Spring & Easter Table Setting

I have long pined over creating a table setting that featured multiple layers of floral patterns on top of each other; from tablecloth to napkins to dishes. However, as I embarked on making my mental vision a reality, I encountered a major issue. My dream was way more fantasy. Believe it or not, after rummaging through my vast linen collection I realized that I didn’t quite have the variety of floral patterns I had envisioned in my noggin. And because I’m the type of person who just can’t give up on an idea, I did the next best thing. I found other patterns with the intended color scheme and worked from there.

This is just the napkin selection and a few tablecloths.

With the floral theme still running through my brain, I selected the closest linen I had to Spring florals. A pinkish toned tablecloth with leaf-like swirls resembling flowers. I remember when I purchased it from an upstate vintage shop and thought it was unlike anything I had. You may think I’m tripping on some hallucinogenic imagining that these swirls look like flowers, but I was desperate.

As I continued my search for napkins among my collection I was dumbfounded not to find a single one with any real floral print or even pink tones. But then again, would I really have bought such a thing? It was at that point when I realized that the table setting would be something different from my original vision.

An intense pattern of swirls that could be flowers, no?

I pulled out a napkin set that had similar but not exact colors. Roosters and checkerboards were as close as I could find.

I used a simple fold and roll method

Given the intense pattern of the tablecloth I felt it might be overwhelming on its own. A table runner would help provide some visual relief. Yet another pattern, not floral, but tones that would complement.

A striped table runner is another pattern. It’s simplicity allows for visual interest without taking away from the tablecloth.

The search for florals continued to be a bust. No floral plates like my little head hoped for. So, instead I pulled out a more ornate plate with gold adornments, followed by soup and salad plates with gold trim.

Dishes with gold accents.

At this point, my only option was to keep building on the new theme, and upped the ante with green and gold trimmed glassware and votives. Now I at least had a pattern on pattern theme working. Florals became swirls. The key to layering different patterns is to find a common thread of complementary colors.

Fancy glasses and votives with some gold trim help to elevate the table.

With my choices laid out it was time to set the table.

All the table setting pieces ready to be placed.

The runner definitely breaks up all that pattern and the stripes down the center act as a landing strip for the candles.

Fold, roll and wrap the napkins with a ‘floral’ themed enhancement.

Typically, I stack all the dishes, but opted to keep the salad plate on the side to hint at the original floral theme allowing the leaf design to be seen. Plus I knew I would be individually plating the salad to ensure my guests ate that course. Having the plate out makes it easy to grab and pile on the salad.

Finished place setting with utensils for each course.

Pre-plating the salad makes serving a breeze. Dressing is served in bowl for guests to add to their liking.

A pretty inviting way to welcome your guests to the table.

Side note; I find that if you plate it and serve it separately before the main meal, everyone eats it. If you place a large bowl of salad with all the rest of the meal, people often times say, “I’ll serve myself later.” And later becomes, “I’m too full.” So get your greens in early.

Ok, with the table set, it was time to move onto the actual florals. Since this was a last minute table setting, and I don’t travel to the city like I used to with my usual floral stop at Dahlia - Grand Central, Trader Joe’s would have to do. They typically have a decent selection at reasonable prices. I have to admit that I got excited about the colors I saw in the store but once I got home I realized I completely missed the mark on the pink tones. However, the purchase was made and I had to push on. I’m starting to feel like the theme went from layered florals to “ just make it happen and make it pretty.” I honestly thought the colors were more fuchsia than red hued but oh well. Pops of yellow and green made it all feel fresh and Spring like. The large yellow jug added more seasonal brightness and helped to tie it back to the napkins.

Definitely a burst of floral color

The key to a well composed arrangement is color blocking and keeping to just a few colors that complement one another.

The colors were a bit off but it still adds a happy feel.

In the end the reds and yellows echo the colors in the napkins.

Happy colors.

