Grilled Shrimp Po Boy with Kickin' Po Boy Sauce

Happy New Year everyone! (Very belated) I have observed all my New Year Traditions. I spent it with my favorite person in the world. I had a meal of smothered cabbage and black eye peas with the family when I returned. This year is off to a great start.

Central Texas was cold and rainy. We cooked black eye peas and a few other things together. We discovered we do not like fresh black eye peas we prefer dried. This totally surprised both of us. I mean fresh is usually better? Right? I guess in this case we have been cooking from dry so long that they evoke that comforting memory. The fresh were not bad? Just different. They smelled and taste different. They even took longer to cook. Odd? We won't try that again.

We did make a good old fashioned 7 Layer Dip for New Year's Eve. We made our own guacamole and added many pickled jalapenos, so technically it might have been an eight layer dip. It was amazing how happy this made us. I don't know why I don't make this more often. It has been years since I made one. We also cooked many other things. Mayo Baked Tilapia and Veggies, Beef Filet and Mushroom Pan Sauce and of course lots of Breakfasts. That is his specialty. But the stand out recipe of the week was a Grilled Shrimp Po Boy. 

This Po Boy was amazing! It was really just a "winging it" recipe. My favorite person wanted a good po-boy on good bread. So he bought the bread from Jimmy John's. As for what to put on the po boy? We both agreed shrimp. We talked about using a marinade for BBQ Shrimp he was given by a friend. Well? We left our shopping list at home so we left a key ingredient at the store. So this marinade is the result. It was still great. I don't know if you can tell much difference from the original. They are well flavored with a hint of smoke from the grill. Perfect on their own or on a po boy. I asked what kind of sauce he wanted. He said something with a kick. Well I think "winging it" yet again worked to our benefit. We now have a Kickin' Po Boy Sauce. It's spicy, creamy, a little sweet and tangy. It had a nice flavor kick but did not over power or compete with the shrimp. It was so good! I will definitely make this for the family soon. Maybe on a warm day. We nearly froze to death at the grill that night. It was so so cold! But totally worth it. (Smiling)

Grilled Shrimp Po Boy with Kickin' Po Boy Sauce
Serves 2 or 3

Ingredients

For Shrimp and Marinade:
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup ketchup
3 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp hot sauce
2 tsp horseradish

For Kickin' Po Boy Sauce:
2 Tbsp. ketchup
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 to 2 tsp. capers
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

For Po Boy:
French bread, sliced in halved
Butter, softened
Kickin' Po Boy Sauce (recipe above)
Shredded lettuce
Tomato, sliced
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
Grilled shrimp

Directions

For Shrimp Marinade: Combine everything but shrimp in a jar and shake to combine. Pour over the shrimp to cover. Let marinade at least 30 min before grilling.

For Kickin' Po Boy Sauce: Combine ingredients stirring well to combine. Set aside for later.

For the Po Boy: Pre-heat the grill to medium high heat. Butter both insides of french bread. Grill the shrimp a few minutes each side, until opaque and has nice grill marks. Place bread on the grill butter side down. Grill until butter has melted and has nice golden brown grill marks. Remove from grill and assemble the po boy. Spread the kickin' sauce on both sides of the bread, place lettuce, tomatoes on bottom half of bread. Season with salt and pepper. Top with grilled shrimp and the top half of the bread. Cut into 2 or 3 sandwiches. Serve immediately!

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
The Diary of a Real Housewife: Friday Favorites

Saturday Shopping

This Saturday my friend D and I went out to Ed Lester Farms. She had never been and there is only one more week to enjoy the experience. I walked away with more tomatoes, both ripe and green. A few more peaches which I promptly turned into Peach Buttermilk Sherbet (but that is for a future post). I also bought some yellow squash. D got peaches, blueberries and a watermelon. I am going to miss my trips out there.

Photo from Spice & All Facebook page

Our second stop was Spice & All a relatively new Mediterranean grocery store in Shreveport, LA. I had a blast looking around. I replenished some of my Hummus supplies. I got some great tahini and dried chickpeas. I bought some almonds I plan to turn into almond butter one day. They had fenegreek seeds too. I can't tell you how hard that is to find around here. Now I can make more Curry Powder. I also found rose water for a Greek iced tea recipe I love. I found Maggi Seasoning too! I need this for a Slow-Cooker Braised Brisket (Machaca) recipe I want to try. But the best find of them all was paneer and halloumi. I have never seen these items in the average grocery store. I can't wait to cook with them. This store has so many hard to find items and so much more. The owner told us he will be starting cooking classes soon. I look forward to many more visits in the future.

D and I said goodbye at Spice & All and for some reason my car just drove me straight to Bao Bao the Asian grocery store. Here I found Furikake which is an amazing rice seasoning. I got two flavors. Nori Komi Furikake is just sesame seed, nori, sugar and salt. The second one, Seto Fumi Furikake has bonito flakes, sesame seed, nori, sugar and salt. I open it and it is delicious. I can't wait to use it on a California Roll Salad. I bought some kombu and bonito flakes so I can try making dashi and miso soup. I got more annato seeds so I can make more Sazon. Finally I bought a shredding vegetable peeler. I foresee some fancy shredded veggies in future recipes. Saturday shopping was a lot of fun.

