Fare Exchange: Extensive chocolate and finger-licking shrimp tacos

It’s almost farewell to June and we’ve got work to do. How about a recipe for fettuccine alfredo as served at the Acropolis restaurant, or a similarly excellent recipe that may be made at home? And how about sharing a favorite recipe for a local cookbook in the making?

Debbie Pataky of Lookout Mountain wrote: “The very best fettuccine alfredo in Chattanooga is at the Acropolis topped with grilled chicken. It is absolutely to die for. I never have made it, as I know I could not measure up to this delicacy.”

Perhaps one of you would dare to measure up?

“Also could you ask folks if they have any family recipes that could be included in a future cookbook our church (Paynes Chapel United Methodist) is in the process of compiling for a future building fundraiser project?”

Since she asked us, we are asking you. Send them to her at debroskyp@gmail.com.

MORE CHOCOLATE

The chocolate request, seconded and thirded (if there is such a thing), brought an old recipe from Yeast of the Ridge, who found Dark Chocolate Ice Box Cake in a cookbook titled “The Supper of the Lamb” by Robert Farrar Capon. The book’s author described this as “the traditional birthday cake in my family. You should be so lucky.”

What is an ice box? Something unknown to a goodly portion of those of you who read. The veteran cooks among you just might let the newbies know. And speaking of unfamiliar terms, readers just may need to supply information on where to purchase ladyfingers.

Dark Chocolate Ice Box Cake

1 pound dark sweet chocolate melted in 3 tablespoons boiling water

2 to 3 tablespoons sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (divided)

9 egg yolks

9 egg whites, beaten stiff

3 dozen ladyfingers, split

1 pint whipping cream, whipped

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Melt chocolate in water. Add sugar and 1 teaspoons vanilla and stir well. Remove from stove. Add egg yolks 1 at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Fold in egg whites.

Line 2 long bread pans with sheets of wax paper to facilitate removal. Put a layer of split ladyfingers in the bottom and pour on some of the chocolate mixture. Put in another layer of ladyfingers at right angles to the first and add more chocolate. Continue until all the chocolate is used up. Finish with a layer of ladyfingers.

Chill well (overnight is best), unmold and cover thickly with whipped cream into which you have folded powdered sugar and the remaining teaspoon vanilla.

EVEN MORE CHOCOLATE

In the ongoing chocolate business – for chocolate is indeed ongoing – Marcia Kling asked if I knew about the chocolate kiss cookies that are “essentially Sand Dabs wrapped around a Hershey’s Kiss. I think they are quite good, and my husband enjoys them.”

As good as these cookies are, they may not have quite enough chocolate for the serious chocoholic, Mrs. Kling and I agree. Nonetheless, they are just right for the meantime.

Chocolate Kiss Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup finely chopped walnuts

1 (6-ounce) bag milk chocolate candy kisses

1/3 cup confectioners sugar

In a large bowl, cream butter with sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Mix in flour and walnuts, beating on low speed of an electric mixer until well mixed. Cover and refrigerate dough for 2 hours or until firm enough to handle.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove wrappers from chocolate kisses. Shape approximately 1 tablespoon of dough around each chocolate kiss; be sure to cover chocolate completely. Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the oven. While cookies are still warm, roll them in confectioners sugar.

SUDDEN SALSA

We discovered a small scrap of paper behind a huge bookcase this week and on it was a handwritten recipe. The man who lives here said, “That recipe needs to be in Fare Exchange.” It bears the name of its designer, Deb Tucker, and its inspiration, Jeannie Curry, both of Rising Fawn, Ga.

Deb’s Fresh Salsa Verde

This recipe was inspired by Jeannie Curry’s delicious homemade canned version.

5 or 6 large tomatillos (8-10 small ones)

1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded

1 bunch fresh cilantro (about 2 cups loosely packed leaves)

1/4 Vidalia onion

1/4 teaspoon sea salt or to taste

1 teaspoon cumin

Several shakes of chili powder

1 clove garlic, minced

Juice of 1 to 2 limes, preferably 2

Combine in a food processor or chop all fine by hand. The more seeds and membrane you leave on the pepper, the hotter the mix.

SUCCULENT TACOS

Finally, here is our first nomination for a fish taco – in this case, shrimp, and from Anonymous of Rossville. The advantage, our reader wrote, is “shrimp are sautéed, not deep-fried. And these are delicious.”

Shrimp Tacos with Garlic-Cilantro-Lime Slaw

Sauce:

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1/2 cup cilantro leaves

2 to 3 cloves garlic (less if you are not that fond of garlic)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Juice of 2 limes

1/2 cup sour cream

In a food processor mix together all ingredients except sour cream until mixture is pretty smooth. Add sour cream and mix briefly. Set aside.

Tacos:

Oil

1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed

1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning or your favorite seasoning

3 cups very thinly sliced cabbage (not the prepared slaw mix)

8 small corn or flour tortillas, gently warmed in foil in a 325 degree oven.

1 to 2 avocados

Crumbled Cotija cheese

Salsa (optional, but use for added flavor)

Lime cut in quarters or eighths

Heat some oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and sprinkle with your desired seasoning. Add shrimp to pan and sauté until shrimp are cooked through and no longer translucent. Don’t overcook as they will become tough.

Toss some of the sauce with the cabbage until it is lightly coated. Don’t use all the sauce. You will use the rest to serve alongside the tacos if anyone wants to add more flavor.

To serve, put warmed tortilla on a plate. Top with shrimp, avocado and slaw. Add cheese, salsa and more slaw sauce if desired. Squeeze a lime over mixture, fold over and enjoy. They will be messy.

I would like to testify, here at the end of this column, that the necessity of licking one’s fingers from such a juicy taco sounds like a bonus instead of a burden.