It is also very adaptable. First, a very solid recipe that is just hard to beat. I’ll follow that with some additional ideas that you might like to consider if you are thinking you would like a dressed-up shrimp and pasta salad.

Ingredients

• 1 pound cooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 (16 ounce) package of your favorite pasta
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 chopped bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Cook the pasta — the basic ‘how-to’ is on the box or wrapper. This is how I prepare pasta water, though, if you would like to add a little more flavor to the pasta.

• The short version is, bring a large pot of salted water with half a lemon dropped in to a boil.

• Add pasta and cook until al dente. (Usually 2 to 3 minute shy of the package instructions.)

• Rinse under cold water and drain.

• In a large, cool bowl combine the shrimp and vegetables,  mayonnaise and salt and pepper to taste.

• Add pasta and toss to coat. Chill for about an hour.

Alternate Ingredients

The easy little shrimp recipe above is the ‘little black dress’ of shrimp and pasta salad recipes. But if you are looking for something that might be a bit of a change of pace, try some of these as replacements or additions. I don’t think  that all of the following together would be a good idea, but if it sounds good to you, go for it.

• Seeded peeled cucumber
• Chopped black olives
• Diced red onion
• A clove or two of garlic, minced or finely sliced (maybe even sauteed?)
• Fresh dill or dried dillweed
• Thinly sliced Zucchini
• Fresh mushroom slices
• Green beans, chopped
• Splash of white wine vinegar or a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice (fresh, please). Another thought, Italian dressing.
• Toss in a little lump crab meat and you’ll have a lovely shrimp and crab pasta salad. Can’t imagine that would be anything but perfect. Can you?

As always, keeping the fat (mayo) and the acid (vinegar, lemon juice, and to some degree the Italian Dressing) in the proportion that is pleasing to you will really add a lot of flavor. The most common ratio of fat-to-acid is 3 to 1. Some, including me, prefer a higher ratio of acid.

A suggestion? Since shrimp is relatively expensive, experiment with that ratio of fat-to-acid in other taste test settings — like salad dressings, for instance. Then apply what you have learned about your preference to this dish.

Enjoy!

Always feel free to leave your suggestions and ideas below.

Incoming search terms:

• shrimp with crab pasta salad

After trial and error, this is the way I prefer it. After all,why should all of the other ingredients get all of the love when pasta is often well more than half of the volume on the plate?

Anyway…here goes. As always, you decide.

Preparing the water for cooking pasta

• I like salty pasta water…as in “tastes like the ocean.”

• Add roughly 1/8th cup of sea salt or kosher salt dissolved in about 4 quarts boiling water. (You might like a little more.)

• To take the water preparation one step further — you can leave this out if you want, but I love it — squeeze half of a fresh lemon and drop the lemon half in the water. Adds amazing freshness to the flavor of the pasta.

Mario Batali does not like oil added to his pasta water. Neither do I. You like oil in your pasta water? By all means, knock yourself out!  Add as much oil as you’d like.

Oil And Pasta

For a tasty, simple lite meal, I highly recommend a little bit of extra virgin olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and a touch of black pepper on a small plate of warm pasta. (Add a serving of spinach and you are set.)  That is the way I prefer to add oil to my pasta, in case that question was keeping you awake nights.

(Most) Kidding and goofing around aside, this is one of the best things that will ever pass across your lips. Yeah, it is a shrimp dish, but the Alfredo sauce is the star of the show.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoon corn oil
2 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic
Small chopped onion
1 pound shelled deveined shrimp
1 tablespoon dry parsley
2 sticks butter
1 pint lite cream (or half & half)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 lemon
12 oz. fresh pasta
1/2 pound grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Grab a large pot — like a four quart pot, or so — and make pasta water. As the water heats, get out a large pan. Over a low fire, melt the butter. Then, add the garlic and onion to the butter. Once the garlic and onion a tender, add the shrimp to the pan. Keep the shrimp moving by stirring often.

Now the fun begins…

In a medium pan, add butter over a low fire, melt more butter. Once the butter has melted, add the cream (or half & half) and stir. Let simmer.

