We could easily be happy with plate of boiled jumbo shrimp, a lemon wedge and a bit of seafood sauce.

But this recipe for bacon-wrapped shrimp, sent to us by Zatarain’s, wins the nostalgia vote.

It took us back decades to our parent’ cocktail parties, when bacon-wrapped shrimp and bacon-wrapped dates, or a rumkai—were de rigeur.

Those with more basic tastes drank bourbon or scotch on the rocks. Few people were home mixologists Drinks of whiskey mixed with club soda or ginger ale were served on the rocks in highball (tall) or lowball (short, a.k.a. rocks) glasses.

There was no American craft beer in those days, or even wine (except for gourmets who drank it as apéritifs and with meals at European restaurants). No one had even had a tequila drink, unless they’d been to Mexico.

And there was no National Shrimp Day.

But we have it all now. So, we’re turning on the broiler and making a pile of bacon-wrapped shrimp. Who’s in?

RECIPE: ZESTY BACON WRAPPED SHRIMP

In New Orleans, cooks add a Creole spin to this retro shrimp appetizer. You can prepare it in the morning and pop it in the oven later in the day. Find more shrimp at McCormick.com/Zatarains.

You can have it as an appetizer, or make a dinner of it. Prep time is 10 minutes, cook time is 20 minutes.

Ingredients For 8 Two-Piece Appetizer Servings
—Or—
2-3 Dinner Servings

[1] Bacon-wrapped shrimp from Zatarain’s. [2] Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning; photo courtesy Flour On My Face, who uses it in a Crockpot Jambalaya recipe.

1. PREHEAT the oven to 450°F. Line baking pan with foil and place flat baking rack in the pan.

2. WRAP each shrimp with 1 slice of bacon, lightly sprinkle with Creole seasoning and place the shrimp on the rack, seasoning side down. Sprinkle all the tops with the seasoning as well. Let stand 15 minutes

3. BAKE 15 to 20 minutes or until the bacon is crisp around the edges and the shrimp turn pink. Serve warm.

The predecessors of bacon-wrapped shrimp: [3] Angels On Horseback, bacon-wrapped oysters. Here’s a recipe from the Wealden Times. [4] Devils On Horseback. Here’s a recipe from Martha Stewart Living. [5] Rumaki, bacon-wrapped water chestnuts. Here’s a recipe from Goldilocks Kitchen.

RECIPE: CREOLE SEASONING

If you don’t have Creole seasoning, it’s easy to make your own. This recipe makes much more than you need for the chicken salad, but you can cut it down or use the extra in other recipes, from eggs to burgers.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE all the spices in a bowl, and stir to combine.

2. STORE in an airtight container away from light and heat, but use as quickly as possible.
 
 
WHAT ELSE TO MAKE WITH CREOLE SEASONING

 
 
THE HISTORY OF BACON-WRAPPED SHRIMP

Nineteenth-century Britain saw the rise in popularity of an appetizer called Angels On Horseback: skewered broiled oysters wrapped in bacon and “riding on slivers of toast.” It was also called Oysters And Bacon and yes, Pigs in Blankets, a recipe now known as mini sausages wrapped in pastry.

“It’s an excellent lesson in how words, like recipes, change meaning over time,” says etymologist John Ayto in An A to Z of Food and Drink [source].

The recipe is first documented in the 1888 edition of Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management.

Devils On Horseback, a later recipe, substituted stuffed prunes for the oysters.

Fast forward to the other side of the pond. Other foods began to be wrapped in bacon: scallops, shrimp, even stuffed olives and pineapple chunks.

Another variation, bacon-wrapped chicken liver—rumaki—appeared. The first known reference of rumaki is on the 1941 menu of the Don the Beachcomber restaurant in Palm Springs, California.

The restaurant was founded in 1934, and was the beginning of the tiki craze in the U.S.

Tiki restaurants—an American “interpretation” of Polynesian food and decor—featured a selection of different bites as faux-Hawaiian pupu (hors d’oeuvre).

A flaming pupu platter of mixed “Polynesian” hors d’oeuvres was a sensation that trickled down to home preparations.

So where’s the bacon-wrapped shrimp? So far, there’s a missing link.

We did find a reference to shrimp skewered with a chestnut and a piece of green onion. It isn’t a stretch to think that someone added a bacon wrap…and that the recipe devolved to just the shrimp and bacon.

 
CAJUN VS. CREOLE: THE DIFFERENCE

Cajun and Creole are not the same, although people removed from Louisiana often use them without distinction.

