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Farewell to Wayne & Shrimp Salad
by Kim Anastasia, Director
Wayne, our A2, is retiring from NBC and from Access. Here is a lo-res camera grab of him with his "Good Luck" fruit tart cake. We gave it to him prematurely, as he is still wading through the paperwork required to depart, and he will be here for a while, but no matter. It gives us an opportunity to give him more cakes as his real departure date approaches. I’m all for more cake!
Wayne has been an A2 (audio assistant) on our show for many years, and he has many talents and abilities beyond that. He's worked on a number of shows during his over 30 years in the business. I just want to take a moment to thank him for all he has contributed to Access, and also for being such a good sport. He's born the brunt of a few jokes over the years!
Getting back to food, today we had a first at Access. We've done many shoots on our stage and in the field - from music to fashion to penguins to romps in the Italian Alps to Greece/"Grease", but today we had our first cooking segment! Cooking at Access you say? Yup! Cooking at Access!
We shot a segment with Padma Lakshmi, Bravo’s "Top Chef"and she made Oriental Shrimp Salad with Shaun.
Yum!
The trick about directing a seg like this is shooting the stovetop, of course, along with great close-ups of all that food! We normally have only two camera people on our stage, but today we had 3, so we were covered. The jib positioned for the close-ups, one camera got a 2/shot of Shaun and Padma, and the handhelds roamed. It was a fun shoot!
Here’s the recipe, as I know you’ll all be asking!
ORIENTAL SHRIMP SALAD
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 3 to 4 minutes
For the shrimp paste
1 cup loosely packed mint leaves
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon minced gingerroot
12 black peppercorns, coarsely crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon tamarind paste*
½ teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup water
Salt to taste
2 pounds large shrimp, shelled and deveined
For the vegetables
4 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
3 cups grated carrots
2 cups diced celery
2 cups shredded red cabbage
5 scallions, minced
1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, minced (after measuring)
For the dressing
3 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice
2 tablespoons Oriental sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
3 dashes Oriental hot chili oil, or to taste
Salt to taste
Spray-on vegetable oil
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds for garnish
1. Make the paste: In a blender combine the first nine ingredients and blend until pureed.
2. In a bowl toss the shrimp with the paste and let marinate while preparing the vegetables.
3. Make the salad: In a large salad bowl combine the six salad vegetables
4. Make the dressing: In a bowl whisk together the six salad dressing ingredients.
5. Spray a large skillet set over moderately high heat with some vegetable oil and heat until hot. Add the shrimp and cook, turning, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until just cooked. Add the shrimp to the salad bowl, drizzle with dressing to taste, and toss. Divide among serving dishes and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
Serves 6 generously.
*Tamarind paste is available at specialty food shops.
(Per serving) Calories: 303; Protein: 36g; Fat: 8g; Carbohydrates: 22g; Cholesterol: 230mg; Sodium: 629mg.
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