Chopped Summer Salad + Grilled Shrimp

This salad made its way onto our dinner plates at the beginning of the Summer and little did I know what an easy and healthy staple meal this would quickly become! I think it has hit our dinner plates at least once every week as either a giant entre salad, or skipping the protein and eating it on the side. Inspired by all of the fresh goodness on the cover of the June, 2013 issue of Cooking Light, this salad is my favorite. In the summer, I love colorful, light  meals that use in-season produce and this salad fits the bill. The addition of grilled jumbo shrimp takes it over the top! I tossed the shrimp in some olive oil and Emeril's Essence and Mark threw them on skewers and then onto the grill.

Chopped Summer Salad + Grilled Shrimp
serves 4-6 as a main dish

2 heads romaine, chopped
2 large tomatoes, diced
2 avocados, diced
1/2 red onion, chopped 
4 ears of corn cut off the cob
8-10 strips of thick bacon, crumbled

Chop up all salad ingredients and place in a bowl. Toss with vinaigrette (recipe below) and top with grilled shrimp skewers. 

vinaigrette:

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Lemony Shrimp with Broccoli and Peas

Fresh and fast are the two key words that need to be emphasized with this recipe. If we were going to add a third word, beginning with the letter F, I would add FANTASTIC. This was delicious enough for Sunday night dinner, but so easy that it will be making its way into our weeknight dinner rotation. The flavors are so bright and happy. The best part about this is you could really play around with the foundation of the recipe and make it your own. Next time, I'll add even more fresh veggies like asparagus and bell peppers, and maybe even a splash of white wine. I always keep a bag or two of frozen shrimp in our freezer. It's so easy to thaw using warm water and they are peeled and ready in no time. If Shrimp and veggies don't sound like they fill you up, trust me when I say that even Mark was full after eating this. Shrimp is surprisingly filling. And if you still aren't convinced, I'm sure this would be delightful served over quinoa or whole grain cous cous.

Lemony Shrimp with Broccoli and Peas

recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

4 Tbsp. butter (I used half butter, half olive oil)

2-4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 large shallot, thinly sliced

1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest plus 5-6 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 lb. fresh broccoli, cut into small florets

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups frozen peas (or one 10 oz. bag)

In a large skillet with a lid, melt 2 Tbsp. of the butter over medium heat. Add garlic and scallions and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add broccoli, lemon zest, 1/2 cup water and season with salt a pepper. Toss together and cover until broccoli is steamed and bright green, around 3-4 minutes.

Add shrimp and peas, cover and cook, tossing occasionally, until shrimp is pink.

Add lemon juice, some olive oil and more salt and pepper if needed. Toss and serve.

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Cajun Shrimp and Guac Lettuce Wraps

Shrimp gets neglected in our dinner rotation but when it does make its way onto our menu, I fall in love all over again. It's both chic and easy and really one of those things you can whip up as a main course with just about anything you have on hand. I like to grab the frozen bags of peel and eat shrimp when they are on sale at my grocery store so that I always have a bag of little shrimpies on hand. Just run them under warmish water in a colander and they are thawed and ready for peeling, cooking and eating.

Y'all know we love wrapping things in lettuce around here. Add this recipe to your under an hour list! It's fresh, light and super healthy, too.

Cajun Shrimp and Guac Lettuce Wraps

For the shrimp:

1 lb. shrimp, peeled

3 cloves garlic, minced

Emeril's Essence for sprinkling (or any other Creole seasoning)

Cumin

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

In a small bowl, add the shrimp and a quick pour of olive oil. Add a few shakes of Emeril's and cumin and stir to combine and coat the shrimp. In a saute pan over medium heat, drizzle two turns of the pan with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Heat garlic and oil until the garlic is cooked and fragrant. Add the seasoned shrimp, and cook until pink.

Guacamole: (I learned this one by watching my Dad!)

2 large avocados

2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

Handful fresh cilantro, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 shallot, chopped

1 tsp. olive oil

Juice from 1 fresh lime

Salt, pepper & cumin to season

Mash avocados with a fork and place in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients, mix and enjoy.

A good tip for green guac: To keep the guacamole a nice green color, save an avocado pit and place in the bowl with the guacamole.

Bibb lettuce works best for lettuce wraps, but Romaine works well, too. We wrapped our lettuce with the shrimp, guacamole, yellow bell peppers, roasted red peppers and a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Coconut Shrimp with Sweet Grapefruit-Ginger-Honey Dipping Sauce

This is one of those meals in which I assessed what we had on hand, and created it on the spot. I enjoy kitchen challenges like this that force me to think quickly, and use up what we have. Plus, a Saturday night in sounded great to us. Coconut and shrimp is always a match made in heaven and a sweet dipping sauce sounded like the perfect finishing touch. Everything came together beautifully (in under an hour!) and I've already added this to our mile long dinner rotation.

