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Carmell Childs of Provo is one of 16 finalist in the "Real Women of Philadelphia" recipe contest, sponsored by Southern cooking queen Paula Deen and Philadelphia brand cream cheese.
For the contest, cooks had to submit a short, creative video of themselves preparing either an appetizer, side dish, entree or dessert. Here is the video of Childs making her recipe for coconut shrimp poppers with chili-mango cream, one of four recipes selected in the appetizer category. Her recipe also is posted below.
Childs and the other 15 finalists (four from each category) will travel to Savannah, Ga. in June to compete in a live cook-off and a chance to win $25,000. Category winners also will star in their own cooking videos and contribute to a cookbook.
Coconut shrimp poppers with chili mango cream
1 large sweet ripe mango
1 canned pineapple ring6 ounces whipped cream cheese at room temperature, divided (Philadelphia brand recommended)
3 to 4 tablespoons sweet Thai chili sauce
2 cups medium, raw deveined shrimp
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper
2 large eggs
Zest from 1 lemon
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 cup of sweetened flaked coconut
4 to 5 cups vegetable oil for deep frying (enough so oil is 2 inches deep)
Dice mango into chunks. Place mango and pineapple ring in blender and puree until smooth. In a medium bowl, combine 4 ounces of cream cheese and fruit puree. With the mixer on high speed, beat until thoroughly combined. Add desired amount of chili sauce; mix to combine. Chill.
Rinse and pat dry shrimp. Pour flour in a deep bowl and season with salt and a few twist of ground pepper. In a separate deep bowl, combine remaining 2 ounces cream cheese, eggs, and lemon zest. Mix until incorporated. In a third deep bowl mix together Panko crumbs and coconut.
Toss shrimp in flour; shaking off excess, dip in egg, then lightly press and cover entire shrimps in coconut mixture; set aside on large platter.
In a deep saucepan, heat 2 inches of oil to 350 degrees. Fry shrimp, 4 to 5 at a time, for 30 seconds to one minute or until golden brown. Place on a paper towel-lined plate and immediately sprinkle with sea salt to taste. Serve warm with chili mango Cream.
Servings • 6
Source: Carmell Childs, Provo