Welcome To The Family, Robot!

Hello, lover! Or, more accurately, hello birthday gift from Cam. He's too much, I swear. This thing is freaking gorgeous. World, meet Robot (the "t" is silent), short for Robot Culinaire. Combined with this little beauty...


...We are in business! Maybe literally. But that's a story for another time. This is the story of our first dinner with Robot. Shrimp Cakes with Chili-Lime Cream Sauce, from Bon Appetit. I think it's supposed to be a first course, or appetizer, but did that stop us? Of course not. So, while Cam peeled and cleaned the shrimp (exceptionally grody ones - half of them had orange stuff lining their, um, tracks - roe? We'd never seen that before.), I mise'd the place.

Green onions and an egg, some butter, of course.


White wine, chopped ginger and shallots, and lime juice form the base for the sauce.


Those formerly icky shrimp.


The cakes! 12, as the recipe promised. Very simple, really - just 16 large shrimp, a green onion, some dijon mustard and Sriracha, salt, pepper and panko. We omitted the cilantro - I have the tastes-like-soap issue with it from time to time. Robot 'em up, form cakes, roll in more panko, and refrigerate for a bit to firm them up.

If you looked at the recipe, you may notice two more ingredients we "omitted." An egg, and some lemon juice. Oops!


Fry 'em up in peanut oil. I tried not to watch. One of Cam's favorite things to torture me with is the Fry Daddy. We do NOT have one, and I maintain we don't ever need one - fried food should rarely be consumed, and you should have to leave the house for it. Anyway...


Plated with the sauce, which I would've eaten over dirty socks, it's that good. Started with the above foundation, then made ridiculous with butter, cream, and about two tablespoons of Sriracha. I die!

So, yeah. Easy recipe, and delicious, even without the egg and lemon juice. My only real critique is that the cakes were a little dense, but I'm sure that's all about me forgetting the egg. I'd make them again, and serve them to anyone. You, if you're lucky.