I was recently back in Alaska visiting my family and friends for a few days before the rainy weather set in. No such luck. It rained and rained...and rained.
My friend
Felicia made arrangements for us to do
Reindeer Yoga one night. Yes, you read that correctly. Reindeer Yoga! Can you even imagine? Well, unfortunately I am going to have to imagine until next June. The weather did not cooperate, so we had to cancel.
I decided to make it up to her by making us dinner at her house and enjoy the movie
The Lost City (which as a side note, if you have not seen this movie yet...what are you waiting for??)
At any rate, Felicia is a vegetarian, which I love that it challenges me to look for and try new things. I thought something shrimp themed would be fun. Then I thought, let's stack our dinner sky high while we're at it, just to add to the adventure.
Back in the day, "stacked" food was quite the trend and I (of course) had an entire set off difference shape and sizes of stacking templates to make appetizers, dinners, and desserts. To this day, I have no idea where those templates ended up.
So I found my self literally in the middle of Alaska trying to find stainless steel food molds. Nothing. Time was running out and so were my options.
The good thing about remodeling my house these past 4 years is that I know every aisle and product in Lowes, Home Depot, and ACE Hardware.
The bad thing about remodeling my house these past 4 years is that I know every aisle and product in Lowes, Home Depot, and ACE Hardware.
As I was driving from place to place to look for these rings it hit me...! PVC pipes!!! I know they come in all heights and diameters. I also know that the PVC material is non-stick, like stainless steel so the stacks will slide right out.
Lowes was on the way to Felicia's house. I knew the exact aisle to find them and within 5 minutes I had my shrimp stack "food molds" bagged up and was back on the road. I love it when a vision and plan comes together. Don't worry, I washed and scrubbed the PVC pipe prior to use...although their scanning stickers would not come off the outside!
These shrimp stacks were like a sushi roll taken to a new dimension! I cannot wait to make these again, they were awesome! I did take a few shortcuts because after all we had Channing Tatum and Brad Pitt waiting for us in our after dinner movie.
Tropical "Sushi" Shrimp Stacks
Makes 2 serving stacks
Guacamole (preferably homemade, or your favorite brand)
Trader Joe's Pineapple Salsa (or Newman's Own Mango Salsa)
7.4 ounce Annie Chun's Sticky Rice
Fresh Gourmet Wonton Strips
4" diameter stainless steel food mold, or PVC pipe
Maui Wowie Shrimp:
1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
1 pinch garlic salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Preheat outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil the grate. (you can also do this on a grill pan over your cooktop)
Thread shrimp onto skewers. Season both sides of shrimp with garlic salt and black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
Generously coat both sides of shrimp with mayonnaise.
Cook shrimp on heated grill until shrimp are bright pink on the outside and opaque on the inside, and the mayonnaise turns golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes on each side. Squeeze with fresh lemon wedges. Set aside and let cool.
Make the sticky rice according to package directions. Set aside and let cool.
While the rice is cooling, give the cooked shrimp a rough chop.
To Assemble Stacks:
Place a food mold on each plate. Divide the rice evenly and spoon into each mold, pressing down to compact the rice. Place 1/2 cup of the cooked shrimp on the rice and press down. Spoon a thin layer of guacamole to completely cover the shrimp. Using a slotted spoon, add a thin layer of pineapple (or mango) salsa on top of the guacamole, making sure to cover. (I use a slotted spoon, so that I get more of the fruit and less juice, so it doesn't get soggy). Lightly drizzle the Dynamite sauce over the salsa. Place the wonton strips on top. Carefully hold the wonton strips to secure the stack as you slide and remove the mold.
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