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Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

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Anny Middon

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Aug 24, 2005, 10:46:32 PM8/24/05
to
My DH and I were at a street fair recently where we had a Mexican shrimp
cocktail. It was very tasty. Near as I can recall, here's how it was made:

Put some small cooked, peeled deveined shrimp in a glass. Sprinkle
liberally with hot sauce. Add some more shrimp. Douse with tomato juice.
Squeeze in some fresh lime juice. Top with minced cilantro and onions. Add
three to four small thin chunks of avocado. Splash with a bit of olive oil.
Sprinkle with salt. Serve with saltine crackers.

We scooped the shrimp onto the crackers and then drank the juice that was
left in the cup.

Does this recipe sound about right to those of you who have had this dish at
a street fair in your neighborhood? Does anyone have a tried-and-true
recipe for Mexican shrimp cocktail? I googled for one, but all the recipes
I saw had fresh tomatoes in them.

Anny


pabl...@comcast.net

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Aug 24, 2005, 11:06:28 PM8/24/05
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"Anny Middon" <AnnyM...@hotNOSPAMmail.com> wrote in message
news:ciaPe.3069$L77...@newssvr19.news.prodigy.com...
snipped>

>
>
> Does this recipe sound about right to those of you who have had this dish
> at a street fair in your neighborhood? Does anyone have a tried-and-true
> recipe for Mexican shrimp cocktail? I googled for one, but all the
> recipes I saw had fresh tomatoes in them.
>
That's the stuff. It's sort of like gazpacho with shrimp. My BIL LOVES to
make shrimp cocktails this way but I don't always like his mix. (I'm a
crusty old bartender who likes to make his own concoctions.) Last time we
were in Tucson, we made a DIY cocktail bar. We laid out the stuff so
everyone could have it their way. Some of the ingredients: (besides
shrimp!)
tomato juice
V-8 juice
hot sauce (Tapatio, or the like)
diced celery
cilantro
onions
Worcestershire
chile sarano

(You get the idea.)

Pablo


Julian Vrieslander

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Aug 25, 2005, 12:11:17 AM8/25/05
to
In article <ciaPe.3069$L77...@newssvr19.news.prodigy.com>,
"Anny Middon" <AnnyM...@hotNOSPAMmail.com> wrote:

> My DH and I were at a street fair recently where we had a Mexican shrimp
> cocktail. It was very tasty. Near as I can recall, here's how it was made:
>
> Put some small cooked, peeled deveined shrimp in a glass. Sprinkle
> liberally with hot sauce. Add some more shrimp. Douse with tomato juice.
> Squeeze in some fresh lime juice. Top with minced cilantro and onions. Add
> three to four small thin chunks of avocado. Splash with a bit of olive oil.
> Sprinkle with salt. Serve with saltine crackers.

There are lots of tasty variations of this served up in Mexico and other
Hispanic cuisines. Sometimes it is made with several varieties of
seafood and/or shellfish. Sometimes the seafood is uncooked, but
marinated overnight in lime juice (ceviche).

When CJ and I lived in Dallas, we liked to go to a Mexican restaurant
called Calle Doce, in the Oak Cliff neighborhood, on 12th street (duh).
They had a wonderful seafood cocktail/concoction, which had all sorts of
tasty things in it: shrimp, oysters, tomatoes, cilantro, peppers, etc.
The menu name was "vuelva a la vida" which translates as "return to
life." These dishes are supposed to have healthy restorative powers.
Worked for me.

Here's a little article that describes the Mexican-style shrimp
cocktails at Calle Doce and other Dallas area eateries (doncha just love
the pictures of the shrimp in sombreros?).

http://www.guidelive.com/feature/87/

--
Julian Vrieslander

Mr Libido Incognito

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Aug 25, 2005, 2:38:50 AM8/25/05
to
Anny Middon wrote on 24 Aug 2005 in rec.food.cooking

I have several, but my recipes use fresh tomatoes as well.

--
The eyes are the mirrors....
But the ears...Ah the ears.
The ears keep the hat up.

Mr Libido Incognito

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Aug 25, 2005, 2:54:20 AM8/25/05
to
Anny Middon wrote on 24 Aug 2005 in rec.food.cooking

> My DH and I were at a street fair recently where we had a Mexican

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

Ingredients
24 large raw fresh shrimp
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup lime juice
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
1 Whole Green Jalapeño Peppers or Red Jalapeño Peppers, minced
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon chili powder

COCKTAIL SAUCE
1 cup Picante Sauce
1/4 cup Ketchup
2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
Peel, devein and rinse shrimp, leaving tails attached, if desired. Set
aside. In medium saucepan, combine water, lime juice, garlic, jalapeño
pepper, salt and chili powder. Bring to a boil; boil until reduced to 1
cup. Add shrimp. Bring to a boil; cook 1 to 2 minutes or until shrimp
turn pink. Drain. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. In small bowl,
combine all Cocktail Sauce ingredients. Mix well. Serve shrimp with
Cocktail sauce. Makes 6 appetizer servings.