One of our favorite I-deserve-a-treat meals is a big plateau de fruits de mer (PLAH-toe-duh MARE, platter of fruits of the sea—photo #1): a large pile, nicely arranged, of raw shellfish (clams and oysters in multiple varieties, scallops) and lightly cooked shellfish (crab legs, langoustine, lobster, lump crab meat, mussels, prawns, shrimp).

Sometimes, in coastal areas, it may include delicacies that are rarely seen inland: abalone, cockles, limpets, periwinkles, sea snails, whelks.

A plateau de fruits de mer is considered an appetizer and comes in different sizes depending on the number of participants.

We’ll just have the whole thing as our appetizer and entrée combined—two or three tiers of it. We don’t even need the mignonette sauce and spicy seafood sauce that typically accompany it; just the lemon wedges.

There are extra points for adding those custardy echinoderm corals* from sea urchins—ideally presented in their dramatic porcupine-spiky shells.

Sashimi doesn’t count here…not that we wouldn’t be just as happy to eat the contents of a large funamori (sashimi boat—photo #3).

But let the French serve their beautiful plateaux des fruits de mer and let the Japanese serve their beautiful funamori. It’s more special that way; and as the French say, “Vive la différence.”

(The Japanese translation is “Vive no ra chigai,” although we’re not certain that the Japanese actually use the phrase.)
 
 
PLATEAU DE LEGUMES, A VEGETABLE PLATTER

What if you’re allergic to seafood, a vegetarian, vegan, kosher, unable to eat raw foods, and so forth?

You can create a kindred dish that we’ll call a plateau des légumes, a tiered platter of gorgeous vegetables (photo #2).

 
This inspired idea—serving a melange of raw and cooked vegetables on a tiered tray—is from Botanica, an exciting new vegetarian-focused restaurant in Los Angeles. If you can’t be there, you can still enjoy the riches of their webzine, which is available to everyone.

We spent hours poring over their Facebook and Instagram photos of beautiful, nutritious, locavore‡ and guilt-free foods for every meal. There was nothing we didn’t want—immediately!

Whether you go for the seafood or vegetable plateau, either is:

 
If you decide to buy a tiered tray, you can also use it for cupcakes, cookies and other sweets; tea sandwiches’ and other festive presentations.
 

FOOD HISTORY: THE ENTRÉE

In the modern-day U.S. and Canada, an entrée refers to the main dish of dinner. In French cuisine, as well as in the English-speaking world outside of North America, it is a dish served before the main course in a multi-course dinner.

In French, the word originally denoted the “entry” of the dishes into the dining halls of the wealthy. You can see Medieval paintings and illustrations (here’s one) that they enter with a trumpet fanfare from the musicians’ gallery.

The procession of servants bearing a large number of dishes was led by by the maître d’hôtel, who carried the tureen. The procession marched around the room, presenting the fare to all diners before beginning to serve the courses [source].

[2] An analogous vegetable platter at Botanica in Los Angeles (photo © Botanica).

[3] Funamori: the Japanese version of plateau de mer (photo © Kintarouonsen.co.jp).

[4] Mixed grilled vegetables (photo © Taste Of Home).

[5] Grilled vegetables (photo © McCormick).

*The corals are also called roe, both terms more appetizing than their biological name: gonads. Both male and female sea urchins have the delectable, edible “sea urchin roe,” which are difficult to gather and thus a pricey delicacy.

†You can mix your own from any combination of chiles, citrus peel, coriander, cumin, fennel seed, fenugreek, garlic, ginger, nutmeg and peppercorns.

‡We acknowledge that it’s easy to cook locavore when you live in the land of perpetually plentiful produce: California.
  

[2] A cremona close-up (photo © Cucina Corriere.

[3] Mostarda vicentina has a jam-like consistency, losing the physical beauty of other mostardas (photo © Buonissimo).

[4] Mostarda bolognese has a deep plum color (photo © Foodografia | Blogspot).

[5] Mostarda di mantova, made from apples, pears, and quince (photo © Murray’s Cheese).

Years ago, on a trip to Italy, we first came across mostarda di frutta, mostarda for short.

A sweet-and-hot, fruit-and-mustard condiment from the north of Italy, it’s our go-to condiment with Italian cheeses, and some other nationalities on the cheese board. We offer more uses below.

Think of mostarda as a mustardy fruit chutney—although mostarda uses mostly candied fruits. (The Italian word for mustard in the English language is senape).

