Can We Talk Shrimp? Shrimp And Apple Salad Tomato Fan!
Yes, we do eat other proteins in our family, but when your husband likes basic foods, blogging a piece of steak, burger, piece of chicken or a basic pork chop is a tad boring, everyone should know how to cook those items, so I compromise, we have his basic cooked protein, and I have my crazy, interesting and creative sides, after 51 years it has worked well for us....
On to shrimp, the subject of this post....Shrimp ranks high on my list of favorite proteins, not so much his. I have once again, cooked it every way or any way...I have this large dislike to the precooked fresh or frozen shrimp in the stores, I find it watery and most often a tad undone for my liking...When the kids were young and I did not have the time, I did use it in my dishes, however, but after having your own cooked fresh from scratch it is never the same again.. if you are going to pay the price for shrimp, a little extra time is well worth it..if you do have to use the precooked, dry well, or it will water down your salad/dishes, especially if going to sit overnight.
First you need the shrimp cooked to start any dish, my recipe is as follows: I do use the frozen uncooked shrimp most often.
If frozen, defrost in cold water in fridge for several hours.. peel and check for cleanliness.
While I am peeling the uncooked shrimp I start a pot of water simmering on low with a few slices of lemon, a large bay leaf, and some celery pieces with leaves if I have it, and also a fav shrimp seasoning, I have a great shrimp and crab boil spice I use...when shrimp are all peeled, I turn the heat up high and toss in the shrimp, when just to a boil, turn heat down to med and simmer for 3 minutes for medium, 4 minutes for large, 5 minutes for xtra large, stirring several times...if you are not sure if done, remove one, pinch it, and if firm they are done...remove with a slotted spoon and let cool....
My favorite uses for shrimp are of course shrimp cocktail, shrimp and asparagus/veggie pasta, shrimp and rice stir fries, and shrimp salads...but any shrimp dish is never off the table for me..
Pictured here in this blog is shrimp salad in a tomato fan, delicious and a pretty presentation if serving to company or even yourself on any given day...amounts will depend on your needs.
Cooked chopped shrimp
Diced celery
Diced onion
Diced apple, unpeeled
Spices of choice
A mix of mayo and ranch dressing, just to moisten....or your own fav dressing.
Wash and dry tomato, flip over on stem end and cut almost through in quarters then in eights, ending up with eight pieces, then carefully fan out and stuff with shrimp salad...Just a reminder here, do not cut out stem spot, it holds the tomato together, do be aware it is there when eating....can also serve a little extra dressing on side if desired...can also use same ingredients minus shrimp with tuna and chicken, all great and also egg salad and cottage cheese with veggies is another favorite stuffing.....
