Friday, April 16, 2010

Hot and Crunchy Shrimp at Stone House Vineyard Luncheon


We took a nice drive west of Austin yesterday to attend a vineyard luncheon as part of the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival. The luncheon was held at Stone House Vineyard in Spicewood, Texas. The bluebonnets were putting on a show as they do at this time of year, and there was even some rain throughout the day to keep the flowers happy. The luncheon featured Stone House wines, and each course was prepared by a different local chef. At the Stone House property, Norton grapes are grown and are used in their Claros wine. It’s a dry, medium-bodied red with a little earthiness that I liked. It was served with our second course which included a fantastic truffle polenta, but the dish that was our favorite of the meal was the shrimp from the first course. The hot and crunchy shrimp was prepared by the chef from Hudson’s on the Bend. The crispy, plump shrimp were plated with a tomatillo and jicama salad and were topped with a zingy mango and jalapeño aioli. It was served with a Viognier that had a little sweetness and paired well with the jalapeño heat.


There’s more to the story of the hot and crunchy shrimp. The recent popularity of food trailers continues in Austin, and on South Congress Avenue, you’ll find The Mighty Cone which was created by chefs from Hudson’s on the Bend. Their famous hot and crunchy coating from the restaurant menu has been adapted and used on chicken and avocado in addition to shrimp. The crunchy items of choice are used in wraps with mango slaw which are served in snow-cone cups, and the recipe appeared in the January issue of Food and Wine. The cone version is a lot of fun and delivers the same mix of bold flavors, but the nicely plated hot and crunchy shrimp eaten with a fork and knife and served with chilled wine were delicious in their own refined way and far less messy to eat.



25 comments:

  1. I want those shrimp! Those look so amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. How interesting Lisa, I remember when Austin was an (almost) sleepy little town when I lived there and now boy has it grown and become sophisticated; the bluebonnets look beautiful and the shrimp too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a beautiful place! That shrimp looks amazing.
    Have a fab weekend.
    *kisses* HH

    ReplyDelete
  4. A beautiful place! Lovely foot!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    ReplyDelete
  5. So jealous! Wow the spring flowers ARE showing off this year. At least all that rain/cold paid off... Can't wait to try that Mighty Cone/Hudson crust!

    http://meatandpotatoesfoodie.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  6. Crunchy shrimp is a plus in my book.

    I love the photos of the flowers. One of the reasons why I love spring.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The shrimp were very tasty. Gulf shrimp in any form are much appreciated by these Dubliners who can get only bland black tiger shrimp and Dublin Bay prawns. The company was even better. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I can picture myself eating in a place like this. Food will taste so much better.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love the photo of the blue bonnets!
    Gorgeous and so Texas!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sounds like the perfect afternoon. The shrimp look incredible.

    ReplyDelete
  11. i can only recall one time that i ate shrimp without my stomach revolting, and it was covered with a crunchy coconut coating. this batch sounds like something i might enjoy too, especially with that aioli!

    ReplyDelete
  12. They sound amazing. How were the tomatillos prepared for the salad - just sliced raw?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Never having heard of the Mighty Cone I did some googling. And I assume the trailer part of things means they take their "cones" on the road. The recipe sounds delicious, Lisa.
    And those bluebonnets are gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  14. AOFitP: Yes, the tomatillos were sliced raw, and they added a tangyness to the flavors.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Barbara: Some of the local trailers are mobile and some are parked in semi-permanent spots. The Mighty Cone is one that's parked on South Congress, and at that location, there are several other parked food trailers as well.

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a beautiful place to visit and the recipes sounds amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a bunch of pictures and those shrimp...yum!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow, what a beautiful place to enjoy a delicious meal.

    ReplyDelete
  19. That shrimp sounds incredible!

    ReplyDelete
  20. The shrimp dish sounds marvelous, but it's the countryside that's captured my attention. It must have been a lovely day!

    ReplyDelete
  21. What a wonderful sounding field trip and with scenery like that I could drive all day. Of course if I knew I'd have that tasty looking shrimp dish waiting for me, I might hurry things along.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Can I come to Austin and hang out with you :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. What a beautiful place! Love the look and sound of those shrimp. Delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  24. You have a good life--fun trips, delicious food! Those shrimp look hard to resist.

    ReplyDelete

Blogging tips