Mini Shrimp Tacos and Margaritas

Mini Shrimp Tacos and Margaritas (Adapted from Bite by Bite)

5 flour tortillas
Vegetable Oil
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup finely diced tomatoes
1/4 cup finely diced jalapenos
1/4 cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon of adobo sauce

1. Heat oil to 325 degrees F. Cut 1.5 inch rounds from tortillas. Wrap a tortilla round around a small metal cannoli tube and then slide it into a larger cannoli tube to keep it in place. Fry gently until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

2. In a skillet, heat olive oil. Add the garlic and cook for thirty seconds. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add to the skillet and cook until opaque. Remove from skillet and chop very finely.

3. Mix sour cream and adobo sauce.

4. When the tortilla shells are cool enough to handle, fill with srhimp, tomatoes, jalapenos and a drizzle of sour cream. Serve in hollowed out limes (as seen in photo).

5. To make margaritas, carefully empty the mini bottles of Patron and drill a hole from the top down into the bottle corks. Fill the bottles with your favorite margarita recipe, using a funnel. Top with corks and slide straw into hole in cork.

Lobster Crisps

I’ve seen many iterations of a lobster roll reimagined as an hors d’oeuvre, but most fall short for me because they are either too big or the ratio of bread to lobster is off. An hors d’oeuvre should be small enough to be eaten in one bite, and many of the “mini” lobster rolls I’ve come across are just regular lobster rolls that have been cut down to a smaller size. These can be hard to eat while standing and chatting at a party. Even the versions that have been appropriately shrunken down are often mostly bread with a small dab of minced up lobster.

When I sought out to create my own version, I had a few goals in mind:

• It had to be able to be consumed in one bite
• The bun, bread or base had to capture the essence of a buttery griddled split top roll
• The ratio of lobster to bread had to be mostly lobster to a little bit of bread

What I came up with are these delicate buttery crisps topped with roughly chopped lobster meat that has been kissed with crème fraîche for a delicate tang, and garnished with fresh chives. The result is an elegant and delicious bite that would be welcome at any party, year round.

Lobster Crisps
4-8 slices Very thin white bread
2 Tablespoons salted butter
1 cup cooked lobster, roughly chopped
1 Tablespoon crème fraîche
1 teaspoon chives, divided

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Remove crusts from bread.
3. Using a rolling pin or a pasta roller, roll your bread slices out as thin as possible.
4. Cut out small rounds from bread using a small glass or biscuit cutter.
5. Melt butter and brush bread rounds on both sides.
6. Bake bread rounds on parchment-lined cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes.
7. Toss lobster with crème fraîche and half a teaspoon of chives. Season with salt.
8. Remove bread rounds from oven and let cool.
9. Top bread rounds with lobster mixture. Garnish with chives.