Super Shrimp Platter

My son, George, served  a shrimp platter at his daughter's recent Communion party.  They were sublimely perfumed and delicious ... the best I have ever had ... and I've eaten a lot of shrimp in my lifetime.  They were so good that I had to document his recipe.  So here it is:

Take two pounds of uncooked shell-on shrimp (of whatever size your budget will permit ... and, if you can find them, never frozen ... but, if frozen, defrost them first in the refrigerator overnight) and de-shell/de-vein them ... leaving the tail shells on if you wish.

Bring to a boil a copious amount of well-salted water.  Add a few nice bay leaves, a tablespoon of mustard seeds, and a tablespoon of peppercorns.  Then add the cleaned (and briefly rinsed) shrimp.  Bring the water back to a boil and boil briefly (about two minutes) making sure all the shrimp have turned pink.  Drain out all the water and place the shrimp in a large freezer bag with lots of ice (crushed, if possible).  Put this in the refrigerator while you make the cocktail sauce.

To make the cocktail sauce:  In a small bowl place 1/2 cup of Heinz ketchup, a tablespoon of good-quality prepared horseradish, a few squirts of Worcester sauce, the juice of half a lemon, and the zest from this same half lemon (this ingredient is important).

Serve the cold shrimp nestled on lots of cracked ice on a large platter (or platters) with the cocktail sauce centered thereon.  Add a garnish of watercress or finely-chopped iceberg lettuce if you are of a mind.  Enjoy with some ice-cold beer (and invite me).

Jeanette’s Famous Pulled Pork

This is a great party treat … serves at least ten hungry folks.

For the meat: Get one 5-7 pound pork shoulder (with the bone in). Put it in an oven bag along with 1½ teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, and 2 tablespoons flour. Shake it to cover and add a good splash of water. Bake in a slow oven (250-300 degrees) for about 4 hours. When fully cooked, remove and let it cool. Then pull all the meat off the bone into shreds, discarding bone and any gristle only … not the fat.

For the BBQ sauce: sauté in a large stainless steel or enameled pot (important, do not use aluminum!), in one cup of canola oil, one chopped large onion and two minced garlic cloves until wilted. Add one cup ketchup, one cup water, one cup good cider vinegar, one cup of white wine, one cup dark brown sugar, 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce, one cup good prepared brown mustard, one tablespoon thyme, one teaspoon liquid smoke (optional, depending on where you are from), 3 tablespoons of salt, 8 grinds of black pepper, and the juice of one lemon. Bring BBQ sauce to a boil then reduce to a simmer.

Add the pulled pork to the sauce and simmer, partially covered for about one hour.

Serve with lots of big hard rolls (Northerners) or big soft rolls (Southerners,) a large bowl of coleslaw (in my mind, a must, to be put on the pulled pork) and the hot sauce of your choice (Tabasco or Frank’s) … and, of course, all the other party goodies like potato salad, french fries, and/or baked beans (including mucho ice-cold beer ... try "Presidente" from Puerto Rico). Enjoy ya’ll!

Cyetta’s Superb Spinach Salad

Anytime we have a gathering of friends and Cyetta asks what she can bring, I always request this superb salad:

First the most delicious salad dressing (Makes about one quart of dressing. Can be cut by ½ or 2/3rds. Remainder can be stored for months in the refrigerator.)

Ingredients:
1 cup ketchup
1 cup salad oil (canola oil is good)
2/3 cup good sharp cider vinegar
2/3 cup sugar
1 small onion or shallot, grated (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp celery seeds (Cyetta's choice, but I substitute poppy seeds)
½ tsp paprika
Juice of 1 lemon
1 minced garlic clove (or equivalent in garlic powder)
A pinch of dry mustard
½ tsp Worcester sauce

Shake all these ingredients together in jar of sufficient size.

Use this dressing on a salad made from a package of baby spinach, a good amount of crumbled fried or broiled bacon (at least 1/2 a pound), a small cold can of Mandarin orange sections (or cold navel orange sections), and toasted slivered almonds. (The almonds can be toasted in the bacon grease … but are optional.)

Dried Lima Bean Casserole

Rinse and soak a package of dried lima beans (baby limas or full size, but baby limas are best) overnight in lots of cold water. Drain them well.

Sauté, until light brown, one large yellow onion with one or two cloves garlic, both chopped fine. Add one large can of chopped whole tomatoes, salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste, a heaping tablespoon of brown sugar, a teaspoon of Worcester sauce, a good sprinkling of thyme, a little marjoram, a bay leaf (or a little bay leaf powder), a pinch of powdered cloves, a handful of chopped flat parsley, and a splash of good cider vinegar.

Add this mixture to the lima beans in a heavy casserole dish and bake in a slow (200-250 degrees) oven, covered, for at least two hours, adding water (or cider) as needed to keep the beans bathed in fluid. Uncover the dish and top with a layer of pork chops (or shoulder lamb chops) which have been salted and peppered. Continue cooking, uncovered, until the chops achieve your desired degree of doneness -- an hour or more. It is also good to splash some of the sauce over the chops from time to time to add to their flavor. The more fat you leave on the chops, the more flavor they will add to the beans below.

Serve with hard cider or beer and a good, crusty bread. Enjoy!