*sigh*
No getaway to Michigan this weekend. One of our fellow travelers had a gall bladder attack in the wee, small hours of the morning and is waiting to get in to see his doctor. On the bright side, our friend is feeling better, and may be up for some local activities this weekend. Also on the bright side; we have a free three-day weekend, the house is cleaned, laundry done, and clothing ironed.
Even more on the the bright side, we kicked off the start of our long weekend by having our friend Golnaz over for grilled shrimp kebabs, macaroni salad and a tossed green salad.
The macaroni salad was yesterday’s project, and I have to say that this recipe will now be my default for pasta salad. The key is most definitely the overnight rest and double dressing application. Golnaz loved the tossed salad, which was just romaine, diced onion, English cucumber, sun-dried tomatoes, red and yellow peppers, grape tomatoes, shaved sharp provolone and home made croutons with an oil and vinegar dressing.
The star of the dinner, though, were the kebabs; shrimp, ‘shrooms and peppers marinated and grilled. It didn’t hurt that the marinade is dead simple, calling for only six ingredients, and only needed one hour to sit with the shrimp & fixin’s.
INGREDIENTS
Skewers:
•3/4 lb raw shrimp
•Mushrooms
•2 peppers (I used red and yellow)
Marinade:
•1-1/2 tbsp olive oil
•1-1/2 tbsp water
•2 tsp rice vinegar
•2 tsp soy sauce
•2 tsp toasted sesame seeds (I didn’t toast ours)
•1/2 tsp sesame oil
Toss the shrimp, ‘shrooms and veggies in the marinade and chill for an hour. Thread on to skewers and grill for approximately 3 minutes per side until the shrimp is cooked. The flavor was surprisingly light – just a hint of the smokiness sesame oil is known for. Mix and match your veggies with the shrimp if you like – I think onion wedges would be nice as well.
Golnaz made one of her lovely fruit tarts for desert, garnished with bits of basil from her garden. She was fussing about not having had the ingredients to make a proper glaze, but we don’t think she missed a thing. If I can get her to share, I’ll post the recipe.