Blair P. Houghton

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Aug 25, 2005, 11:26:13 PM8/25/05
to
Anny Middon <AnnyM...@hotNOSPAMmail.com> wrote:
>My DH and I were at a street fair recently where we had a Mexican shrimp
>cocktail. It was very tasty. Near as I can recall, here's how it was made:
>
>Put some small cooked, peeled deveined shrimp in a glass. Sprinkle
>liberally with hot sauce. Add some more shrimp. Douse with tomato juice.
>Squeeze in some fresh lime juice. Top with minced cilantro and onions. Add
>three to four small thin chunks of avocado. Splash with a bit of olive oil.
>Sprinkle with salt. Serve with saltine crackers.

You had me until "saltine".

If you dumped the whole thing on a tortilla or even just
used tortilla chips, you'd be somewhere.

--Blair
"Probably off looking for the
sopapilla booth..."

sf

unread,
Aug 26, 2005, 12:29:43 AM8/26/05
to

Saltine crackers appeal. Of course, I don't eat them more than once a
year (if that), so they are "exotic food" for me.

Bob

unread,
Aug 26, 2005, 11:12:05 AM8/26/05
to
Blair replied to Anny:

>> Put some small cooked, peeled deveined shrimp in a glass. Sprinkle
>> liberally with hot sauce. Add some more shrimp. Douse with tomato
>> juice. Squeeze in some fresh lime juice. Top with minced cilantro
>> and onions. Add three to four small thin chunks of avocado. Splash
>> with a bit of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. Serve with saltine
>> crackers.
>
> You had me until "saltine".
>
> If you dumped the whole thing on a tortilla or even just
> used tortilla chips, you'd be somewhere.


I've got a similar recipe made with clams. The recipe's originator is from
El Salvador, and the comment at the end of the recipe is that it's usually
eaten with saltines in that country. Is your complaint based on a notion
that eating the shrimp cocktail with saltines isn't "authentic," or do you
just not like saltines?


Bob


Nathalie Chiva

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Aug 26, 2005, 12:44:54 PM8/26/05
to
On 26 Aug 2005 10:12:05 -0500, "Bob" <virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz>
wrote:

>I've got a similar recipe made with clams. The recipe's originator is from
>El Salvador, and the comment at the end of the recipe is that it's usually
>eaten with saltines in that country. Is your complaint based on a notion
>that eating the shrimp cocktail with saltines isn't "authentic," or do you
>just not like saltines?

What exactly are saltines?
TIA

Nathalie in Switzerland

J. Eric Durbin

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Aug 26, 2005, 12:58:15 PM8/26/05
to

I don't think I ever came across an equivalent to Saltines while
living in Europe.

Saltines, a US brand name, are very light crackers (US)/biscuits (EU)
that are made from white flour with no spices, slightly levened, and
are very light and crispy/flaky. They are typically coated with a lot
of salt though unsalted and lightly salted are now available.

Historically, they were served in celophane packages of 2 or 4
crackers along with soups and salads in US restaurants. I guess they
were supposed to be an alternative to croutons, but they just dissolve
into mush if crumbled into soup or a salad wet with dressing.

These days I just eat them if my stomach is troubled but empty. I
wonder if they are anything like UK digestive biscuits? Never had one
of those.

JimLane

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Aug 26, 2005, 4:29:34 PM8/26/05
to

Perhaps Salvadorans adopted saltines, but I doubt they are indigenous. I
suspect the cocktail was around far before their coming into the market.


jim

J. E. Durbin

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Aug 26, 2005, 4:33:56 PM8/26/05
to
On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 13:29:34 -0700, JimLane <ensen...@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>Bob wrote:

>> I've got a similar recipe made with clams. The recipe's originator is from
>> El Salvador, and the comment at the end of the recipe is that it's usually
>> eaten with saltines in that country. Is your complaint based on a notion
>> that eating the shrimp cocktail with saltines isn't "authentic," or do you
>> just not like saltines?

>Perhaps Salvadorans adopted saltines, but I doubt they are indigenous. I

>suspect the cocktail was around far before their coming into the market.

YOu peeked my curiousity, so I Googled:

Saltines, circa 1881

The origin date of the cocktail is shrouded in mystery...

Lynn from Fargo

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Aug 26, 2005, 5:38:40 PM8/26/05
to
Um, that would be "piqued", I believe.
Lynn from Fargo

Mr Libido Incognito

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Aug 26, 2005, 5:40:30 PM8/26/05
to
Nathalie Chiva wrote on 26 Aug 2005 in rec.food.cooking

A picture is worth a thousand words


http://tinyurl.com/d6fpf

Same thing as a soda cracker
(if that helps)

Bob

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Aug 26, 2005, 6:23:10 PM8/26/05
to
JimLane wrote:

> Perhaps Salvadorans adopted saltines, but I doubt they are indigenous. I
> suspect the cocktail was around far before their coming into the market.

Whatever. Debates about indigenous ingredients bore me. Tomatoes aren't
indigenous to Italy; does that mean we shouldn't eat marinara sauce?

