Birthday and more

So far August has been another great month. Lots of family, friends, and food! Will did some cooking because Costco had the never frozen jumbo shrimp he loves. He found a great recipe for cocktail sauce that I liked so much I used on my quesodilla. His rotation is pretty laid back and he has vacation next week too!

We met up with some family to swim and celebrate my birthday. Cake and ice-cream hit the spot as usual. We ended up celebrating two times so everyone could be there so I got two special treats. And I got a panini grill which I am really excited about. The boys are always begging for grilled cheese which takes forever to melt without burning but not anymore. And I love to make soup for dinner, but it always needs a sandwich to go with it. I am just sad our garden is piddling out on us. I loved having tomatoes on hand all the time.

Shrimp Cocktail Recipe- (from simply recipes)

If you are using frozen shrimp, the safest way to defrost them is in a bowl of ice water in the refrigerator. I like to buy tail-on, shell-on, deviened shrimp. Of course, use what you can find at the markets.

INGREDIENTS

For the shrimp:

• 2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
• 1 lemon, halved
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 24 extra large tail-on raw shrimp (more if you are using smaller shrimp)

For the cocktail sauce:

• 1/2 cup Heinz chili sauce*
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon horseradish
• 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
• 1/2 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

* The chef specifically recommends Heinz chili sauce – it’s not very spicy and has a nice sweet taste. If you use other type of hot chili sauce, just start with a couple tablespoons first, then taste and adjust.

METHOD

1 To prepare the cocktail sauce, mix all the cocktail sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.

2 Have a large bowl of ice water ready and set near the sink. To a 8-quart pot of water, add the Old Bay, lemon, granulated garlic, garlic, chili powder, and salt. Bring to a boil. Add the shrimp to the pot and when the water returns to a boil, the shrimp should be done! The shrimp should be bright pink.

3 Immediately drain and place the shrimp into the ice bath to cool for 2 minutes. Peel the shrimp (leaving the tail-on.) Drain and serve with the cocktail sauce.