Let's Go Round Two

As I wrote last week, I'm preparing for a cook test and focusing on Spicy Shrimp and Polenta Cakes. 

Last night I invited over Brandon, Ashley and Cheyenne to be my taste testers (lucky people, huh?) and improved upon last week's recipe. 

Once again, I started with the polenta. 

Polenta: 

3 C water

1 C yellow corn meal

1 tbsp salt 

1 tbsp pepper 

1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter 

1 Tbsp butter 

In a pot over medium-high heat, bring water to boil. Once water is boiling, salt the water and slowly wisk in corn meal. Lower the heat to medium-low and continue to whisk until corn meal thickens. Season with pepper and add in butter. 

Pour into large flat dish and smooth over top. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Once the polenta is cooled enough to cut with a cookie cutter, heat 1 Tbsp butter in a skillet over medium heat. The point here is to make a crust on the polenta cakes and to get a golden brown color. 

While I was waiting for the water to boil I began to devein and shell the shrimp. As before, it took forever. 

Spicy Shrimp: 

1 lb large shrimp, shelled and deveined 

1 tbsp salt and pepper

Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon 

1 1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper 

2 Tbsp butter 

Marinate shrimp with all the ingredients and place in fridge for 20-30 minutes 

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter and cook shrimp 3 minutes per side. Remember, "c" for cooked. Remove shrimp from pan but leave the pan over the heat. 

I decided to scrap the vegetable stock idea and instead opted for a sauce using the pan drippings.

Shrimp Sauce: 

1 small shallot, minced 

1 Tbsp butter 

1/4 C white wine ($4 Chardonnay) 

1 tbsp flour

Salt and pepper 

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Using the shrimp pan, complete with drippings, add in butter and minced shallot. Once shallot begins to soften, deglaze the pan with white wine and season with salt and pepper. Once the sauce begins to come together, whisk in flour to thicken. 

To plate: 

One of the comments I got last week was the color was too bland, to fix this I simply added a couple shakes of cayenne pepper and parsley before serving. 

These changes were well received and I definitely encourage you all to try this recipe, it's simple but has a fancy feel to it.