Pineapple Shrimp Salad

Welcome to Fantasy Island, Mon!

     You can find salad presentations like this half pineapple bowl in the caribbean, Florida, Tahiti, Hawaii, Mexico and of course Las Vegas.  Las Vegas?  Las Vegas is not exactly in the tropics, but I happen to live hear and I am a long time tropical cuisine chef.  

     I spent about 15 years cooking in the tropics.  I must admit that there are two types of cuisine wherever there are white sand beaches.  There is tourist food and there is the food that the locals eat.  Some of the tourist food does appeal to the locals.  This style of pineapple shrimp salad appeals to everyone!

     I really do not like popcorn shrimp!  They are precooked in brine and they practically have no flavor. I prefer doing things the right way.  Large 16/20 count per pound shrimp in a pineapple salad create a much better presentation.  The texture is better with large shrimp too, because popcorn shrimp cause a salad like this to be too dense.  

     Pineapple salads should be made to order, because the pineapple pieces leak juice into the salad after setting for a short time.  Mayonnaise is the dressing for this salad, but not much mayonnaise is required.  The juices from the pineapple will thin the mayonnaise when the salad ingredients are tossed together.

     In hot tropical kitchens that are located in busy tourist areas, the pace of the cooking is fast and furious.  Everything is made quickly.  Basic items are prepared ahead of time, but salads like this stuffed pineapple are prepared to order.  That means that splitting the pineapple, trimming the points off of the leaves and cutting a bowl are done blazingly fast, with no mistakes.  

     I made the salad in the pictures from scratch in just over four minutes.  While the shrimp poach, the pineapple and vegetables can be prepared.  Four minutes is fast, but keep in mind that I have made a few thousand of these pineapple shrimp salads in my lifetime.  In the tropics, food is prepared quickly, so the threat of airborne pathogens and spoilage is minimized.  In the tropics, raw seafood can spoil in 20 minutes if it is not chilled.  A different set of health code standards apply in tropical regions.

     Poached Szechuan Pepper Shrimp:

     Heat a pot over high heat.

     Add 4 cups of water.

     Add sea salt.

     Add 1 pinch of cayenne pepper.

     Add 8 Szechuan peppercorns.

     When the water come to a boil, add 1/2 pound of peeled and deveined large shrimp.  (Remove the tails.)

     Poach the shrimp, till they become fully cooked.  (About 3 to 4 minutes)

     Cool the shrimp under cold running water.

     Drain the water off of the shrimp and discard the Szechuan peppercorns.

     Set the poached shrimp aside.

     

     Pineapple Bowl:  

     Split 1 whole pineapple in half lengthwise and keep the leaves attached.

     Use kitchen shears to trim the sharp points off of the leaves.

     Cut a small flat spot on the bottom of the pineapple rind, so the pineapple will be stable on a plate.

     Place the pineapple on a cutting board with the cut open side facing up.

     Use a paring knife to cut a bowl shape in the pineapple, so the bowl has a 1/4" thick rim.

     Cut 2 vertical slices on both sides of the pineapple core, but do not cut through the rind.

     Use a spatula or spoon to pry and pop the pineapple fruit out of the pineapple bowl.  

     Set the two fruit wedges aside.

     Use a paring knife to cut under the pineapple core.  

     Remove the core.

     Trim the fruit off of the core and discard the core.

     Set the pineapple bowl aside.

     Pineapple Shrimp Salad Recipe:

     Cut the pineapple fruit into bite size pieces.

     Place the pineapple fruit into a mixing bowl.

     Add the poached shrimp.

     Add 1 tablespoon of thin sliced celery.

     Add 2 tablespoons of small bite size pieces of red bell pepper.

     Add 1 tablespoon of coarsely chopped bermuda onion. 

     Add 1 tablespoon of toasted shelled sunflower seeds.

     Add 1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro.

     Add 1 small pinch of ground celery seed.

     Add 1 small pinch of allspice.

     Add 1 small pinch of cayenne pepper.

     Add sea salt and white pepper.

     Add 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise.

     Toss the ingredients together.

     Place the pineapple shrimp salad into the pineapple bowl.

     Set the stuffed pineapple on a plate.

     Garnish the pineapple with cilantro sprigs.

     Garnish the plate with bias sliced green onion.

