Football, Shrimp and Ear Lobes

Firstly, to cap last week’s entry, the shrimp salad went over well.  And, it’s easy to say that it was more enjoyed than the Giants performance.  So, how is it made?  What did I use?  This is a really easy dish to prepare beforehand, so, if/when entertaining, just get this done the night before. 

First, take a pound of thawed, peeled/deveined shrimp and you want to pan sear them using either stainless cookware or cast iron (my preference) in butter.  Season liberally with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lime.  Also, sprinkle a bit of smoked paprika onto each side as you flip.  Once cooked (pinked), set aside to rest and cool.  Time to prepare your mix.  Take one clove of garlic, smashed and add it to ‘warmed’ (read, room temp) brick of Philadelphia cream cheese.  Add about a 2/3 cup of chopped celery, and an quarter cup (maybe less) of finely chopped chives.  When the shrimp have cooled, give those a rough chop and toss them into a mixing bowl with the cream cheese and other ingredients.  After seeing it thoroughly mixed, put into the fridge for about an hour to guarantee that the cheese has cooled and firmed up.  The salad can be used as a dip or you can do what I did and serve it on pretzel roll sliders.  The added saltiness from the rolls really worked well with the lightly seasoned shrimp salad.  And, that’s that!

The next home game is against the Minnesota Vikings.  I won’t be at that one, but Roger and I have a great recipe for the regional comfort food Hotdish using tater tots and ‘Lutheran Binder’, Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup.  Again, would be prepared at home and warmed at the game.

I should add that, while the game was a complete disappointment (at least the 4^th and most important quarter), the tailgate was amazing.  The aforementioned Chef made an appearance with some really flavorful pre-marinated short ribs.  There were pork medallions kabobs, crab and bean salad, filet mignon, stuffed sausage and home-made desserts where the most amazing one was a cream-cheese apple crumble (eat ‘em to get beat by them?).  Just fantastic!  Eventually, the Giants will win a home-game, but at least their losses won’t ruin my game-day experience, plus my 3 fantasy football teams killed it this weekend.  Giants were the only downer in an otherwise fantastic football weekend!

Non sequitur extra:  I’m trying to popularize a name for the left-over stretched out ear holes which are the aftermath of having decorative plugs instead of simple earrings: What do you think of “Lobia?”  Discuss.