Girls Night In!

[jwhyt...@comcast.net]

I had a dinner party Saturday night for nurses I used to work with-
what a blast! I set the table in deep corals and reds with cream
colored roses- talk about ambiance! Little red votives sprinkled
around the table added just the right amount of light. We started the
night off with different cheeses and crackers from my favorite Italian
market" Altomontes" located in the suburbs...their bruschetta is to
die for! The girls brought lots of different wines to eat and chat
with.Then it was off to the dining room where we started our feast
with my homemade shrimp bisque. I made my own fish stock which I must
say makes all the difference.

SHRIMP BISQUE:
2 lbs. fresh shrimp- jackets on
2 Tbl. favorite seafood seasoning-old bay or
shrimp/crab boil
6 C water
1 C Sherry
2 C heavy cream
Peel shrimp- reserving shells....Fill stock pot with water and throw
in your shrimp shells/remains with the seasoning- boil this up for
about 15-20 minutes-obviously your shells will turn pink pretty
quickly- but you want to reduce the water and intensify the seafood
flavor- ok now you should have about 4 Cups of WA-LA- seafood stock!
You've done it- it's that simple...you can always add fish remnants of
any kind- it just gets better,...meanwhile- season-up your freshly
shelled shrimp. and saute them in a little olive oil for a few
minutes- until that pretty shade of pink turns up...Then reserve a few
shrimp on the side for garnish....put the rest in a food processor and
whip them up until they form a paste....put that lovely mixture into
your stock and stir, then add your sherry and cream...simmer NOT
boil...for another 10 minutes or so...just to infuse the flavors-
ladle into pretty soup bowls- garnish with a spicy shrimp or two- De-
lish!!

Back to the party...after our bisque- we enjoyed a salad-
which is my usual salad but I switch it up a bit here and there
depending on what I purchase while I'm out...this time it was baby
spinach, blue cheese, pine nuts, sliced apples and sliced
strawberries- the strawberries are just too pretty with baby spinach!
This is tossed in a balsamic dressing.
The main course has alot in ingredients but it is made in
one pan so it's pretty simple- lay out Salmon filet in a pan drizzled
w/olive oil- top salmon w/crab meat- then... around the salmon toss in
cherry tomatoes,asparagus tips, black olives (I use fresh italian
ones- but I guess you could use canned) pour enough white wine to
cover bottom of pan- like a poaching method....Bake on 400 for about
25 minutes depending on how big your salmon is. This dish is very
fresh with the roasted asparagus tips and tomatoes...the black olives
add that salty zing to every bite! Now ...I served this topped w/
Hollandaise but you can serve it just from the oven- if you want to
avoid all the trouble or calories of the sauce...but I like to
INDULGE...especially for a party. I served this w/ roasted potatoes
that were seasoned with garlic and a wet mustard rub- just to give
them a little zip-not too much!
Dessert was chocolate molten lava cakes w/whipped cream...and
a strawberry stuffed w/cheesecake mixture for garnish! Of course we
had plenty of beverages to wash down this extravagant meal- AND then
we danced the rest of the night away to our favorite CD's-- YES- We
treated ourselves to a new stereo!! IT was LONG overdue!!! And that
was our night in a "shrimp"shell!