Shrimp en Papilloute with Cilantro-Coconut Chutney - Continued

How to:

Sprinkle shrimp with salt and pepper. Set aside.



Drop all chutney ingredients into your food processor, and pulse until well chopped. Dump into a bowl, stir well, set aside.



Cut a piece of aluminum foil about 15 inches long, and lay it out with a short side facing you. Brush the bottom half with a little oil.

Spoon a bit of chutney (about a tablespoon) onto the foil, then add 1/4 of the shrimp. Top with another tablespoon of chutney.



Fold the top half of the foil down, then fold up the bottom edges and fold in the sides. Repeat for a total of four packages.

Place the packages on a hot grill (or on a cookie sheet in a single layer in a 450F oven) and cook until the packages are puffy - 12 to 15 minutes or so.



Slice open the packets and slide onto plates.

Shrimp en Papilloute with Cilantro-Coconut Chutney

When choosing our menu items this year, we wanted to feature some unusual dishes. Ernie found a terrific recipe for Salmon en Papilloute in Suvir Saran and Stephanie Lyness' Indian Home Cooking: A Fresh Introduction to Indian Food, with More Than 150 Recipes.

We didn't want to use salmon, though, and opted instead for shrimp. We also weren't interested in having the oven on for a while, so we're cooking this on the grill.

Ingredients:

2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
salt and pepper, about 1/2 tsp. ea.

For the chutney:

2/3 cup grated fresh coconut or 2/3 cup unsweetened dried coconut mixed with 1/3 cup milk
3 fresh green chiles, seeds removed
6 garlic cloves
2 cups fresh cilantro leaves
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves
juice of two lemons

You'll need some heavy duty aluminum foil and either an oven pre-heated to 450F, or a hot grill.

Caprese Alexander - Continued

How to:

Dice the tomatoes to small dice, reserve in a bowl.

Dice the cheeses, chiffonade the herbs. Add to the tomatoes, drizzle with the balsamic vinegar, and stir well.

Serve garnished with a mint leaf!

Caprese Alexander

Alex, my head sous and Elder Monster, has a keen interest in the culinary arts. He's enrolled in the Culinary Arts program at Whitmer High School, where he will be a Junior in the Fall, and is a regular occupant of the home kitchen.

His twist on the classic Italian Salate Caprese is so good, your hair will do jumping jacks!

Ingredients:
1 large red tomato
2 small yellow tomatoes
2 small orange tomatoes
1/2 pound mozzarella
1 slice haloumi
2 oz. fresh mint, chiffonade
4 oz. fresh basil, chiffonade
2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar



Get out your knives and chopping skills!

Vichysoisse with Thai herbs - Continued

How to:

Trim and discard root and green sections of leeks. Slice thinly, then toss into a sink full of cold water. Agitate briskly with your hands, then allow to sit. This gets rid of the dirt and grit.

Drain well.

In the bottom of a heavy stock pot, melt the butter. Add leeks, cook til soft, then add potatoes and stock. Cover, simmer for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are soft. Stir in coconut milk.



Combine Thai herb ingredients in a small bowl, set aside til serving time.

Puree the soup in a food processor (or blender) in small batches. Return to pan, heat through for 3 to 5 more minutes. Serve garnished with Thai herbs.

Vichysoisse with Thai herbs

I find soup to be something of a lost art in the US. Very few restaurants go beyond standard offerings - chicken noodle, french onion, vegetable beef, broccoli and cheese, clam chowder.

These. Are. BORING! Too many restaurants serve them, and I'm so bored by the very idea of them anymore. Argh.

We like soup here, though, and love to play with it. Bettina Jenkins' Soup: 100 Recipes From Classic to Contemporary - a lovely find on the Barnes and Noble remainder table some years ago - offers a ton of alternatives, including this one.

Ingredients:

4 leeks
2 oz. butter
1.5 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
8 cups stock or water (Jenkins recommends veggie stock, we're using chicken stock for a richer flavor)
1 cup coconut milk
sea salt and black pepper, to taste

For the Thai Herbs:

2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup loosely packed flat parsley, chopped
1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro, chopped
1/4 tsp. dried chili flakes
grated zest of 1/2 lemon

A heavy bottomed stock pot is your friend!

Iron Chef Michael Symon's Crispy Fresh Bacon with Grilled Haloumi and Pickled Green Tomatoes - Continued

How to:

Slice the bacon into inch to inch and a half strips, then cut the strips into inch to inch and a half pieces.



Carefully remove the rind with a sharp knife. Please keep your fingers intact! Then cut each cube in half.



In a large pan, brush in about a teaspoon of olive oil and heat over medium high. When the pan is hot, add the cubes of bacon to sear. Flip them over to sear the other side, then pop the whole shebang into the 500F oven for 15 minutes or so, until crispy.



While the bacon is roasting, slice the haloumi and grill each slice in the cast iron skillet.





On your serving plate, lay down 4 or 5 leaves of baby arugula. Place the cheese atop that, add 4 cubes of bacon, and garnish with a couple pickled green tomatoes.



OM NOM NOM NOM!