Avocados, Then and Now

By Sandy Hu

I remember dining with fashionable Vogue magazine editors in New York City when I was a college student and feeling terribly intimidated by the menu. As a finalist in the Vogue Prix de Paris competition, I was flown to this sophisticated city, along with more worldly competitors, vying for the top spot: a year as a junior editor at Vogue and a trip to Paris.

Growing up in the small town of Hilo, Hawaii, before the advent of the Food Network, I was insulated from glamorous delicacies like escargots and caviar. Would I like them? Could I figure out how to eat them?

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Poached Shrimp with Aioli

By Jennifer Knapp

As a caterer, I’m often asked to prepare shrimp for my clients. It’s always one of the most popular items on the menu, and most guests gravitate towards the shrimp on the buffet table or as a passed appetizer. Kids and adults seem to love it equally. Versatile and fast-cooking, shrimp is delicious on its own or served with any number of sauces. It can be prepared in several ways such as sautéing, broiling, grilling and poaching.

Poaching is one of the easiest ways to prepare shrimp and it requires no added fat. Poaching is also a great cooking technique because it results in a nice, moist texture.

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How to Peel and Devein Shrimp

By David Hu

Shrimp is one of the fastest cooking proteins – and while it often comes shelled and deveined, sometimes you have to do it yourself. If you’ve never done it before, don’t fret, it’s very simple. And besides, you’ll have a tastier dish because shrimp that has been pre-peeled and deveined loses some of its flavor by the time you get it home and cook it.

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Don’t Let Your Shrimp Dawdle

Shrimp, snow peas and bell pepper: three simple ingredients that cook quickly to create sweet, crunchy, salty, tender goodness. Swap out the vegetables if you prefer. Try zucchini or boy choy.

Keep it simple but be certain not to overcook the shrimp; keep them moving until they just turn tender and pink.

This easy, one-dish meal takes about 20 minutes to make (10 to prep and another 10 to cook) so you can be out of the kitchen in no time.

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Peel ‘n’ Eat

By Andrew Hunter

We discovered something amazing recently that compels the boys to eat foods they would normally shun. It’s both simple and surprising, but if they peel it, they’ll eat it. This miraculous discovery came when we realized they would eat a pound of edamame in one sitting. So we applied the same logic to shrimp and watched with anticipation and voilà!

With summer on the horizon and the sun shining brighter into the evening, we set up shrimp boils on the patio table. The boys peel and eat shrimp, a critter they previously refused. We peel and eat with them together sometimes and other times I peel a bunch for shrimp cocktail, which is one of Marilyn’s favorites.

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