Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
8 thinly sliced white bread, crust removed (Pepperidge Farm preferred)
1 large egg, separated, plus 1 egg yolk
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and cleaned with salt
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon vodka
1 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh water chestnuts or celery hearts (center yellow-white stalks only)
2 scallions, minced
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons water
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Cut each slice of bread into 4 triangular pieces. Place on baking sheet and bake for about 50 minutes, without turning or until the bread is dry but not browned; leave the oven on. While toast is drying, beat the egg white lightly. Dry the shrimp well with a paper towel and place in a food processor; puree. Add the egg white, cream, vodka and salt. Process until just pureed. Transfer to a bowl. Add the water chestnuts or celery and scallions to the shrimp mixture, and mix until all the ingredients are combined. If you are baking the shrimp toasts immediately, increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees and coat a nonstick baking sheet with the melted butter. spread 2 heaping teaspoons of the shrimp mixture on each piece of bread. Repeat with the remaining triangles. At this point the shrimp toast can be frozen for later use. Place the triangles on a baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen they should be removed from the baking dish, placed in a plastic bag, sealed and returned to the freezer. To bake, defrost for one hour and continue with recipe. Beat the 2 egg yolks together with the water and brush the top of each triangle with the egg wash. Place the triangles on the greased baking sheet, making sure the bottoms are coated with butter. Bake the shrimp toast for about 12 minutes, or until shrimp are cooked through, all the ingredients are hot and the toast is golden brown on the bottom.