Vincenzo’s, Weather.

We both had to go get our hair cut today, mine was so bad I was thinking of braiding it. We then decided to go to my favourite store, Vincenzo’s which I have mentioned several times. I needed a jar of mint sauce, the English kind which is thick with mint unlike the thin one available in most stores or the mint jelly which, admittedly I have never tried, but doesn’t appeal. I didn’t know before that Colman’s, who are the makers of the only dry mustard that I will buy, also make mint sauce. Not seen it for sale here though.



I could be wrong, but I imagine the jelly is quite sweet and the other one has trouble finding the mint leaves although this bottle is labelled thick mint. The one we saw today was nothing but vinegar. The sauce I buy has to be mixed with a little vinegar to serve. For my English readers, jelly is jam to all intents and purposes. We had trouble finding a bottle of sauce and ended up having a number of the staff helping us. This annoyed Matt because nobody seemed to really know where it was. I agree, the store is so full of stuff it is difficult to find things, but he has now decided he doesn’t like the store. Pity, I could spend hours browsing, there are lots of things there that I have no idea they sell. Whilst there I bought some cannoli for supper on Saturday, a friend is coming over, some capers which we are low on and some of my favourite Parmesan chips. Very expensive but a nice treat. They go really well with my Sunday champagne. You can make these chips at home (never tried them with parmesan) from cheddar, but it’s so easy to buy them and they are delicious.

Sadly their parking lot is terrible. It isn’t paved and today, because the snow is melting, it was a mass of puddles. That, to me, is the one thing wrong with their new location. It really is a lousy parking lot at any time of the year, but right now, its ghastly. However, I shouldn’t complain, it’s a gorgeous day with lots of sunshine and the snow is melting well. Sadly, tonight, they are forecasting freezing rain. Enough already. I hope it will be all over and the roads OK by lunchtime as Matt has to go to the next town to have an ultra sound. It’s part of his annual heart check up. Next week he has the joy of a 24 hour BP monitor. Won’t be as bad for him though, his blood pressure is really low. Lucky beggar.

This is a Red Lobster copycat recipe from Food.com. I was hoping they would have my favourite, but it’s not there. However, this one looks pretty good to me. I will be eating at the Red Lobster at the end of the month for our Travel League. One of the things I have trouble avoiding is their Cheddar Bay Biscuits. The copycat recipe is here

Red Lobster Piña Colada Shrimp

By Brandess 

Photo by alligirl

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Serves: 2, Yield: 12 Shrimp

About This Recipe

"Those Red Lobster commercials get me every time. Just can’t resist those visuals of endless shrimp, crab legs and lobster tails! Now I have said it before, that I’m not a huge seafood fan, but I do love shrimp. Cook this recipe for someone special, fix a nice cocktail, close your eyes and imagine yourself sitting on a sunny beach. Ahhhhh…summer will be here sooner than you think."

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup piña colada non alcoholic drink mix
• 1/4 cup crushed pineapple ( canned)
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 6 cups canola oil ( for use in the fryer)
• 12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons rum ( Captain Morgan's Parrot Bay coconut rum)
• 1 cup panko Japanese-style bread crumbs ( can be found in the Asian section of your local grocery store)
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut

Directions

1. Prepare piña colada dipping sauce by combining all ingredients. Sour cream, piña colada mix, crushed pineapple and granulated sugar. Cover and chill.
2. Heat oil to 350 degrees in a deep fryer or a large heavy skillet.
3. Measure 3/4 cup of flour into a medium bowl.
4. In another medium bowl mix together the remaining 3/4 cup flour, sugar, and salt. Stir milk and rum into flour mixture. Let this batter stand for five minutes.
5. In the meantime, combine panko breadcrumbs and shredded coconut into a third bowl.
6. Butterfly cut each peeled shrimp before you start the battering- leaving the tail intact.
7. Dip each shrimp once in the flour, then the wet batter, then coat each shrimp with the panko/coconut mixture. Place the shrimp on a plate until all of them are battered.
8. Fry shrimp by dropping one at a time into the hot oil for 2 to 3 minutes or until the shrimp are golden brown. Only fry a few shrimp at a time. Remove shrimp to paper towels to drain.
9. Serve shrimp with piña colada dipping sauce or shrimp cocktail sauce along with salsa.

Have a great day.