Straight from Bobby Flay: Coconut Thai Shrimp

Bobby Flay was one of the headliners when we presented our workshop on entertaining at the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show in Atlanta. Now, the reason that's important is because Chef Flay sent over one of his signature dishes for us to use... his fantastic Coconut Thai Shrimp. It was a perfect addition to our island-inspired Pirate Party! His creative presentation worked perfectly with our party design. He used a coconut nestled in a bed of salt (meant to look like sand)for serving... super creative and perfect for our party theme! Since I've gotten several requests for the recipe, here you go.... A big thanks to Iron Chef Flay!

Bobby Flay's Coconut Thai Shrimp

• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
• 3 Thai Bird Chiles, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 pounds large shrimp, heads on
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:Combine coconut, chiles, garlic, cilantro and lime juice in a shallow dish. Marinate shrimp in mixture for 1/2 hour. Season with salt and pepper and grill about 3 minutes on each side, or until just cooked through.

You can stuff the coconut with rice. I have a friend, Fred McGuire, who is an awesome cook... in fact, Fred taught me much of what I know about cooking for a crowd on a budget! Last summer, Fred made this wonderful pineapple rice dish that would be perfect for this menu. I recreated it using coconut milk and fresh pineapple... Here's the recipe:

Dr. Fred's Island Pineapple Rice

1 1l2 cups Jasmine Rice, uncooked

2 cups Pineapple juice

1/2 cup Coconut milk

1/2 t. salt

1/2 cup diced pineapple

1/2 cup canned mandarin oranges, diced (optional)

Dash soy sauce

In a saucepan, add the coconut milk, pineapple juice, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, add the rice and reduce the heat to simmer for about 15 minutes. Don't be tempted to open the lid.  Turn off the heat and let it stand for 10-12 minutes. Add the soy sauce, diced pineapple, and orange. Fluff with a fork and serve. 

Read all about our Cayman Island inspired Pirate Party and get the recipes we previewed at the Atlanta show!