SC - quenelles again...

[pat fee]

Greetings the list,

In the original these dishes are in Rumpolt's chapter on Krebs.  The woodcut 
shows a lobster, but if you look up Flusskrebs the translation is crawfish, 
so I used shrimp (because they were on sale, and I was bringing them to 
Caerthe's Cavalier Holiday picnic last Sunday, and I'm on a budget.) 

I will be cooking the feast (probably straight from Rumpolt) for Caerthe's 
Arts and Sciences competition in November, and have had requests to find a 
way to include at least one of these in one of the courses. (Yes, I  take 
requests.)

I do not have the transcribed German to hand (will do tonight) and I do not 
have the translation (see above for reason ;-) But I do remember what I did 
to re-create it,  and both these recipes tasted soo good I had to share 
(while we are on a Rumpolt kick.)

#16   400 year old fried shrimp ;-)
1/2 pound of large (25-30 per lb) raw shrimp
1/4 cup of flour
4oz butter
salt, pepper and powdered, dried ginger (to taste)

Rinse shrimp, peel (and devine) but leave the tail shell attached.
Salt and pepper the shrimp, then dust them with flour (enough to coat, but 
shake off any excess.)
In a heavy medium size skillet melt and heat the butter.
In the hot butter, fry the shrimp on both sides till golden brown and done, 
but don't overcook. I used high heat, the butter started to brown a little. 
The shrimp were done very quickly and picked up a little of that nutty brown 
butter flavor. Remove and drain the shrimp (on absorbent toweling) and while 
still hot dust them with the ginger (to taste.)  This is great hot and also 
very good cold. (I took it to a picnic to great reviews.)

#11  Shrimp with butter and verjuice
5 extra large raw shrimp (the 12-16 per lb. Size)
1T butter
1t verjuice
pepper
5 Oyster shells (deep half) (would make 1 dinner serving or 2-3 appetizers, 
increase as needed)

I did not have oyster shells to hand, so I used scallop shells.
Peel, tail, and devine your shrimp.  Place one shrimp (curled up) into deep 
end of each shell. Season with pepper (to taste,) then top with a dollop of 
butter (I think I used about 1/2 t per shrimp) and a few drops of verjuice.  
(OK, I gotta admit I had to cheat here... I do not have verjuice in my pantry 
yet, so I experimented, I did 2 with cider vinegar, 2 with balsamic vinegar, 
and one with red wine that was too sour for my tastes.)  The balsamic was the 
standout winner.
To cook I placed my 5 scallop shells (filled with their precious cargo) into 
my largest skillet, added water to the skillet (not enough to flow into the 
shells!) and placed a lid on it.  Then turned on the heat and let them steam 
away till they were cooked through (about 5 minutes.)  This was wonderfully 
rich, and looked very elegant hot from the pan, and they were still delicious 
and showy served room temperature the next day at the park.

I think you could use smaller shrimp and place 3-5 in each shell, thereby 
extending your shells (my biggest skillet only fit the 5 shells I own, and by 
placing multiples per shell I could have appetizers for 5 rather than seeming 
chintzy at only serving each person one shrimp, or having to do 3-5 batches 
so my guest would have to eat their appetizers in shifts;-)

Hope you enjoy, and as always, feedback appreciated.

Gwen-Catrin von Berlin