Shrimp Toast:RetroCookGirl Party Perfect
I don’t know if I was alive when my mother did this one…but I am completely confident that the hot pink rollers and miniskirt matched. But I actually tried a batch (or rather, a tray!) of these elegant appetizers and they were…scrumptious. Bring on the Mantovani and Sergio Mendes!
These hors d’oeuvres comes from a time when it was a huge deal if you knew how to spell – or even, pronounce correctly — that French 101 word. Very desperate housewife, for 1963. In fact, that RetroCookGirl recipe is SO retro, one of the ingredients may no longer exist. (I found references to “Accent” which was a product containing MSG and other spices through a web search but I have not searched beyond my local grocery store which has good substitutes as you’ll note below..
Put big rollers in your hair and a hot pink minidress (if you can find one) and boogie around the kitchen. You need old Frank Sinatra and vintage (not anything produced since his MTV appearance) Tony Bennett as kitchen soundtrack. Now that I think of it, Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66 would be perfect. Find it on Itunes and you’re all set.
Cut 1 full loaf of sliced white bread into squares. Be sure to remove crusts around the edges.
- Mash 1 lb. minced raw shrimp
- Blend spread`one at a time in blender *
- Then mix
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 3 eggs
- 1 tspn salt
- 1 tspn sugar
- 4 tblspoons melted butter
- 2 tblspoons cornstarch
- 1 tblspoon Accent**
- Spoon on mix on each piece of bread
- Deep fry in oil in pan
- Bread side first
- Then flip till light brown; they emerge from the oven like little party pizzas for adults. Kids usually run at the first sight of fish, even shrimp.
- Drain. Cool.
This appetizer can be frozen and served later.
*(or since civilization has moved into the new millennium, we might forego that old blender and introduce that monolith in the bottom of my mother’s cupboard called a FOOD PROCESSOR! Still, I wanted to offer you the opportunity to keep the integrity of my mother’s recipe intact…)
**Important note: Again, I’m not sure Accent still exists but I know it was the Poor Chef’s (in the sense of inexperienced) version of cayenne, sesame oil, and a dozen other spices. Paul Prudhomme’s name graces a bunch of boxes of mixed spices that are meant to “accent” or simply season beef, chicken and seafood recipes. I found the cayenne and sesame oil on Emeril Lagasse’s website. I think you can stir in a few tblspoons of each to enhance the flavor – without it, the innocent cocktail party shrimp toasts will look like emotionally stirred and shook-up martinis. Not very festive, indeed.
