Today is a much deserved day off for me considering the long work week and that today is Canada Day. To celebrate such a wonderful day, I slept in until late morning, woke up and lounged around while I had breakfast, watched a marathon of Bobby Flay shows, took my dose of Tony Horton, gardened and then cooked up some good summer food.
Tough life eh?
Too bad Chris had to work though. The man works almost every holiday there is. That is the life of retail, which, in my opinion, is somewhat backwards despite how much I like to shop on weekends and holidays myself. Nevertheless, if I were told one day that shops would be closed every Sunday and statutory holiday, I would rejoice. It would mean a better lifestyle, don’t you think? Perhaps the pretty summer days we’re having are making me delirious. The occasional thought of exiting this rat race is healthy though. It’s an exercise that should be practiced to return to the centre of life… or if you’re like me, watching a slew of cooking shows is good enough therapy.
During my “therapy” a recipe screamed out at me. It was a lobster potato salad that Bobby was making on his show. The thing that appealed most to me was the cilantro in the recipe. You don’t understand, I LOVE CILANTRO. “You like cilantro in everything.” Chris said as he munched away at dinner. Indeed, I do.
Shrimp & Potato Salad with Roasted Corn
Yields 4 servings.
5 – 6 cups small potatoes, halved
1 lb of shrimp, deveined, shell on
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp whole grain mustard
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp chopped cilantro
5 cups frozen corn
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt
Pepper
1 tsp light cooking oil
Preheat the oven at 430 F. Toss the potatoes in a roasting pan with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 50 minutes or until crispy and brown on the outside. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl.
Spread the corn on a baking sheet and roast in the oven at the same temperature for 20 minutes until slightly browned. Remove from heat and transfer to another bowl.
Arrange the shrimp on a baking sheet. Season with salt and roast in the oven at the same temperature for 10 – 15 minutes until done. Watch the shrimp closely nearing 10 minutes to make sure you do not overcook them. Remove them from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Peel the shrimp and transfer to the same bowl containing the potatoes.
Heat the light cooking oil in a skillet over high heat. Sautee the onions and garlic until they are soft and slight brown. Toss with the roasted corn and season with salt.
Whisk the remaining olive oil with the Dijon, whole grain mustard and white vinegar in a bowl. Toss with the warm potatoes, shrimp and cilantro until coated. Serve with the roasted corn.
There was one thing I missed in my recipe that I think I will have to try next time and that is honey. Bobby’s recipe uses a bit of honey to round out the dressing for the potato salad where in mine, I missed this altogether while I jotted down the ingredients quickly during the show. Still, the salad turned out great and for once, Chris and I went back for seconds even though seconds isn’t common for us anymore.
After dinner, while Chris went off to the first Stamps game of the season, I continued to celebrate my Canada Day at home with a glass of wine out on the warm deck and a good book. The evening passed and The Stamps won 30 – 16 tonight. It’s been a great Canada Day.
