Shrimp Brushetta

I stole this idea from a restaurant/bar in my northeast LA neighborhood, The York--because it's what I get every time I go there--and reproduced it for my family for my dad's and his twin sister's birthdays. The prep time for me was about an hour, but when these snacks were served it took all of 20 seconds before they were completely consumed by each of my family and extended family members. Everyone was asking for more.

Ingredients:

French bread or baguette (sliced)
canola oil
1 lb. shrimp (peeled and deveined)
shrimp/seafood seasoning of your choice
1 bunch/pkg. micro greens or arugula

for Tomato Bruschetta:
3-4 large ripe tomatoes, diced (more if smaller)
1/2-1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
3-4 basil leaves, diced
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
black pepper to taste

for White Wine Butter Sauce:
3 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. flour
1/2 c. white wine
3/4 c. chicken broth

First, prepare the tomato bruschetta: combine diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and black pepper in bowl or tupperware and refrigerate. This may be made in advance (or I suppose you could get pre-made bruschetta, but it won't be as good).

Next, prepare toast: preheat oven to 450 degrees, slice toast and arrange onto cookie sheet. Do not place in oven yet.

Then, season and prepare shrimp. I use a seafood seasoning that I created: http://bellavistafoodsnob.blogspot.com/2010/01/erics-cajun-seasoning.html. Also, to spread the measly one pound of shrimp over the whole appetizer I sliced each shrimp down the middle to create two halves. Set aside in fridge.

Now the next ten or so minutes is gonna happen fast and be kind of busy. The more kitchen help you can get the better. Toast bread for about 3-4 minutes and remove to cool slightly. Move on to sauce.

White wine sauce: whisk together 3 tbsp. butter with 1 tbsp. flour in a small saucepan on low-medium heat. Once smooth add 1/2 c. white wine and 3/4 c. broth. Stir until blended and continue to cook on medium heat until begins to bubble, then reduce heat to let thicken.

But wait! While you or someone else in the kitchen stirs the white wine sauce until it bubbles you must cook the shrimp.

Heat a heavy skillet with several tablespoons of canola oil on medium-high heat. Once fully heated toss in shrimp and spread evenly over the skillet. After about one minute (assuming your heat is high enough) flip shrimp with metal spatula. After about one more minute gently flip shrimp again and continue to toss and flip them for another 45 seconds to a minute until shrimp appear to have been cooked thoroughly. Be careful not to overcook them.

Finally, layer greens over toast then bruschetta, then shrimp, then drizzle with wine sauce. Serve immediately.

As you can see mine never made it off the cookie sheet onto plates or a platter. The minute I turned to set down the white wine sauce half the toasts were eaten. And seconds later they were all gone. Yum.