Keep spicing up table

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jun 28, 2006

Last week's column on cooking with beer prompted a reader to send in a recipe from Craig Claiborne's collections.

The late, famed New York Times food critic published recipes with his commentary and compiled them.

Shrimp Boiledin Beer

2pounds shrimp

24ounces beer

1clove garlic, peeled

2teaspoons salt

1/2teaspoon thyme

2bay leaves

1teaspoon celery seed

1tablespoon chopped parsley

1/8teaspoon cayenne pepper

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Wash shrimp, but don't remove the shells. Pour beer into a saucepan, and add spices and lemon juice. Bring beer mixture to a boil.

Add shrimp and return mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 2 to 5 minutes, depending on the size of the shrimp (longer for larger shrimp).

Drain shrimp. Serve hot with melted butter that has been seasoned with lemon juice and Tabasco sauce, or serve cold with cognac sauce for shrimp.

Cognac sauce: Mix 3/4 cup mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon tomato puree and 1 teaspoon cognac together.

Here's another shrimp sauce that uses beer. It's a tailgate special from the University of Wisconsin.

AJ's Spicy BBQ Shrimp Sauce: Mix 1 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup barbecue sauce of choice, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1 can beer of choice, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon each of ground coriander, black pepper, ground celery seed, paprika and granulated garlic.

Combine all ingredients into a saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Keep stirring. Simmer until sauce is reduced by one-third. Remove from heat.

Source: Chef AJ Klein, University of Wisconsin Kohl Center

When I was looking for Olivia Bennett's salad recipe in "First Families at Home," I found a recipe from Theo Cobb Landon (Mrs. Alf Landon and mother of Nancy Kassebaum Baker) that would make a great dessert when you want to wow everyone.

In Mrs. Landon's recipe, I don't know how the butter should be used. I looked at other recipes for baked puddings - some call for melted butter, while others have you cream softened butter with the sugar before combining the ingredients.

Persimmon Pudding

2quarts milk

1quart ripe persimmons

3cups sugar

1teaspoon baking soda

3eggs

4cups flour

Butter, the size of an egg

Remove stems and seeds from persimmons, and cut up. Pour milk over persimmons, then mash. Run through a colander to strain into a puree. To puree, add sugar, baking soda, eggs, flour and butter.

Pour mixture into a deep crock or granite pan. Bake for 3 hours in a moderate oven (350 degrees).

Send recipe requests or recipes to be shared to Recipe Exchange, Topeka Capital-Journal, 616 S.E. Jefferson, Topeka, 66607, or e- mail lisa.sandmeyer@cjonline.com.