Tropical ZONE in a Desolate Wasteland

Hey, did you hear it snowed? Uhm, did you hear that it’s supposed to snow again? It’s snowing NOW actually! So yeah, the weather in New York has been absolutely dreadful this winter.  We’ve actually run out of places to put the snow.  There are massive piles so high, I’m certain they will be here until June.  Mentally, I’ve gone through the stages:  Denial- “this can’t be happening”, Anger-  “WHY is this happening? (shakes fist), Bargaining- “please don’t snow on Tuesday for that event I have to go to” AND in my case, right back to denial.  Currently at the denial stage (again) and so, I’ve decided from now until May, I’m going to close my eyes and pretend I’m on a tropical island until it all goes away.  With this I’ve decided to dine on tropical inspired food and sip tropical cocktails.  With this idea firmly in place, as the last blizzard was just starting, I decided to go to the fish market and pick up some shrimp and some cod.  The shrimp became a lovely coconut crusted dish that I paired with my favorite spicy coleslaw and the cod became fish tacos, which I’ll get into with my next post.  The below recipes really did transport me; I put on some Don Ho, busted out the Tiki glasses and cranked up the heat.  It was kind of like paradise…only with white out conditions outside my window as opposed to crashing white crested waves.  Maybe by March I’ll have moved into the acceptance phase.

Coconut Crusted Shrimp with Sweet & Spicy Dipping Sauce

• 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp - peeled and deveined
• 1/2-cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2-cup cornstarch
• 1-tablespoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon ground white pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1-cup ice water
• 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1-quart vegetable oil for frying

For the Dipping Sauce

• 1/3 cup orange marmalade
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4-cup honey
• 1/4-teaspoon Tabasco

Make the batter first & when done put it in the fridge. In my experience cold batter adheres better & will also allow the coconut to adhere better. Leave it in the fridge while you clean your shrimp!

Mix together flour, cornstarch, salt and white pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and the ice water. Stir to blend. Store in fridge until ready.

Peel, devein and wash shrimp. Dry well on paper towels.

Pour the coconut into a shallow pan. Dip the shrimp one at a time into the batter, then roll and press the shrimp in the coconut. Once coated, place each shrimp into a frying pan of oil heated to 350 degrees. Fry the shrimp in the hot oil until lightly browned; about 4 minutes.

Make the dipping sauce: combine marmalade, mustard, honey and hot sauce in a small bowl. Mix well.

My Favorite Spicy Slaw

• ½ small cabbage, halved, cored and thinly shredded or sliced (can also use purple cabbage if you prefer)
• 1 bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• ½ jalapeno pepper- seeds removed and diced
• 1-tablespoon hot sauce (Tabasco)
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/3 cup of flat leaf parsley (coarsely chopped)
• ¼ cup of cilantro (coarsely chopped)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all of the above and refrigerate. I like to make the slaw first and give the flavors a chance to meld a bit for better flavor. This is also great served over burgers and can be prepared up to a day in advance.

Perfect Pina Colada Drink Recipe

• 3 oz  coconut rum
• 3 tbsp coconut milk
• 3 tbsp crushed pineapples
• whipped cream
• 1 maraschino cherry

Blend rum, coconut milk and pineapple, with 2 cups of crushed ice, on high for a few seconds, until all large chunks of ice are gone. Pour into glass. Top with whipped cream and a cherry.