     Cool, refreshing, tropical, fresh and delicious!  This pineapple shrimp salad is a pleasure to eat and to look at.  Yum Mon!  ...  Shawna

Banana Split at Roxy's Diner in the Stratosphere Resort and Casino, Las Vegas!

An old fashioned banana split in a 1950's American diner atmosphere!

     What does red vinyl booths, chome furnishings, a soda counter, prefabricated American diner design and a 1950's rock n roll theme add up to?  Roxy's Diner!  There is no better atmosphere in Las Vegas for having an old fashioned classic banana split!

     The 1950's diner decor is not all that is offered at Roxy's Diner.  Roxy's has a singing waitstaff that sings 1950's style rock n roll music!  Several shows are performed daily and the talented singing waitstaff does get the customers involved in the action.  If you are into '50's music, then Roxy's Diner is the place to be!

     The menu at Roxy's features all of the popular food that was served in diners in the 1950's plus much more.  Diners and burger stands were a way of life 60 years ago and it still a popular lifestyle in today's day and age.  Roxy's Diner has the perfect atmosphere for enjoying the classic all American fine dining meal of a burger, fries and a shake!  Yes, to many people, that is fine dining!   

     I had some time to kill late in the afternoon in Las Vegas.  The temperature was over 100 degrees that day.  I sat down at a table in Roxy's Diner and started reading the menu.  Burgers, fries, salads, sandwiches, fish and every old 1950's style food item that you could think of was on the menu.  I really wanted to do a burger at Roxy's, but I had eaten my quota of burgers in recent weeks.  The hot food on the menu just did not strike a note, after finding shelter indoors from the oven like temperatures of the Mojave desert summer heat.  I thumbed through the menu to the last page.  Everybody knows what the last page of an old fashioned diner menu is.  Pies, desserts, floats, malts and shakes!

     On a hot day, having a root beer float or a shake is a nice way to cool off and relax in an air conditioned diner.  Diners always have casual and relaxed atmosphere for sipping on a float or a shake.  The pictures of the old fashioned shakes looked good.  I became fixated on one dessert photo on the menu.  I was trying to deny myself the temptation that the photo presented.  I looked through the entire menu one more time, trying to forget that I ever saw that dessert photo on the last page.  I gave up and gave in to temptation.  The photo of the Roxy's Diner banana split won!

      It has been many years since I have grazed on a banana split.  It has been many more years since I have had a good properly made banana split.  The menu photo of Roxy's banana split looked like a picture perfect nice quality banana split from the 1950's and 1960's.  Roxy's banana split was not one of those awful fast food soft-serve ice cream shop banana splits.  Roxy's banana split was made the old fashioned way.

     The toppings of pineapple sauce, chocolate sauce and strawberry sauce were top quality.  The hand crafted quality French vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream scoops were top notch, Daddio!  (Daddio was a 1950's word that was used like the modern word dude!)  The banana was split lengthwise like it is is supposed to be.   Fresh made whipped cream!  Chopped walnuts and of course the signature finishing touch of maraschino cherries gave Roxy's banana split the official stamp of authenticity!

     A great banana split in a 1950's diner atmosphere was not all that was going on during my visit to Roxy's Diner.  I was sat at a table near the big screen television that was the size of a wall.  Guess what was movie was playing?  Thats right!  Elvis Presley and Ann Margaret in Viva Las Vegas!  

     I was served my banana split right at the start of the car race scene towards the end of the movie.  Perfect timing!  What is great about the race scene in Viva Las Vegas, is that the race winds from Hoover Dam all the way through old Las Vegas.  The race scene is like watching a time capsule of the good old golden years of Las Vegas.  Before I knew it, I was watching the race scene and mindlessly munching down on the banana split!  The movie was great and I kept commenting to myself that this is one great banana split! 

     The Stratosphere is located on the Las Vegas Strip.  You simply need no directions to get there, because the Stratosphere is the tallest observation tower in the west.  The tower can be seen from anywhere in the valley.  

     I have ridden the Insanity ride at the top of the tower.  The Insanity ride was a blast!  If you have a weak stomach, then do not eat anything before going on this ride for the sake of the innocent bystanders that are looking up from 1,149 feet below.  Ha ha ha!

     The newest ride on the tower is actually a tethered free fall jump from the top of the tower to almost ground level.  The cable tether does slow the harnessed jumpers down to a safe touch down landing speed.  Jumping from over 100 stories up is an adrenaline rush that cannot be beat!

