Club Med Bahamas- Gazpacho Recipe + more blogger pic’s!

Chef Stephanie Izard

I’m backtracking a bit here to the first evening at Columbus Isle. The first 1/2 day flew like the wind and I’m finally getting around to looking through the photographs of the whirlwind day. Thank goodness for pictures to remind me of what all happened or else I’d have little reminder of what I ate and ……how skinnier I was 4 days ago.

Believe me, four days of Club Med gluttony has me wearing elastic waisted pants now. My size 9 jeans that I wore on Saturday into the Bahamas can’t button up any more. Sigh.

What I enjoy about Food and Wine Festival week at Club Med are all the fabulous food demonstrations throughout the day. Presented by talented chefs from around the United States, each demonstration is a reflection of his/her specialty talents, cooking techniques and  flavors. And, of course, there’s plenty of free samples for all the guests!

Lucky I brought my sweat pants to wear towards the end of the week. Again, sigh.

Stephanie Izard, last season’s Top Chef winner, presented a cooking demonstration for her mango & almond white gazpacho with spiced shrimp. Now I’ve never been won over by a gazpacho soup because really, to me, soup needs to be hot. I grew up eating soup that was HOT and anything that was cold was no good and a sacrilege. Cold soup in my household was a neglected soup.

So when I heard of the dish, I wasn’t too ecstatic about it, but when I did taste it, Stephanie won me over. I was floored at the nutty undertones and bright, crisp layers of mango flavor. The bounce of the perfectly cooked spiced shrimp gave a wonderful bite to the smooth gazpacho. This dish is beyond EXCELLENT. I had two servings. Oh yes I did.

Why not have two servings, right? At an amazing all inclusive resort like this, it’s all part of the deal!

I played blogger paparazzi for a while and captured some hot pics of some hot bloggers. I thought about asking them for their autograph, but they were too busy drinking margaritas on the beach. What a harsh life!

above: Deb & Matt

above: Adam & Jaden

above: Elise & David

Last but not least: “Someone” is getting a lucky Asian girl body massage on the beach. Can you guess who the lucky blogger is? (photo credit: Matt Armendariz)

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 Print This Recipe
Mango & Almond White Gazpacho Soup Recipe
from Stephanie Izard
1 whole mango, peeled and sliced
1 whole English cucumber, peeled & sliced
1 clove garlic
1 cup almonds, sliced and toasted
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sriracha
salt & pepper to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.

2. Season with salt and pepper

3. Pass through a sieve.

Serve with shrimp salad

 Print This Recipe

Spiced Shrimp Salad Recipe

from Stephanie Izard

8 whole jumbo bay shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon sriracha
1/2 whole english cucumber, 1/4″ dice
2 tablespoons toasted almonds, sliced
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chiffonade
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Peel & devein the shrimp. Marinate in olive oil, garlic and sriracha for about 1 hour.

2. Heat saute pan over medium-high heat. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper.

3. Saute until just cooked through, about 3-5 minutes.

4. Slice shrimp and toss with other ingredients.

5. Place spoonful on the White Gazpacho

Check out  my buds blogs for the Bahama scoop!!!

• Jaden, Steamy Kitchen
• Matt, Matt Bites
• David, David Lebovitz
• Deb, Smitten Kitchen
• Elise, Simply Recipes
• Adam, AdamCPearson

Read my Club Med Blogger series:

• Heading to Bahamas blogger bash
• Club Med -Day 0.5, cocktail party, Bahama Mama Cocktail
• Club Med -Day 2, beach photoshoot crazy
• Club Med - White Gazpacho Recipe and more blogger pics!
• Club Med – Fish & Cockburn Town
• Club Med  – Green Flash Cocktail
• Club Med – Deep Sea Fishing

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