Guest Post: Andy's Peppered Shrimp Over Avocado and Corn Salsa

Well, he did it again. Our friend Andy presented us with this stunner over the weekend:

Take it away, Andy:

Peppered Shrimp over Avocado and Corn Salsa

This marinade can be used successfully with just about any kind of white meat; shrimp, chicken even lobster tails (I'm going to try it with scallops next time!) The salsa is light and easy to prepare, and in my opinion, really brings the dish together. You may get a little frustrated when you read the ingredients because there are no measurements. I left my measuring spoons in the drawer for this one on purpose. You can make it as spicy or tame as you like. I wouldn't recommend more than a tablespoon of any one dry spice though.

Ingredient list (Marinade):

Olive Oil

Limes

White Wine

Pepper

Salt

Garlic

Ground Coriander

Chili Powder

Cayenne Pepper

Chipotle Pepper

Any other fun pepper you might have on hand, like poblano or serrano if you're brave!

Add all your dry spices in a bowl. I mixed mine in a sealable plastic bowl so I could add my shrimp to it, shake it and toss it in the fridge for a few hours. Now add your olive oil and white wine. Add enough to adequately marinade whatever meat you decided on. Then squeeze in a lime or two and whisk everything together. Drop in the shrimp, toss to coat and throw it in the fridge for at least an hour, up to four hours.

Fire up your grill and cook your shrimp until opaque, usually a few minutes per side. When using shrimp, get the biggest ones you can afford. They're easier to cook on the grill and more impressive when you serve them. Get rid of the marinade when you put the shrimp on the grill (it had raw meat in it, duh!) At first I tried cooking mine on some foil on the grill, but I wanted more smoky flavor and the cool grill marks on the shrimp. This would be a good time to use that grill basket you have lying around.

The salsa:

One ear of white corn, shucked

One large ripe avocado, diced as small as you can without making it into mush

One or two green onions, chopped(use both the green and white part)

One jalepeno, seeded and finely chopped (don't use the pickled ones, if you don't have a fresh one omit the ingredient and use a few pinches of cayenne pepper instead)

One ripe tomato, diced (I used two romas, I like them for this salsa because they aren't too runny and they're easy to dice)

Two limes

Salt and pepper to taste

Once your ear of corn is shucked and cleaned, carefully take a sharp knife and cut the kernals off. Use nice even strokes straight down the length of the ear. The sweet corn is fresh, not cooked, and it adds a consistency and fresh taste to the final product that will be lacking if you decide to use something frozen or canned. Add them to a non-reactive mixing bowl. Add the avocado, onions, tomato and jalepeno. Juice a lime or two into the bowl and lightly toss. Be careful here or you'll crush the avocado and make a mess of the whole thing. Salt and pepper to taste. Don't be shy, a couple of pinches of salt won't really be enough, but you can't remove it if you add too much. You could also use a quarter of a red onion but not too much if you substitute-too much red onion will overpower this salsa and you'll lose the taste of the fresh sweet corn and the zing of the jalepeno.

Presentation: Spoon the salsa into martini glasses and top with your grilled shrimp.