Decadent Friday with Desert

Lunch Tunes
MGMT
Oracular Spectacular

The Menu
Bacon Shrimp with Japanese Dipping Sauce
Cucumber Slices
Warm Chocolate Chip Cookies
Double Dark Chocolate Gelato

We ate everything that was cooked for dinner last night. Not a morsel left and I had finally finished the baked macaroni and cheese that I had been eating all week. I had to scavenge in the fridge.

As I mentioned in the seafood salad post I always have frozen shrimp in the freezer. I also always have bacon frozen wrapped in sets of three strips. And what is better than bacon and shrimp? Not much. Not much.

Defrosting the shrimp in water and the bacon in the microwave both work really well and are fast so this is a actually a really quick lunch. I even cook the bacon a tiny bit in the microwave of start to render it out on the stove so that it will crisp on quicker when baking. I actually didn't do it enough today. I was afraid of overcooking the shrimp so the bacon was a little chewier than I would have liked. I would have preferred a much bigger shrimp for this to avoid the undercooked bacon or overcooked shrimp dilemma but that's not what I had on hand. I stuffed the shrimp with horseradish. I could have stuffed them with anything though. Cream cheese and herbs for example or lemon zest and breadcrumbs. Just anything. Just thinking about it makes me want to make an experimental platter.

For the dipping sauce I was out of rice wine vinegar for I used a Chianti. Holy crow it was tangy. If you're using a strong vinegar I would cut the amount used back a bit. You could also have cocktail sauce. I thought that with the shrimp stuffed with horseradish it would be too much but you may just love your horseradish!

I don't usually have dessert at lunch time but I've been baking cookies so I really wanted to have some warm ones right away. The gelato was kind of an after thought. I bought it on a whim at the grocery store last night. It is the holidays and I do deserve a treat. It was excellent. Very rich.

Bacon Shrimp

6 Shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 strips bacon cut in half crosswise
horseradish

Butterfly the shrimp. Put about 1/4 of a tsp horseradish in the shrimp. Close and wrap snugly in bacon. Cook 375 for 10 minutes. Pop under the broiler for about 1 minute to crisp bacon.

Japanese Shrimp Dipping Sauce
(adapted from a recipe I got online. It was a long time ago and I lost the source but I've changed it so maybe it's my own now)

1/2 c mayonnaise
1 T sugar
1 T vinegar
1 T melted butted
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t paprika

Mix all ingredients until thoroughly blended.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
This recipe is adapted from the Toll House Cookie recipe. I use more brown sugar because I like a chewier cookie. I split the baking soda with baking powder because I like a puffier cookie. And I use Ghiradelli semi sweet chips because I like them better. When I make my husbands with the nuts I use 1 c granulated sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar and all baking soda because he likes a crisper flatter cookie. I also make his twice as big. I make mine with my smallest cookie scoop. The number has worn off but it's about 1 1/2 T I think.

2 Sticks butter, room temp
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 t vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 c flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 cups chocolate chips

Cream sugars and butter together. Add vanilla. Add eggs on at a time beating until smooth. mix all dry ingredients except the chips. Add to the butter mixture 1/3 at a time thoroughly incorporating before adding more. Mix until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake 375 for 9-12 minutes.