paper bags mysteriously left near front doors, in sidewalk boxes marked “Take me! PLEASE!” and once, I saw a woman whip one out of her purse and give it to the bewildered hostess as an open house gift. Also around this time of year, I tend to get requests for a good zucchini recipe that isn’t a quick bread. As good as those are, they get pretty tired so I usually recommend this simple savory tart.

Read Full Post »

doing the best we can … Prosciutto Stuffed Figs

Walking through the produce section last week, I gasped when I saw them. Figs! Last summer I made something really delectable with figs off my friend Kate’s backyard tree.  Let’s do it again!  And then it hit me.  This time last year, I wasn’t looking at figs in a grocery store.  I was in Gascony picking them off a tree.  A wave of melancholy rushed over me.  There would be no trip to France this summer.  I’m up to my eyeballs in a new job, treading water while I figure out what I’m doing and adjusting with a little difficulty to a new schedule.  But I could make those figs again, and pretend for just a little bit.  Maybe I could trick myself into thinking I’m on that terrasse, scratching an enormous dog between his wiry ears with one hand, balancing a glass of cold rosé and a bit of saucisson in the other while big fat duck breasts sizzle in a pan.  It could work.  For a few seconds anyway.

Read Full Post »