Benton Farmer's Market

Sunday my friend and I went to Benton, LA for their farmer's market. We were still having slightly cooler days, so it was a great day to be out and about. This was both our first time at this market. We made one mistake, we had lunch before we went. This market had many food vendors and lots of samples being offered at every turn. Next time we go hungry. There were some tamales I need to try. This market has a little bit of everything, food, produce, baked goods, preserved items, a demonstration or two. My favorite was the young boy who brought his club shaped gourds to sell. He told us that the native Americans would dry them, cut off a portion of the round bulb of the gourd and make a drinking cup to hang by their water source. Very cute, smart young man.

We walked away with some bread-n-butter pickles, 2 fruit breads, squash, onions, heirloom cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. 

But my friend found the most amazing find of the day, Almond Toffee Butter! It is so amazing! I mean I have had commercial almond butter you purchase at the store, but it has nothing on this handmade butter from Hoover's Seasonal Produce. It is delicious! I love the crunchy texture. It is not to sweet, just perfect on toast. I enjoyed some this morning with my coffee. So good! Thanks D for the treat! What will we do when we run out? I guess we will go back right? The market is open Sunday only from 12:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. and continues through Sunday, July 27, 2014. So don't miss out, only one left.

For more about Benton Farmer's Market check out their website here.

For your own Almond Butter and more about Hoover's Seasonal Produce 

go to their website here.

Liebster Blog Award

Liebster Blog Award Nomination

I was nominated for the Liebster Blog Award by Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines. I was flattered that Lynn nominated me, and that she thought about my blog when she was nominated. I am happy to be able to nominate others for the Liebster Blog Award. I hope they will be as excited about the nomination as I am. What a great way to recognize new blogs and learn about our new blogging friends. Thank you Lynn!

I am rather new to blogging and just started following other bloggers. Many I follow are lucky to have more than 200 followers. So I am nominating three of my new blog friends. I hope to nominate more after I have been doing this longer.

The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers (with less than 200 followers) in order to recognize them and let them know that they are appreciated and to spread the word about new blogs. It is a wonderful way of recognizing blogs and being recognized.

The Rules Are:

1. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
2. Answer the questions that the nominator set for you
3. Create 11 questions for the people you nominate
4. Choose 11 blogs with less than 200 followers and link them in your post.


Here Are The 11 Random Facts About Myself:

1. I collect Fiestaware.
2. I don't wear heels, very often.
3. I was in 4-H in grade school.
4. Almost all the books I read are cookbooks.
5. I can't whistle.
6. I like Sushi.
7. My wardrobe contains a lot of red, black and hot pink.
8. I was a camp counselor.
9. If I did not have onions, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes; I would not be able to cook a thing.
10. Diet Coke is my coffee, well unless it is really cold.
11. I laugh everyday. 

The 11 Questions asked by Lynn:

1. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? Greece

2. What food do you dislike? Not a fan of Bananas, I will eat them but not a go to food for me.

3. What is your favorite movie? A Walk in the Clouds. I would love to spend a month at a vineyard.

4. What is your favorite thing to eat? Soups of all kinds.

5. Do you have any tattoo's? No, but it is definitely art in my book.

6. Do you speak a foreign language? I took french, but I would not say I can speak it. I can recognize it.

7. Do you grow your own herbs or vegetables? Herbs. I have Rosemary and Oregano right now.

8. Who is/was the most influential person in your life? My mother, she is a very special person.

9. What can you do best? Sing or Dance? Right now I would say Sing. I took dance as a child but I do not dance often. I sing more often with family and friends.

10. What is your favorite smell? My spice cabinet.

11. Any regrets? Yes or No? Surprisingly...No? Maybe I am not thinking long enough?


Here Are the 11 Questions for My Nominees:

1. Where have you been? Your favorite travel destination?
2. What is your favorite herb?
3. What is your can't miss TV show?
4. What is your favorite vegetable?
5. Do you have any pets?
6. Sweet or Unsweet Tea?
7. What is your favorite Holiday?
8. Who is the person(famous, dead or living) you would most like to have over for dinner?
9. What kind of music do you enjoy?
10. What is your favorite taste? Sweet or Savory?
11. What is your favorite Season?


Here is a List of the 11 3 Blogs that I Nominated:

1. Sue @ House Pretty
2. Wanda Ann @ Memories by the Mile
3. Hilary @ Threaded Life
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. 

Alright Nominees! Don't forget to comment on this post with a link to your blog post!!

Getting Social!

 

Hop on over to My Turn (for us). Evelyn, Jamie and Tammy are hosting this party for bloggers who wish 

to make new friends and gain new followers. 

Lots of great blogs to explore there. So join us at:

Let's Get Social Sunday #2