Christmas Eve never got officially underway in our family until my mother arrived with her Shrimp Remoulade. I think everyone wished we could have it on other holidays as well, but it was understood, if unspoken, we'd only have it Christmas Eve. Mother served the remoulade in a particularly hideous plastic clam shell. It was huge. God it was a frightful thing......can't imagine where she got it. Anyway, when Mother got older and cooking anything at all got beyond her (it happens) I took over the responsibility. And although the clam shell was passed on to me, it mysteriously disappeared.
I don't make the remoulade as often as I used to which is strange because my boys especially love it. This year though, they are going to be surprised: we are going to a friend's home for Christmas Eve and the hostess is going to make it. Mother's recipe was included in a family cookbook I did a couple years ago and she has a copy.
Because I made the remoulade for a cocktail party last week, I took photos as I went along (The blogger's ongoing obsession with photos!) so I could eventually post it. It's always a big hit and while I suppose you could eat it right away, it really needs to sit in the fridge for 24 hours so the flavors can meld. We never serve it with crackers, just some pretty party picks placed nearby.
Mother's Shrimp Remoulade
Ingredients:
3 pounds cooked shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 1/4 cups salad oil
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons red hot pepper sauce
2 chopped hard boiled eggs, chopped fine
1 cup celery, small dice
1/4 cup parsley, minced
2 tablespoons scallions, sliced thin
1 tablespoon green pepper, small dice
Method:
Combine oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, paprika and hot pepper sauce in a bowl. Whisk briskly and then add remaining ingredients.
Add shrimp. Mix well.
Cover and refrigerate overnight. Stir often. We never served this with crackers, just had some pretty toothpicks alongside.
Still need something for Thanksgiving dessert?
Well you might want to mull this one over. Ina Garten has a bunch of pumpkin mousse recipes in her repertoire. Some have a banana in it, some dark rum, some are made with a graham cracker crust. I prefer the one with dark rum. Quelle surprise.
You make it a day (or two) before Thanksgiving and stick it in the fridge. And flavorful? Oh yes. No last minute fussing on Thanksgiving day either. You just stick a whole gingersnap in the top and serve. Only takes about 15 minutes to make too. Can't beat that. And you can really play around with nice glasses to serve it in. I like the wine glass best (although I filled it too full). I've also made it in small ice tea glasses, highball glasses and once in some pretty glass bowls. Ya gotta have glass so you can see the layers.
If you can't use it this year, copy it and save it for next year. I have a whole file like that!
Pumpkin Mousse
(Adapted from Barefoot Contessa At Home)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup dark rum
1 packet (2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin powder
1 15 ounce can pumpkin (not pie filling)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)
2 extra-large egg yolks
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 chopped gingersnaps
8-10 whole gingersnaps
1 1/2 cups whipping cream, whipped and sweetened lightly
Method:
Place the rum in a bowl and sprinkle the gelatin on top. Set aside for 10 minutes or so.
In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar, egg yolks, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Melt the gelatin over hot water until it is clear. Immediately whisk the gelatin into the pumpkin mixture.
Whip the heavy cream with the vanilla until soft peaks form. Mix into the pumpkin mixture.
In another bowl, whip the last 1 1/2 cups whipping cream and sweeten it with sugar slightly.
To assemble: spoon some of the pumpkin mixture into glasses. Add a layer of whipped cream, some broken gingersnaps and repeat the layers, ending with a layer of pumpkin. Top with a dollop of whipped cream.
Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
To serve, place a whole gingersnap into whipped cream.
Serves 8-10 depending on glass size.
