Potato and Panko Crusted Shrimp 

My regular readers know that I often draw inspiration 

from my friend and fellow food blogger,

Rosie Hawthorne, of Kitchens Are Monkey Business fame.

Such is the case for the dinner in this post.

 A while back Rosie had posted about her new breading for shrimp.

 I was intrigued.

Of course I had to run out and buy some instant potatoes

so I could try this recipe.

Potato and Panko Breaded Shrimp

1/4 cup Instant potatoes
1/4 cup Panko
1 egg
2 tablespoons Half and Half
18 large shrimp
salt and pepper

Peel and devein the shrimp.  Salt and pepper the shrimp.  Set aside.

Heat oil to 350 degrees.

Add the Half and Half to the egg and beat together.

Mix together the instant potatoes and the Panko.

Dip the shrimp into the egg mixture and then into the breading.  Fry a few shrimp at a time, being careful to not overcrowd the pan.  These will cook in one to two minutes per side.  Do not overcook!  Take out and drain on a paper towel before serving.

 These are some more of our beautiful shrimp from Fabian Seafood.

 Sauteed sugar snap peas with onion and bacon

accompanied the shrimp.

Sugar snap peas, rinsed and ends cut off

onion, large chop

fully cooked bacon, chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

Saute the onion and bacon in a bit of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes.  Add the sugar snap peas and cook for a couple more minutes, or until heated through.  Salt and pepper, to taste.

 I was making two separate meals this particular evening,

so this was just one serving.

Later I did this all over again.

And dinner was served.

Sweet chili aioli was the perfect dipping sauce for the shrimp.

Many thanks to Rosie Hawthorne for her excellent recipe!

Lunch at the Scottish Rite

As you may recall, my husband is quite involved with various Masonic bodies. As he currently is an officer in the local Scottish Rite Valley, that means that I also am kept busy with the Ladies' Luncheons. Despite my cold, I had to head out on the road this morning to attend a luncheon at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Indianapolis. And I even saved you a seat...

I had heard good things about today's menu. Thomas Caterers of Distinction always does a very nice job, though.

Our salads have arrived. The menu card tells us that this is a Salad of Seasonal Greens with Apples, Black Walnuts and Goat Cheese tossed with a Dried Cherry Vinaigrette.

The entree consists of Pecan and Honey Mustard-crusted Pork Tenderloin with a Cinnamon Port Wine Demi (sauce), Vermont White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes, Sugar Snap Peas, and Rolls with Butter.

I have got to find or figure out the recipe for the pork loin and sauce. This was all kinds of good.

Ooh, dessert. Here we have Bananas Foster with Graham Cracker Crumb Base.



I found the Graham Cracker crumb base. I'd say a fair amount of brown sugar was mixed in with the Graham Crackers.

And now, on to the entertainment.





A gentleman from a local florist came to demonstrate how to arrange these beautiful roses.

I learned that the wimpy little angles I was cutting into my flower stems aren't nearly enough. Got it: go big.

We learned that linear arranging is the hot new thing, and that as the roses age, we can extend the life of the blooms by cutting the stems down and rearranging the flowers.

Afterwards, each lady was invited to come up and pick out a flower to take home. We decided that we would start with the oldest and move down to the youngest (me). After the other ladies had chosen their flowers, I went up to pick out one and the nice lady who works for the Cathedral handed me a bunch of flowers to take home. Well, I would hate for them to go to waste, so...

I put my new knowledge to work and created a nice arrangement with these beautiful blooms.

And now I think I'll rest, if you don't mind. Two hours at the luncheon and three hours on the road in heavy traffic is rather tiring, after all.