Trust Andrew Stephenson when he says that peeling the shrimp is the only real work in this recipe, which he has named “Shrimp Ro-Land” in honor of his adopted neighborhood in North Baltimore.
Now that the turkey and stuffing is out of the way, Stephenson’s customized shrimp dish is a spectacular dish for an intimate holiday dinner party of four to six people.
Stephenson — an attorney who grew up in Ireland, the son of a Norwegian mother and Irish father — has been cooking seriously since he was a teenager, at times professionally. He claims never to have repeated the same dish twice.
Like last week’s featured cook — the Ellicott City chiropractor Jason Meyerson — Stephenson takes a spiritual approach to feeding the body, if not the soul.
“Put on some background music and turn the [kitchen] experience into a meditative process,” he counsels. “Be aware of your fingers, wrists and hands. Identify the efficiency of motion and technique and recognize the evolution of your skill with practice … this is learned, not taught.”
After growing up in a kitchen run by his mother — who used fresh produce from her parents’ farm and made everything from scratch, including bread, muesli and mayonnaise — Stephenson landed in Baltimore.
Indeed, the Irishman says that the first time he ever ate boiled cabbage and corned beef was his first St. Patrick’s Day in Crabtown.
“Since coming to Baltimore I have been spoiled with an abundance of seafood, a more exotic variety of fruits and vegetables, and, most importantly of all, the generous cuts of beef,” said Stephenson. “The concept of an 18-ounce New York strip steak was simply too decadent to have been available in Ireland — I love it.”
The same joy holds true, he said, for jumbo lump crab meat, Chesapeake Bay oysters when available and shrimp, which don’t seem to be on anyone’s endangered list.
Earlier this week, Stephenson decided on the decapod crustaceans for his “Shrimp Ro-land,” which he prepared for his wife and two young boys earlier this week.
This shrimp dish works especially well with broiled or grilled steak — Stephenson suggested sautéing 6-ounce filet mignons, one for each guest — but easily distinguishes itself as a main entrée.
“I serve this meal with organic long grain Jasmati rice and a no frills arugula salad,” he said. “I always add two cardamom seeds, a bay leaf, and half a teaspoon of salt when boiling the rice.
“On the arugula salad, I frugally apply a simple mixture of lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, kosher sea salt and large cracked black pepper.
“For dessert … Berger cookies and Sylvan Beach ice cream.”
Rafael Alvarez can be reached at [email protected].
