Pan-Fr. Shrimp w/Ginger, Cumin, and Paprika

[KYHeirloomer]

So, thanks to a certain natural born trouble maker, we're having coconut shrimp as tonight's first course.

I decided to take advantage of it, though, to work out of one of the new (new to me, not necessarily newly published) small plates books that are giving the postman a hernia.

So, instead of Chubby's salsa, I made a

Mango Mint Dipping Sauce

1 large mango, peeled and cut into chunks
Juice of 2 limes
1 thumb-sized red chili pepper, deseeded and finely diced
Small handful of mint leaves
Small handful fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 tsp fish sauce
2 tbls yogurt

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

That recipe came from Jeennifer Joyce's Small Bites: Tapas, Sushi, Mezze, Antipasti, and Other Finger Foods, DK Publishing, 1995

I just finished making it, and the flavors haven't had a chance to meld, yet. But I'll report on how it came out after dinner.

[chubbyalaskagriz]

Nice, Brook- sounds YUMMY! You did good- and I'm sure wifey had a smile for ya too!

Today's my day off so for lunch for me and a visiting cousin I used the 4 still raw, leftover U-8 prawns in place of the conch in a conch-fritter recipe from a fav but now-gone beachfront shack in Key West.

It's your basic fish fritter recipe- flour, clam juice, baking powder, an egg, chopped spring onion, chopped various-color bell peppers, chopped parsley, old bay and conch meat (subst. shrimp). Deep-fry scoops of the batter until they become golden and float to top of oil.

Dipping Sauce: Olive-Caper Mayo. (ingredients? Well, there's green pimiento-stuffed olives, capers- and MAYO... Ha!)

I also picked-up a can of Pilsbury cresent rolls and made MAMA's Raspeberry-Brie Cresents which were inventive and delicious l'il morsels (thanks mama!!!)

This turned out to be just a fantastic l'il lunch when joined with some doctored-up leftover KFC cole slaw (added pineapple, pecans & raisins to the slaw).

[KYHeirloomer]

So, OK. My evaluation of the Mango Mint Dipping Sauce.

It worked very nicely with the coconut shrimp. But there are two problems with the recipe that need modifying.

First, there is way too much lime juice, IMO. Friend Wife felt the same way, independently. So next time I'll cut it down to just one lime.

I'd also read the recipe wrong, and put in a tablespoon of fish sauce, instead of a teaspoon. Guess what? The flavor barely comes through, despite using three times what was called for. So I don't know what a teaspoon was supposed to contribute.

But all in all, this goes in my keeper file.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

How am I ever going to thank you guys enough? I love these recipes and ideas Thanks Kevin and Brook for sharing!!!