Coconut Shrimp

1 pound of shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup unsweetened almond milk (milk, buttermilk, whatever you have in hand)

2 eggs, beaten

1.5 cups raw, shredded, unsweetened coconut

1 Tbsp. Creole seasoning (Emeril's Essence is my favorite)

Soak peeled shrimp in 1 cup of milk for 15-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat 2 eggs in a medium sized mixing bowl, mix coconut together with creole seasoning and set up a dipping station. Transfer shrimp to egg bowl. Take a few shrimp at a time and coat in coconut. Place on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes, or until nice and crispy.

Sweet Grapefruit-Ginger-Honey Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup honey

Fresh lemon zest (about 1/2 lemon)

1 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger

1/2 fresh grapefruit, juiced

1/2 fresh lemon, juiced

Whisk up and use for dipping. This would also be an excellent salad dressing.

Shrimp & Grits (aka the BEST thing I've ever made)

I miss everything about the South. My family, my friends and sweet tea. Southern manners, monograms and the sunshine always shining from the Carolina blue sky. Boone tailgating in the fall and long, lazy vacations on Kiawah Island in the summer. Chick-Fil-A ranks pretty high on the list, too. The South will always be home to me.

With a little help from Emeril and a lot of love on my end, I prepared pure Southern goodness on a plate. This is the best thing that I have ever made. Ever. (Mark also agrees.) Creamy Charleston-Style grits topped with spicy shrimp and andouille sausage, swimming in the glorious flavors of the Low Country. Dare I say this is worthy of a last meal?

Forget the healthy eating fad you are currently planning your meals around and add this recipe to your dinner rotation. Life is too short to skip the grits. Please?

Thank you.

Spicy Shrimp and Andouille Over Charleston-Style Grits

recipe from Emeril Lagasse

For the shrimp and sausage:

2 lbs. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 Tbsp. Emeril's Essence*

Salt

8 oz. Andouille Sausage

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 cup finely chopped yellow onion

1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 Tbsp. finely chopped green onions

1 Tbsp. minced parsley

Season the shrimp with Essence and salt. Heat a large, heavy saute pan (I used my French oven) over medium-high heat and sear the andouille, cooking for about 3 minutes. Remove the andouille to a plate and add the shrimp, cooking until pink, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a plate. Heat olive oil and add the onion and bell peppers and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add 2 Tbsp. Essence to the pan, stir well, then add the garlic, cooking for about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth to the pan and cook until reduced slightly, about 5 minutes.

Stir the cream, green onions and parsley into the sauce and return the sausage and shrimp to the pan. Return sauce to a nice simmer and cook until reduced slightly. Stir well and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over Charleston-Style grits.

Charleston-Style Grits

6 cups water

salt to taste

1 1/2 cups quick cooking, old fashioned or stone ground grits (stone ground are the best- DO NOT use instant!)

2 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

8 Tbsp. butter

Freshly ground black pepper

In a large, heavy saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add a generous teaspoon of salt with the grits and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. When the grits thicken, add milk, cream and butter and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover the saucepan and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, until grits are creamy and dreamy. Keep covered and warm until ready to serve.

*NOTE: Emeril's Essence can be purchased in the grocery store with all of the spices. This is something I ALWAYS keep on hand in my kitchen but in case you can't find it, the recipe is linked above in the ingredients list.

Camarones Enogada

Cama-what? Camarones is Spanish, for shrimp. Enogada means, well, that I am not sure of but the following recipe is the result of the deliciousness that is a family favorite inspired by our favorite local Mexican restaurant in Charlotte. Shrimp from a Mexican restaurant may sound like a rare bite but trust me on this one, it's my favorite to order in the summertime at El Valle in Matthews, NC. My genius in the kitchen dad recreated this masterpiece while on Kiawah Island at the end of June and our fresh Carolina coast shrimp were never happier on a plate. Boiled shrimp atop a bed of cilantro, onions, tomato and avocados, all swimming in a bath of lime juice. A perfect summer meal while on the water, or on land.

Camarones Enogada

Sliced tomato

Sliced avocado

Sliced jalapeno (optional)

Chopped sweet onion

Chopped cilantro

Shrimp, peeled

Old Bay Seasoning

Lime juice

Salt & pepper

This is preparation on the fly at its best. No measurements, no real directions and the dish is prepared on each individual plate- have fun with it. The appeal is all in the presentation here, so take your time to slice the fresh tomatoes and avocados, then line them around the plate. Next, take the chopped onion, jalapeno and cilantro and make a bed in the middle of each plate. Toss lightly with lime juice, salt & pepper. Boil the shrimp and season with Old Bay Seasoning. Make a home for the shrimp on the bed of cilantro and onions.

Note: to cut the jalapeno heat, remove the heat. That's where all the hot stuff is hidden.