When the shrimp starts turning pink, add the white wine and squeeze the lemon over shrimp. Toss and cook for 1 minute. Don’t overcook. Turn off flame and cover.

Add your pasta to the water that is boiling by now.

Add Parmesan to the melted butter and cream.

Stir often while pasta is cooking. Fresh pasta will not take more than three minutes to cook. Commercial pasta will take around 9 minutes. Check the box or wrapper for the exact time.

Add more Parmesan for a thicker sauce, less for thinner sauce.

Drain the pasta in colander.

Put the pasta back in large pot, add shrimp and sauce. Toss thoroughly. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle parsley over top.

Apply lips.

We’re going to season the shrimp more than the pasta. Lots of different ways to go about it, but let’s start with a good, solid recipe. You can branch off from this one.

As a bonus, we are also going to talk about what goes into making the perfect pasta water, too!

Ingredients:

1 lb medium shrimp, deveined and tails removed
1 lb spaghetti noodles — more or less
6 -8 cloves of garlic, according to personal taste, minced
1/4 cup butter
Drizzled olive oil — A time or two around the pan
Italian seasoning
Freshly cracked pepper
Red pepper flakes
Salt
Herbs — according to taste

Directions:

• First, preparing the water for cooking pasta…

• I like salty pasta water…as in “tastes like the ocean.” Add roughly 1/8th cup of sea salt or kosher salt disolved in about 4 quarts boiling water. (Adjust to your taste.)

• To take the water preparation one step further — you can leave this out if you want, but I love it — squeeze half of a fresh lemon and drop the lemon half in the water. Adds amazing freshness to the flavor of the pasta. Mario Batali doesn’t like oil added to his water. Neither do I. You, however, are encouraged to make yourself happy! You want oil? Go ahead.

• Now, boil the pasta in your perfectly prepared water for two minutes less than what is suggested on the box.

• Save a cup of pasta water to use later.

• While pasta is boiling, wash the shrimp.

• Melt butter over medium heat. Add the cleaned shrimp.

• Once the shrimp begin to turn pink, add garlic.

• Cook about 6 minutes, add oil. Continue stirring until your shrimp is pink and curled.

• Add your pasta to the skillet with the shrimp. Add your seasonings.

• At this point, add just enough of that pasta water that you saved to “losen up” you pan. Use ‘just enough’ so that your pan is not dry, but we don’t want the shrimp and pasta to be swimming in liquid either. To be a little more precise, start by adding 1/4 cup of the water. If that’s enough, fine. If you need more, keep going until you have used the whole cup of pasta water you saved.

• When you are satisfied that your pasta is perfectly moist, you are in business. Make sure everything is warm, then plate it.

Since I love talking and writing about cooking, I may have made this seem much more difficult than it really is. After you’ve made this shrimp and pasta recipe, you’ll be a pro.

Matter of fact, one of the first variations on this theme that you might want to take a shot at is chicken and shrimp pasta. Lemme go dig up a recipe for that!

Take care!

Incoming search terms:

• tasty shrimp and pasta recipes

Here are the basics…

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons minced garlic — fresh, please
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 pound peeled, deveined shrimp (26 to 30 per lb.), rinsed
• 1/3 cup dry sherry or dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon hot chili flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Over medium-high heat, stir garlic in olive oil until it approaches golden in color. That will only only take a couple of minutes.

• Add shrimp and stir until almost completely pink. Again, that will only take about two minutes more.

• Take pan off of and away from the fire (if cooking with gas). Add sherry, parsley, and hot chili flakes. Return to the fire.

• Stir regularly until shrimp are barely opaque. Please be careful to see that you do not overcook the shrimp That will make them tough and tasteless. We want to make sure they are still moist in the center of thickest part. That will only take a  minute or so at most.

• Add salt to taste.

• Pour into a serving dish or individual bowls.

That is, in my opinion, an excellent recipe on its on. But wait! There’s more! (I always wanted to say that.)