     I highly recommend Roxy's Diner for visitors of Las Vegas and for locals alike!  If you have been seeking a 1950's classic American diner experience, then Roxy's is the place to go.  If a great banana split is what your agenda reads, then by all means, indulge!  Yum!  ...  Shawna                

Canh cải chua cá hồi

Vietnamese Mekong Delta Sour Soup with Pickled Mustard Greens and Salmon!

     Canh chua translates to sour soup!  This is not a simple sour flavored soup.  Nearly every ingredient of canh chua adds a different type of sour flavor and sour flavor intensity.  The ingredients create an intriguing effect of layers of sour flavors.
     I grew up with many family members who were Vietnam veterans and I worked with many veterans too.  I also worked with many Vietnamese people and my dentist is Vietnamese.  You might say that I have heard plenty about Vietnam and Vietnamese cuisine over the years.  One thing that many of the veterans talked about was Vietnamese food.  Many of them really liked the food over there.  Vietnamese food was very different than the standard American food of the 1960's.
     One food item that many Vietnam veterans liked to reminisce about was a particular soup that they tried on the Mekong Delta.  Many said that the soup was like nothing they ever had before.  Many said that they hate to eat fish and they hate the thought of fish soup, but they really liked the sour tasting fish soup from the Mekong Delta region!  One thing that all who talked about this soup agreed upon, was that the soup had no strong fish flavor and it really tasted good.  Vietnam veterans seem to only talk to each other about these kind of things, but I heard enough about this Vietnamese soup to become interested in it.
     I purchased some fresh Vietnamese Ngò Om (rice paddy herb) while at a market in Chinatown.  I had only seen this fresh herb a few times and I researched a few recipes that called for this Vietnamese herb.  One of the recipes was for Mekong Delta region canh chua.  When I read about canh chua and looked at pictures of this soup, bells and whistles started going off!  I remembered the description of the sour fish soup that the veterans were talking about.  Canh chua seemed to be an exact match!
     The familiar ingredients like tomato, pine apple, sour greens and something the Vietnam veterans called fish tank herb were in the canh chua recipe.  Yes, rice paddy herb is also used to as a fresh water aquarium plant!  That pretty much confirmed that this Vietnamese sour soup was the same soup that many veterans spoke fondly of.
     The only authentic recipes for canh chua that I could find were originally written in Vietnamese language.  Computer translations of the Vietnamese language really leave something to be desired.  I have run across the same computer translation problem when researching Persian, Arabic, Korean, Chinese and Thai recipes.  The best thing to do is review as many recipes as possible and figure out the rules and boundaries of the recipe.  Reading about the history and tradition helps too.  I know enough about international traditional cooking techniques to realize how the recipe should be cooked properly.
     The common ingredients of all canh chuan seem to be caramelized garlic, tamarind puree, lemongrass, bean sprouts, green onion, ginger and Ngò Om (rice paddy herb).  The type of meat or fish was optional.  Pickled mustard greens were in some recipes.  Okra, tomato, pineapple and bok choy were also in many canh chuan recipes, but not all.  Flowers, water mimosa and vegan recipe versions were common.  Pork and beef canh chua recipes that I saw sounded good too.  Every different species of catfish has its own Vietnamese name and those specific names become part of the title of the sour soup.  
     In all, the old traditional canh chua was made with fish and vegetables from the Mekong delta.  Just about any traditional or non traditional meat, fish, vegetable or herb version of this soup already has a specific name.
     Canh cải chua cá is sour soup with pickled mustard greens and fish.  Canh cải chua cá hồi is sour soup with pickled mustard greens and salmon.  My choice of using salmon for this soup turned out to be a popular version that already has a standard name.  That was good for me, because salmon tail sections were the cheapest and freshest fish at the local market today.  Just my luck!

     Pickled Mustard Greens Recipe:
     Place 3 cups of water in a pot.
     Add 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt.
     Add white pepper.
     Add 2 ounces of rice vinegar or cider vinegar.
     Cut the stems off of one small to medium size bunch of washed mustard greens.
     Add the mustard greens to the liquid in the pot.
     Place the pot over medium high heat.
     As soon as the liquid comes to a boil, take the pot off of the heat.
     Allow the mustard green to sit in the pickling liquid for 1 hour.
     Drain the pickling liquid off of the mustard greens.
     Set the pickled mustard greens aside.
     The mustard greens should not become mushy, when using this method!  The greens should have a little bit of crunch to the bite.
   
