Congrats Alexa!!!! What a great accomplishment. I'm smoke free 10 years last month. Like FOAS says it gets easier especially once you start hating the smell of smokers ! I posted a very easy "Greek" Scampi recipe on the New recipes thread. I think it would make a great starter. Ina's Scampi is delish too. For the entree I would go traditional surf and turf . The Iceberg wedge with Blue Cheese is so retro, fits perfectly with Surf and Turf. If you want beyond decadent I had lobster mashed potatoes at a sea food restaurant that was to die for! Very smooth, creamy mashed potatoes with lots of fresh ground pepper, chive snips and chunks (no shreds , chunks) of lobster. Now you have me jonesing for lobster! Broiled Greek Scampi 1/2 stick butter 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice 1 TBSP minced garlic 1/2 tsp dried dill ( I omitted) salt and pepper to taste 2TBSP fresh bread crumbs 1 TBSP grated Parmesan 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1/4 tsp paprika 10-12 extra large shrimp, deveined, peeled, tail on ( butterflied) Preheat broiler with rack placed 6-8 inches from broilers Melt butter in large sauce pan. Stir in lemon juice, garlic, dill, salt and pepper. Let stand off heat to steep. Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, oregano, and paprika. Set aside. Coat 2 6 oz casserole dishes with non stick spray and place on baking sheet. Arrange shrimp evenly on each dish. Divided butter mixture evenly between dishes. Top with bread crumb mixture. Broil until shrimp are cooked and topping is golden brown ( about 5 minutes) Let cool one minute before handling Baked Shrimp Scampi 2008, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, All Rights Reserved Serves: 6 servings Ingredients 2 pounds (12 to 15 per pound) shrimp in the shell  3 tablespoons good olive oil  2 tablespoons dry white wine  Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper  12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature  4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)  1/4 cup minced shallots  3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves  1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves  1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes  1 teaspoon grated lemon zest  2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice  1 extra-large egg yolk  2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)  Lemon wedges, for serving Directions Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture. In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until combined. Starting from the outer edge of a 14-inch oval gratin dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curling up and towards the center of the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly. If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1 minute

mammie, you are 100% correct. Many people do not know this....quite bit of frozen shrimp are farmed in Texas. These shrimp are flash frozen right after they are harvested and come in 20 pound boxes. The quality and taste is very good.......few consumers would find any difference that those that are caught in the wild. These shrimp never have that Iodine taste which can be a problem with wild caught White shrimp. These harvested shrimp will all be uniform in size. In the winter when the wild season is closed, these frozen shrimp appear in Louisiana markets. The frozen shrimp are defrosted and sold. Since the product is always kept on ice and turnover rate is very high......the quality is still very good. I am not sure how much of the wild caught shrimp is flashed frozen. FYI, just this past year some entrepreneurs in my area have taken advantage of these farmed raised flash frozen shrimp. These guys provide a new service to locals. Place an order with them and they arrive at your house with boxed frozen shrimp from Texas. Upon your approval, they defrost the shrimp, de-head them, pack them in containers, and will even put them in your freezer for $4.00 per pound (gross weight). My niece in Baton Rouge swears by this service. Dan

I would try that, dcarch. I love combining fruit and creatures and this post reminded me that I hadn't done it recently. No cherries on hand but I had fresh peaches and used them in a lamb stew. Speaking of cherries, there's a shop a couple miles from my house that's made their ice cream on the premises for generations. They use fresh fruits when they're in season. Check out the quantity of fruit in their luscious black cherry ice cream in this photo I took of it. They also make another one with chopped up Bing cherries. It's a beautiful purple color.

So glad you enjoyed. The neighbors invited you for your company. I try to accommodate guests and most of mine who have either allergies or preferences are very undemanding. Most do as you did if it is a bring a dish gathering and bring something to share that they can eat. No one makes a big issue and they quietly enjoy what they can. My husband is allergic to certain seafood but we are still able to serve it or go to seafood events because it is not so severe he cannot be around it. We would never say we won’t show up to a boil ....it is about fellowship not just food. It doesn’t matter if it is allergy or preference, we invite people because we want their company. I do have a friend who is kosher and I always make sure with her that I am bringing something that is ok and normally get something from the kosher cafe near her....obviously she never has a crab boil. Also, one of my kids had a classmate growing up that was extremely allergic to peanuts. A small school so as parents we made sure any parties were geared to making the child safe but without making a show of it...we ran stuff by mom, who was very helpful and we did not make a big deal out of it in front of the child. I find it offensive that someone would suggest you sit at home because you cannot or do not eat a certain food. If my family and friends started excluding each other on our differences I would have to get a divorce, stop talking to the children and even my precious granddaughter who at 1 refuses to eat sweet potatoes and never see my in-laws again.!