Marinated Shrimp Salad with Avocado—summer food at its finest

This was as refreshing a summer salad as you could want—and talk about colorful! Red from the bell pepper and onion, green from the avocado plus salad greens, mint, and cilantro, and then orange sections—beautiful in appearance and delightfully healthy.

From my garden were the red onion and mint, although we expect the red bell pepper before the summer’s over. Shrimp and avocado have got to be one of the best combinations around.

To amp up the color one more notch I enjoyed serving this on my grandmother’s Fiesta dishes—not today’s new Fiesta so popular with brides but the authentic issue, which as a child I dined on at her table. Platters full of fried chicken were heaped on those plates once upon a time; today’s fare is a little more health-conscious, but the memories remain. What will our grandkids remember being served at our house?

Marinated Shrimp Salad with Avocado looks a lot more complicated than it is. All these steps are a breeze. As with the typical salad prep, the only time-consuming part is the chopping and slicing. It’s a goodie!

Marinated Shrimp Salad with Avocado

1 pound Perfect Poached Shrimp (see below)

4 oranges, sectioned

1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 small red onion, sliced

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

Citrus Vinaigrette (see below)

2 cups chopped romaine lettuce (I subbed spinach)

2 medium avocados, cubed

Citrus Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon country-style Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Perfect Poached Shrimp:

4 quarts water

juice from 1 lemon

lemon halves

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons salt (or salt substitute)

2 pounds unpeeled, large raw shrimp (this recipe calls for 1 pound; you have 1 pound remaining for another recipe)

To prepare shrimp, fill a large bowl halfway with ice and water. Pour 4 quarts water into a Dutch oven; squeeze juice from the lemon into the Dutch oven. Stir in lemon halves, peppercorns, bay leaves, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat; add 2 pounds (26/30 count) large raw shrimp. Cover and let stand 5 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink. Stir shrimp into ice water; let stand 10 minutes. Peel and devein shrimp.

For salad combine first six ingredients in a large bowl; whisk together ingredients for Citrus Vinaigrette and pour over shrimp mixture. Gently toss to combine. Cover and chill 4 to 24 hours. Place lettuce on a platter. Spoon shrimp mixture over lettuce. Reserve vinaigrette. Drizzle with reserved vinaigrette. Top with avocado. Makes 6 servings. (Source: Southern Living May 2012)

With every bite Pickled Okra and Shrimp Salad with Gouda Grits says "Southern"

For the next round of Hubby’s birthday “season” (we’ve finally arrived at THE day, by the way. Happy Birthday today, sweet Hubby), I wanted to make something distinctly Southern.

Besides his being a card-carrying (literally. His card hangs framed on our wall.) citizen of the Chickasaw Nation through his paternal heritage, Hubby has roots in the Deep South. His maternal forebears evacuated Georgia after Sherman’s destructive march to the sea at the end of the Civil War. (Think all those carriages stampeding away from burning Atlanta in Gone with the Wind.)

So for this Southern gentleman, who’s 65-years young today, I borrowed from the pages of Southern Living magazine and prepared Pickled Okra and Shrimp Salad, which I served alongside Gouda Grits (mentioned in an earlier blog). Now if okra, shrimp, and grits don’t bespeak of the South, I don’t know what does. Pickled okra, by the way, will be something fun to make from our okra crop once it materializes in the garden; for now I used a jar from the condiment shelves at the grocery store.

The recipe combines red onion, sliced pickled okra, pimiento, and shrimp that has been boiled in a purchased, packaged boil. Tossed with a mixture of mayonnaise, lime juice, and lime zest, the salad is chilled for a few hours before serving. The recipe suggests accompanying this with sliced avocado, which I did as a presentation for the above photo before I dished up the warmed Gouda Grits as an accompaniment.

If I were making this dish over, I would have chosen a less spicy shrimp-and-crab boil for the shrimp. The package I inadvertently picked would have raised the hair on a dog (speaking of Southern sayings). Spicy, spicy—so you tended to get overwhelmed by the seasoning on the shrimp and lose the flavor of this unique salad mixture.

Southern Living touted this dish in its “What’s for Supper? Quick-Fix Meals” section. I agree with the tout: it was quick to prepare and most unusual. After Hubby paused from putting the fire out (spicy shrimp!) long enough to speak, he extolled the dish. I wanted to make sure this would be a birthday he’d not be forgetting for a long time; even with advancing age (just had to get my 65-rib in somewhere). I feel certain he’ll be remembering this one.

Pickled Okra and Shrimp Salad

1 (3-ounce) package boil-in-bag shrimp-and-crab boil

1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined, medium-size raw shrimp (31/40 count)

1/2 cup sliced sweet-hot pickled okra

1 (4-ounce) jar diced pimiento, drained

1/3 cup lite mayonnaise

3 tablespoons minced red onion

1/2 teaspoon lime zest

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

3 large avocados, sliced

Bring 8 cups water to a boil in a 3-quart saucepan; add crab boil and cook 5 minutes. Add shrimp; cover, remove from heat, and let stand 10 minutes or just until shrimp turns pink. Drain and cool 10 minutes. Meanwhile combine pickled okra, diced pimiento, and next 6 ingredients. Add shrimp; chill and serve with avocado slices. Makes 6 servings.

Funky salad recipe using fresh pineapple boosts magnesium for bone health

With the shrimp I had left over from my Big-Easy Gumbo, prepared yesterday in anticipation of my annual physical, I was fortunate to find another really funky recipe that would enable me to use up all my purchased shrimp.

The March 2011 issue of Prevention magazine featured pineapple as its superfood. Fresh pineapple was cited as being full of nutrients as well as flavor. Besides supplying vitamin C, a cup of pineapple contains one’s daily quota of magnesium, a trace mineral that promotes bone health. Though available all year around, this tropical fruit is at its peak from March through June.

One of Prevention’s fast-idea recipes featuring pineapple was Warm Shrimp and Pineapple Salad, prepared in a skillet. Into the skillet go blackeyed peas, green peas, chopped red bell pepper, shrimp, and pineapple, along with some seasonings. In almost no time this wonderful skillet supper appeared before my eyes (quick if the pineapple already is cut up, of course). It used up my left-over shrimp, it gave me daily requirement of manganese (hooray for bone health. I'm waiting for the report on that aspect of my physical exam as well), and it made Hubby’s eyes pop out when he saw what a colorful and healthy supper dish was arrayed before him.

While we dined on this concoction, we both commented how good Warm Shrimp and Pineapple Salad also would be served cold. Pineapple, shrimp, peas, red pepper all would be good as cold-salad ingredients as well. We’ll find out when we serve it for lunch today. I won't have to talk Hubby into that proposal; he LOVED the dish and was eager to dine on it again.

Warm Shrimp and Pineapple Salad

1 (16-ounce) package frozen black-eyed peas (about 3 3/4 cups)

1 1/4 cup frozen green peas

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and cooked

1 1/3 cups chopped pineapple

2 teaspoons lime juice

1/8 teaspoon hot-pepper sauce

1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 1 1/2 tablespoons dried basil)

In large skillet combine black-eyed peas, green peas, bell pepper, oil, paprika, and salt. Cook over medium-high heat for 4 minutes. Add shrimp and cook until mixture is heated through—about 2 minutes. Toss in remaining ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 4 servings.