SHRIMP AND PASTA SALAD with BASIL AND GARLIC DRESSING

AUGUST HEAT...IT'S JUST TOO HOT TO COOK!

But we still love to entertain our friends...
Here's one of our favorite company meals...


SHRIMP AND PASTA SALAD
    with Basil and Garlic Dressing
Chilled Asparagus Spears
Chilled French Green Beans
Fresh Tomatoes
Fresh Mozzarella slices
Assorted crackers and garlic toasts* 
Lemon Basil Sorbet and Shortbread (from Fresh Market)


The recipe for the Shrimp and Pasta salad was given to me by my wonderful sister-in-law. It's simple, make ahead, and super delicious...perfect for a hot summer's day! It's even easier when you purchase cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp from your local grocery or fish market!

BASIL AND GARLIC DRESSING
   (makes about 1/2 cup)


   2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
   1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
   3 large garlic cloves, minced
   1/2 tsp. salt
   Pinch of freshly ground pepper
   1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce
   1 heaping tsp. fresh basil, minced
   1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil


SALAD
   1 4oz. jar/can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
   1/2 cup sliced ripe (black) olives
   6 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
   1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
   1/2 tsp. salt
   1 pound small shrimp, boiled, deveined, and chilled
   1/2 pound Penne Rigate, cooked (al dente), rinsed and chilled
   1/2 cup grated Parmesan
   Red-tipped leaf lettuce to line the plates...


Prepare the dressing by combining all ingredients except the olive oil in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.Process until smooth. With the processor still running, slowly add the olive oil through the feed tube. Process an addition 15 seconds to form a strong emulsion. Refrigerate.


To prepare the salad, combine all ingredients except lettuce leaves in a large bowl. Toss to blend well. Add the dressing and stir to incorporate. Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Serve the salad on individual serving plates lined with the lettuce leaves.
Serves 4-6.


THIS DISH WAS SO EASY TO PREPARE...AND DELICIOUS!




The Lemon Basil Sorbet was made with my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker...the recipe was from the accompanying cookbook. It was quite TART...which may be due to the fact that I don't think I added all the suggested sweetener. (I experimented with using a sugar substitute. OOPS!) Thanks to our innovative guests, we learned that the sorbet was delicious when added to our glasses of water. It made a refreshing lemonade-style beverage. (Thanks for experimenting, Becky!) 


Remember...even when you goof up a recipe, you can laugh about it with your guests. It just adds to the fun and the stories...and the teasing! (One day, I'll live this one down...)


Especially when it's HOT, I like to purchase parts of the meal. Not only does it keep the kitchen much cooler, it keeps me more relaxed and allows me to truly enjoy my guests. (There was a time when I wouldn't be caught dead doing this...I finally got smart!)

* For this meal we served flavored Triscuits (Olive Oil and Rosemary, and Fire-roasted Tomato) and garlic toast rounds purchased from the bakery department at our local grocer. (Both Publix and Fresh Market always have these on the shelves.)

Our table design was simple...










My favorite burlap fabric
Rattan chargers (WM)
Coral plates (C&B)
Rattan candle holder (hg)
Asst. Shells and Starfish
Fishing Floats (found on various beaches) 
Coral printed napkins (The Fresh Market)
Starfish Dessert Plates (TJM)
Dessert Dishes (C&B)*

We kept everything very simple...ate in the breakfast room, overlooking the pool. Lots of wonderful Quinta da Aveleda Vinho Verde (wine) accompanied the meal...mmmm.
(This is my new favorite...and it came in pale blue bottles...they're already on my bottle tree!)


*In case you are looking for a very versatile dessert dish, check these out... They're from Crate and Barrel...$2.50 each or 12 for $24.95. I think I have used these dishes MORE than anything else in my cabinets. They can be used for so many things...and they hold just the right amount of dessert.

I am connecting with Foodie Friday! See you there...

Have a wonderful weekend...and stay cool!

Jane

Around the Table

Freedom from Want, Norman Rockwell's painting of family and friends gathered around the table, is still one of the most popular paintings today. Have you ever wondered why this painting resonates with so many of us? I believe it's because the painting represents something that we all long for...something that we seem to have forgotten in our fast-paced society. We were created to desire fellowship. We crave relationships with our family and friends. But we allow ourselves to get caught up in our hectic schedules and forget the IMPORTANCE of coming together around the table.

Table time was one of out BEST tools for teaching our children...and their friends. It was a time for teaching good manners and civility towards each other, respect for the opinions of others, and for learning to think outside the proverbial box. It was a time to CONNECT.

Believe me, I know how difficult it can be to gather each and every day. In our home, that practice did not work most of the time. During the years our boys lived at home, we were always running from one training session or game to another. And with Dad being gone most of the week, I drove in circles...about 150 miles each day. We did connect during the long car rides, but by the time we were all home, all we could think about was homework, eating, and SLEEP. We ate in shifts...and usually wherever we dropped.



Weekends...especially Sundays...that's when we had some of the best mealtimes ever!!! The food was usually good, but the family time around the table was priceless!



With our crack-up sons, we were often entertained with quips and quotes from movies (all three were masters with the dialog from Aladdin...with the appropriate voices!), rampant jokes, and even deep discussions about the happenings in the world and religion. When they were young, we played "head math" and other types of "educational" games. We even made a game about using our dinner napkins...the napkins had to be on everyone's laps before the first bite of food was taken (after the prayer, of course). If one was caught...be it child or parent... the culprit had to leave the room and count to 20, VERY LOUDLY, in Spanish, before he/she returned to the table to eat. It was always a red-letter day when the boys could catch MacDaddy or me without our napkins! (That was a teaching time, too...no special treatment for those in "power".) Would you believe the guys...and their friends still try t catch each other when they eat here?

Mealtime around the table was a time to learn about the world, to learn about each other, and to ...just BE. And it was never dull!

As the boys grew up, our table...and our meals...stretched to include their many friends who always seemed to stop by around dinner time. Many of these kids had never eaten food that didn't come from a box or the (gasp!) drive-thru window. I remember Brian, who had never tasted fresh vegetables. He arrived after the meal was finished and made himself a plate of leftover black-eyed peas, fried corn, and cornbread. He practically licked the bowls clean! (And he always asked when I was going to fix this meal again...promising to show up for dinner!)

Then there was Christian, who share how much he loved sitting at out tale...even with paper-wrapped burgers from WENDY'S! He commented that his mom would cook, but that everyone would serve his plate and head to a different room...never to eat together as a family - even on Thanksgiving!




Drummer Boy's many band members would often stay for spaghetti or enchilada dinners after practicing in the garage (Oh, my ears!). And MacDaddy (or "Mad Dog", as they called him) would use this time to challenge these kids to think well beyond their supposed capabilities. We rarely had less than 8 people squeezed around the kitchen table. These dinners would often last 2-3 hours...around the table. The kids did not want to leave!





Our boys are grown and gone, but when they visit, we still have great meals together...Around the Table! And our meals still stretch for hours...and their friends are still welcome...and the conversation, and teasing, and joking continues...and we all grow closer.



And now, in our new "childless" phase of life, OUR friends gather around the table...and the conversation lasts for hours...and we all CONNECT!


Take time this week, to reconnect with your family and friends... around the table. Jane