There are some variations on this theme that I think have some real potential. They may be right up your alley…or maybe not so much.You decide. Worst case? You might get some inspiration. Who knows.
For those of us who love Mexican food, instead of parsley, use cilantro. Nothing says South Of The Border the way cilantro can. (In my opinion, you can get TOO MUCH cilantro very easily. A little goes a long way. )

Grilled garlic shrimp will work, too. Like this:

1. Start the grill by firing the coals in the grill. Let them burn down. We’re trying to get a medium  fire, so let them go a little longer than you would for, say, hamburgers.
2. In a pan, sauté the garlic in butter.
3. Remove from heat and add lemon juice, salt, pepper, Worcestershire, and chives. Stir ti combine.
4. Add shrimp to the pan (that is off of the heat).
5. Let the shrimp marinate for 20 or 30 minutes.
6. Put shrimp on skewers.
7. Put foil on you grill and lay shrimp (on the skewers) on the foil.
8. Grill them for about 7 minutes. Maybe a touch more. Looking for just pink.

There you have two pretty good starters! See how it works for you and let us know. Feel free to leave a comment below.

• Get large shrimp

• Peel and deveined them.

• Wrap ‘em in bacon

• Put them on the grill for 2 to 4 minutes

• Apply lips.

There are other things you can do, obviously, but this ( above) is how to cook bacon wrapped shrimp on the grill. How to tell when it is done? Simple, the bacon will be cooked. Since shrimp cooks so quickly, the bacon will the the barometer.

Some additional suggestions to consider . . .

Grilling Is The Way To Go

Please think about using the indirect method of grilling for this. After the bacon becomes charred, move it to the other side of the grill, close the lod and let it go for 3 or 4 minutes. The bacon and shrimp will continue to cook and smoke.

Choose A Complimentary Wood

Hickory wood and bacon (pork!) were made for each other.  Apple wood would be really good, too. Of course, bcaon wrapped shrimp will cook vy quickly, so you won’t need a whole lot of wood — chips are fine — and the entire cooking time is relatively short.

How many shrimp per person?

As many or. as few as you want. If you are feeding guys like me, I would enjoy five or six of them. You do the math from there.

We are really kind of going for “the perfect bite” with this kind of dish. This is not supposed to be a filling serving. Appetizers (in a party setting) and really good side dishes can help accomplish that part of the mission.

Ideas for Side Dishes

Something as simple as a nice chopped romaine salad would be great! Something a little more substantial, but still cool? Potato salad would be a great choice. Baked or barbqued beasn would be a nice warm side, as would  a few nice ears  the cob.

Give it a shot. Easy shrimp recipes like this one make cooking shrimp an excellent weeknight meal, too.

As obvious as is seems, shrimp and grits was originally a breakfast meal. Shrimpers and fishermen in the Low Country of South Carolina ate it often because it was simple, hearty and available.  I’ve seen it called “‘working man’s food” a lot more often than once or twice.

So, what happened?All of a sudden, it was as if the dish was on menus everywhere! Not only that, there were a lot of versions of it. As almost always happens to a good thing, it got ‘made better’ too many times by too many chefs and it kinda lost its way home.

It’s about the same thing that happened to fajitas. Butchers could barely give the poor cuts of beef away…until somebody got a big write up in a newspaper and a fad was born. (There is no such thing as a chicken fajita, by the way. Marketing. That’s all that was. It’s actually just a chicken taco. But you can’t sell tacos for $15…but you can sell fajitas for that! So, they became chicken fajitas on a menu. Just not in real life. )

That is exactly what happened to shrimp and grits. According to many — but notably Southern food guru John T. Edge — it got popular because of a review in the New York Times.  The chef was Bill Neal, originally from South Carolina, but working in North Carolina at the time. To him, the breakfast delight was a staple of his childhood. He did fancied it up a little bit, but kept it relatively true to its roots. Craig Claiborne from the NYT had a taste and the rest is history.

