Shrimp Boil Salad (Guest Post)

Hey there FeauxReaders!  Today, I am thrilled to present you with a guest post from none other than my cousin Primo from New Orleans.  He dreamed up a delicious-looking warm (or cold) salad that I can’t wait to test out!

---

I enjoy cooking. I enjoy challenges and experimenting with new recipes. I’m the kind of guy that watches shows like Chopped, Cutthroat Kitchen, and other game-type shows on Food Network and honestly thinks he could do well.

For my company Christmas party, we decided to do a pot luck lunch. As we were divvying up the assigned dishes, I deferred to making whatever dish wasn’t claimed since I don’t have a “signature dish”. In my office, that translates to “I can only make *insert item here*” Low and behold, the category I ended up with was… SALAD. What a slap in the face. Not only do I feel like that’s a cop-out dish for any pot luck, but I’m a meat and potatoes guy that doesn’t normally like traditional salads.

I had to make a salad that not only wowed my coworkers but would also be something new and exciting for me. After a couple hours of pondering and a quick brainstorming phone call with Prima, (aka Ms. FeauxCajun, herself) the shrimp boil salad was born.

Ingredients:

• Shrimp/Crab boil to taste (If you are unfamiliar with seafood boil seasoning, premeasured boil in bag versions are available at most grocers)
• 3 pounds of baby red potatoes cut in halves or quarters
• 1 pound smoked link sausage, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 pack of frozen corn on the cob (fresh Missouri/Iowa sweet corn on the cob would be best but it wasn’t available to me in Louisiana in December)
• 2 pounds peeled beautiful Louisiana shrimp  (if you’re unable to buy fresh gulf shrimp, any fresh or even frozen [then thawed] UNCOOKED shrimp will probably work with this recipe)
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3 tablespoons Creole mustard
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
• 2 local beers (for the chef while cooking)

Essential cooking tool.

Directions:

1. 1. Bring 10 cups water and boil seasoning to a boil in a large stock pot over high heat.

2. Add potatoes and sausage; return to a boil, and cook 13 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

3. While your potatoes are cooking, combine lemon juice, EVOO, parsley, Creole mustard, horseradish, garlic, and paprika and whisk together well.

4. Remove potatoes and sausage and set aside in your large salad bowl

5. Add corn to stock pot and return to a boil. Cook 3 minutes. Add shrimp; cover, remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink.

Now THAT is a beautiful sight.

6. Drain and peel shrimp. Cut kernels from cobs. Discard cobs. Stir together corn kernels, shrimp, potatoes, sausage, and lemon juice mixture in a large bowl.

7. Serve hot or cover and chill to serve cold the next day.

NOTE: While this dish is fantastic fresh out of the pot, it is equally as fantastic served chilled. The flavors remain strong. I think the new twist on a COLD shrimp boil combined with the lemon juice dressing made for an unexpected surprise.