Fiesta Friday #24

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Fiesta Friday, Fiesta Friday #24, making watermelon towers, recipe, salad, shrimp salad, shrimps, watermelon

How do you drive a watermelon home? For me, sitting pretty, straight up, in the front passenger seat, buckled up. I’m not joking.

I found myself, the other day, having to shop for a big whole watermelon alone. Not that I needed help carrying a watermelon. I’m strong enough for that, but I’m normally reluctant to buy a whole watermelon alone because I have a hard time picking a good one. All I know is that you’re supposed to tap it and listen for a certain sound. What that sound is precisely, is what I can’t be sure of.

Is it a bing, bing or a ping, ping or is it a bong, bong?

Is it a thunk, thunk or a thud, thud or is it a thwap, thwap?

Who really knows?

So, I’ve always asked the hubby to get it. Not that he’s an expert or anything, but at least if the fruit ends up unripe, unjuicy, and generally unpalatable, it’d be his fault. His method of picking? Relying on the good-nature of other shoppers to select for him. Either there are a lot of pranksters, or there are a lot of bad watermelon pickers out there. Hubby’s record is pretty dismal.

That’s why most of the time, we buy already cut-up watermelon instead. Except this time. This time I’m buying whole, and I’m buying alone. Why? It was part of my plan to do a red, white, and blue food for the Fourth of July post, and I wanted to make sure I had a lot of red. Even though I ended up opting for tomatoes for the red.

Since I didn’t want it to roll around in the trunk of the car, I decided to sit it up next to me, in the front passenger seat, like a good driver’s companion. It drove my Tiguan crazy. Every so often, it would beep to remind the melon to buckle up, so I buckled it up. That’s how I drove a watermelon home.

Shrimp Salad in Watermelon Towers

Servings: 4
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The watermelon towers
Seedless watermelon
A round cookie/biscuit cutter
A small paring knife
A large chef’s knife
A small spoon or a melon baller

1. Cut watermelon into thick slices (2-3 inch, depending on how tall you want your towers).
2. Press cookie/biscuit cutter through the watermelon. Since the cutter is only 1-inch tall, use a small paring knife to cut around it, using the side of the cutter as a guide.
3. Using a melon baller or a small spoon, scoop out the center of each tower.

4. Make a total of 8 towers (2 per serving).

The shrimp salad
1 lb medium-sized cooked shrimps
Shallots or red onions
Basil
Salad greens
Lemon vinaigrette (recipe below)

1. Remove tails from shrimps, reserving a few with tails on for garnish.
2. Toss shrimps in about half of the vinaigrette. Keep cold in the refrigerator until ready to use. Just before serving, add minced shallots/red onions and chopped basil to shrimps.
3. To serve, place a handful of salad greens on a plate, place 2 watermelon towers and fill them with shrimps. Drizzle more vinaigrette.

Lemon vinaigrette
Zest from 1 small lemon (about 2 tsp.)
Juice from 1 small lemon (about 2 tbsp.)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 packet of stevia or 1 tsp sugar
6 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

Mix all ingredients in a jar. Cover lid tightly, and shake until emulsified.

***

Now, who’s ready to party? I’m away on a week-long vacation at the moment, so I may be a little tardy coming to my own party. And there’s no telling how long I can mix and mingle. What a shame! I so want to party with you all! Especially since we have unprecedented 3 co-hosts this time, Indu @Indu’s International Kitchen, Selma @Selma’s Table, and Hilda @Along The Grapevine. I’m expecting this party to be off the charts with these gals co-hosting. So, link up, will you? Give them something to do and things to look at!

Before the party starts, let’s look at features from last week’s Fiesta:

Cilantro Croquettes from Naina @Spice in the City. In Sylvia’s words, “A really unusual recipe. I love the combination of all the herbs and spices, and the gorgeous photography in the forest setting is a plus.” In Margy’s words, “I started to appreciate cilantro after moving from Italy to Canada. [Cilantro] is not used in [Italian] recipes… I’ve never thought of using cilantro to make croquettes; [they] are very, very cute. The photos and the “table setting” make these even more interesting.” I couldn’t agree more. Such a unique recipe presented in such a beautiful way.

Apple Anise Butterfest Muffins from Dave @Dave Bakes. In Margy’s words, “As soon as I read his post and the ingredients, I started [asking myself] how many apple cakes, apple pies, apple crumbles, “apple whatsoever” have I made in my life, and [the answer is] a huge number. Why have I never thought of using anise seeds instead of just cinnamon?? Thanks to Dave, now I know where I will start for the next apple cake.” I, too, questioned myself the same thing. What an eye-opener! Plus, those bite-sized muffins are just so cute. Plus, and this is important, Dave added extra butter.

Gibelotte de poisson à l’espagnole from Catherine @Catherine Cuisine. In Sylvia’s words, “What an interesting recipe. I am absolutely intrigued by the combination of fish and sausage. The photography is simply stunning, so fresh. The ingredients look freshly picked.” In Margy’s words, “I’ve never heard of this fish soup; it looks very tasty. Catherine always has amazing photos and lovely settings.” I thought that bowl of stew looks so enticing, even after I knew it was fish. Now, that’s saying something. It goes to tell you how important food styling is. And if you can do it as well as Catherine, you can most likely sell anything.

Garlic and preserved lemon with tagliatelle from Mermaid’s tresses. Yet another unusual recipe, this one sounds way more than intriguing. If you like lemons as I do, then you’ll love preserved lemons. Adding them to a pasta dish is brilliant. So is adding cashew cream. This dish, I have no doubt, is extra delicious. I will have to give this a try, but first I have to start preserving some lemons.

Shrimp Salad in Watermelon Towers

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