Bob


Blair P. Houghton

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Aug 27, 2005, 12:53:43 AM8/27/05
to
Bob <virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> wrote:
>Blair replied to Anny:
>> You had me until "saltine".
>
>I've got a similar recipe made with clams. The recipe's originator is from
>El Salvador, and the comment at the end of the recipe is that it's usually
>eaten with saltines in that country. Is your complaint based on a notion
>that eating the shrimp cocktail with saltines isn't "authentic," or do you
>just not like saltines?

Saltines are fine. I prefer soda crackers with my soup
and tortillas with my Mexican food and those buttery things
with cheeses.

Can't think of what I'd use a saltine for any more, actually...

--Blair
"Some things just get replaced."

JimLane

unread,
Aug 27, 2005, 1:00:04 AM8/27/05
to
Lynn from Fargo wrote:
> Um, that would be "piqued", I believe.
> Lynn from Fargo
>

I understood him, evidently you did too. Sheesh, can't get away from the
spelling pulize! ;->


jim

JimLane

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Aug 27, 2005, 1:01:48 AM8/27/05
to

Depends on who you are talking about, doesn't it. There is a place for
"authentic" food, don't you think?


jim

notbob

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Aug 27, 2005, 1:06:22 AM8/27/05
to
On 2005-08-27, JimLane <ensen...@yahoo.com> wrote:

> I understood him, evidently you did too. Sheesh, can't get away from the
> spelling pulize! ;->

That's "puleeze".

nb

JimLane

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Aug 27, 2005, 4:42:50 AM8/27/05
to

Not really, bob, you are after that, but I was after a hybrid of that
and cops. Pun of sorts.


jim

Nathalie Chiva

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Aug 27, 2005, 5:16:14 PM8/27/05
to
On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 09:58:15 -0700, J. Eric Durbin
<zyz...@plenipotentiary.com.invalid> wrote:

>On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 18:44:54 +0200, Nathalie Chiva
><Nathalie.Ch...@gmail.com.invalid> wrote:
>>What exactly are saltines?
>>TIA
>
>I don't think I ever came across an equivalent to Saltines while
>living in Europe.
>
>Saltines, a US brand name, are very light crackers (US)/biscuits (EU)
>that are made from white flour with no spices, slightly levened, and
>are very light and crispy/flaky. They are typically coated with a lot
>of salt though unsalted and lightly salted are now available.
>
>Historically, they were served in celophane packages of 2 or 4
>crackers along with soups and salads in US restaurants. I guess they
>were supposed to be an alternative to croutons, but they just dissolve
>into mush if crumbled into soup or a salad wet with dressing.

Ah yes. In Italy you find them in every supermarket, under the name
"crackers", and they are sold with or without salt. In Switzerland I
can find them too, though not everywhere.

Nathalie in Switzerland

Nathalie Chiva

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Aug 27, 2005, 5:17:22 PM8/27/05
to
On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 21:40:30 GMT, Mr Libido Incognito <N...@vaild.null>
wrote:

>Nathalie Chiva wrote on 26 Aug 2005 in rec.food.cooking

>> What exactly are saltines?
>> TIA
>>
>> Nathalie in Switzerland
>
>A picture is worth a thousand words
>
>
>http://tinyurl.com/d6fpf
>
>Same thing as a soda cracker
>(if that helps)

No it doesn't... but the picture does, thank you! ;-)

Nathalie in Switzerland

Anny Middon

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Aug 29, 2005, 4:14:59 PM8/29/05
to
"Blair P. Houghton" <b@p.h> wrote in message
news:pZvPe.160485$Fd1....@fe07.news.easynews.com...

>
> You had me until "saltine".
>
> If you dumped the whole thing on a tortilla or even just
> used tortilla chips, you'd be somewhere.

Actually, I thought the saltines went well with the shrimp cocktail.

But really, I was just reporting how the food booth at the street festival
prepared and served the shrimp cocktail. They served it with saltines.

Anny


Anny Middon

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Aug 29, 2005, 4:15:40 PM8/29/05
to
"Mr Libido Incognito" <N...@vaild.null> wrote in message
news:Xns96BD13A82...@205.200.16.73...

>
> Mexican Shrimp Cocktail
>
>
> Ingredients
> 24 large raw fresh shrimp
> 1 1/2 cups water
> 1/2 cup lime juice
> 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
> 1 Whole Green Jalapeño Peppers or Red Jalapeño Peppers, minced
> 2 teaspoons salt
> 1 teaspoon chili powder
>
> COCKTAIL SAUCE
> 1 cup Picante Sauce
> 1/4 cup Ketchup
> 2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro
>
> Directions
> Peel, devein and rinse shrimp, leaving tails attached, if desired. Set
> aside. In medium saucepan, combine water, lime juice, garlic, jalapeño
> pepper, salt and chili powder. Bring to a boil; boil until reduced to 1
> cup. Add shrimp. Bring to a boil; cook 1 to 2 minutes or until shrimp
> turn pink. Drain. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. In small bowl,
> combine all Cocktail Sauce ingredients. Mix well. Serve shrimp with
> Cocktail sauce. Makes 6 appetizer servings.


Thanks! Sounds delish.

Anny


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