     Tamarind Puree:
     Heat a sauce pot over medium low heat.
     Add 2 1/2 cups of water.
     Add 1/3 cup of pressed seeded tamarind fruit pulp.
     Mash the tamarind fruit as it softens.
     Simmer and reduce, till the tamarind becomes very soft and the liquid starts to thicken from the fruit.
     Pour the tamarind trough a fine mesh strainer into a container.
     Press the tamarind fruit trough the strainer.
     Scrap the fruit that clings to the bottom of the strainer into the container.
     The tamarind puree should have a medium thin consistency.
     If the tamarind puree is too thin, then simmer it in a sauce pot, till it becomes a little bit thicker.
     Set the tamarind puree aside.

     Caramelized Garlic Cloves:
     The caramelized garlic cloves add a sour flavor of their own to this soup!
     Heat a small saute pan over medium low heat.
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil.
     Add 5 garlic cloves.
     Gently saute and toss the garlic in the pan, till the garlic is cooked to a caramelized brown color.
     Set the caramelized garlic aside.
   
     Canh cải chua cá hồi Recipe: 
     This recipe makes 1 large bowl of soup!  Be sure to have all the ingredients prepare before starting this soup.  The final assembly must be done quickly, while the broth is hot!
     Heat 3 cups of very light white fish broth in a pot over medium low heat.
     Tie one lemongrass stalk into a simple knot and add it to the broth.
     Add 1 teaspoon of ginger.
     Add sea salt and white pepper.
     Add 1 tiny pinch of Chinese red chile powder.
     Simmer for ten minutes, so the lemongrass flavor infuses with the broth.
     Place 1 whole ripe Roma tomato in the simmering broth for about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
     Remove the tomato from the broth.
     Cool the tomato under cold running water.
     Peel the tomato.
     Cut the tomato in half lengthwise.
     Remove the seeds.
     Set the peeled and seeded tomato halves aside.
     Cut a 6 to 8 ounce whole salmon tail piece into 2 steaks.  (Leave the skin and bones on the 2 salmon pieces.)
     Place the 2 salmon pieces in the simmering lemongrass fish broth.
     Poach the salmon, till it becomes almost fully cooked.  (Poach the salmon till it only needs about 2 more minutes of cooking time to become fully cooked.)
     Add 2 okra that are cut in half lengthwise.
     Add 1 trimmed baby bok choy that is cut in half lengthwise.
     Add the caramelized garlic cloves.
     Add the whole white part of 2 green onions.  (Save the green onion tops for later in the recipe.)
     Add the 2 seeded tomato halves.
     Simmer till the salmon becomes fully cooked and firm.  (About 2 minutes)
     Remove the the salmon and the tomato halves from the pot and set it aside on a dish.
     Discard the lemongrass knot.
     Raise the temperature to medium high heat.
     Bring the broth to a boil.
     As soon as the broth comes to a boil, pour the ingredients into a large deep soup bowl.
     Note:  The rest of the ingredients must be added quickly, while the broth is piping hot!  Try to arrange the ingredients, so the soup looks nice.
     Add 1 small squeeze of lime juice.
     Add 1 handful of mung bean sprouts.
     Add the pickled mustard greens.
     Add the 2 pieces of poached salmon.
     Add 1 large handful of large bite size pineapple pieces.
     Add the 2 peel seeded cooked tomato halves.
     Place tom very thin sliced onion on the surface of the soup.
     Spoon a generous amount of the tamarind puree over the salmon and into the broth.
     Sprinkle 2 thin sliced green onion tops over the soup.
     Place 1 large handful of Ngò Om (rice paddy herb) small end sprigs and leaves on top of the soup, by the rim of the soup bowl.
   
     That is a lot of ingredients to add and arrange quickly, but it can easily be done.  The rice paddy herb is meant to be stirred into the sour soup, after it is served, so the flavor remains crisp and fresh!  The layers of sour flavors really set this soup apart from all other broth soups.  The savory fish flavor becomes the delicate flavor in sour soup!  Vietnamese cahn chua is one of the best tasting soups that there is!  Yum!  ...  Shawna