Colorado IPA beer-battered shrimp.

This isn't your Ma and Pa fish 'n chips from the family-run restaurant in town. It also isn't the freshly caught fish thrown into a deep-fryer. I'm a little land-locked here in Denver so I made due with what I had - frozen shrimp from a grocery store. When I was little, my dad used to take us to this great place in Lake Fenton for fish and chips. Think of a small town, make it smaller. Then, add old, mostly overweight men in overalls, the smell of beer and cigarettes and a decade-old dock sitting on top of a calm lake. And, you are in some sort of trailer house turned restaurant. That is where I used to have fish 'n chips growing up. I think my mom was conveniently busy or "sick" those days.... now, I understand.

My version of deep-fried beer-battered shrimp didn't have the smell of engine fuel from boats and we didn't wear overalls and smoke cigarettes. Although, we could do a costume-themed party in the future.

So, I'm a high school teacher by day and my spring break freedom today meant devising a dinner menu so I could cook for my friends: Emily, Crystal, Nate, and Beth. Plus, it was Luke's birthday! He luckily walked into a party and had a fried Oreo for his birthday!

beer-battered friend Oreo stays afloat amidst so many frying shrimp

First, I wanted the beer batter to sit for a few hours so that the flour and the beer could do their thing.

 I wish I knew what that meant, so let's pretend that the flour and yeast in the beer latch onto each other and do something important. I mixed 2 cups of flour, a bottle of Colorado's Odell's India Pale Ale IPA, some cayenne pepper and cumin, and a dash of baking powder together. I mixed it all together and set it in the fridge for a few hours. Minimum time? 30 minutes to set.

No one wants to just eat fried shrimp so I decided on shrimp tacos. I'm on spring break, so why not pretend I'm really in San Diego eating street tacos? Everyone gets to dream, no?

I had the fixings for a spicy 'slaw to go with the shrimp tacos: cabbage, carrots, onion and Siracha.

Most fish tacos have a cream sauce to slather on the tortilla. I absolutely hate mayonnaise.  Long story. That is the first and last time you'll see that nasty word on this blog. My sauce? Greek yogurt, fresh cilantro, lime juice, and a few dashes of salt. Just mix, and taste-test until you have the right amount of cilantro and lime.

We got a little fry-friendly so we beer-battered a few things we had laying around the kitchen: avocado, chicken, tortilla chips, and Oreos! We were about to beer-batter the last piece of the tres leches cake...

I spy...frying avocado and frying chicken

Emily got wide-eyed over frying so that was her station. She started as kitchen manager, then moved to line cook. You go girl.

If you have never fried before - do it! It is so much fun. A little dangerous at times. I about sprinted out of the kitchen to avoid burning skin. Crystal may have jumped 3 feet backwards to avoid popping oil. Be careful out there. Frying isn't for beginners. Just heat the oil up, test it out with a flick of water, then keep it a little bit cooler. Too hot and you've got smoke alarms and firefighters working overtime for you to eat a dinner.

that many bubbles is a sign it is TOO hot!

Once you are at the 'just-right' temperature, slide your battered goods into the oil and make sure you have something safe to remove them. Plus, have a paper towel lining your plate or platter to soak up some of that healthy frying oil.

You could say anything fried tastes great, but these shrimp tacos were "restaurant quality," according to a dinner party member. I'll heat up your oil anytime if I get compliments like that when I whisk some beer and flour together.

We resisted all temptation and didn't fry everything we sliced and diced.

All the frying really works up an appetite. Good thing because we were trigger-happy with our homemade deep fryer.

Cilantro-Greek yogurt, spicy 'slaw, Odell's battered shrimp on a tortilla

Here's what you need to do to feed 4 hungry people

Ingredients for the beer batter:
2 cups of flour
1.5 bottles of beer
cumin, cayenne pepper, and/or black pepper
1 tsp (?) baking powder
dash of kosher salt

Ingredients for the spicy 'slaw:
1/4 purple cabbage, sliced and diced
2 carrots, juliened
1/2 c onion, sliced and diced
 4-5 tbsps rice vinegar
4-5 tbsps red wine vinegar
2-3 squeezes of lime
Siracha, more or less depending on your tolerance for HOT
salt and pepper, to taste

Ingredients for Cilantro-Greek sauce:
1/4 c cilantro, chopped fine
1 c Greek yogurt (maybe more, maybe less?)
3 tbsps lime juice OR 1 whole real lime, squeeze all the juice
pinch of salt

Longest to Shortest Amount of Time - 

Beer Batter
1) mix flour, baking powder, spices together in a big bowl. Slowly stir in the beer until all clumps are gone. Set aside for 30 min; refrigerate for a few hours if you can

Ready to fry?
1)Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Test with a flick of water for bubbles. Bubbles are good. Too many bubbles accompanied with lots of popping oil means you need to cool it down.
2) Take your fish/shrimp/chicken/veggies and dip them into the batter. Slowly slide into the hot oil and let them cook. Golden brown = ready. Set onto a paper towel on a platter and let them cool. That's it.

Spicy 'Slaw
1) chop your onion and cabbage, juliene (love this word) the carrots. mix together
2) add rice vinegar and red wine vinegar. mix. taste. add more if you want it.
3) add Siracha - be careful, just a little goes a looooong way. Squeeze some lime and mix.

Cilantro-Greek yogurt sauce: 
1) mix the greek yogurt and cilantro in a small mixing bowl. add lime juice so that the yogurt thins a little (think regular yogurt consistency)
2) add a pinch of salt and the lime juice. mix.

FINALLY. Put it all together
1) spread the cilantro-yogurt sauce
2) add some 'slaw
3) top with your fried goodies
.... eat up! Watch your friends go wide-eyed and in for seconds, and thirds