Shrimps Cocktail

Preparation You'll need: If necessary, a small pot for cooking the shrimps A medium bowl
Ingredients (for 2 people, as a full course. As a snack or entrée: halve the ingredients). 400 g small shrimps/deep-sea crabs/North Sea crabs. 4 to 6 slices of toast 75 g mayo 75 g Miracle Whip 90 g ketchup (you could also use 4-5 Tbsp tomato paste) 3 tsp cognac (or 5 tsp German Chantré) A few dashes of Tabasco 1 tsp Worcester sauce 1 large organic lemon A few leaves of iceberg lettuce 1 ripe avocado Salt and white pepper
First steps Check that there is white wine in the fridge! Wash some nice leaves of iceberg lettuce, dry them and cut them into fine strips or pluck them into coarse pieces. Cut off one ⅓ of the lemon, cut 2 thin slices from it (for decoration). Squeeze the other part, set the juice aside. Halve the avocado and remove the pit. Defrost the shrimps if necessary. If pre-cooked, rinse only with cold water and pat dry. If not, cook briefly for a few minutes according to instructions and cool again in cold water.
The sauce In a medium bowl, mix 75 g each of mayo and Miracle Whip, and 90 g ketchup. Then mix in 1 tsp Worcester sauce and a few dashes Tabasco sauce, as well as 1-2 Tbsp lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.
Arrangement First of all, put the toast in the toaster. Toast only until light brown! Traditionally, I see this served in a tall cocktail glass on a bed of lettuce. But since I like the avocado version: Put a few leaves of iceberg lettuce on a plate, place half an avocado on top. Spread the shrimps loosely on top and a few dabs of the sauce. Put the rest in a small glass bowl. Further decoration: thin slice of lemon or (if you have a spare one ;-)) lime, some dill or parsley, if you like. A well chilled sparkling wine or dry white wine (e.g. a Sardinian Aragosta) goes well with this.