Party for the mouth

Last night I *FINALLY* got around to making the Shrimp, corn and coconut soup w/ roasted poblanos !!!

• 3 poblano peppers
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup fresh corn
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 cups coconut milk
• 1/2 cup Coco Lopez cream of coconut
• 2 pounds 91-110 count shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 ounce brie cheese, cubed
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preparation method

Prep: 30 mins | Cook: 40 mins

1.

Place poblanos on a skewer and blacken them over the stove top burner. Put them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to steam a little. When cool, rub off the skin with a paper towel or peel the skin off with your fingers. Mince the poblanos.

 

~~~See my personal notes if you don't have a gas stove~~~

 

2.

Heat olive oil and butter in a four- to five-quart pot over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Then sauté onions and celery and fresh corn about four minutes*. Add flour, cilantro and garlic and cook for three minutes stirring occasionally. Add wine and prepared diced poblanos stirring frequently. Add coconut milk, coco Lopez and the rest of the ingredients and simmer for fifteen minutes. Ladle soup into bowls to serve.

I first sampled this recipe at the Chefs of the Coast stockpot cookoff in Biloxi, MS. Chef Chris has effectively created a "party for the mouth" with this soup!!  The first thing that I notice taste wise is that the flavours meld together perfectly, while still keeping their own uniqueness.  As I sampled the soup I could detect the sweetness from the coconut, the heat from the poblanos, the burst of cilantro, and the creaminess from the brie cheese & cream.  The flavours seemed to dance in my mouth!

It has a bit of a kick combined w/ a perfectly balanced sweetness. I made some slight changes in the method of preparation.

Notes:
I'm not lucky enough to have a gas stove, so I cranked up my oven, placed the poblanos on a cookie sheet and allowed them to roast in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. While the poblanos were roasting, I sauteed the onion, celery and 1/2 cup of corn.
*Once sauteed I took this mixture and blended it up for added creaminess. Afterwards I transferred the blended mixture back to my stockpot, and added the remaining 1/2 cup of corn and finished cooking per instructions. Thank you to Chef Eric for sharing this recipe!!!!

Chefs of the coast

Where has this month gone to?!  For me, this month has been a whirlwind of activity!  I just got back from  Biloxi, Mississippi and I have a LOT to blog about! This past weekend 23-26 September 2011, I had the awesome, amazing experience of traveling to Biloxi, Mississippi where I was able to attend the Chefs of the Coast events.  I spent the greater part of Friday traveling from Tampa, Florida to Biloxi, Mississippi where my adventures began! 
I checked into the IP Biloxi and once I was settled in began to explore the Biloxi area.  It only took a short time for me to fall in love w/ this charming city that's situated on the Gulf of Mexico.  While I could go on and on about how nice Biloxi was, my blog pertains to food not travel, thus I'll have to forego any travel commentary. You will have to forgive me for any blurry pictures, I was using a brand new camera (and some I took while driving...Shhhh!!!!).

Saturday I headed out to Mississippi Coastal Convention Center and started out with the Stockpot cookoff. 
Admittedly there was a slight delay with the admission, but even tho there was a hiccup with the tickets, the delay turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as I ended up meeting Kris Erickson, an Allrecipes employee!

Some of the samplings were simply amazing, while some left me thinking "Have you ever used herbs" mainly b/c of an over pronounced saltiness.  I had the chance to try a bread pudding and thinking that I would return for dessert later, politely declined.  I was disappointed with myself when Kris asked me if I tried it, I said no, and he said it was all gone!   In this case dessert should have come first!

I'm always the type of person to gravitate towards the unusual.  In the case of the winners I picked two of them.  The chef from the Island View Casino made an incredible Shrimp, Corn, and Coconut Soup w/ Roasted Poblanos. I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to describe just how amazing it tasted.  Fortunately he said he would email the recipe to me (and I'm hoping he does!)  I managed to snag a few recipes from the stockpot cookoffs, and my thanks to those who provided them to me!!!

I had a great time at the Stockpot cookoff, they had some kid friendly activities, and I even got to decorate a cookie...everyone go "oooohhh and ahhhhh"!!!  Please no "ewws" or "boos" ;-) )

One of the most amazing things to see was the ice carving - it's amazing how a huge slab of ice can be transformed into a cool work of art (no pun intended).  Fortunately I got video as well as pictures :D

Both ice sculptures were later used at the Venetian Carnival Gala on Sunday night.

Saturday evening I returned again for the Southern Gaming Casino Cookoff between four chefs.  I was able to sample a variety of dishes and while there were three that I greatly enjoyed, there was one dish that seemed sub-par. 



Admittedly I'm a foodie and at worst I'm a food snob.  While I may not have a culinary degree I would put myself up against the least favourite selection and I'm confident that I could make some mouths water, and some tummies happy!





Blackened Neptune
Chef Glen Chapman Casino Aztar



Tarragon & Chive crusted Chilean Sea Bass
served w/ shoepeg corn maque choux and
fresh popcorn shoots "Four roses bourbon"
and miso sause w/ fennel and tomato
Chef Chris Poplin IP Casino Resort & Spa







Grilled Maine Lobster served w/

Four roses bourbon & Mary Jane candy

glaze, Blistered pineapple, and Andouille

Saffron Grits Cake

Chef Abel Vergara Seminole Casino at

Coconut Creek, FL





Baked Fresh Flounder filled w/ shrimp and
crabmeat served w/ four roses bourbon-cream
sauce w/ Saffron rice and Julienned fresh veggies

Chef Gunter Kilian DiamondJacks Casino Resort

So after seeing those fancy plates, after the judges tasted the food, the winners were as follows: Chef Poplin (1st place) Chef Gunter Kilian (2nd place) Chef Abel Vergara (3rd place) and Chef Glen Chapman (4th place).   Following the cookoff it was back to the IP and the Chill lounge for the after party :)  I waited until the following night for a photo op b/c that place was hopping! I didn't get to sleep until 0600 on Sunday morning!!!!

Venetian Carnival Gala!!!



Myself, Kris Erickson (Allrecipes employee) and Brad Orrison ( The Shed BBQ )



This event was MORE than what I even expected!!!  This event was complete w/ music, dancing, wine tastings, raffle drawings for various prizes, Ice sculpture displays, cake displays, food art displays, and all sorts of food samplings like Steak Bruschetta, Ginger Soy chicken skewers, Chilled crab shooters, Veal Milano, Bloody mary shrimp, Lobster Quesadillas, Blackened snapper over garlic cheese grits, Catfish tacos, Shrimp gumbo, Sushi, etc., all sorts of yummy desserts like White chocolate mousse w/ Grand Marnier, Amaretto & Tiramisu Gelato, Chocolate mousse, Carrot cake, Vanilla Bean Cream Brulee....OH and free cocktails courtesy of Four Roses Bourbon. Some of you reading this may think it's similar to Epcots food and wine fest...not even close!  This event was SO much more!!! If you live in the Biloxi/Gulfport areas, you OWE it to yourself to attend the next event!

1 Dozen Red roses that I got to take home w/ me!

Lighthouse Cake

Food art



White Chocolate mousse w/ Grand Marnier



Pork Tacos



Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee







Shrimp!

Although I had tickets for two people for each event, I didn't have anyone that was interested in attending w/ me, and so on the last night, I instructed the gentleman taking the tickets that he could give away my ticket on the condition that the recipient was either in the military or retired from the military. Later that evening he came up to me to let me know that he had been able to give my complimentary ticket away. I'll never know who the individual was that received the complimentary ticket, but I hope whoever it was had an amazing time like I did!!!