Bite by Bite
Conquering My Culinary Bucket List One Dish at a Time
By Emily Banks Wooten

Cinco De Mayo, Spanish for fifth of May, came and went. Many people think Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day which is not correct. Mexican Independence Day is Sept. 16. Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of the Mexican victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 led by General Ignacio Zaragoza. My understanding is that it is much more popular with Americans than with Mexicans, although it has become associated with the celebration of Mexican-American culture and offers a reason – as if one needed one – to drink margaritas.

We didn’t celebrate it at our house this year. It fell on a Friday which is one of the two weekly production days for me in which my team tends to work late, getting the newspaper ready to go to press. And by the time I get home, I’m usually tired and not up for much, other than putting on my pajamas and unwinding in front of something mindless on TV. However, this seemed as good a time as any to pull out some of my tequila inspired dishes.

One night recently we enjoyed shrimp tacos topped with avocado cilantro crema and a peach salsa of which one of the ingredients is tequila. It started off as an experiment. While I have previously made “fried” panko-crusted shrimp in the air fryer, I had never tried a non-battered shrimp in it and was curious to do so. I found various recipes online in which you brush your shrimp with olive oil and then season them before placing them in the air fryer. They were all very similar with the only difference being the seasonings used. I chose to use a keto taco seasoning that I mixed up several weeks ago. I’ve searched and searched for the exact recipe that I used to make the seasoning and was unable to find it. However, there are many online if you just Google “keto taco seasoning.” The avocado cilantro crema is something in a squeeze bottle that Hubby picked up at HEB and the peach salsa is an old recipe from many years ago that is a light, easy spring/summer dish to prepare that may be eaten with lime-flavored tortilla chips or as an accompaniment to something else like shrimp tacos.

Something else we tried recently is what I call “Phonebook Tequila Shrimp.” It’s a recipe that I cut out of the Livingston phonebook many years ago to try, but stuck in a drawer and never did. When a couple of my friends recently sent the recipe to me in a text, I knew it was time to try it. Cooked on the stovetop in tequila and sautéed garlic, it is quick and easy. I served it with roasted asparagus.

Batterless Air Fryer Shrimp

—1 ½ lbs. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
—Taco seasoning
—Olive oil
—Baking spray

•Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees.
•Spray basket with baking spray.
•Pat shrimp dry with a clean dish towel.
•Brush shrimp with olive oil, then coat shrimp with taco seasoning.
•Using tongs, turn shrimp over, brush with olive oil and coat with taco seasoning.
•Place shrimp in the basket in a single layer and cook in the air fryer for 7-8 minutes.

Peach Salsa

—1 pkg. frozen peaches
—1 medium red onion, chopped
—⅓ cup tequila
—Juice of 2 limes
—¼ cup cilantro, chopped
—2 tablespoons sugar
—2 teaspoons ground cumin
—Salt and pepper to taste

•Chop frozen peaches while still frozen.  Put in a separate container to finish thawing out.
•Once chopped peaches have thawed, drain them and put them in a large bowl with everything else.
•Make at least one hour prior to serving.

Phonebook Tequila Shrimp

—2 tablespoons unsalted butter
—4 cloves garlic, chopped
—1 ½ lbs. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
—½ cup tequila
—½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
—Salt and pepper to taste

•Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
•Sauté garlic until light brown.
•Place shrimp in the pan and cook for 3 minutes.
•Pour in tequila and season with cilantro, salt and pepper.
•Cook for 2 more minutes.