Cold Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce

I never much thought of needing a recipe for your basic pick and peel shrimp but here I am typing one. I first thought to post this recipe when I mentioned to a friend that I needed to make the shrimp and cocktail sauce for Christmas Day.

She looked at me quizzically and said, "You make your own cocktail sauce?"

I actually didn't know people bought cocktail sauce. Everyone I know makes their own and everyone does it differently.

Note: I usually buy a 2lb bag of frozen shrimp. I like the 16-20 pp size or the 21-25 pp size. When I cook the shrimp for this recipe, I do not defrost them and I leave the shells on.

Cold Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce

For the shrimp:

2 lb bag of frozen shrimp, shells left on
8 cups cold water
1 12 oz. bottle of beer, I use Yuengling Lager
1/8 c. of cider vinegar
1 heaping tablespoon of Old Bay Seasoning

Using a large pot, pour in the cold water and add the beer and the vinegar.


Add the Old Bay and bring to a boil.


When this reaches a rolling boil, add the frozen shrimp and give it a stir.



Depending on the size of your shrimp, they are usually ready in about 5-7 minutes. The shrimp will turn pink when they are ready but may not be the consistency that you like. I suggest checking them at 5 minutes and go from there until they reach the texture you prefer.

When they are finished, drain them and let them chill in the refrigerator.


The Cocktail Sauce

1 c. ketchup
1-2 heaping teaspoons. prepared horseradish (I use an actual teaspoon not a measuring spoon!)
2-3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
the juice of 1/4 of a lemon

dash of tabasco (optional)


Add all of the ingredients to a small bowl and mix thoroughly.


Taste it! Adjust the flavors as you like. It's your sauce, right? I always wind up adding another squeeze of lemon juice.


This is great for a classic shrimp cocktail first course but don't limit yourself to that. Put out a bowl for your Super Bowl party or bring it along to a family gathering. I like to make this for a light dinner served with a salad, some olives and a loaf of Italian bread.

However you choose to serve it, I hope you enjoy it!

A Whole Foods Fanatic is Born

After two years of waiting, Whole Foods, Plymouth Meeting, PA, celebrated its grand opening yesterday, Tuesday, January 12, 2010. The store features fine produce, fantastic meat and cheese counters as well as a rooftop cafe.

Without a protester or picket sign in sight, I joined the other elated, free speech loving foodies and waited in line for the doors to open to the public for the first time.

Whole Foods customers watching the bread-breaking ceremony

We were greeted by store managers and employees as they held the traditional Whole Foods bread-breaking ceremony to mark the opening of the store. The official Philadelphia Eagles Pep Band provided entertainment and strolled around the store while customers browsed and snacked on the many food samples that included: storemade smoked salmon spread, bbq, cheeses and breads to name a few things.

The Eagles Pep Band provided lively and festive entertainment for the shoppers

In addition to bountiful food offerings, Whole Foods also had beautiful plants and flowers to purchase at great prices. I couldn't resist taking photos of them to share with you!


One of the store's coolest and most shocking features (for a girl who was born and raised in Pennsylvania), is the Cold Point Pub. The pub sells wine by the bottle or glass but only to be consumed at the store. They also sell beer by the glass and will fill a 32 or 64oz growler for you to take home. You can currently fill your growler with: Victory St. Victorious Doppelbock, Troegs Rugged Trail Ale-Nut Brown Ale, Sly Fox Route 113 IPA and Flying Fish Abbey Dubbel.

As if that is not cool enough, they also have a refrigerated beer room where you can pick up cold cases and individual bottles of some really fantastic brews. During my quick perusal of the shelves, I saw Victory V Twelve, Duchesse De Bourgogne, three varieties of Chimay and a few selections from Allagash. There were many, many others and I can't wait to spend a little more time there when store isn't as crowded. (With these offerings, I wonder if that is possible!)

As a customer of other area Whole Foods stores as well as visiting stores in other states on occasion, the Plymouth Meeting store exceeds my greatest expectations. And my expectations were set pretty high. I will end my virtual Whole Foods experience with a photo of some of the things I brought home with me. I will be sure to report on my future Whole Foods adventures as the weeks unfold!

Oranges, cheeses, pumpernickel bread and fresh romaine

Sausage Bites with Cherry Peppers

Get your taste buds ready for this one! First, I have to tell you that Cento diced hot cherry peppers are a staple at the LD. A jar of this goes a long way. You can use it for obvious things like a sandwich spread (I love it on tuna salad!) but you can also use it to dress up chicken, pork, pasta dishes or, in this case, sausage. However you use it, it will add a tangy burst of flavor to whatever you are making.

Note: I used sweet, Italian sausage for this because I didn't want to risk my kids passing on this because it was too spicy for them. If you're a fan of hot and spicy things, try it with hot Italian sausage!

Spicy Italian Sausage Bites

1 lb Italian sausage cut into bit sized bits (hot or sweet)
2 heaping tsp. Cento diced, hot cherry peppers
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1-2 tbs. canola oil

Italian sausage is a must!

Heat a pan and add a little bit of oil. Add the sliced garlic and the bite-size sausage pieces to the pan.


Cook the sausage pieces until they are nice and brown.


When they are done, add 2 heaping teaspoons of the diced, hot cherry peppers.

I just love the colors!

Toss to coat the sausage pieces and continue to cook. The combination of the peppers and drippings from the sausages will make a great sauce too.


You can toss this with pasta, grab a good roll and use it for a sandwich (that would be really good, I just thought of that!), serve it as a side dish, main course or put it on a platter and serve it as an appetizer with sliced Italian bread.

I'm hoping there are still some leftovers in the fridge, I'll talk to you later.

Beer Decorating

As I noted in my holiday gift guide, I like to shop at Global Beer Network for my favorite beer loving guy. This year, I branched out a bit and bought a Bruegel Amber Ale poster to go along with the matching beer glass (in the corner). The poster is a lot of fun to study--there is a lot going on in that picture!

The poster fits perfectly into an Ikea Ribba frame. Now I just need to locate some Bruegel Amber Ale .

Note: Brewery Van Steenberge named their amber ale after the painter Pieter Bruegel. You can read more about the artist and see other works by him by clicking here.