Next thing you know, Canadians for example — some of my best friends are Canadian — started adding things like Swiss cheese to shrimp and grits.  Well, that doesn’t work. But it happened. And adaptations like that happened here, there and yon  (short for ‘yonder’), and before you know it, you’ve got two dollars worth of ingredients bumped up to three dollars worth and put on a menu for $19 a pop when it’s all said and done.

So. Which one is ‘right’? I’ll leave that up to you.The answer is, obviously, whichever one you like best. Historically? Well now that you know the road it took to get here, you probably have a good idea.

If King Solomon had a web site about shrimp recipes…and he were to include a shrimp and grits recipe, my bet is he would use one of each;  One traditional and one kind of fancied up.  Sounds like a plan.

Traditional Charleston Shrimp & Grits

A Simple Version

A Little ‘Fancied-Up’ But Still Traditional

An adaptation from A Real American Breakfast by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison.

Takes about an hour to fix.

Ingredients:

• · 1.5 pounds medium shrimp, peeled, halved lengthwise, and deveined if you want to.
• Juice of a lemon
• Tabasco or other pepper sauce
• 1.5 teaspoons salt or more to taste
• 1 .5 cups stone-ground grits, not instant or quick-cooking
• 6 thick slices of bacon, chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 or 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup (about 1/4 pound) grated medium to sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions:

• Combine the shrimp with the lemon juice and a a few splashes of hot sauce. Let it sit.

• Make the grits in a large heavy pan. Bringing 6 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of the salt to a boil. Add the grits a few handfuls at a time and stir as you add.  When you have added all the grits — and they have begun to bubble — cut the heat to a low simmer.

• Cook over low heat for 35 to 40 minutes. Stir occasionally at first and and then more often at the end.

• While the grits are cooking, get to work on the gravy. Fry the bacon until it’s brown but not at all crispy. Add the onion, the green pepper, and the garlic. Keep cooking until the onion and pepper are limp. That will take about 5 minutes. Add the scallions, sprinkle the flour over the mixture, and continue sautéing for 5 minutes longer. Stir in the stock and remaining salt and cook for 5 minutes more. Remove it from the heat and finish up the grits.

• When the grits become thick and creamy, add butter. As much as you want.  Then add the cheese. Add a splash of hot pepper sauce and a little more salt if you like. Just taste it. the bacon will add a lot of flavor…and a lot of salt. Cover the grits while you finish the gravy.

• Return the gravy to medium heat and stir in the shrimp. Cook until the shrimp are opaque. That will take about 5 minutes. Serve right away! Make a mound of grits in bowl or on a plate. Cover them with shrimp and gravy.

• Apply lips.

Serves 4 normal people — or 2 of me.

Incoming search terms:

• low country shrimp bisque
• new york times shrimp and grits recipe

Texas is noted for great cooking that includes the spicy flavors of the Southwest and the shrimp fresh from the Gulf.  This recipe combines   the two great flavors the the traditional method of smoking to bring out the best of the flavors.

Dipping Sauce

1 Cup Cider Vinegar

1 Cup Brown Sugar

3/4 Cup chopped roasted mild green chiles

1 Medium Onion, minced

6 Ounces fresh tomatillos, husked and finely chopped

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients together in heavy sauce pan .  Simmer sauce over medium heat about 30 minutes until thickened and cooked down. Serve warm or chilled.  If it becomes to thick after cooking add a small amount of water to thin.

*****

Shrimp:

3/4  Pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

Batter:

1 Cup all purpose flour

1/4 Cup masa  harina (Masa harina is lime processed corn flour found in the Mexican section of the grocery store.  Look for tamala grind or coarse grind as it makes a crunchier nugget.)

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 1/2  teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon sugar

3/4 Cup corn kernels, either fresh or frozen

3 tablespoons minced onion

8 Ounces beer

1 egg

Vegetable oil for frying

Preparation:

Heat smoker to smoker’s required temperature.

Toss, shrimp with oil, garlic, and  chili powders , salt and pepper.  Let marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Transfer shrimp to a small grill rack, basket or heavy duty tin foil. Smoke until shrimp is just cooked through and barely firm usually about 10-20 minutes at about 225 to 250 degrees.

