Gulf Coast Shrimp

OK so I don't have pictures of the fabulous meal that I made last night (well I can't take all the credit, my father-in-law was the grill-master). I actually took photos of the meal, but I was halfway through my meal when I thought to take photos, so it didn't look too appetizing. The recipe is derived from one of the pages I tore out of my Coastal Living magazines years ago, but I had never made it until now. I tweaked it a bit because I didn't have everything they called for, so I will give you my version.

Dave and Karen are at a real estate investing course this weekend so Mike and I decided to do Surf and Turf and spoil them a little bit. They were in class from 9am-7pm, so that makes for a long day! I think they appreciated a good meal waiting for them when they got home. We had fresh local corn (I guess Florida growing season is a little ahead of the rest of the country), thick steaks which were lightly seasoned with Worcestershire and s&p, pecan spiked rice and grilled shrimp with a key lime beurre blanc. The grilling marinade for the shrimp is now my new favorite. The shrimp didn't stick to the grill at all and came off perfectly done and flavorful. I used my Nellie & Joe's Key West Lime Juice that I had leftover from my Key Lime Pie on Easter and it worked perfectly.

Key Lime Grilled Shrimp

Recipe from Coastal Living

Serves 4

16 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 cup no-stick grilling marinade

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp Key Lime zest

Pat shrimp dry with paper towels. Combine shrimp, marinade, honey and zest in a large bowl, tossing to coat. Marinate 1 hour in refrigerator. Drain shrimp well before grilling.

Grill shrimp on a hot grill for 3 to 4 minutes each side, or until done.

Serve with Pecan-Spiked Rice and drizzle with Key Lime Beurre Blanc.

No-Stick Grilling Marinade

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp Key Lime juice

1 tsp Old Bay seasoning, or other seasoning salt

1/2 tsp Old Bay blackening seasoning

3/4 tsp dried minced onion, onion powder or garlic powder

3/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp ground white pepper

1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/4 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Put all ingredients in a bowl and whisk thoroughly. Makes about 1/2 cup.

Pecan-Spiked Rice

2 tbsp butter

1 small onion, chopped

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 cup uncooked brown rice

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted

1 stalk green onion, chopped

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, salt and pepper. Cook until onion is tender and lightly browned.

Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Stir in chicken broth, wine and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20-40 minutes, until liquid is absorbed and rice is done. Remove bay leaf. Stir in pecans and green onion.

Key Lime Beurre Blanc

1/3 cup white wine

3 tbsp Key Lime Juice

1 stalk green onion

2 tsp white wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbsp whipping cream or 1/2 and 1/2

1 cup butter, chopped into small pieces

1/2 tsp Key Lime zest

3/4 tsp salt

Combine first 5 ingredients in small skillet; cook over medium heat until reduced to 3 tbsp. Stir in whip cream and cook until reduced to 3 tbsp. Reduce heat to medium low, add butter, 1 tbsp at a time, stirring until butter melts. Remove from heat. Stir in lime juice and salt.