Shrimp and Grit Cakes

Almost of all my memories revolve around food. Sometimes I think it's sad but then most of the memories are good ones, so why worry that there is food involved. Making this shrimp recipe reminded me of a great memory.

I made these shrimp using a recipe from the Frugal Gourmet. I was looking through old cookbooks and found a card marking the recipe for New Orleans Barbecued Shrimp. I started thinking about when I'd made the dish. It was the first thing I ever cooked for my then boyfriend, now husband. We hadn't be dating too long and I was looking to impress him. It must have worked because it was nineteen years ago and I've been cooking for him ever since.

I decided we would have this with grits to make the most of the sauce made with the shrimp. I wanted something a little different than regular grits so I decided to make grit cakes. I let the grits set up, sliced it into squares and pan fried it in a little butter so the sides would be crispy. The crispy outside and the creamy middle was great for soaking up the sauce. It was great with the shrimp and sauce.

New Orleans Barbequed Shrimp

3 slices bacon, cubed, fried until clear.
2 cubes margarine
2 tbsp. Dijon-style mustard
1 2 tsp. chili powder
3 tsp. basil
3 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. course black pepper
2 tsp. oregano
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 heaping tbsp. shrimp and crab boil ( available in most supermarkets and any fish market)
Tabasco sauce to taste
2 lbs. large shrimp, with shells

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Fry bacon until clear, add margarine and melt with bacon, grease and all. (Can't you just feel those heart valves clogging up already?) Add all the spices. Pour this mixture over the shrimp and place in oven for about 5 minutes. This is excellent served with warm French bread and white wine. Be sure to have plenty of napkins available. Shelling the shrimp is messy but part of the fun.

Shrimp Scampi over Spaghetti Squash

Garlic. Lemon. Butter. Shrimp. Delicious.



This is one of our favorite "Date Night" dishes. I make this when I want something special and to get us out of our chicken rut. One thing I do to make it different from most shrimp scampi dishes is to use spaghetti squash in place of regular pasta. My family actually likes it over the spaghetti squash better. It provides a nice contrast to the shrimp but still holds the sauce.

My favorite recipe for this comes from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled and deveined if desired
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 medium cloves garlic , minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
cayenne pepper
Table salt and ground black pepper

Instructions

Heat 12-inch skillet over high heat until hot, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl to coat bottom of pan. Add 1 pound shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until just opaque, about 1 minute; transfer to medium bowl. Return pan to heat and repeat process with remaining oil and shrimp.

Return empty skillet to medium-low heat; melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Off heat, add lemon juice and vermouth. Whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons butter; add parsley and cayenne, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Return shrimp and accumulated juices to skillet. Toss to combine; serve immediately.

For the spaghetti squash:

Cut it in half and remove the seeds. Put in a glass dish cut side down with about 2 inches of water in the bottom. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and put in the microwave. Depending on your microwave and the size of your squash, the time will vary. It takes generally about 20-30 minutes.

Vacation dinners: Shrimp stuffed with crab, Drunken Shrimp and Scallops

Our absolute favorite place to have dinner at the beach is Frank and Clara's in Salter Path, NC. It is small and every visit we've ever made the quality of the service and food is always excellent. They bring cheese and crackers to your table while you view your menu. By now, I don't even use the menu, I get pretty much the same thing every time. The shrimp stuffed with crab or the crab cakes are the best I have ever eaten. The crab cakes are almost pure crab. They have so little filler in them, they are free form cakes because they wouldn't hold together like what most people think of crab cakes. They are so rich and delicious. They also have a wonderful homemade clam chowder that comes with every meal.

My choice on this visit was the shrimp stuffed with crab:



You get six shrimp with what amounts to six small crab cakes. It's to die for, really.

My aunt got the Drunken Shrimp and Scallops which was shrimp and scallops cooked in a wine sauce and topped with mushrooms and cheese. It was also very good.

Vacation dinners: shrimp and grits, crab cakes

On our vacation to the beach we ate out a couple of times. This dinner was from Clawson's on the Beaufort, NC waterfront. It's one of our favorite places to have dinner when we're at the beach.

My dinner was shrimp and grits: The spicy deep South recipe with bacon, garlic, onion, mushrooms, and sweet pepper, served with house vegetable



My mom's dinner was crab cakes: Homemade, with pineapple-red pepper salsa

Vietnamese Summer Rolls

I'd never had anything Vietnamese until a few years ago. We were living in San Antonio and our neighbors were Thai. I learned about and tasted a lot of wonderful homemade Thai food during those couple of years they were our neighbors. They also took us to different restaurants. One of our favorites was a Vietnamese place where we fell in love with summer rolls. I found a recipe online and decided to give it a try. They were good and they really are a great summer meal.

Since these turned out, I'm excited to try more new recipes, both Vietnamese and Thai.

I found this recipe at Chow.

INGREDIENTS

* 12 medium shrimp in their shells
* 2 ounces dried rice sticks or rice vermicelli
* 8 (8-1/4-inch) round rice paper wrappers
* 1/2 cup mung bean sprouts, rinsed
* 24 small mint leaves (from 1 small bunch)
* 16 basil or Thai basil leaves
* 8 small sprigs cilantro
* 1 Thai hot pepper, serrano pepper, or other small hot chile pepper, seeds removed and sliced into very thin matchsticks
* 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-by-1/4-by-2-inch sticks
* 2 large scallions, trimmed, halved, and sliced into 3-inch lengths
* 4 Boston lettuce leaves, cut in half
* Peanut Sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add shrimp and cook for about 1 1/2 minutes, or until they are bright orange and just cooked. Drain shrimp in a colander and run cold water over them until they are cool. Peel shrimp and halve them lengthwise down the center. Cover and refrigerate.
2. Cook the rice sticks according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
3. Clear a work surface, such as a large wooden cutting board, for rolling the summer rolls and prepare a pan that is roomy enough to hold the finished rolls in a single layer. Place all filling ingredients in separate containers, and arrange them in the following order around the board: rice paper wrappers, shrimp, rice noodles, bean sprouts, mint, basil, cilantro, hot pepper, cucumber, scallions, and lettuce.
4. Fill a wide, shallow dish, large enough to hold the rice paper wrappers, with hot water. Evenly submerge one rice paper in the water for about 30 seconds, or until it is soft and pliable. Remove from the water and place on the work surface.
5. Working quickly, lay three shrimp halves in a row, cut side up, just above the center of the wrapper. Layer a scant 1/4 cup of noodles over the shrimp, followed by a few bean sprouts, 3 mint leaves, 2 basil leaves, 1 sprig of cilantro, and 2 pieces of the hot pepper (if using). Place 3 to 4 cucumber sticks and 3 to 4 scallion pieces on either side of the noodle pile. Roll one piece of lettuce into a cigar shape, and place it on top of the noodle pile.
6. Fold the bottom half of the rice paper wrapper over the filling. Holding it firmly in place, fold the sides of the wrapper in. Then, pressing firmly down to hold the folds in place, roll the entire pile up to close the top. (Don’t despair, this takes some practice!)
7. Turn each roll so that the rice paper seam faces downward and the row of shrimp faces up. Place in the prepared container.
8. Serve summer rolls with Peanut Sauce.

Peanut Sauce:

INGREDIENTS

* 1/2 cup natural-style creamy peanut butter
* 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
* 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
* 1 tablespoon soy sauce
* 1 small garlic clove, mashed to a paste
* 1 teaspoon chile-garlic paste
* 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
* Juice of 1 lime
* 1/4 cup water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Stir until well combined, adding more water to thin the sauce if necessary.