Cool the shrimp enough to finely chop by hand and reserve shrimp.

Using a large bowl mix together batter ingredients and fold in shrimp.

In large heavy sauce pan or Dutch oven, heat several inches of oil to 350 degrees.  Gently drop rounded teaspoons of batter into oil a few at a time.  Do not overcrowd.  Fry nuggets until  crisp and golden brown, about 3 minutes.  Drain nuggets.

Serve hot with dipping  sauce.

Yield: 2 to 2 1/2 dozen nuggets.

This Southwest recipe delights the senses with a just right spicy taste and brings together a delicious combination that you will want to serve again and again to your friends.

Incoming search terms:

• sauce for corn nugget recipe

Cashews, besides being eaten raw as snacks, are ingredients in many pastries, such as cookies and cakes, and sweet breads.  They are also used as topping for salads, fish, and chicken and are often mixed in ice cream and candies.  Cashews,  are  one of  the  edible nuts that add variety, texture and taste to recipes from around the world.

One of the most popular dishes is shrimp and cashews and it is served over rice and fried noodles. This delicious Asian dinner will soon become a family favorite and can be enjoyed at any time you have access to fresh or fresh frozen shrimp.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons peanut oil

2 pounds medium to large shrimp, shelled and deveined

1/4 Cup finely sliced green onions

2 Cups frozen peas

1 Cup chicken broth

1/2 Cup sliced water chestnuts

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 Cup soy sauce

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 /2 Cup dry roasted cashews

Preparation:

Heat peanut oil in skillet.   Add shrimp and green onions.  Cook, stirring constantly, until shrimp turns pink and onions are tender. Add peas, chicken broth, water chestnuts, salt and ginger.  Cover, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes or until peas and shrimp are tender.

Separetly  blend soy sauce and cornstarch .  Stir into shrimp mixture and cook until sauce is clear and slightly thickened.  Stir in cashews.  Serve immediately with hot rice and fried noodles.

Yield 6 servings.

As you can see this dish is a  combination of vegetables, shrimp and nuts makes for a healthy and tasty well rounded meal.  The combination of succulent shrimp and crunchy cashews is truly a treat for your taste buds!

Let’s get grilling… Here is what you will need:

Butter Sauce

8  TBSP (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 TBSP  olive oil

12-14 plump garlic cloves, thinly sliced

******

Shrimp

2 Pounds  medium to large shrimp (about 30 per pound) peeled and deveined

1 or 2 TBSP  olive oil

Coarse salt

Minced fresh flat leaf parsley

Lemon Wedges

Preparation:

Prepare the butter sauce, warming the butter and oil in medium skillet over medium-low heat.  Add garlic and cook slowly until it just begins to color.  Remove the garlic with slotted spoon quickly so it doesn’t color to dark.  Reserve the garlic and warm butter sauce.

Toss the shrimp with the oil and salt and let sit at room temperature.

Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to high.  Arrange a well oiled, small mesh grill rack over the grill grates.

Grill the shrimp uncovered on the rack approximately 2 minutes per side, turning once,  The shrimp are done when their translucent appearance turns pink white and they are just firm with a few lightly browned edges.

Spoon equal amounts of the butter sauce over each portion of the shrimp.  Scatter garlic and parsley over the shrimp and serve with lemon wedges.  Serve hot.

For more variety you can substitue the following items:

Sesame Shrimp

Replace the  olive oil with 1 TBSP dark sesame oil added after the garlic is removed the butter sauce.  Instead of parsley sprinkle on sesame seeds.

Martini Butter Shrimp

Add a splash or two of dry vermouth and 1 TBSP minced lemon zest to the butter sauce after the garlic is removed.  Instead of parsley sprinkle on green olive slivers.

As you can see all of the above are quick, easy and made from simple and easy to find ingredients.  It only takes minutes to serve your guests a truly special dish that everyone will enjoy!

Incoming search terms:

• butter shrimp scatter
• screwed grilled prawn recipe