Happy Holidays everyone! I'm all for the Cod recipe exchange. Here are mine...

Coconut Shrimp with Tamarind Sauce
For sauce (we didn't make this, but it sounds good!)
1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate*
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons mild honey
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
For shrimp
4 cups sweetened flaked coconut (10 oz)
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup beer (not dark)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 large egg
6 cups vegetable oil
48 medium shrimp (1 1/2 lb), peeled, leaving tail and first segment of shell intact, and, if desired, deveined

Make sauce:
Whisk tamarind concentrate into lime juice in a small bowl until dissolved. Stir in remaining sauce ingredients and chill, covered.

Prepare shrimp:
Coarsely chop coconut and transfer half to a shallow soup bowl or pie plate. Whisk together flour, beer, baking soda, salt, cayenne, and egg in a small bowl until smooth. Heat oil in a 4- to 6-quart deep heavy pot over moderately high heat until it registers 350°F on thermometer.

While oil is heating, coat shrimp: Hold 1 shrimp by tail and dip into batter, letting excess drip off, then dredge in coconut, coating completely and pressing gently to help adhere. Transfer to a plate and coat remaining shrimp in same manner, adding remaining coconut to bowl as needed. Fry shrimp in oil in batches of 8, turning once, until golden, about 1 minute. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain and season lightly with salt. Skim any coconut from oil and return oil to 350°F between batches.

Serve shrimp with sauce.

Smoked Pork Chops with Peneapple Rosemary Sauce
Recipe makes 2, but we must have tripled it... Matt was the chef for this one, all I remember that the pineapple was a pain in the a**.

1 pineapple (labeled "extra sweet"), peeled (reserving rind), quartered, and cored
1/4 cup olive oil
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 large garlic clove, smashed
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 fully cooked smoked pork chops
1 rounded 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Put aside 1/4 of pineapple for another use. Cut enough of remaineder into 1/4-inch dice to measure 1/2 cup and reserve the rest. Squeeze juice form reserved rind with your hands into a blender. Cut reserved pinapple into 1 inch chunks and puree with juice in blender at high speed until very smooth, about 1 imute. Pure puree into a dampened-cheesecloth-lined sieve set over a bowl. drain until you have 1 cup juicee, about 30 minutes (or just drive over to Pick 'n Save and buy a can of pineapple juice!!!).

Boil juice in a small skillet over moderateely high heat until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 10-14 minutes. Meanwhile, cook oil, rosemary sprig, and garlic in a small heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, until garlic is golden, 2-3 minutes. Discard rosemary and garlic and transfer 1 tablespoon oil to a 10-inch heavy skillet. Whisk remaining oil into reduced juice and stir in diced pineapple, lemon juice, and salt.

Pat chops dry, sprinkle with pepper. Heat oil in skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then saute chops, turning once, until browned and heated through, about 5 minutes. Transfer toa platter and keep warm. Discard fat from skillet, then add pineapple sauce and bring to a boil over moderate heat, scraping up any brown bits. Pour sauce over chops. EAT!

The puff pastry is the crust...so just roll it out in a baking sheet and pile the ingredients on top. You can fold the edges of the pastry over on top of the potatoes if you have enough to reach. It turns out that Nick has parsnips just lying around in the fridge. I was surprised too. Don't worry, they are not necessary for the recipe to work out. In addition, any starchy root vegetable can be used.

I agree about the Cod. We have such great photos and we made the best food ever. I will start scrounging for recipes that I used. This could be a fun holiday project.

so, is the puff pastry wrapped around the potato mixture? who has parsnips just hanging out in the fridge? anyway, i think we should get some photos and recipes from the cod up. is there anyway to post all pictures as a table of contents in addition to where they are now (in the dinner/recipe section). damn, no f-bombs.

Yay, glad the MDC website is bug-free. Thanks Nick. I must say that the rosemary potato and parsnip galette whipped up from pantry items was very tasty. One correction to the recipe...use puff pastry instead of phyllo. It'll be much less time consuming that way.

Jess and I made a great dish without a game plan. It's a rosemary potato and parsnip galette. Just threw together what was in the fridge and it came out great... here's the 'cipe:

- two yukon gold potatos, peeled and medallioned
- one sweet potato, peeled and medallioned
- one large parsnip, peeled and medallioned
- two cloves fo garlic, smashed to near-annihilation
- a thing of phyllo dough
- rosemary, 3 sprigs
- olive oil
- coarse salt
- pepper

Boil the potatos and parsnips until barely firm. Cool slightly and transfer to a large-ass bowl. Add the garlic, about 1/4 cup of olive oil, some salt, some pepper and mix. Meanwhile, press the phyllo dough into a large baking sheet. Coat the dough with olive oil. Add the potato mixture. Add more salt, pepper and oil on top (to crispify in the oven). Cook at 425 degrees (F, not K) for like 15-20 minutes. Cut and eat.