What to cook this month, that is the question? It is still quite hot so maybe we should cook something that keeps the oven from turning on. What would that be?
I really don’t know. But I had better think of something and very soon.
Oh, wait, something is coming to me. How about a summer pasta salad that features shrimp and real crab meat? That sounds so good, I just might stop writing and start cooking.
First of all, get yourself a package of salad macaroni or a package of shells. Cook to taste, drain and let cool down while you are fooling around with the rest of the ingredients.
You can get real crab meat in most meat markets. It is usually lump crab meat and is in large cans. If you cannot find that in your meat market, use a couple of cans of real crab meat in the canned meat aisle. You will need half of a large can for this recipe. Make sure it is cleaned, that there are no shells left in it, being very careful to not bruise the crab meat. By that I mean it needs to go in the salad in as large pieces as possible. Otherwise it just crumbles to nothing.
As to the shrimp. Get yourself about a dozen large shrimp, shell them, devein them and cook until pink. Let them cool down and if they are very big, cut them in half for the salad.
In addition you will need
A Cup of mayonnaise
A half cup of sour cream
A good dollop of Old Bay seasoning
Salt, pepper and Tabasco to taste.
1 bunch of green onions diced and use green and white parts.
One bunch of grape tomatoes cut in half.
A quarter cup of sliced green olives
Chopped bread and butter pickles with a quarter cup of the juice reserved
Sugar to taste
That should get you started. In a mixing bowl, mix by hand the mayonnaise, old bay, hot sauce, sour cream, seasonings, sugar to taste and pickle juice. I like my sauce on the sweet side so I do use a little sugar and I think that Tabasco goes very well with sea food so I do use quite a bit of that. Like maybe a good two tablespoons full.
When the dressing tastes like you want it to, add the rest of the ingredients, the pasta and let it cool in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
For an added treat, add a handful of crumbled potato chips mixed in with everything else. This makes for a special crunch the first day you are serving it.
Bon Appétit!
