Shrimp Boat rests on Sunday at Wanchese Harbor

               Watch me prepare this super easy, very delicious recipe that makes Shrimp Rolls that rival those lobster things from Maine!  Demo on WSLS 10 Daytime Blue Ridge, Roanoake, VA.  Recipe from North Banks Restaurant and Raw Bar in Corolla, published in my FOOD LOVERS' GUIDE TO NC'S OUTER BANKS, 2013, Globe Pequot Press. 

Click below to watch!

http://www.wsls.com/story/23228766/food-lion-kitchen-shrimp-salad

Shrimp Salad

The lighthouse at Corolla

 from North Banks Restaurant & Raw Bar

    Driving up to Corolla may feel like you're driving to the end of the earth.  But there's a heavenly stop before you get to the end of the road.  North Banks Restaurant and Raw Bar, in the TimBuck II shopping center, has a fantastic menu featuring local, coastal cuisine, as well as great dishes from around the globe.  I've enjoyed many lovely meals at this casual eatery.
    Here's a great recipe for Shrimp Salad that can be used to fill lettuce leaves, or sandwich wraps, or in a bun, or enjoyed just by itself.  It makes a vast quantity, perhaps good to have on hand for the start of a vacation.  Otherwise, size it down according to your needs.  If you have time, roast your own red peppers over a hot grill or under the broiler, then peel and chop.

6 pounds shrimp, cooked and chopped
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup whole water chestnuts, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped roasted red peppers
1 cup chopped red onion
2 to 3 cups mayonnaise, according to preference
1 teaspoon and a pinch of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper

Place the celery, water chestnuts, red pepper and onion in the food processor.  Process until all is finely minced.  (Or finely chop all.)
Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, and add other ingredients.  Mix well.  Chill and serve.
YIELD:  About 12 servings
(c) FOOD LOVERS GUIDE TO NC'S OUTER BANKS, by Elizabeth Wiegand, 2nd edition 2013, Globe Pequot Press.

www.ElizabethWiegand.com

GREEN TAILS

GREEN TAILS are in the markets now....and they're considered NC's gourmet species.  I'll be picking up my order of shelled, deveined one-pound packages from Atlantic Beach Seafood soon, and I can't tell you how very practical and sweet it is to pull one from the freezer, say next March, when not much in the way of fresh seafood is available.  On Veteran's Day, we enjoyed a boat ride over from Morehead City to Cape Lookout, where we frequently find the shrimpers at rest on Sundays and some afternoons.  Bottlenose dolphins were chasing schools of menhaden just off shore, which means the blue fin tuna should be showing up soon.  Let's hope some Carolina fishermen land one of these big boys, usually sold for thousands to the Japanese.  Understand the sea trout were a big catch right in the inlet.

SEARED SHRIMP

Lynne Foster, who lives in Hatteras and helps run THE ALBATROSS FLEET with Capt Ernie Foster, wrote on this wonderful new blog by Amy Huggins (www.obepicurean.ning.com), about a new method, at least to me, of cooking shrimp with the shells and/or heads on.  In a hot pan, she places the shrimp.  No oil, no water, no seasonings.  Stir until the shrimp turn pink.  They'll release some liquid and stew in their own juice, so to speak.  Lynne takes them off the heat and adds a sprinkle of celery salt and Old Bay.  We loved them done this way.  They were succulent and juicy, and dipping them in the released liquid was a tasty alternative to cocktail sauce.    

FINCH POTTERY OPEN HOUSE was quite a success for selling THE OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK.  I sold out!  The book has gone into its second printing, and I had all thebooks the warehouse had left at the time.  Don't worry, they're back in stock, and make excellent Christmas presents.  If you'd like, I can sign them for your special recipients!  Just contact me.

I'll be in Manteo this weekend for the 25th Anniversary Commemoration of the Christening and Launching of the Elizabeth II, the replica of the English ship.  Fred Thompson and I will be judges for the Chowder Cook-Off!  Boy, am I looking forward to that!