Candied whole small fruits or larger pieces of fruit are beautifully suspended in a clear syrup flavored with mustard oil. It’s clear and doesn’t cloud the syrup. Home recipes often use mustard powder mixed into white wine.

Some mostarda are lovely to look at, like part of a still-life painting.

It is cooked slowly (often over three days) to maintain the natural bright colors of the fruit and the perfect texture.

Buy jars as gifts for your foodie friends.
 
The origin of the word comes from a Latin term of the Middle Ages, mustum ardens, “grape juice [must] that burns,” a term first used in the Middle Ages by French monks, for the mustard they made (the history of mustard).

It burns because of the addition of crushed mustard seeds. Once crushed, the seeds release the fiery mustard oil that gives the mustard condiment its flavor.

 
THE HISTORY OF MOSTARDA

From the Middle Ages forward, man has sought ways to enjoy the fruits that are scarce in winter, at least through the celebrations of Christmas.

Mostarda is a food born from the need to preserve fruits for the off-season. Originally, the fruits were preserved in mosto (grape must*), unfermented grape juice that has been reduced to syrup.

Mostarda’s origins date back to the honey and mustard condiments of ancient Rome. Grape must (freshly pressed grape juice) was mixed with ground mustard seeds and honey to create a sweet mustard. Later, fruit was added.

Recipes for “modern” mostarda, dating from the 13th century, call for the use of grape must. The first written document “Fruit Mostarda for festive season” dates to 1393 and is attributed to Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan [source].

 
Beginning in the 16th century, newly-affordable sugar replaced the must to candy the fruits, then mustard was added [source]. The oldest known recipe prepared with fruit, mustard, and sugar, without the grape must, was found in 17th-century Belgium.

From that point on, cookbooks began to include mostarda as a main ingredient.

By the 19th century, there were some 93 different varieties.

The sweet heat went really well with boiled meats. Initially, mostarda was served with bollito misto, a plate of mixed boiled meats that’s a specialty of northern Italian cuisine (there’s more below about uses for mostarda).
 
 
TYPES OF MOSTARDA

According to legend, mostarda was invented by chance in medieval times.

In an apothecary shop, a piece of melon fell unnoticed into a barrel filled with honey.

When it was later discovered, the melon was still as delicious as if it had been freshly picked (honey, which is virtually moisture-free, is an excellent preservative) [source].

Mostarda itself takes on different ingredients in different regions, incorporating local fruits—whatever is plentiful in the region. Raisins, nuts, spices and other ingredients can be added.

As one source notes, almost every town in the Po valley has its own recipe.

There are many, many mostarda recipes, from grape and fig (uva e ficchi) to vegetable mustards (also candied) modern recipes with non-Italian ingredients, from cardamom pods to pineapple and pumpkin.

Here are some of the most famous, named for the areas where they originated.

Any discussion starts with bollito misto a fundamental part of Northern Italian cuisine. It’s a one-pot meal, Italian comfort food.

The boiled meats vary by region, and a very elaborate presentation can include seven kinds of meat and fowl, seven vegetables and seven condiments.

The meats can include beef brisket, beef cheeks, calf’s tongue, chicken or capon (or turkey), cotechino sausage, pork shank, sweet Italian sausage, veal shank—slowly boiled in a large pot with carrots, celery, onions and potatoes.

The cooked cooked meats are sliced, placed on a platter and served with mostarda—or, for those seeking a different flavor profile, with a green herb sauce (salsa verde).

The savory broth that remains in the pot can then be turned into soup.

Why not plan a dinner party, with a multi-mostarda tasting?

Over time, mostarda became a broad-purpose condiment.

The heat of mostarda varies by producer. In general, however, it needs a hearty food that can show off both the sweet and the heat.

Serve mostarda with:

 
You can find many mostarda recipes online, and can purchase it in specialty food stores and Italian markets. You can also buy it online.

Don’t be put off by the high price for a small jar. If you look at the ingredients in the recipe, you’ll see it as a bargain.

Serve it at your next get-together—two different types, if you can.

Let us know how you like it.

And let us know if you come up with new ways to use it.
 
 
> Discover the world of mustard in our Mustard Glossary.
 
 
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[6] Bollito misto, a dish often served with mustard (photo © Cucina Italiana).

[7] Add a ramekin of mostarda to a cheese and/or charcuterie board (photo © Good Eggs).

[8] A delicious appetizer or snack: bruschetta with prosciutto, burrata and pear mostarda (photo © Davio’s Boston).