After writing about holiday hors d'oeuvres and appetizers for the past week and a half, I am yearning to throw a little party for my husband and I, complete with co*cktails, Prosecco, and many savory bites, like these toasted corn cups, filled with a mixture of shrimp, persimmons, lime and cilantro. Never has a personal co*cktail party sounded so good as it did yesterday, after a relatively harrowing afternoon.
Yesterday was the day for my 6-year old son's annual eye exam. He has been wearing glasses for a couple of years and is a trooper about the whole thing. Eye exams, however, top the list of his least favorite things. There is only one reason for this - the dreaded eye drops. On the way to the appointment, he announced, "Mum, I would rather kiss a toilet than have drops put in my eyes." Hmm - not a good sign.
When it was time for his appointment, he willingly jumped into the examination seat and tried to pull the phoropter (okay, I looked that one up on Google) in front of his face so he could pretend he was Luke Skywalker in an X-Wing Fighter jet. He breezed through the first part of the exam and made no mention of kissing toilets...until it was time for the eye drops.
After the miserable failure of gentle persuasion and coercion, the nurse realized my son was not going to be a willing participant. I pulled him onto my lap and held down his hands as she pried his eyes open and administered the drops. I was steeled for the crying and complaints, but was not prepared for top-of-the-lungs yells of "It burns like acid!" I was certain that the next time I looked in the mirror, there was going to be a "Worst Mother" tattoo emblazoned on my forehead. A big glass of red wine would have been a welcome sight at that moment. Alas, the nurse did not seem keen on supplying this frazzled mother with alcohol. Something about liability. All I could do was wrap my arms around my son and rock him, and remind myself that this is one of the stories that I will laugh about later. My son, completely straight-faced looked up and said, "You see, Mum? That was much worse than kissing a toilet." Give me strength.
The recipe:
Toasted Corn Cups:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Working with one corn tortilla at a time, place tortilla in the pan and heat for about 15 seconds on each side.
Transfer the tortilla to a work surface and lightly brush each side with canola oil. Using a 2 ½-inch circle cutter, cut two circles from tortilla and press each circle into the hole of a mini muffin tin. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
Bake until the tortilla cups are crisp and just beginning to brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer the cups to a wire rack and allow them to cool.
(Make ahead: The corn cups can be made 2 to 3 days ahead and stored in an airtight container. Before serving, lightly toast them on a baking sheet in a 250 degrees F oven for 3 to 5 minutes to make them crisp again.)
Shrimp & Persimmon Salsa:
In a medium bowl, combine roughly chopped cooked shrimp, diced persimmon, lime juice, red chile flakes, cilantro, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.
Using a 1 teaspoon measure, fill each corn cup with shrimp mixture.
Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve immediately.
Other hors d'oeuvres with shrimp or persimmons:
Cookin' Canuck's Pan-Fried Brie Cheese with Persimmon Salsa Canapes
Cookin' Canuck's Garlic Roasted Shrimp with Jalapeno co*cktail Sauce
Hedonia's Coppa-Wrapped Persimmon
Recipe Girl's Margarita Shrimp Bites with Southwestern Sauce
Rasa Malaysia's Vietnamese Sugar Cane Shrimp (Chao Tom)
Shrimp & Persimmon Salsa in Toasted Corn Tortilla Cups
Toasted Corn Cups from Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres Handbook
Toasted Corn Cups:
12 6-inch yellow (if they're very pliable) or white corn tortillas
3 tablespoon canola oil
Shrimp & Persimmon Salsa:
12 oz. peeled and cooked shrimp, roughly chopped
1 medium Fuyu persimmon, cut into ½-inch dice
2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
¼ teaspoon red chile flakes (or more to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste
Toasted Corn Cups:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Working with one corn tortilla at a time, place tortilla in the pan and heat for about 15 seconds on each side. Transfer the tortilla to a work surface and lightly brush each side with canola oil. Using a 2 ½-inch circle cutter, cut two circles from tortilla and press each circle into the hole of a mini muffin tin. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
Bake until the tortilla cups are crisp and just beginning to brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer the cups to a wire rack and allow them to cool.
(Make ahead: The corn cups can be made 2 to 3 days ahead and stored in an airtight container. Before serving, lightly toast them on a baking sheet in a 250 degrees F oven for 3 to 5 minutes to make them crisp again.)
Shrimp & Persimmon Salsa:
In a medium bowl, combine roughly chopped cooked shrimp, diced persimmon, lime juice, red chile flakes, cilantro, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.
Using a 1 teaspoon measure, fill each corn cup with shrimp mixture. Garnish with a couple of pieces of chopped cilantro. Serve immediately.
Makes 24 hors d'oeuvres.
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