BBQ Shrimp and Chopped Salad

It's been too long and for those 4 who follow and expect new stuff..sorry! Here's something for you. Before getting into this I will say it's one of my fave things to eat, not so much my husband. He can hardly stand to eat anything he has to work for..no crab legs or pealing shrimp for him. I usually peel a few of the shrimp for him but mostly I just make something he likes and while enjoying all the shrimp myself....more better!
I can't recall how I came across the BBQ shrimp recipe but it's a super good one. I usually tweak recipes to my liking but this is one I don’t mess with….on occasion I've used less butter/olive oil….but it's truly best as is. For 2 people cut ingredients in half.

New Orleans BBQ Shrimp

Ingredients:

4 pounds unpeeled, large fresh shrimp or 6 pounds shrimp with heads on

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup chili sauce

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

2 lemons, sliced

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tablespoons Creole seasoning

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon ground red pepper

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

Crusty baguette

Spread shrimp in a shallow, aluminum foil-lined broiler pan. Combine butter and next 12 ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until butter melts, and pour over shrimp. Cover and chill 2 hours, turning shrimp every 30 minutes.

Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20 minutes; turn once.

The sauce from the shrimp is delicious and you must serve a good crusty baguette to dip. I love to serve this with my favorite whole wheat seeded baguette. Warm in oven until the outside is good and crusty but inside still yummy and soft. 2 places in town I buy from are City Bakery and Farm and Sparrow

After living in California on 2 different occasions I became hooked on the "chopped" salad...nothing different really except all ingredients are chopped finely. I use whatever is on hand but for this one I used:

California Chopped Salad

Iceberg lettuce

Baby Spinach

Carrots

Celery

Radishes

Scallions

Sun-dried tomatoes

Red Cabbage

Cucumbers

I almost always add pine nuts or sesame seeds. Just chop everything and toss with dressing. I usually add my take on a french vinaigrette.

French Vinaigrette

Olive oil(nut oils are also great and sometimes I use truffle oil), dijon mustard, a vinegar(I like rice wine vinegar..it has a little sweetness), a tad bit of honey and salt/pepper. You can also add a few herbs you like..tarragon, basil, parsley. Just have fun with it!

Who wants a truffle farm?

Who doesn't love truffles? The fungi of course. I think most everyone who has ever tried one agrees their fabulous. I've been holding on to an article from our local newspaper about a farm in King, NC that has been successfully harvesting Perigord truffles since the 90's and also sells inoculated plants for a mere $20. Today I decided to go check out their website again after months and found a great video as well as upcoming events. Their goal is to make NC the next Napa but with truffles instead of Wine. He and his wife have also been part of creating the very first National Truffle Festival that will be in our very own backyard at The Biltmore Estate.

NC Truffles
1st Annual National Truffle Festival
Garland Farms

Here goes

Why does this scare me? It's nothing more than words put out for the world wide web to devour for goodness sakes. Until today, I've kept my culinary love wrapped in a neat little package just for myself. Sure I talk about it with family, friends...but sharing my passion with any Joe who may be interested...well that scares the Hell out of me...will I be judged for my silly little ideas or recipes someone else thinks are crap?..maybe so. I normally could care less about such things but to my passion in life..well...it's a big leap. GULP.
My main goal is to have a database of recipes because how many times have I forgotten just what I did to that dish we loved? But I also want to review local restaurants and any we enjoy in our travels. My main culinary love is any countries so called peasant food but most specifically Italian, Thai, Indian, Ethiopian and French. Which is truly the best their is in my book...good, mostly simple(or at least to that countries standards), tried and true recipes passed from generation to generation. I learned a few years ago simple is good and getting back to the basics will always be a culinary score.
I hope you enjoy my taste buds.