March 8, 2014 New Recipe Dinner at Debbie and Jeff’s - Bacon wrapped Prawns, Rice Risotto and salad

March 8, 2014 New Recipe   Dinner at Debbie and Jeff’s  - Bacon wrapped Prawns, Rice Risotto and salad

We were invited to Debbie and Jeff’s house tonight.

At 3:00 Suzette and I went to Costco and bought salad mix, loaves of sourdough bread and some California Sauvignon Blanc for our dinner party.   We went home and made a salad with the mix plus radishes, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

Then at 5:00 I grabbed a bottle of sweet chili sauce, a chilled bottle of Londer 2008 Kent Ritchie Chardonnay and the salad and we drove to Debbie and Jeff’s house high on the Sandia’s .  The evening sky was incredibly beautiful.  

Debbie described their dinner menu.  Grilled stuffed bacon wrapped prawns with salad and rice risotto.  We had drinks and watched the Sun set and then after the sun set, we started cooking dinner.  As suggested, we each prepared our own prawns.  They were the largest prawns I had ever seen.  There were two packages with four prawns each in each package that weighed about 4/5 lb. ($20.99/lb. at Smith’s?).  The label on the prawns showed their origin as Bangladesh.   I sliced each of the prawns almost through their bodies, so we could stuff them with more stuffing.

Here is a comparison between prawns and shrimp.  They are different sub-orders of crustaceans.

Prawns are decapod crustaceans belonging to the sub-order Dendrobranchiata.	Shrimp are decapod crustaceans belonging to the sub-order Pleocyemata.
Relative Size	Prawns are typically larger than shrimps.	Shrimp are generally smaller than prawns.
Gill Structure	Prawns have branching gills.	Shrimp feature lamellar gills, which are plate-like in structure.
Pincers	The second pincers of prawns are larger than the front ones.	The front pincers of shrimp are typically the largest.
Leg Structure	Prawns have longer legs than shrimp. Also, prawns usually have claws on three pairs of their legs	Shrimp have shorter legs and have claws only on two pairs of legs.
Types	Indian prawn, Giant river prawn, Tiger prawn	White leg shrimp, Atlantic white shrimp, Pink, Dotted and Brown shrimp.
Culinary	Since prawns are larger, you get fewer in number per pound, and subsequently priced higher per unit. Also, much as prawns and shrimp are similar in taste, prawns are considered more of a delicacy because of their size.	Since shrimp are smaller in size, they get cooked slightly quicker than prawns. Sautéing shrimp for longer might make it rubbery and closer to dry fish. Other than that, they taste very similar to prawns.

    Suzette made a stuffing of cream cheese and the sweet chili sauce and we stuffed our four with it.

Debbie chopped up a fresh jalapeño and mixed it with cream cheese and sliced strips of mozzarella and she and Jeff stuffed their prawns with mozzarella and the jalapeño stuffing and then wrapped the prawns with bacon.  Jeff expertly grilled the wrapped prawns on the grill outside and Debbie made the risotto rice.  In about thirty minutes we had a beautiful dinner.  I opened the Londer Chardonnay and we enjoyed a really elegantly simple and yet great tasting dinner with exquisite wine and lots of talk about shared experiences and folks we knew.   When all the elements of the meal are well prepared and creative, the meal takes on an added aspect that I call greatness. The 2008 Londer Kent Ritchie Chardonnay is the best California Chardonnay I have ever drunk, although I have tasted several other good chardonnays from Anderson Valley.

   

The stuffing did not seem to matter and appeared to melt out of the prawns as they cooked, but the combination of the grilled bacon and prawn together was great and we poured some of the sweet chili sauce on the prawns and that was a great condiment for them.

Here is some information from a wine-seller on the bottle.

2008 Londer "Kent Ritchie Vineyard," Sonoma Coast Chardonnay

SKU #1069031

92 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar: "Vivid gold. Explosive aromas of pear nectar, yellow plum, tarragon and floral honey, with a bright note of orange zest adding vivacity. Stains the palate with deep candied orange and poached pear flavors, picking up smokiness with air. Deeply concentrated, powerful chardonnay with a strong mineral quality that carries through the long, juicy, focused finish." (May/June 11) According to Wine Spectator: "A notably rich, creamy style, featuring tiers of honeydew melon presented in an elegant, delicate way, with lots of spice and ginger. Subtle fruit and spice notes mark the finish. Drink now through 2016." (Web only, 2011)

This was a great meal of classic California Cuisine. 

After dinner Debbie served us each a bowl of honey vanilla yogurt with fresh strawberries, blueberries and blackberries.

We said goodnight a bit before 9:30 and drove to Sprouts on Montgomery at Juan Tabo just in time to purchase fresh halibut and corvina, asparagus, tofu, marscapone, cream of tartar for Sunday night's dinner.

 Bon Appétit