As for the meal, this was a Palm Sunday lunch. I told my sister, Alyssa, that it would be simple since all this was a last minute idea. But alas, I made much more than a simple meal for just six of us. It ended up being quite filling, and delicious. So, if you want something a tad different for Easter, this menu could work for an simpler meal than the usual extravagant lamb dinner. Here goes:

Appetizer

• Roasted Grape Tomatoes in Garlic Oil

• Whipped Feta
  This is an easy way to elevate a humble chunk of feta. Simply place the desired amount in a mini food processor and buzz it until smooth. One important note: rinse the feta block with cold water first to remove some of the saltiness. For some reason, once blended it brings out even more of the salt flavor.

• Garlic Bread

Oven roasted grape tomatoes, whipped feta, garlic bread

First Course

• Cauliflower Soup

• Mixed Greens with Apple/Orange/Cucumber & Date Dressing: I used my Bibb, Arugula Butternut Squash Salad recipe swapping out the lettuces with mixed greens and the butternut squash with apple, orange and cucumber. All the rest of the ingredients and dressing remained the same.

Individually plated salad of Mixed greens with apple slices, orange segments, sliced cucumber, peptias and dried cranberries.

Main Course

• Pork Loin basted in Rosemary Garlic Butter
  Sear the pork loin (seasoned with salt & pepper) in a cast iron skillet on both sides. Remove from the pan and add butter, sprigs of rosemary and several whole garlic cloves slightly smashed. Once butter is melted, return the pork to the pan and spoon the butter over the pork to finish cooking and flavor the meat.

Rosemary Garlic Butter basted Pork Loin.

• Seared Shrimp with garlic & parsley
  Marinate the shrimp with crushed garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes. Sear in a cast iron grill pan. Remove shrimp and add white wine to deglaze the pan and pour over shrimp.

• Basmati Rice with herb garlic oil
  Make a “chimichurri” sauce of finely chopped parsley, cilantro, scallions, crushed garlic, lemon zest and squeeze of lemon juice, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
  Cook Basmati rice 1 : 1.5 ratio to water. Bring water and rice to a boil, lower heat, cover and cook for 13 minutes. Keep the lid on, remove from heat and let steam for another 5-8 minutes
  Add as much of the herb garlic oil as desired. You can make the rice and oil ahead. Then right before serving warm the rice and add the sauce. I used a cast iron wok to ‘fry up’ the rice and then added the sauce to finish.

Sautéd shrimp and Herb Oil Basmati Rice

• Oven Roasted Red Onions
  Onions are an overlooked vegetable. When oven roasted they become caramelized, sweet and delicious. Cut them in half, trimming the stem end but still leaving enough of the core to hold the onion pieces together when you cut them into quarters. Place on sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees until browned and caramelized.

• Broccoli Rabe
  Wash, trim and boil the broccoli rabe until tender. Sauté in oil, garlic slices and season with salt & pepper.

Oven roasted red onions, the humble vegetable turned the star. Broccoli Rabe with garlic oil.

Dessert was a large platter of fruit and a few Saint Joseph Italian pastries. Apologies there are no photos of that course. Even though everyone said they were stuffed, they grabbed the fruit and pastries before I could get a picture. Just image a colorful array of seasonal fruit, along with luscious filled pastry.

I hope this inspires you to pile pattern on top of pattern and let your imagination work with whatever you have on hand. I started with an idea, veered off the flower garden and landed on an array of swirls, roosters, stripes and sparkle that still made me smile. A lesson in forging forward in whatever direction the universe provides and making the best of what life has to offer.

Fish & Bean Stew

Way, way back BP (Before Pandemic), when entertaining and having friends over was a common occurrence, we hosted a dinner party for our friends on Monday night. I know what you are thinking… entertaining on a school night? Indeed we did. Since it was literally the only date we all could find available we threw caution to the wind and made it happen. It was late May and we had been experiencing cooler summer weather than normal so the menu included my Fish & Bean Soup. But as typical with Mother Nature, she rules. When she flipped the weather switch from unusually cool to suddenly warm, it was she who now dictated the menu. Soup did not seem like such a great idea anymore.

Problem was, I had already purchased all the seafood, (shrimp, calamari and monkfish), and I didn’t want them to go to waste. A tiny switch-aroo was in order. Take it from a soup to a stew. Sure, you’re saying ‘How is that different? It’s still warm.’ First, let me remind you that I did say ‘tiny’ switch-aroo. I, and our guests, can attest that that slight alteration made all the difference in a dish that was originally going to be too hot, to just right.

