Something New from Arletti's Tiny Test Kitchen

The main attraction

Menu:

shrimp cocktail

kale chips

salad

frozen grapes

accompanied by Dancing Bull Sauvignon Blanc

Some of your raw materials

What you will Need:

frozen shrimp

salt*

black pepper

ketchup

horse radish

ketchup

sunflower sprouts

mesclun salad mix

raspberries

avocado

sherry wine vinegar

olive oil

kale

Romano cheese

grapes, placed in freezer earlier

*A short note on the salt: I use gourmet Himalayan salt and I really feel it makes a difference. You don't have to invest in fancy salt, but I think it's worth it.

Prep work:

Begin by setting your oven to 425 F, then boil salted water; you will be steaming the shrimp so don't fill the pot too much. Thaw the shrimp in a colander under running water. peel off most of the shell, leaving only the last segment. Leave shrimp in a bowl until your water is hot enough to produce steam.

Wash and dry your kale. If your kale is small like mine was, you don't have to trim and cut it. If you get more mature kale, remove the tough stem and cut into smaller pieces. Lay out your kale on cookie sheets. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Finish by shaving Romano over the leaves. If you don't have a cheese grater, a knife works great, especially one with a serrated edge.

I paid too much for this kale

The shrimp and kale will cook really fast, so I recommend making your salad before you put shrimp in pot and kale in oven. Also, if you don't have a device to steam as I do, you can also use your microwave; that's what they do best. If you make shrimp in microwave, just put in a glass bowl and sprinkle with water. I don't know what the time would be, but I would be conservative and put back in microwave if you have to.

For the salad, clean your salad and sprouts and dry in salad spinner. Slice avocado and pour a teaspoon of vinegar over the avocado. Wash and dry your raspberries. Combine everything in a bowl and add olive oil. Grind black pepper over it. I suggest skipping the salt, the other parts of the meal are very salty.

Pretty greens

At this point, if you haven't started cooking the shrimp and kale, go ahead and do that. Both will take under ten minutes to cook. While that is cooking, put ketchup in a small bowl. Mix about equal parts ketchup with horseradish. Scoop mixture onto the center of the plate you'll be serving dinner on.

Check your shrimp. Take them out with a slated spoon and transfer to a container. If you have time, place in fridge for a bit. Take out the chips too and let them cool for a little bit. This is a good time to set your table and pick up some of the mess in your kitchen. Five minutes is sufficient.

Now place your shrimp around the cocktail sauce and then the chips around the shrimp. Serve with a bowl of salad and wine.

This is what it will look like

I hope you enjoy this. I found that frozen grapes with a second glass of wine are a nice palate cleanser. I really had a great time putting this together and now I am ready to head to my pottery studio to conquer some clay and make pretty things to put yummy food in. I sincerely hope you give this a shot. I think it would be a nice meal for a Valentine's date, if you have those kind of plans.

This is what it will look like in the end if you followed my directions