Author Archives: Nancy

SHRIMP SALAD

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I found these “shrimp boats” at an estate sale.

My internet research reveals that these were made by Red Wing Pottery in the 1960s, and  that there was also a “butter boat”:

Can you imagine the parties this armada of shrimp boats must have been featured at?  After all, the 1960s were best known for peace, love, rock and roll, and shrimp.  Groovy.

The shrimp boats have provided the inspiration for this recipe for shrimp salad — a specialty of mine.  Although this time of year the heat, humidity, and constant threat of hurricanes makes living on the Gulf Coast miserable, one saving grace is the readily-available wild-caught Gulf Coast shrimp.  Plump, firm, and mildly sweet, Costco’s shrimp ring can’t hold a candle to these.  They make an excellent shrimp salad — so good that you might be tempted to be shellfish and keep it all to yourself.  Delicious on its own, this shrimp salad is also great on a soft roll, and makes tasty little sliders.

By the way, you do know that there’s no popcorn in popcorn shrimp, right?  And hate to burst your bubble about pot roast . . . .

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SHRIMP SALAD
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Ingredients
  • ½ pound cooked shrimp,* peeled and deveined
  • 1 stalk celery, minced
  • 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
  • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill (or 1 teaspoon dried)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Coarsely chop shrimp. Place in a medium mixing bowl and add celery, dried onion, mayonnaise, lime juice, and dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
  2. *For the best shrimp salad, use wild-caught Gulf Coast shrimp. I like to boil mine with a bag of Zatarain's or Louisiana brand Shrimp Boil.

Just a few ingredients go into this shrimply delicious salad

Ready for the blessing of the shrimp fleet

PERFECT POTATO SALAD

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Have you been losing sleep over what to bring to a 4th of July party?  (I hope you’re not losing sleep over not being invited to a 4th of July party.)  Let me start by saying that not everything has to be red, white, and blue for a 4th of July meal.  Let someone else bring the RW&B dipped strawberries, cookies, cakes, salads (these never really work), etc.  Show up with a cool, creamy, potato salad and do a little indepen-dance as you watch others mound it on their plates.

This recipe is one my sister-in-law introduced me to, and is adapted from a quirky cookbook called Leaving Home by Louise (Lulu) P. Grace — “For people who love good food . . . but don’t know how to cook . . . are too tired to cook . . . or don’t want to cook.”  Yep, Lulu covered all the bases.  I gather from the book’s Dedication that she was also a dreamer — “Kids, here’s hoping that you can prepare and serve these delicious and nutritious dishes to your friends, husbands, wives, and Dad and me.”   The book, published in 1984, is out of print, but you can still find it on eBay.

The majority of the recipes in the book, including this potato salad, call for “Knorr Swiss Aromat Seasoning for Meat.”  The main ingredients of this seasoning are salt (ok) and msg (which I do not use), and thus, I omitted it from the recipe.

Potato salad doesn’t necessarily need a recipe — it’s pretty easy to wing it (taters gonna tate).  But for those who prefer a consistently good one, this is a contender.

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PERFECT POTATO SALAD
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Ingredients
  • 3 cups peeled, diced, cooked russet potatoes
  • ¾ cup mayonnaise
  • ½ cup diced celery
  • ¼ cup diced sweet yellow onion
  • ¼ cup dill relish
  • 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Bring 6 cups of water to boil in a large pot, and add the potatoes. Boil until potatoes are tender, approximately 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and let cool completely.
  2. Put the cooled potatoes in a large bowl and mash a few of the chunks to give the salad a creamy, not smooth, texture. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

See you tater, alligator