Having had seafood recipes with Pernod, including Ina’s (not this one) I’d just omit it even if I had a full bottle sitting around.

Thank-you, FOAS! I can do that. :) Since I've never made anything like this, nor eaten these flavors together, I really wasn't sure what to do. I like the idea of chucking it. :D

Sounds good. If I don't like it, I can go with FOAS's plan. :)

It was lobster pot pie that I used it in. Looked it up, just one Tbsp in the recipe and I remember thinking it overwhelmed the dish.

Part of the problem could have been Pernod itself. I wasn’t adverse to anise liquors, could drink sambuca or ouzo by the bottle back then but pernod was tough to take. Whichever route you go, I suggest add slowly.

Yeah, I'm going to try Linda's advice with fennel seed. I like fennel seed, and hate licorice, though I'm willing to believe that Pernod could be good with the shrimp. But if one TBSP overwhelmed a whole lobster pie, what would 3 TBSP do to delicate little shrimpies? Ina is a really good cook with interesting ideas, but she goes overboard with some flavorings. I can't even find the original thread. OTOH, I trust Linda's idea of flavor, and am happy to do the fennel seed, a bit at a time. And I certainly trust you about the overwhelming of the lobster!

ETA in morning's light: oh, yeah. In the pie, it was probably in the pie. In the shrimp, it's in the cooking water.

yes, Ina uses too much salt .... and not enough butter ...

I'm one of those fennel lovers and anise averse. And a little fennel goes a long way. One could even add shaved fennel to a salad. It's on sale now where I live . . . fennel that is.

I chickened out. It occurred to me that shrimp would be good with sherry and once that happened I couldn't go back. I did learn something--the sherry in the water did indeed perfume the shrimp enough to have it taste ever so subtly of it. Few things I've ever cooked in seasoned water absorb the flavor.

Having deviated from the recipe, I added a couple of dashes of old (not strong) smoked Spanish paprika. I did otherwise follow the recipe, and added the lemon juice, celery, scallion, and tarragon. And a heck of a lot less salt but probably still more than I should have. I didn't realize how salty the mayonnaise was. Or it might be me.

In the future, I might contemplate Pernod, but right now I'm living just fine without it!

Tarragon. So you already have that family of flavor. Finally decided to look up the recipe. If I had known you were just talking 2.3% concentration in poaching liquid I wouldn’t have spoken out so strongly against it!

It sounds quite delicious; I’ve bookmarked the recipe. I’ll probably use ouzo which I bought for Kourabiethes. Love the stuff.

"In the future, I might contemplate Pernod, but right now I'm living just fine without it!"

plllog, I remember raising an eyebrow when I first saw this recipe in Ina's book. Mainly because I can only handle a hint of tarragon, so the idea of combining it with Pernod...even a subtle amount... just didn't appeal to me. I'd likely be fine with the lemon, scallions, celery, a bit of tarragon, s&p and mayo. I hear you regarding the salt. Ina does love it.

Everybody loved the shrimp salad. Having sat in the fridge for more than 12 hours, out of necessity, the shrimp, which I had thought fully cool and drained, released water, which thinned the mayo (365, I didn't measure, just dressed lightly). That fixed the salt issue. I thought the scallions had overwhelmed the salad, but once it warmed up a bit outside of the fridge, that went away too.

FOAS, I never made the connection between the anise and the tarragon. That makes sense. I should try it. My tarragon is leggy, and was growing in the oregano, so I used a whole bunch from there. I don't know if the oregano influenced it, but I think it was just that those leaves were young. Not as tarragony as it could be. So, the Pernod would reinforce that (or anisette or whatever I find if I'm in a mood to buy such a thing). Excellent point. (The sherry was good though.)

Chloebud, I think if you were looking for a shrimp salad recipe, watching the infamous Ina G. salt obsession, this would work very well. For instance, if I made it again with sherry, I think I'd use chives instead of scallions and oregano instead of tarragon, use the same old smoked paprika (or very small amount of fresh) and maybe even lime instead of lemon. Kind of a Spanish thing. Different flavor profile but same template.

I love sherry and sea food....First became acquainted at Christiana Campbell's in Williamsburg VA....and the she crab soup served with a small glass of sherry to add to your taste. I'ts good in a lobster newberg...shrimp salad and in scalloped oysters.

plllog, I turned on the TV this morning, and there was Ina making this salad. It looked tasty, but I'd still omit the Pernod. Meant to say I like your thought on using chives.

Re: Salt.

Are y’all using Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt when cooking Ina‘s recipes? If not, that might be the reason you find it salty. IIRC, Ina’s cookbooks all specify Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt.

Here is Cook’s Illustrated’s comparison of salts:

1 teaspoon table salt = 1 1/2 teaspoons Morton kosher salt = 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt

LOL! Thanks for the conversion. That's about what I've done just off hand, but nice to have a tested formula. And, nah, that's not Ina's problem. She's one of those East Coast older chefs who are so accustomed to salty food that they don't realize how super salty their food is. I can't remember if I put any salt into the salad at all. I think I did, a little. I used bought mayo, 365 (WF) brand, which won the taste test experiments we did last Summer. After I got that hit of salty! when I tasted the salad, I tasted the newly opened jar of mayo and it tasted really salty too. I don't know if it was me or the mayo. I should check...

Well, it was an idea! ;-) I saw an article once titled something like “You’re dating a chef? Get ready for really salty food.” If it isn’t baking, I usually cut the salt by about 50%, even when I use Diamond Crystal. I’ve over-salted too many dishes in my life.

Here is an interesting excerpt from a podcast at The Splendid Table about salt. My take-away was something I had read before. Salting at the table rather while cooking will result in your eating leas salt.

"She's one of those East Coast older chefs who are so accustomed to salty food that they don't realize how super salty their food is."

I've always wondered about Ina's love of salt. Maybe that's it!

bbstx, it could likely be salting at the table vs during cooking means less salt. I tend to 'season as I go' with cooking, including salt and pepper. It just works better with flavor for me. However, I definitely don't use as much salt as Ina. I know tastebuds differ, but, geez, she'll add a tablespoon of salt when half that would suffice, depending on the dish.

You (and Ina!) can reset the salt receptors. It requires a salt vacation, however. Being willing to eat food that isn't salted for quite awhile without cheating. I'm not talking sodium free. That's not healthy except under strict supervision. But using herbs for flavor (some of which is natural salt), and maybe some canned or brined or cured foods, which have a lot of salt to share, but no finishing salt, no specifically added salt, etc. After several weeks you start to taste the actual food, rather than tasting salt and subtracting that in your mind to taste the food alongside it. I can do that with ketchup, btw--eat something with ketchup and subtract the ketchup flavor as separate to appreciate the flavor of the food (I loved ketchup as a kid).

I've always enjoyed watching Top Chef. At least twice, however, I've seen Tom Colicchio ding a young West Coast chef for not seasoning, then they show the post critique interview with the contestant protesting, "I seasoned that!"

Every time a better restaurant around here hires a new chef from the East, the food is inedibly salty and devoid of vegetables beyond garnish. Six months later, they've either replaced the chef or the chef has bowed to local tastes.

So, you see, I don't blame Ina. I understand! But I never ever believe her salt quantities. I scant most recipes to make them "to taste" and go halves on Ina Garten's. :)