Wednesday, February 18, 2009

It's not easy being Green

Most of the time my planned meals are extremely organized, well thought out and perfectly orchestrated. Other times I plan to make Fried Green Tomatoes in the dead of winter in Washington DC. I will be the first to admit that this was not such a bright idea. I chose our Valentine's menu with no qualms and made the grocery list from the recipes without the slightest bit of hesitance. It wasn't until I was strolling my cart through the produce section that it dawned on me - I had never seen green tomatoes at any supermarket since I had moved to DC two years ago. Furthermore, if I did have a chance of finding them in my city it wouldn't be in the middle of February. Since I didn't experience this eye-opener until I was already mid-shopping trip, I needed to come up with a Plan B on the fly. I had to decide my "new" first course without the Internet, Magazines or Cookbooks. I was so excited about the original dish (Fried Green Tomatoes with Shrimp Remoulade) that I wanted to keep the same elements. I settled on frying the shrimp in the same batter that was designed for the tomatoes and then I could serve them over greens to make it an integrated meal. And that my friends, is how this dish was born...

Cornmeal Crusted Shrimp Remoulade Salad
Modified from Ken Smith Upperline

Yeild:
4 servings (with tons of leftover sauce for later!)

Ingredients:

5 0z bag of salad greens

Remoulade Sauce:

1/2 cup Creole Mustard
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp perpared horseradish
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped heart of celery
1 1/2 tsp finely chopped parsley
1 Tbsp grated white or yellow onion
1 Tbsp finely chopped green onion
Hot Sauce

Buttermilk Fried Shrimp:

1 cup of all purpose flour
1 cup of buttermilk (mixed with 1 tsp of Emeril's essence)
1 cup of cornmeal
12 large gulf shrimp

Directions: Remoulade Sauce:

1. Combine the first eleven ingredients and mix well. Add salt to taste.

2. Add olive oil in slow stream while whisking mixture.

3. Add the next four ingredients and mix well.

4. Add a few drops of hot sauce if a spicier flavor is desired. Sauce should be spicy and tangy.

5. Cover and chill before use. Covered and refrigerated it should keep about 3 weeks.

Buttermilk Fried Shrimp:

1. Salt and Pepper shrimp and coat them in flour shaking off excess before the next step.

2. Dip each shrimp in the buttermilk mixture.

3. Let excess buttermilk drip off and then coat the shrimp in the cornmeal.

4. Fry the shrimp in a skillet using 2 Tbsp of olive oil for about 3 minutes on each side or until browned.
Assemble by placing 1/4 of the bag of greens on a salad plate topped with 3 fried shrimp and then spoon about 1/4 cup of remoulade sauce over the shrimp and lettuce.


Below is a picture of my Valentine's Dinner table setting:


Close up of my handmade menus:

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a sweet looking table setting! Your menus, fresh flowers, and other accoutrements are, shall we say, magnifiques! What fun to celebrate in such a special way. P.S. Great post title. You nailed it.

What's Cookin Chicago said...

That buttermilk fried shrimp looks delicious! I guess I could adapt this to chicken too huh?! Yum!

Spryte said...

YUM!! That looks delicious!!!

Woody said...

It was the best Valentines Day i ever had. we had so much fun cooking and eating together.

alexis said...

What exactly is creole mustard? I've seen this in other recipes, but have never seen it at my grocery store.

Elizabeth said...

Joelen,

You could def do this with chicken - I think it would be great.

Alexis,

Creole mustard is made by marinating brown mustard seeds in vinegar then grinding them and then mixing them with a hint of horseradish to make a hot, spicy mustard.

I can only find it at specialty shops in DC. I did find something and the national foodstore called "horseradish mustard" that looked very similar and was Emeril brand so that is what I used for this recipe and it was the same. But if I was in New Orleans, I would use Zatarain's creole mustard (Dean and Deluca carries this brand). I have provided a link below.

http://shop.zatarains.com/zatarains%C2%AE-creole-mustard-5-oz-p-902.html

If you can't find any of these options then you could use a whole grain mustard or a country mustard. Both of those should be in the regular supermarket with the other mustards.

MaryBeth said...

Wow...this is an absolutely gorgeous place setting and a wonderfully romantic dinner. Great Job!

Anonymous said...

That looks soooo delicious! A beautiful dinner and I LOVE your napkins! :)

Anonymous said...

This looks really tasty, and I've never made a remoulade before, so I will have to try it.

alexis said...

Big thanks! I will have to look for that in my store so I make make this.

Anonymous said...

What a great looking Valentine's Day dinner! :) That sauce recipe sounds like a keeper.

Marisa said...

Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I am throwing a Mardi Gras party and I am definitely going to serve these. They look fantastic!