Cooking For Engineers

[Dilbert]

I debated where to put this - and opted for Cooking for Two because it is well suited to individual servings with no leftovers.

the original recipe and pix is here: (I think, it's tough to tell who stole / copied what from where . . .)
http://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a47430/grilled-shrimp-foil-packets-recipe/

now, anything that starts out with 1.5 lbs / 680 g of shrimp is likely too big for two people.
so I cut the original in half - the qtys below are good for two servings.

the super neat thing about this dish is, is being "cooked" in single serve packets - so for an 'on-going' party/event one can prepare the packets in advance and simply cook them as needed with a 15-20 minute delay schedule.

pre-prep: preheat oven with pizza stone/steel or get the grill going and hot.

prep two pcs approximately 18 inch / 45 cm square (wide) heavy duty aluminum foil

shuck one ear of fresh sweet corn; bi-color is my choice
chop corn into four chunkettes; set aside

prep and put into large bowl for mixing:
- 2-3 medium sized red potatoes (about 10 ounces bt weight / 300 g) washed/scrubbed and cut into one inch cubes
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 4 thin slices of fresh lemon - remove seeds
- one andouille sausage (about four ounces by weight / 120 g) - thinly sliced
- one half diced sweet green pepper (my add)
- 2 ounces by weight / 60 g sliced fresh mushroom (my add)

toss/mix the ingredients, then drizzle with
- 1 tablespoon / 15 ml olive oil - or more, as I do....
- 1 tablespoon Old Bay spice
- lightly salt
- fresh ground pepper to taste
- finely chopped parsley to taste
toss again to coat/mix/distribute seasonings

assembly:
on each aluminum foil sheet -
- place two chunks of sweet corn spaced 2 inches / 6 cm apart
- spoon vegetable mix around the corn
- arrange 6 - 8 shell-on, not frozen shrimp (16-20 count size)
- top with 1 tablespoon / 15 g pat of butter
- to gilt the lily: two large non-frozen sea scallops (my add; they needed a home....)

pull up the sides and double fold to seal, then squish the ends, fold/crimp to seal and bend upward so leaking juices cannot run out.

cook 20 minutes on a hot grill - do not move around and tear the foil!!
use care when removing - suggested: lift gently and slide onto flat cookie sheet for transport
use care when opening packet because it should be steaming hot and will scald fingers


tips:
- everything cooks together in steam. large vegetable chunks / cubes will not cook through; so don't skimp on the size chopping
- any spicy sausage can be used; andouille lends a Cajun twist
- cooking the shrimp in the shell adds flavors; highly recommended
- the addition of mushrooms is especially nice as they release a yummy juice when steaming.
- the original recipe calls for this to be done on a grill. not sure why unless it's just a "everything in California is done on a grill" thing - being sealed in foil, none of that "smoke & juicy flavorful stuff" enters the picture. a 450F / 235C oven should do but I suggest a preheated stone or steel to conduct adequate heat for steaming.
- take care with the quantities with regard to the aluminum packet size. "more is better" but "more needs bigger sheet"

[Michael Chu]

Inspired by your post, I did a variation of this for dinner tonight and it came out great! Emma said, "I loooove shrimp." Everything came out quite flavorful regardless of the variations I tried (just Old Bay seasoning, Old Bay with some butter, Old Bay with lime juice and butter, Old Bay with lime juice and butter and smoked salt). Instead of firing up the grill, I tried it in a 450F oven and it took about 13 minutes for the shrimp and corn to cook through but the potatoes (even when cut to 1/2-in cubes) needed quite a bit more time. Next time, I might try a lower temperature for longer or just cook the potatoes separately. I completely forgot that I had mushrooms and forgot to include them. That would have been a delicious add. We're definitely doing this again.

[Dilbert]

I wonder if the moisture coming out of the mushrooms made for more steam and cooked the potatoes quicker? ours came out nicely done at 20 minutes on the grill.

did you use red potatoes ? perhaps they cook a bit quicker than others?

[Michael Chu]

[Dilbert]

we gave this another go - and to test the theory I did them in the oven.

on a stone, preheated to 550'F / 290'C

the potatoes did not cook thru as much as before. the were just a tad under-done.... and that even tho I had sliced them about 3/8" / 9-10 mm thick.

so, perhaps the reason a grill is specified is the higher bottom heat - which makes more steam from the juices.