Tortilla Soup and Shrimp Cocktails

Good morning. I thought I'd write about a few delicious things I had to eat in Texas...tortilla soup, and shrimp cocktails today.

Shrimp cocktails used to appear on American menus in one form.  There was a cup of rich, thick tomato sauce, spicy and sweet. Sometimes there was horseradish in the sauce.  And there were big fat shrimps hanging over the edge of the bowl to dip into the sauce.  These were simply very tasty, and all of course depends on the quality of the shrimp. I am glad to say that good shrimp can still be had, though I'd avoid farmed shrimp at all costs and still would vote for wild Gulf of Mexico shrimp if possible.

Nowadays, the Mexican Shrimp Cocktail is finally taking over on the US side.  This cocktail still depends on fat huge shrimp to be excellent, but the rest of the picture has changed.  Most often served in a large-bowled goblet, the sauce is now an "agua," tasty and thin, in which the shrimp are immersed.  Chunks of avocado, and bits of chopped radish, are in the sauce. The seasonings are pleasant but incisive.  Chili (jalapeno?), vinegar, tomato, hierbas..You fish around for your next bite and when all the bites are gone you drink your agua and sigh with pleasure. I drink it anyway. Couldn't leave it. Which cocktail do I prefer? The Mexican, I guess, though I must say I never complain about any well put-together shrimp cocktail. Low in calories, high in flavor and satisfaction.

My first tortilla soup long ago was made by my mother, with a whole chicken making the broth, and each ingredient adding to a full-flavored chicken soup graced with sliced fried tortilla strips. I had a few tortilla soups on my trip, and there are the common ones (the stock was something other than whole-chicken based) and a very exceptional one I had with a rich, chicken-ful broth and just the right vegetables and chicken. I have had no chicken tortilla soup compared to the good one I had on this trip and I'm sorry I can't remember just where it was!!
YAZZYBEL