Shrimp Cobb or Starting Over in the St. Paul Kitchen

After a busy season of church, family, and travel, I'm back.  I missed blogging, but simply couldn't find a good way to do it with pictures from my ipad, which is what I take away from home. First blog must be about how we came home...

After a long drive, and a couple of weeks away from my still Christmas kitchen (I do admit it:  I was cheating with my other kitchen the whole time), we were hungry.  Friends offered one meal and we ate out another, but we needed to get back into the swing of cooking and eating at home.  Not wanting to do a serious grocery shop right away, I ran through the corner store for just a few things:

1. avocado
2. fresh greens
3. blueberries
4. cherry tomatoes
5. 4 red bell peppers
6. chicken breasts (several--on the bone, with skin)
7. whole wheat bread
8. plain Greek yogurt
9. milk

When I arrived home,  I was able to put together the Shrimp Cobb (recipe below) that night and had plenty more for a couple of breakfasts, a pot of chicken chili, and leftover chicken for snacks and sandwiches.   (Thanks to a well-stocked pantry and freezer that included shrimp and bacon.)

Let's talk chicken chili another time.  Love this stuff.  You can do beans or no beans.

 Meantime, both Dave and I were hungry.  Here's how I made our Shrimp Cobb:

Shrimp Cobb   serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1/2# cooked, deveined,and peeled shrimp
• 2 boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
• 4oz blue cheese (I like Roquefort for this, but you might like Maytag or another American blue), divided in half  for South Beach, use 2oz low-fat cheddar or mozzerella
• 12 ea grape tomatoes and pitted kalamata olives
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced  for South Beach, use 2/3 of an avocado
• 2 pieces of bacon, fried to a crisp and chopped
• 3 cups mixed greens (I like kale and spinach)
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1-2T extra virgin olive oil  for South Beach, skip dressing; avocado replaces oil allowance
• Kosher Salt and pepper

Directions:  Set out two, large shallow bowls (I like pasta bowls for this.) and line each bowl with greens. Add shrimp at center of each bowl.  Next, paying attention to color, contrast and texture, add the other ingredients (eggs through bacon) in clusters around the shrimp for each serving.  Squeeze lemon juice over the salads and dust with a bit of salt and pepper.  Drizzle each with olive oil.  Serve immediately.  (I like the lightness of the instant lemon vinaigrette here--so that you can taste all of the ingredients individually.  Some people might want a heavier or more traditional Cobb dressing, which is French; others might like old-fashioned Thousand-Island or Blue Cheese dressing.)

Fresh...and filling
 

For links to other things I've written about lately, check out the links in my twitter feed...at right, up top. 



Two-Dog Kitchen and Around the 'Hood
    a few pics from the break--not in any particular order

We know we're not supposed to be here and what are you doing about it?  You're cooking.

Grandson under the table after dinner.  We all wanted to join him.

Love these two.

See the Dinner Place blog for this recipe.

New cookie...still needs a name.  3 kinds of chocolate and peppermint....

Christmas morning cinnamon rolls after church.

 

Christmas morning service at church...we gathered around these beautiful candles.

Christmas day before dinner.

Working on a pepper cornbread--Buttermilk or no? 

Sunrise at our Colorado house.

Sun worshipers

New Year's Hoppin' John

Good visit in Denver.

Out to dinner with our big kid.

Sing a new song and all positive possibilities for healing to those in need...particularly my dear Elizabeth,
Alyce