Beer battered fried shrimp, cocktail sauce and spiral cut baked potatoes.

Beer Battered Fried Shrimp n’ Pickles

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

spicy cocktail sauce:

1/2 cup chili sauce

3 tablespoons sour cream (optional)

1 tablespoon Sriracha (or hot sauce of your choice)

2 teaspoons prepared horseradish

zest and juice from 1 lime

20 large shrimp peeled and deveined with tails still intact

10 Farmer’s Garden by Vlasic Zest Garlic Pickle Chips

1 lemon, thinly sliced

beer batter:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon minced tarragon

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

pinch cayenne pepper

1 (12 ounce) bottle stout (such as Guinness)

1/2 cup tapioca or cornstarch

oil for frying

Directions:

1. Preheat oil to 350˚F.
2. For spicy cocktail sauce: Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together. Set aside until ready to use.
3. Line a large baking sheet with paper towels and top with a single layer of shrimp, pickles and lemon slices. Place a sheet of paper towel over the shrimp, pickles and lemon slices and gently press to absorb as much liquid as possible. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper.
4. For the beer batter, whisk together everything except for the beer. When ready to fry, stir in the beer until just incorporated and no dry spots remain.
5. Dip each shrimp, pickle chip and lemon slice into the cornstarch and shake off any excess. Then dip each into the beer batter, shaking off any excess (you want to make sure to have a very thin layer of batter fully encasing each dipped ingredient).
6. Carefully drop each battered ingredient into the oil, in batches (make sure not to over-crowd the pot/fryer which will make the oil temp drop, causing the food to become soggy and not crisp) and fry for 4 to 5 minutes or until golden brown. Drain onto paper towels for 30 seconds before transferring to a baking sheet, lined with a cooling rack. Season with salt and pepper. Repeat until all of the shrimp, pickle chips and lemon slices have been fried. Serve immediately with spicy cocktail sauce.

These potatoes were harder to make than I thought they would be and were not done even after 40 minutes.

Tornado Potatoes

INGREDIENTS

Serves: 2

2 medium white potatoes

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

Parsley, chopped (for garnish)

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF/160ºC.

2. Insert a skewer into the potato and gently push the skewer all the way through it.

3. Hold a sharp, thin knife at an angle and cut in the opposite direction you are turning the skewered potato. 

4. Gently fan out the potato down the length of the skewer, until you have an even gap between the slices forming the spiral. 

5. Melt the butter and brush it all over the potato.

6. In a medium bowl, combine parmesan cheese, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and salt.

7. Place the skewered potato over the bowl and shovel the mixture all over the potato until it is entirely coated. 

8. Rest potatoes on a baking sheet so that it is hovering over the bottom of the sheet.

9. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until nicely browned.

10. Garnish with additional parmesan and parsley.

11. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

12. Serve warm and enjoy!