Summer Classics With A Twist

The two most favorite summer treats, a shrimp cocktail and ice cream have just been reinvented. Some new ingredients are added to give them zip and zest, perfect for the hot days ahead. It's great way of rediscovering two classic hot weather dishes.

They are Mexican seafood cocktail and corn ice cream. Actually they;d make a nice summer evening dinner and dessert together. Both are the main points of Dave Tanis' A City Kitchen and Melissa Clark's A Good Appetite in yesterday's New York Times Dining section. Mr. Tanis offers a spicy and yet cool alternative to the traditional shrimp cocktail, often an August staple in many a beach front restaurant. He adds a spicy mix of grilled tomatoes and jabaneros with layering of not just shrimp but also crab, clams, mussels, and squid, The fish is layered like a parfait with the salsa to create a briny yet fiery twist on the classic shrimp cocktail.It's graced with a squeeze of lime along with chopped onions and serrano chilies.

What would be a good end to this? Melissa's Clark's corn ice cream. This is a spin on the classic recipe with Ms. Clark using fours ears of fresh cooked corn as the main ingredient. The niblets are first cooked and then pureed. The strained kernels are  then added to a mix of  heavy cream, sour cream and some lemon verbena Corn ice cream isn't really new . It's popular in Mexico as it is in The Philippines where it's more of a liquid poured over shaved ice.This ice cream has a very silky , velevety texture, perfect with fresh fruits such as peaches or blackberries (as Ms. Clark suggests). Stick with fresh fruits as a topping however.  Sea salt caramel or chocolate sauce may overshadow the delicate taste

A shrimp cocktail and ice cream are a perfect summer lunch or Sunday dinner combo. Add a twist to both with   the addition of shellfish and squid  for the first and fresh sweet August corn to the second. It's a great way to add zing to these classic recipes/..