creating a dish for the new dish

I recently purchased this cool “entertaining set” and have been itching to use it. My first thought was that I’d make my “world-famous” cucumber martinis for one side and a chilled gazpacho for the other – like a Friday night happy hour for Dave and myself. But Fridays kept filling up with other things.  Opportunity knocked last Sunday when my dad came over for dinner and Connor came home for the weekend.

Spicy Shrimp Cocktail “Salsa”

1 tablespoon Old Bay
28 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup minced red onion
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 medium tomato, finely diced
1/4 red bell pepper, minced
1/2 stalk celery, minced
1 roasted, peeled, and seeded Anaheim chili, minced
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
11.5-ounce can V8 tomato juice, chilled
1 tablespoon creamy horseradish or 2 tablespoons Grate Roots
1/4 teaspoon ancho chile powder
Sriracha or other hot sauce, to taste
1 avocado, peeled and diced
Tortilla chips, preferably Whole-Grain Tostitos Scoops!®

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add Old Bay and shrimp and bring back to a boil. Remove from heat and rest for 2 minutes. Drain and chill shrimp.

In a glass bowl, combine onions, lime juice, salt, tomato, bell pepper, celery, Anaheim, jalapeno, and cilantro.

Stir in V8, horseradish, and chile powder.

Transfer half of the mixture to a blender or food processor and puree. Stir pureed mixture back into the bowl. Taste and add Sriracha sauce and additional horseradish, as desired. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.

When ready to serve, spoon the salsa/cocktail sauce into four martini glasses. Place seven chilled shrimp along the rim of each glass. Spoon one-quarter of the diced avocado in the center of each glass and serve with tortilla chips.

Serves 4