A Word From The Other Parsimonious Chef...: A Meal For The Hopeful Romantic. Shrimp Cocktail & Stone Fruit Salad w/ Bleu Cheese and Pan Roasted Cod...The Summer Salad Series.....

Shrimp Cocktail

Pan Seared Cod with Stone Fruit Salad & Bleu Cheese

The other day someone posted a music video of an artist that I had heard of in passing but had never actually had the pleasure of listening to until that day. I must have watched it over 30 times, each time I found a different reason to like it even more than the previous. I'm not sure if it was his awkward intro, delivery, the chords or the fact that at the end of the day it was a love song. A bit of each is my best guess.

I considered myself to be awkward long before the internet series made it sort of hip, so being drawn to that aspect of the video and song has some merit but still there's more to it. Chords are something that have always affected me emotionally and have the ability to dictate my mood momentarily. I actually read an article earlier this year that confirmed my suspicions (Link). Then there's the love song thing. I have always appreciated a good love song, but often times the ones that draw me aren't the "burning up the sheets" types, it's normally the ones where there's the clumsiness of getting to know one another. You, know the songs that highlight the awkward confessions of a man that has found himself wanting to do silly things like write songs, poetry or act in some other "non-manly" way, all for the affection of that one sought after person, the object of his desire. ThunderCat Video - Walking

The hopeful romanticist in me draws me to songs, videos or occurrences that are normally about new love or love sustained over long periods of time. One story that I'd like to share is about the first time that I identified with the latter, sustained love. I traveled to Seattle for a trip with a friend. We decided to take a side trip up to Vancouver. While we were there we went for a walk in Stanley Park, where I saw an elderly couple just walking and holding hands, I think I was about 25 or so at the time. I immediately, imagined that they had been together for the last 30 or 40 years and the fact that they were holding hands after all of these years truly warmed my soul to its' core. Although I didn't know them nor did I ask I could just feel it and it really had a profound affect on me. One of the interesting things about this story is that the couple that I saw was two elderly men. Even more surprising to me as I reflected was the fact that I hadn't seen gender, what I saw was true love and it moved me, even as a young man that had limited interaction with the gay community at the time.

The first date can be stressful after all you probably don't know much about each other and who in the hell wants to be interviewed after a long day of work. Well, by the time you get around to the first dinner date in house, you should know each other better but then there's the pressure to entertain and have everything go off without so much as a hitch. Get over it, things happen and they are there for you not for the accompaniments. When I think cooking for the first date I think simplicity and who doesn't love a quick but sexy appetizer and something lite and refreshing for dinner.

On the menu today :

Shrimp Cocktail

Stone Fruit Salad Blue Cheese and Arugula with Pan Roasted Cod

Shrimp Cocktail

Iced Shrimp Cocktail

Pan Seared Cod w/ Arugula Stone Fruit, Tomatoes & Bleu Cheese

With everything I do I create a formula that works for me, nothing earth shattering just something that makes it easier for me to function. My formula for my entries normally goes like this; I dream of something, see something or go to the store and pick up whatever is needed to cook. I then get the food items home, cook them, write the recipe(s) and then proceed to reflect on my past and or whatever is going on with me currently to write a relevant entry for the blog. Well, this video so inspired me that I decided to write first and let the story dictate the food aspect of what you are seeing now. I'm sure it will work out because this video deserves a good meal to go along with it.

For the Shrimp Cocktail we will need:

Jumbo Shrimp (4-5 pp)
Crab Boil (1 Tsp)
Garlic (2 cloves)
Bay Leaf (1 ea)
Old Bay (1 tsp)
Lemon (1 ea)
Catsup (1 cup)
Horseradish (2 Tbs)
Tabasco (1 tsp)
Worchestire Sauce (1 Tbs)

Put the crab boil, garlic and bay leaf in a pot of water and bring to a boil, add peeled and deveined shrimp and cook for 2-4 minutes or until done. Once shrimp is done take out and play in a bowl of ice water until chilled. Remove from water and refrigerate until service.

Add the catsup, old bay, lemon juice (1 tsp), horseradish,tabasco and Worchestire and mix thoroughly.

Plate as seen below or however you like.

Cocktail Sauce

For the Salad & Cod we will need the following:

Wild Arugula (32 oz)
Peaches (2 ea)
Plums (2 ea)
Heirloom Tomatoes (2-4
Red Onions (1/2 ea)
White Balsamic Vinegar (1 tsp)
Olive Oil (2 Tbs)
Garlic (.25 tsp)
Dijon Mustard (1 tsp)
Lemon Juice (1 tsp)
Cod (1 portion p p)
Butter (1 Tbs)

2nd Plating

If needed wash the arugula and refrigerate for later use. Peel both the peaches & plums then slice. Julienne the onion and marinate in .5 tsp of the white balsamic vinegar along with the peaches and plums. Slice the tomatoes and set aside for later use. Make the dressing by adding the remainder of the vinegar, 1 Tbs of olive oil and .5 tsp of Dijon mustard. Combine all the components of the salad and add the cheese liberally (as seen below).

Stone Fruit Salad

Marinate the Cod in the lemon juice, Dijon mustard (.5 tsp), garlic and olive oil for 20-30 minutes. Once ready to cook pat dry with a paper towel and salt liberally. Add butter or olive oil to a heated skillet and place cod in dry and salted side down, allowing to cook for 3-5 minutes to form a crust as seen below. Flip the fish using a spatula and place in an oven preheated to 425 for 2-4 more additional minutes or until done. Plate as seen below or any way that you would like.