Monkfish, shrimp and calamari from the original stew dish.

Well, it’s now November and the reverse weather pattern has occurred. It’s unseasonably warm but it’s still Fall. We were again hosting with another set of friends at our upstate country house and this stew idea seemed perfect. Plus I’ve had this blog post in a holding pattern waiting to make its debut since 2019. It was high time that it graced our bowls again. I couldn’t find calamari or monkfish for some odd reason. But that is the beauty of this dish, you can use different combos of fish; shrimp, calamari, monkfish, scallops, cod, mussels, clams. They all work.

This recipe is similar to the soup with some revisions, mainly how you cook it.

Ingredients

Makes 4 generous servings as a first course or 8 appetizer bowls
*Note: you can adjust the amount fish you use, adding more if you want this to be a main dish

2 scallions, sliced (Use 1 for beans, 1 for fish marinade)
1 med onion, chopped (1 heaping cup)
1 large carrot, diced (1 cup)
2 stalks celery, diced (1 heaping cup)
2 garlic cloves, thin slice (beans)
2 garlic cloves, crushed (fish)
2 32 oz cans Cannellini beans
12 shrimp, cleaned & deveined (12-14 oz)
10-12 oz cod, cut into chunks
10-12 oz. Sea scallops
Red pepper flakes to your taste
Magic 3 (Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper)
1-2 T Butter
1/4c White wine
Parsley to finish

Instructions

1. Peel and devein shrimp. Wash and thoroughly dry all the fish. I cut the cod into bite size pieces but left the shrimp whole. You can chose to cut the shrimp as well.

It’s important to always wash and thoroughly dry the fish, or any protein for that matter.

2. Marinate the shrimp, cod, scallops with scallion slices, crushed garlic, 1/4 t red pepper flakes, 3/4 t salt, 1/2 t black pepper and 2-3 T oil. Refrigerator while you cook the bean portion.

Marinated Fish with scallions, crushed garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and olive oil.

3. Chop and dice all your vegetables.

Mise en place: everything ready and in its place Celery, carrots, onions, scallions and garlic

4. Sauté the onions, scallions, carrots, celery for 10 -12 minutes then add the garlic slices, season with 1/2 t salt, 1/2 t pepper, 1/4 t red pepper flakes and cook another 2-3 minutes until soft and tender.

Sauté until soft then add the garlic so it doesn’t burn

5. Add the beans with some of their aguafaba juice and let simmer for 10 minutes until flavors meld. Taste for seasonings and add accordingly.

Just a luscious pot of yum

6. While the beans are cooking, sauté the fish individually (shrimp, then cod, then scallops last) in a cast iron pan or skillet. Once each batch is cooked place them on a plate until you are ready to plate.

High heat develops a nice crust on the shrimp. You only need to cook them 1-2 minutes per side

Seared cod pieces

Seared scallops

7. In the same hot pan, sauté any remaining scallions and garlic from the marinade adding a bit more oil, a pat or two of butter. Once softened then add a few splashes of white wine to deglaze the pan. Reserve this au jus to drizzle over the finished plate.

Hearty Fish & Bean Stew

You can either plate it family style using one big platter with beans on the bottom and fish stacked on top. Or individually plate it as I did, spooning the beans then placing the fish on top of each bowl, sprinkle with chopped parsley and drizzle that delicious, concentrated jus over top.

We enjoyed a few appetizers first. Then had the Fish & Stew as a starter. Followed by Grilled Pluma (Iberico Pork), Paella Rice with roasted garlic oil, Oven Roasted Tomatoes, Salad and Sautéed Broccoli Rabe.

