By Mike Thayer
Can a guy live on just appetizers alone? I’m going to find out. For the next couple weeks, I’m going to prepare, eat and, ‘survive’ on appetizers alone.
It’s dinner time and time for shrimp cocktails and well, cocktails!
For tonight’s appetizer challenge, it’s shrimp cocktails, yes, plural, because one cocktail just won’t do it…. And then there’s real cocktails as in adult beverages to go with it.
The key to a good shrimp cocktail is the chill, so in preparing for this, I’ve got some margarita glasses chilling in the freezer. It’s not unlike chilling a beer glass in the freezer… It’s all about keeping things super cold and looking good….. Use whatever works for you, you can use short glasses, brandy snifters, whatever trips your trigger. Just know that a cold glass makes for a better presentation and a better shrimp cocktail bite.
Shrimp cocktail consists of poached shrimp and a sauce that’s basically spiked ketchup, typically horse radish and some hot sauce is added.
For today’s dinner, I’ve done a bit of a cheat, purchasing some already prepared cocktail shrimp from the local grocery store and a prepared cocktail sauce. I’m doctoring things up a bit though, serving the chilled shrimp in a chilled lettuce-lined margarita glass, along with some finely diced celery, carrot, red onion and celery leaf for some added texture and color, with salt and pepper to taste.
Let me tell you this is winner, winner, shrimp dinner! The bite of the shrimp is crisp, the spike in the sauce is spot on and the diced veggies give you that substance needed to complete things for a balanced, delicious morsel that is OH-SO tasty on the tongue! Served with an adult beverage of a Manhattan, it was a very nice appetizer meal.
Cost: I bought the package of prepared shrimp, to include the cocktail sauce for $6. The package contained 20 shrimp and I had 12 for dinner, so I’ve got leftovers. The veggies I already had on hand thanks to a well stocked pantry and fridge, so the total cost for this appetizer dinner was around $5. That’s Bachelor on the Cheap friendly, the dish was tasty and I got filled up.
Does it get much better than that?
$pend Wisely My Friends…
Help support the continued content for Shopping, Dining, Best Deals, Product & Service Reviews, Tips, Hacks, Recipes and other great information by buying me a coffee. Your support to keep Bachelor on the Cheap a free resource is much appreciated! ~ Mike
The 'Living on Appetizers' Challenge – Shrimp Cocktails for Dinner – Bachelor on the Cheap
By Mike Thayer
Can a guy live on just appetizers alone? I’m going to find out. For the next couple weeks, I’m going to prepare, eat and, ‘survive’ on appetizers alone.
It’s dinner time and time for shrimp cocktails and well, cocktails!
For tonight’s appetizer challenge, it’s shrimp cocktails, yes, plural, because one cocktail just won’t do it…. And then there’s real cocktails as in adult beverages to go with it.
The key to a good shrimp cocktail is the chill, so in preparing for this, I’ve got some margarita glasses chilling in the freezer. It’s not unlike chilling a beer glass in the freezer… It’s all about keeping things super cold and looking good….. Use whatever works for you, you can use short glasses, brandy snifters, whatever trips your trigger. Just know that a cold glass makes for a better presentation and a better shrimp cocktail bite.
Shrimp cocktail consists of poached shrimp and a sauce that’s basically spiked ketchup, typically horse radish and some hot sauce is added.
For today’s dinner, I’ve done a bit of a cheat, purchasing some already prepared cocktail shrimp from the local grocery store and a prepared cocktail sauce. I’m doctoring things up a bit though, serving the chilled shrimp in a chilled lettuce-lined margarita glass, along with some finely diced celery, carrot, red onion and celery leaf for some added texture and color, with salt and pepper to taste.
Let me tell you this is winner, winner, shrimp dinner! The bite of the shrimp is crisp, the spike in the sauce is spot on and the diced veggies give you that substance needed to complete things for a balanced, delicious morsel that is OH-SO tasty on the tongue! Served with an adult beverage of a Manhattan, it was a very nice appetizer meal.
Cost: I bought the package of prepared shrimp, to include the cocktail sauce for $6. The package contained 20 shrimp and I had 12 for dinner, so I’ve got leftovers. The veggies I already had on hand thanks to a well stocked pantry and fridge, so the total cost for this appetizer dinner was around $5. That’s Bachelor on the Cheap friendly, the dish was tasty and I got filled up.
Does it get much better than that?
$pend Wisely My Friends…
Help support the continued content for Shopping, Dining, Best Deals, Product & Service Reviews, Tips, Hacks, Recipes and other great information by buying me a coffee. Your support to keep Bachelor on the Cheap a free resource is much appreciated! ~ Mike