Good old Robert Burns sure knew how to say it - "the best laid schemes o'mice an' men go oft awry, and leave us nothing but grief and pain for promised joy". I did NOT make it to Julie & Julia yesterday. Now isn't that cause for depression of the deepest kind? So, I wanna' know, how on earth would that old fart know how I was going to feel when he wrote the darn poem in 1785? Would someone please answer me that? And no comments from the peanut gallery about my being that old. I'm already punked enough.
When I got to the theatre there was quite the lineup, and since I'd no intention of standing in line outside when it was already in the high 90's, either I drag the big guy with me kicking and screaming over the weekend, or plan to go another day next week. I have a feeling that it may be the latter rather than the former, although GMan's admitted that he would go with me. Woe is me. I'm still pouting.
After the day's disappointment, I decided something new was in order for dinner, even though we're still fighting the battle of the bulge. I found this recipe for Shrimp Cakes on Simply Recipes http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/shrimp_cakes/ and it's a lot different than the ones I normally make. Sweet potatoes are used as the binder, along with garlic, cilantro and some jalapeno and red onion for kick. It sounded like the perfect solution for the bag of shrimp I bought on sale at Sprouts.
I've learned something recently that's really come in plum handy, thanks to Ina Garten. Roasting shrimp in the oven is far and away the easiest and best solution to cooking these little gems, so I washed and dried the already deveined shrimp, put them on a sheet pan, sprinkled olive oil, salt, pepper and a little Old Bay seasoning on top, and shoved them in the oven at 450 for 6 minutes. The result - perfectly cooked, tastie, delectable shrimp. After they'd cooled a bit, I shelled them and then followed the directions in the recipe, almost to the letter. Hey, I didn't have coriander or cumin seeds so I didn't use the Spice Mix Recipe, but substituted some Old Bay and a teaspoon of ground cumin. I also used sweet onion instead of red onion, but that's no big deal. What a GREAT recipe this is and a fabulous way to stretch a small amount of shrimp. I made 4 very large patties, but made into small, bite sized cakes, it would be a wonderful appetizer to serve with drinks on the patio. Kind of a new take on a shrimp fritter. Oh yum!
I served an Avocado and Grapefruit Salad on the side, recipe courtesy of the Food Network and Ina Garten http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/avocado-and-grapefruit-salad-recipe/index.html Gorgeous Hass avocados and red grapefruit are sliced and topped with a dressing made of dijon mustard, lemon juice and olive oil. I made half the recipe; however, next time I'll cut back on the olive oil. If you're making the entire recipe, I believe a quarter cup would be more than sufficient. The dijon and lemon juice mellow out the tartness of the grapefruit and the result is simply amazing - a perfect foil for the shrimp cakes. As you can see from the platter, I rounded it all out with a few pieces of melon, just in case we needed more vitamin C.
Best part of this whole deal - there's shrimp cakes left for our lunch today. Can't wait to try them with a little salsa verde and slaw in a tortilla. Fresh pineapple would be great with it too. So what's on your agenda today?
Knew this one wasn't going to go well from the beginning....my cilantro was wilted, the garlic caught on fire in the microwave and the darn cakes wouldn't bind together. After clearing the house of the first round of smoke, I went for round two by charring a couple pieces of the cakes. *sigh* My new found cooking skills apparently only stretch so far!
Posted by: Sophia Mangalee | 12/20/2009 at 03:31 PM
Hey I have my bad days in the kitchen too. Just dust yourself off and start all over again. Shrimp cakes, don't know if you did this, but they really need to sit in the fridge for a while before you try and cook 'em. Also if the sweet potatoes were too moist, you'd need more crumbs or something to dry them out. Try them again when it's summer! I told you tonight was a soup night - mind your Momma wannabe. LOL
Posted by: June | 12/20/2009 at 07:03 PM