I think that the problem with owning a yacht would be avoiding the hordes of old “friends” who suddenly decide to look you up while you’re docked in the harbour at St-Tropez or off Cap d’Antibes. No, that’s just not for me. I’d have to turn over the deck to the party and slip off with Mrs. E. for a quiet evening overlooking the water, somewhere like the place pictured above in Nice.

And what would we order? Summer, sand, sea…. makes me want to have shrimp.

Here is a particularly good recipe from dinner last Saturday night (thanks S&K!). Of course, I monkeyed around with it a little, but I don’t think it suffered from my interference.

A Summer Seafood Cocktail For 6

24 extra large shrimp or Prawns. Steamed.

1 lb of jumbo lump crabmeat.

Combine in a food processor or blender:
1 cup of mayonnaise.
1 teaspoon of grated onion
Juice of 1 lemon (use half for the remoulade, save half for later)
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
Sea salt and cracked pepper
1 red pepper, roasted, seeded, peeled and puréed
1 clove garlic, puréed into the red pepper
1 green onion, minced
2 tablespoons of prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon of drained, minced capers
1/4 cup of minced parsley
2 teaspoons of chopped dill or sweet pickles.
1 tablespoon of olive oil
dash of Worcestershire sauce
dash of cayenne or a hot sauce.

Chill for an hour or two to blend.

1/2 dozen fresh, ripe, Roma tomatoes (or others, seeded and diced)
sprinkled with salt and pepper.

3 avocados, peeled, chopped and doused with the rest of the lemon juice.

Assemble in martini glasses beginning with:

The chopped avocado
Top with the lump crabmeat (you may make it into a crabmeat salad as you would with tuna salad)
Add the remoulade
Sprinkle with fresh parsley
Top with the diced tomatoes
Arrange 4 prawns (shrimp) around the lip of the glass.

And open the champagne, or a White Burgundy, or a dry Riesling. This would also make a perfect light lunch.

I usually order out when a) I’ve ruined dinner because the cocktail “hour” ran a little over, or b) I’m craving something that I can’t make myself. That’s certainly been the case with Chinese food.

The problem is, we don’t have a great Chinese restaurant that delivers (and I’m certainly not about to drive to pick up take out — see “a” above.) But just this week I was given a bag of Jasmine rice and in a fit of inspiration bought some Kona Kampachi from the fishmonger. I intended to make sashimi, but panicked at the last moment when I discovered bones in my wafer thin slices.

So I cooked it.

A sin, I know. In for a penny, in for a pound — I also decided to have a go with a very small bit of seasoning. So much for ordering out Chinese ever again. Well, maybe the appetizers.

As this is the only “Chinese” food I know how to make, I call it the No. 1 Fish dish.

Easy and Elegant Life’s No. 1 Fish for 2.
1 lb. of Kona Kampachi or other high fat content fish. Kona is about 30%.
1 green onion, green and white part chopped.
1 teaspoon or so of peanut oil.
1- 2 teaspoons of House of Tsang® Saigon Sizzle™ Stir-fry Sauce (available at my local supermarket.)

For the Rice
1/2 cup of Jasmine Rice
1 packet of Splenda®
1 teaspoon (’ish) of Rice Vinegar.

Cook the rice according to directions, but stir in the Splenda® and rice vinegar with the water as you’re bringing it to a boil.

Preheat the broiler.

Brush the fillet with the peanut oil and the stir-fry sauce (you can do this using a green onion “brush.”) Depending on the thickness of the fillet or steak you use, broil on high for 4 minutes a side, turning once halfway through to crisp the skin. (The fillet I used was probably 1/2″ thick and I probably overcooked it; but with a fatty fish, you have a lot of margin for error.)

Sprinkle with the green onions and serve over the bed of rice in a shallow bowl. I also sautéed a bit of broccoli rabe in peanut oil, garlic and salt to give the dish some color. A fruity white goes nicely with this dish. We had an incredible 2006 “Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico” by Garofoli.

And don’t forget to use chopsticks. Very possibly the most elegant way to eat a meal.

Tomorrow is the ever-younger Mrs. E.’s birthday and I have no idea what to cook for the occasion. Dinner will, of course, demand champagne. As will tonight’s, since it’s the last day of being her particular age… Not sure how that got started, but I think it had to do with a case of bubbles that we laid in for one of the birthday weeks once. Ah well, once the cat’s out of the bag….

The champagne isn’t an issue, a quick walk to my wine merchant and there are a couple of bottles of Vve. Fourny & Fils chilling in the wine ‘fridge. One of which I hope to have left on hand for tomorrow; not guaranteed to happen. But what to serve for dinner? Mrs. E. does love shrimps. And they are awfully easy to prepare. I assume that they are a stand-by in your home; but, if they are not, here is a recipe elegant in its simplicity.

An Easy and Elegant Shrimp Pasta Dinner for Two.
1/4 box of your favourite pasta. I like angel hair or thin spaghetti for this one.
6 jumbo, or 8-10 large shrimps, peeled and deveined
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch of red pepper flakes
(opt) splash of champagne
sea salt
fresh cracked pepper
parmesan reggiano
fresh parsley or other fresh herb chopped or torn for garnish.

Boil salted water in a pot and add the pasta. It will cook for approximately 12 minutes, but seem to take much longer.

Peel and devein the shrimps under cold running water and keep them in a bowl of salted water until the pasta begins to cook. Then take them out and pat them dry with a paper towel.

Heat a skillet, add the olive oil and as soon as it seems about to smoke, add the minced garlic and shrimps. Be careful working with the oil and shrimps — if they are too wet, they will spit at you. Sautée quickly, sprinkle with salt and pepper and red pepper flakes. (Add the splash of champagne if you’re using it.) Once the shrimps are pink, they are cooked. It takes no time at all.

Drain the pasta, add the shrimps and the oil, toss everything to coat. Divide between two bowls, top with grated cheese and more fresh cracked pepper, garnish with the herbs.

Serves two in about 15 minutes flat.