From the sea to your mouth, yum.
Cafeterias? Buffets? I guess the difference is a buffet you can eat as much as you want and a cafeteria you pay for each little morsel of food you put on your tray. As a kid I remember my grandparents taking us to Piccadilly Cafeteria in Memphis. They always use to say “your eyes are bigger than your stomach” because my sister and I tended to put so much on our trays we couldn’t possibly eat everything. And then along came the buffets.
Normally I don’t like buffets for several reasons. First of all I tend to eat too much; my “eyes are always bigger than my stomach” and I really do hate wasting food. Secondly, I feel like the food is sitting around a little too long and then I’m always thinking that it isn’t quite as good as something ordered off a menu.
On our trip to Beaches at Turks and Caicos this summer I did manage to eat at 20 out of the 21 restaurants on the property. Marios restaurant is probably one of the biggest there but I wasn’t really feeling “Italian” on a hot summer day or night. But, one day we were at the Italian pool on our way to the French pool (8 pools on the property so we had to hustle to get to them all) and decided to stop in Mario’s and see what they had for their lunch buffet; the biggest antipasto bar I’ve ever seen and tiny little desserts awaited us and I couldn’t wait to dig in. I saw this slaw (and I do love all kinds of slaw/coleslaws) and couldn’t actual tell what was in it until I started picking it apart. Ok, so I’m one of those people that is going to sit and dissect a dish so I can make it once I get home.
Well, this slaw, was also a macaron salad and also had crab and shrimp in it. I’m pretty sure the crab was the imitation crab legs but the shrimp were colossal in size. It also had a little heat (spice) to it. So I took some pretty up close pictures so I would remember some of the ingredients and this recipe I’m calling Seaside Slaw. Hope you will like it and if you like pasta salads, see the one in “Blast from the past”.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: This Pasta Salad with Asparagus and Shrimp is perfect for a summer party.
I precooked the shrimp that I seasoned with some “Slap Your Mama”.
Mix up all the dressing ingredients and refrigerate.
I had a cluster of snow crab legs I used. You could substitute the imitation crab legs (I don’t care for) or just use shrimp. I paid about $10.50 for a cluster of the claws alone and that’s kind of expensive for this salad; shrimp alone would still be delicious.
Put all the ingredients in a bowl except for the crab meat.
Toss salad with some of the dressing and then gently mix in the crab meat. Refrigerate for several hours.
I love this little shell I brought back from Seaside, Florida years ago.
Isn’t that sand bucket a cute way to serve this salad.
Seaside Slaw
Ingredients
- 1 /2 package of small shell macaroni
- 1/2 lbs. cooked shrimp
- 1/2 lb. crab meat from crab legs (not imitation) or use only shrimp
- 1/2 large red bell pepper finely minced
- 1/2 large green bell pepper finely minced
- 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
- 3-4 Tbsp. capers drained
- 1/2 c. celery small dice
- 1 c. julienned carrot pieces
- 2-3 c. cabbage finely shredded
Dressing:
- 1/2 c. mayonnaise
- 1/2 c. sour cream
- 1 Tbsp. horseradish
- 1-2 tsp. caper juice
- juice and zest of one lemon
- several grinds black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. siracha sauce
Instructions
Dressing: Mix all the ingredients and refrigerate until ready to mix with slaw.
- Cook the shrimp and peel and devein (or buy cooked shrimp). If you are using crab legs, take the crabmeat out and cut in thin strips.
- Cook the macaroni shells according to package directions and rinse under cold water. Set aside.
- Start the salad by putting the cabbage in a bowl and add all the vegetables and tossing together. Add in the shrimp and then toss in enough of the dressing to coat the salad ingredients. Gently stir in the crabmeat and then cover and refrigerate until serving time. Chill for at least 4-5 hours so the flavors have time to blend.
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