A scaled down cheese platter along with French Breakfast Radishes and Fennel with Coarse Sea Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil & Basil

We had such a lovely, leisurely afternoon lunch with our dear friends, Tecla and Scott. We feel blessed to have them in our lives, and willing to make the drive to see our Airbnb home.
(If you are interested in renting our home in upstate NY, check it out on Airbnb
The Cozy, Country Cape House

This is such a hearty and flavorful starter. If you don’t have any plans to host a small dinner party, use this dish as a main course and maybe add some roasted potatoes or rice as a side along with a salad and vegetable As I said, this might be a warm plate, and naturally perfect for winter weather but it’s not too hot for a cool summer’s night meal or warm November afternoon al fresco.

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Shrimp & Fennel Lunch with a Friend - Casual Style Take 2

When I first starting writing this post, it was pre COVID-19 pandemic, and clearly my, and everyone else’s work life was significantly different. Also, our socializing style was absolutely different. That said, the premise behind what I originally wrote still remains the same; enjoying lunch with a friend. And so, let me continue on the thought and pleasure of sharing time with people you love - Take 2. And here’s to dreaming about the time when there will be a Take 3, 4 and beyond.

When you have your own company, and consult, it often times means you can create your own schedule. Work when others play, and play when others work. It creates an environment where you can be available for whatever opportunity lands on your doorstep. Work-Play balance is so important. I have never taken this for granted, and now more than ever I truly appreciate its freedom. I fully realize that many people do not readily have the ability to take a leisurely lunch with a friend mid week. But my work life affords me some awesome flexibility. So when my friend Donna, who is an ESL teacher, was going to be in my neighborhood, it was only natural that we lunch, as we have in the past. Now with the current pandemic situation, all of our work lives have been altered, and maybe it affords you a more flexible schedule and freedom as well. If it is, I highly recommend taking fully advantage. It is such a luxurious way to spend an afternoon; sharing a meal, a glass of wine and catching up time with a friend I adore.

Sure, one glass of wine at lunch can’t hurt. Especially when you start with a hearty bowl of Cauliflower Soup.

For this meal, I wanted to try out a recipe idea I had seen from Ina Garten. Her food and entertaining style are very similar to mine. (PS I didn’t copy her style. I discovered her long after my entertaining and cooking style was embedded in my heart.) I absolutely adore her!

JC and I love sautéing shrimp and getting a good sear on them, and so our go to method is usually cooking them in a cast iron pan to get a nice texture. But she cooked the shrimp in fennel which made them a bit softer in texture. I love fennel and I love shrimp. And so does Donna. That added up to - let’s give it a try. Since I was making this on the fly, and wasn’t actually thinking of sharing this on the blog, I didn’t measure anything (as is my typical style). However, Donna loved it so much and wanted to recreate it for her guests the following weekend, I had to come up with approximate measurements from my mind’s eye. I know you probably think that is an odd thing to say, but I can see and guestimate how much I’ve cut of an ingredient. And that is what I did went I sent Donna my approximations. I changed Ina’s recipe a bit to make it more my own.

Our Lunch Menu

A plate full of love. Polenta topped with the shrimp, tomato & fennel plus roasted root veggies topped with Marinated Feta.

Faux Creamy Cauliflower Soup
Green Salad
Roasted Carrots, Onions & Parsnips with Marinated Feta
Creamy Polenta
Shrimp with Fennel & Tomatoes, see below
Homemade Coffee Ice Cream

Creamy Polenta

Big Green Salad and Marinated Feta

Ingredients

1.5 lb shrimp
1 fennel bulb, cut in small pieces
4 large cloves of garlic, crushed
1.5 -2 c grape & heirloom cherry tomatoes
1/4 c parsley, chopped
1/8 c fennel fronds, chopped
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/3 c white wine
Magic 3 (salt, pepper, olive oil)

Instructions

1. Using about 1/4 c olive oil, sauté fennel until slightly softened.

2. Add the tomatoes, salt and black pepper and let cook down.

3. Then add the garlic and red pepper flakes and let cook for 5-7 minutes over medium low heat so not to burn the garlic.

4. Salt and pepper the shrimp, then add them into the pan cooking for about 2-3 minutes.

5. Add the wine and turn the shrimp over and cook until done.

6. Add the parsley and fennel fronds.

Cook the fennel and tomatoes down until the are softened. Then add the garlic and red pepper flakes.

