Shrimp and Cheese Croquettes

I'm still in shock that I was the one who won! Thank you all for your kind comments and well wishes. I will be posting about the trip for sure. With yesterday being a holiday we enjoyed our day off and took Mocha to the local dog park. She was in heaven! They had a swimming pond for the dogs and even with that being freezing cold it didn't stop her from jumping in. She's a wuss when it comes to taking a bath, but give her a pond and she's all about getting in.

This week I'll start off with a Tapas recipe I made over the weekend. It's from a book I won from entering in a contest a while back. Read more about it in my post HERE. They were ok that's about it, in my opinion they needed more cheese, more shrimp and seasoning they seemed a little dough like. I'm sure they wouldn't hold together as well, but I think you could get away with adding more shrimp for sure.

Shrimp and Cheese Croquettes
(Adapted from Tapas by Penelope Casas)
Serves 4 (Makes 12) I made 4 little ones and 2 larger patties

4 tablespoons sweet butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon minced shallots (I left this out)
6 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup milk
3 medium (2 ounces) shrimp, shelled and finely chopped
5 tablespoons (about 2 ounces) Manchego cheese
kosher or sea salt
white pepper, preferably freshly ground
a grating of nutmeg
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs, preferably mixed with panko crumbs
mild Olive oil for frying

Melt the butter and oil in a saucepan, then saute the shallots for a minute of two.

Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for another minute or so.

Pour in the milk gradually and stir constantly until the mixture is thickened and smooth and has reached the boiling point.

Add the shrimp, cook for another minute, then remove from the heat.

Stir in 3 tablespoons of the cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg (the mixture should be well seasoned.) Cool, then chill for several hours. (The chilling process may be speeded up by spreading the mixture in a think layer on a flat dish.) May be prepared ahead of time.

With floured hands, shape the dough into walnut-size balls. Cover with egg yolk, then roll in the bread crumbs, which have been mixed with the remaining 2 tablespoons of cheese. (Refrigerate)

Fry in hot oil (About 365 degrees F.) at least 1/2 inch deep until golden, turning once. Or, better, use a deep fryer. Drain. (May be kept warm in 200 degree F oven up to 30 minutes.)