A Little Twist on an old Favorite

So last weekend we had a dinner party with the theme of 'Classic American Steakhouse'. As you would expect the menu included a nice Ribeye Steak and of course the classic wedge salad (Iceberge Lettuce with Blue Cheese Dressing). As the first course I decided to go with another Steakhouse favorite, Shrimp Cocktail. Who wouldn't love this? Chilled Jumbo Shrimp with a tangy cocktail sauce to dip them into. Being as who I am, I had to fiddle with this classic and put my own twist on it. When I looked at all the ingredients needed to make cocktail sauce it just clicked. There where almost the same as what you would need to make a Bloody Mary (One of my favorite morning cocktails). So after mulling it over for a bit I decided to make a Shrimp 'Bloody Mary' Cocktail. Something to both eaten and drunk.

The ingredients I used for the 'Cocktail' Sauce were as follows:

• Tomato Juice
• Lemon Juice
• Sea Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Horseradish (Fresh is always best if you can get it)
• Tabasco Sauce
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Absolute Citron Vodka

I would tell you the amounts but I really have no idea. This is one of those recipes that everyone will want to do differently depending on your palette. Besides, every cook has to keep a few secrets to themselves. You can make endless variations on this recipe, it's really up to you and what is available.

For the Shrimp, that's pretty simple:

1. Set a pot to a vigorous simmer with salted water
2. Place the shrimp/prawns in the water and cook till done
1. Should take just a minute or two depending on size
3. When done immediately place them into a bowl of ice water
4. When chilled, remove and set to dry

My garnish was a very thin (in Egypt right now that is just the size of the celery) celery stick with top leaves intact. Cut the bottom to a point and skewer a pickled cocktail onion and pimento stuffed olive. Now all you need is a small, fun looking class. Fill with Bloody Mary, place Shrimp on the rim and stick in the garnish.

Now go make your own and enjoy!!