Add the shrimp and wine and let cook for 3-4 minutes.

It is such a lovely combo of flavors.

I served this with polenta, but it plays just as nicely with rice or pasta.

A great way to start the lunch; warm soup and crisp white wine.

Since my creamy cauliflower soup is so easy to make, I whipped up a batch and we started with that.

For the vegetables, I just roasted heirloom carrots, parsnips and onions at 425 degrees until nicely caramelized.

The feta mixture is easy to make. All it entails is cutting up some herbs and aromatics, stirring it together and then pouring it over feta cheese. Next step: spread it on everything!!

Marinated Feta

Now that is a lunch made with love.

We finished the meal with some of my homemade coffee ice cream. Donna loved that too. It’s so easy to please a food lover. Just make yummy things and stir it with love. That’s how you create a ‘school day’ memory with a good friend.

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5 Basic Ingredients - 4 Different Dishes

Being home in shelter in place means so many things to so many people. It conjures up different experiences for each of us. Some people are using the time to get home projects accomplished. Get their yards ready. Some are decluttering. Some are mastering their skill set like solving puzzles. Others are finding hidden talents like painting, dancing or singing. Maybe you are learning a new language. Whatever this time brings, my wish is that we embrace it.

For me, I’ve gone back to my comfort zone which is cooking and baking, using all the food I have, and using it wisely. This has been, and still is, one of my strong suits. It’s how I honed my cooking skills and harkens back to my ‘something from nothing’ style and overall approach to cooking. Which is; check out what you have and figure out what to make, regardless of the ingredients or the quantities.

For those you who aren’t aware of how I began this style, it started when I was in my late teens, just wanting to experiment at home. (You can also click on my About page for more of my back story.) My grandmother, who was both an awesome cook and amazing baker, and one of my strongest influencers, would look on with doubting eyes as I mixed up and cooked up concoctions for the family to try. I often heard her famous line, “What a “mushgononza”. Which is basically the slang version of the Italian word mezcolanza meaning mixture or mash up of several things. I guarantee you that she meant it more as a mixed up mess. However much she may have doubted me during the cooking process, she inevitably would turn to me and say, ‘Not bad, not bad at all.’ Phew, praise from the master.

My Grandma Perri making her famous peaches & cream cake.

However, I would say that this style of cooking truly took form when I used to visit my sister after she first got married. Jill rarely, ok, never had fresh herbs but usually had a pantry full of canned stuff, and a freezer of frozen items. I would look through her stash and try to figure out what can I make from what was seemingly a hodge podge of items. For more on this, you can click the highlighted link for the Zucchini Orzo Pie story.

From that point, I just kept that style in my own kitchen. Not caring too much about recipes, or amounts. Simply buying what looked fresh, and then once at home figuring out how they all would dance together. Which is why I sometimes encourage you to not fuss about recipes so much but try your hand at using however many carrots you have, or to substitute what you. Sure, I give you amounts and recipes. That’s because I want you to cook, and get a feel for how much looks right. Some of you, I know, are pros and already do this, and just use the recipes as guides. My recipes are a jumping off point, and are here for whatever level of cooking you feel comfortable.

And so in that style of use what you have,
I give you 4 super simple dishes using a combination of 3-5 basic ingredients and then adding a protein and a starch, thus turning them into different dishes. Using slightly different cooking methods, you also create different flavors and textures. From sautéing to stir frying, braising or simple soup making. This is like those old Chinese menu ideas; two from column A, one from column B, etc. Feel free to mix and match. That is the beauty of basics, you can create so many variations.

Celery and fennel.

The Basics:

• Onions

• Celery

• Fennel

• Carrot

• Basil

 The Proteins:

• Shrimp

• Cod

• Mushrooms

The Starches:

• Polenta

• Barley

• Rice

Mushroom Barley Soup

4 Basics + 1 Protein + 1 Starch
(Onions, Celery, Carrots, Basil) + (Mushrooms) + (Barley)

Instructions:

1. Cook the barley in a separate pot.

2. In a medium stock pot, sauté onions, celery and carrot in olive oil until softened and season with salt and pepper.

3. Add the mushrooms, over a medium heat cook until softened.

4. Then add chicken or vegetable broth or water to cover and let simmer.

5. Add the barley once cooked. I added basil which I had on hand and it gave it a nice floral note that I enjoyed.

Serve with a salad or crusty bread and lunch is served. And check out the video below. I’m getting all fancy now and inserting moving visuals. Enjoy a steaming hot bowl of comforting soup.

