Larry is crazy for seafood; it truly must be an innate taste since he definitely didn't acquire his love of edible aquatic creatures on the Schlabach dairy farm in rural Sugarcreek, Ohio. When it was fish day at the elementary school cafeteria, Larry would scan the room to be sure none of his friends had left their fried piece of processed cod. He vividly remembers his first time eating out at a restaurant at the age of fourteen. Several of his older brothers had the opportunity to spend a week with their Amish uncle, Junior Mast, during wheat harvest. Yes, they worked the whole week, but it felt like vacation not to have to milk the same old cows and do the routine farm chores. Finally Larry was old enough and it was his turn. Near the end of the week, Uncle Junior took his horse and buggy to the tiny town of Walnut Creek, to run errands. Larry accompanied him and when it was lunchtime, they went to the Mennonite restaurant, Der Dutchman. From all the traditional options on the menu, Larry can still recall what he chose: a fried square of fish fillet, mashed potatoes, and green peas.
Fifteen years later, my sweet husband tasted shrimp for the first time. By now, he was a medical resident, at Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga. One day, a pharmaceutical rep brought lunch into the lounge for the tired, overworked doctors-in-training. I feel certain Larry's pupils dilated when he saw the giant mound of shrimp, still in the shells, each one as large as the palm of your hand, chilling on a bed of ice. He filled his plate and sat down to savor those sweet mermaid-tailed sea creatures. With a loud "crunch", he bit into the first one, shell and all. One of the other residents sitting nearby, asked him incredulously, if he ate the shells. Unlike me, Larry is masterful at the art of morphing and adapting to whatever is needed in a given situation. If he is ever uncomfortable in a social situation, no one (except me, his wife) will ever perceive it. He told Dr. Lee, that "yes, he ate the shrimp, shells and all. That was how he liked them!" We still howl at the telling of that story, all these years later. And Larry now peels his shrimp.
Here is my favorite shrimp recipe, personalized from Barefoot Contessa's collection. It is a bit labor intensive, but the fresh, herbaceous taste of the shrimp, charred on the grill, is so worth your effort. Ina Garten recommends preparing this either as an appetizer for 8-10, or as a main entree, serving 6.
Grilled Herb Shrimp
2 lbs. jumbo shrimp (16 - 20 per pound), peeled and deveined (tails left on)
3 cloves garlic
1 small yellow onion
1/2 c. fresh parsley
1/2 c. fresh basil
1 tsp. dry mustard
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
juice of large lemon
1/4 c. olive oil
Roughly chop the garlic, onion, parsley and basil and place in the food processor; pulse several times to finely chop. (You can also do this whole process by hand. Just be sure to chop everything quite fine.) Add the dry mustard, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil to the food processor and pulse a few more times until all is combined. Clean the shrimp and place in a large plastic bag. Cover with the marinade and gently turn the bag over until all the shrimp are covered. You can leave the shrimp in the marinade for one hour at room temp before grilling, or place in the refrigerator in the morning to grill that evening.
Thread the shrimp pieces onto long skewers, five to a skewer. Prepare a med-hot grill. Be sure grill grates are very clean and brush them with oil just before grilling, to prevent the shrimp from sticking. Place the skewers on the grill and watch closely. They should be ready to turn in about 2 minutes. Grill for 2 minutes on the second side and remove to a platter. You can also cook this under an oven broiler if you don't have access to a grill.
