There was a raved about Thai crab salad recipe. Maybe it's adaptable.

I think your menu sounds lovely. What are you serving to drink? I love the New Zealand Sauv Blancs for summer meals. If it's hot and gooey, a sorbet might be nice for a second dessert.

Here is a link that might be useful: Crab salad recipe link.

Thanks, barnmom. That recipe sounds interesting. Perhaps I'll give it a try this weekend. I appreciate the wine suggestion, too. I do get stuck in a rut with my one and only favorite wine. We have a couple of places in town with terrific wine selections so I'll head over with your suggestion in hand.
As for desert, I was having second thoughts about the cheesecake. Sorbet sounds like it could be the ticket. They're talking 92 and humid.

I just discovered Lillet, a French aperitif. It's just the ticket to have chilled over ice with a twist of orange. It's a white wine, but sweet. It was quite refreshing alone or as a spritzer.

Here's a refreshing shrimp salad which we love:

Serving Size: 4

Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ ------------------------
1 lg French lettuce
16 lg Jumbo Shrimp
2 lg pink grapefruit

For dressing:
1/4 c Orange juice (freshly squeezed is best)
1/8 c Vinegar
1/4 c Olive oil
1/8 c Corn oil
1/4 c Green olives chopped
1/4 c Onion chopped
1/4 c Parsley chopped
1 t Cayenne pepper
1 t Paprika (Spanish pimenton)
Salt and pepper

Cook the shrimps as usual, peel them. Peel the
grapefruit and separate each piece, also peel the
white skin, being careful to get the complete pieces.
Prepare the dressing by mixing all the ingredients.

To serve: put the lettuce leaves on the dish, adorn with the grapefruit and shrimp.

Put the dressing on top and serve.

This salad will be better if the dressing can be prepared two hours before.

Exported from MasterCook
Patricia Wriedt.

MY NOTE: In the photo above I added a bit of avocado.

SharonCb

Options. I love them. Thanks Sharon & compumom. I'm looking forward to getting started on the meal. Hopefully it will turn out well.

Take a peek over at the Virtual Dinner Salad thread, there are some great recipes listed there. Might also try the appetizer and hors d'ouevre threads for some shrimp ideas.

Here is a link that might be useful: Summer Salads

Used to make this all the time. Lots of flavor! I made the shrimp ahead and served it cold in the summer. I used spinach instead of the arugula.

Pan-Roasted Shrimp with Orange, Arugula, and Tarragon

SERVES: 4

* 2 large seedless oranges
* 16 jumbo shrimp (about 2 pounds), shelled and deveined
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 2 tablespoons tarragon leaves
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
* 2 tablespoons Champagne or white- wine vinegar
* 2 bunches arugula, trimmed
* 1 small red onion, sliced into rings

Preheat the oven to 425°. Finely grate the zest of 1 orange. Using a sharp knife, peel both oranges, removing all of the bitter white pith. Thinly slice the oranges crosswise; set aside. In a large bowl, toss the shrimp with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, 1 tablespoon of the tarragon and the salt, pepper and garlic.

Heat a large ovenproof skillet. Add the shrimp in a single layer and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove the skillet from the heat.

Roast the shrimp in the oven for 2 minutes. Using tongs, turn the shrimp and add the orange juice and zest. Roast for another 1 to 2 minutes, or until the shrimp are opaque throughout.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the vinegar into the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Whisk in the juices from the shrimp. Add the arugula and toss; transfer the salad to plates. Arrange the shrimp, oranges and onion on the salads, garnish with the remaining tarragon and serve.

Here is a link that might be useful: Food and Wine - Pan-Roasted Shrimp with Arugula

Why is it I get so clumsy in the kitchen when company is coming? Yesterday was my salad dinner night. I knocked over the olive oil bottle (just refilled it, too) and it shattered all over the counter. Fortunately the only food item on the counter were my toasted pine nuts. Tossed those, threw all sorts of salt on the oil to clean it up and only lost about a 1/2 hour there. Then I carefully washed and dried my spinach leaves........... and dropped them on the floor.

All in all things turned out well. Thanks for the suggestions. I checked out the link from Chase and there are a lot of yummy recipes I'll try soon.

Dishesdone, your recipe sounds wonderful. I don't think I've had oranges with shrimp but it sounds awesome. I plan to make it as soon as the weather cools enough that I'm ready to turn the oven on again.