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Simple Shrimp Sauté

3 Basics + 1 Protein + 1 Starch
(Onions, Celery, Basil) + (Shrimp) + (Polenta)

Instructions

1. Cook polenta according to the package. (You can add cream and butter at the end to make it luxurious and extra creamy, but keeping it in the basic mode, use just water.)

2. Sauté the sliced celery and onions until softened, then season with salt and pepper. Keep the celery leave tops and use them along with the basil to finish.

3. Add the shrimp and cook until just pink, then add the freshly chopped basil and celery leaves.

4. Top the polenta with the shrimp mixture. Yum and Yum

Another video for your viewing pleasure.

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One Pot Poached Cod

3 Basics + 1 Protein + 1 Starch
(Onions, Fennel, Celery) + (Cod) + (Rice)

Instructions

1. Wash, dry and cut the cod into chunks (approx. 2” squares) and set aside.

2. Sauté the sliced onions, celery and fennel in olive oil, and slowly cook until softened.

3. Add water and then nestle the cod pieces into the pan. Cover and let poach until the cod is white and cooked through. Depending on how thick the pieces are this should only take 8-12 minutes. A beautifully flakey cod with braised vegetables is soothing and delicious.

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Leftover Rice & Mushroom Stir Fry

2 Basics + 1 Protein + 1 Starch
(Onions, Basil) + (Mushrooms) + (Leftover Cooked Rice)

Instructions

1. Chop the onions into a small dice. Sauté using olive oil until softened, add salt and pepper.

2. Slice the mushrooms and add to the onions and let them cook together until the mushrooms get browned.

3. Add the cooked leftover rice until completely heated through. Add seasonings to taste. (Salt, pepper or even red pepper flakes). Finish with chopped

And there you have it, 5 basic staple ingredients combined with other fairly basic proteins and starches. And just like that you have 4 different meals that are complete, hearty, delicious, and I dare say… EASY.

Send me your mix and match creations. I would love to hear how you are making the most of your basic items.

Shrimp Cucumber Roll - Tails Up & Out

Always a seeker of how to take ordinary ingredients and serve them up differently, an idea caught my eye the other day while I was working a catering gig. The chef was serving up coconut shrimp, sort of standing up with the tail sticking out. Of course, he served them with their tail shells still on. Which made sense for his presentation, so people could grab and bite away. I’m not usually a fan of shell tails on. Two reasons, really. One is that people often just bite up to that point and leave that cute little shrimp meat inside the tail, missing out the tail section. Two, it’s an extra thing people have to deal with, and can be messy depending on the presentation. But for this application, tails on it is. Tails UP & OUT to be exact.

So, borrowing from the ‘standing up shrimp’ idea I decided to create a shrimp roll of a different kind. I didn’t want something heavy, or that needed to be fried up or warmed up, making it more work for serving. I wanted something pretty, and pretty delicious. Using shrimp, avocado, daikon radish shoots and dab of wasabi sour cream, I wrapped everything up in a cucumber slice. Normally, we buy extra large, jumbo or Tiger Shrimp. But for this appetizer, using a smaller shrimp (medium 35 count) creates a one bite app that can be made ahead, kept chilled and served as guests first arrive.

Since we are all super busy with just days before Christmas I’m not going to make you read a ton of my mind’s meanderings. We are just going to get down to it, so you can serve this up for Christmas eve or day of. Also, no amounts for this one. It will all depend on how many guests you are having. An English cucumber will yield about 20 long slices. A large Gwen avocado will give you plenty of slices, then some.

Ingredients

Shrimp, smaller sized, cleaned and deveined
English Cucumber, long thin slices
Avocado, small, thin slices
Sour Cream
Wasabi paste (amount depends on how much heat you want)
Daikon Radish Shoots*
Aromatics for shrimp boil (bay leaf, peppercorns, garlic cloves, parsley, lemon, salt)

* You can use any micro sprout you find. However, the daikon radish sprout has a spicy note to it, so if you use something milder, you might want to increase the amount of wasabi paste. Use your taste buds as your guide.

It’s all about the green for this fresh bite.

Instructions

1. Using a vegetable peeler, slice the cucumber lengthwise. And set aside covered with wet paper towels.

2. In a small mixing bowl, mix together sour cream, wasabi paste and salt to taste. Refrigerate until ready to assemble. I used two heaping tablespoons of sour cream with 3/4 t wasabi. (only 1/4 t. shown below, because I tasted it wanted more heat so I added more.)

Wasabi comes in powder form or paste, and can be found in most grocery stores in the Japanese section.

3. To get the shrimp really flavorful, prep the poaching water by bringing to a boil 6 cups of water with 2-3 bay leaves, 1 T peppercorns, garlic cloves, parsley and salt. Then let simmer for 10 minutes to allow the aromatics to infuse into the water.

The aromatics will lightly infuse flavor into the shrimp.

A pot of goodness.

4. Meanwhile, get an ice bath ready (a large bowl of water with ice cubes with a smaller bowl inserted in the middle) to transfer cooked shrimp immediately after to stop the cooking.

Nothing fancy, just a simple ice bath shocker to say ‘hey, no more cooking for you!’.

5. Once the water has simmered, squeeze the lemon into the water and toss it into the pot. Then add the shrimp and let cook for 2-3 minutes until they turn opaque pinkness orange. Transfer them immediately to the ice bath.

6. Cut the avocado into small strips. Sprinkle with course salt. (You can squeeze a bit of lemon, too.)

The avocado will add a creaminess to this bite.

Mise en place. Get everything ready and in place.

7. Assemble by laying the cucumber strip down and placing shrimp, avocado and radish shoots on the end of the cucumber, and begin to roll. Since shrimp curl when they cook, I found that straightening the shrimp out a bit helped with rolling it up.

Ready, set, ROLL.

8. Once rolled up, squeeze or place a dollop of the wasabi sour cream on top. (I used a piping bag because I find it easier. You can use a plastic bag with the tip cut off, or simply dollop it on).

Just a little squeeze of wasabi sour cream with brighten and bring heat at the same time.

Place on a platter. Or maybe a tiered plate rack. Whatever floats your shrimp boat. This bite size appetizer is light and a refreshing twist on the high fat, high calorie fried shrimp roll. I adore how the sprouts stick up. It’s colorful. It’s playful. It’s just the right size bite.

If you don’t have wasabi paste, then you can make any kind of jazzed up sour cream you like. Or even use mayo or yogurt. Some ideas:

• smashed avocado mayo/sour cream or yogurt

• lime zest mayo/sour cream or yogurt

• siracha mayo/sour cream or yogurt

• jalapeño mayo/sour cream or yogurt

You get the idea. Mix up a bit whatever creamy option you like with something you love that pairs well with shrimp to make it tad more special.

But wait, there’s more. Because I hate to waste, and I had cucumber left over, I cut it into thick slices and created a vegetarian option. All it took was some radish shoots, avocado slice and dollop of wasabi sour cream to create a bite for the non fish eating crowd. Another ‘leftover’ was the outer peel of the cucumber. I tied it into a knot and used it to decorate the plate. Two for one, all the way around.

Extra cucumber, comes to the rescue of vegetarians!

Pretty, green pop in your mouth freshness.

Now that is a whole lot of LOVE going on. You might notice a new love sign. The large one was given to me by my sister, Jill. It brings me such joy that people notice a simple sign, and begin to spread the love. The whole idea is catching on. 2stirwithlove, everything you do.

These make a great pass-around appetizers as well as one that looks great on a buffet. Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas and a Shrimp Cucumber Roll, with their tails sticking out!

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Post Note: I made these again but I forgot the avocado. So in true ‘use what you have’ mode, I swapped it out with mango slices. I have to say, I think I liked it even more!