Pea salad and sautéed shrimp are two of our favorite dishes. And we also love romaine lettuce. So yesterday afternoon when I was thinking about what to fix for dinner (none of this pre-planning the week’s menu ahead of time for this gal, that would be way too efficient), I decided to combine our love of peas and shrimp into a salad with romaine lettuce.

Now sometimes my mash-ups work. Sometimes not-so-much! But this one was absolutely delicious. I simply prepared my usual pea salad recipe, sautéed some shrimp along with a few of the usual suspects, and chopped up a romaine heart. Then brought them all together. And thank God it only took about 35 minutes to prepare. Therein lies the tale.

As I advance in age it seems like my mind is regressing back to a time when we stayed home more and had a lot fewer commitments. And even though I knew Mr. C. had a rehearsal that evening and I usually start prepping for dinner around 4:00, yesterday late afternoon I was happily writing away when I looked up and it was 4:50. At about the same time Mr. C. reminded me that he had to be out of the house by 5:45. All I could think to say was sh–, sh–, SH–!!

So I quickly sent Mr. C. to the freezer for peas and shrimp while I started hacking and slashing (thanks Vicki for that term) the veggies for this recipe. Then I quickly set the shrimp to thaw in a bowl of water and ran tap water over the colander containing frozen peas.

From there everything got even more frenetic. All I remember is that between 4:50 when my potty mouth went into full gear and 5:25 when I set the salads on the table, life was a blur. I do remember Mr. C. handing me a martini, but I don’t really remember drinking it. But it was all gone when we sat down to dinner, so it must have been the martini that saved the day!

Now that I have told you all about my declining ability to juggle more than one ball at a time, please take my story to heart. This really is a very easy and quick recipe to prepare. And it truly is very tasty. But in all due respect for myself and my declining mental processes, I am going to take longer to prepare this dish next time! And I am going to be adamant that 4:00 means it’s time to prep dinner. No excuses! Even if we don’t actually eat dinner till 7:00 or 8:00 I want to be ready for any eventuality. Especially if that “eventuality” has been written in our calendar for weeks. And we had only discussed it a couple hours before!

1 T. unsalted butter

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

½ lb. large uncooked shrimp (16-20 per pound), peeled and deveined

¼ tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced

pinch crushed red pepper flakes

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. caper brine

¼ c. light mayonnaise

1½ tsp. Dijon mustard

freshly ground black pepper

pinch dill weed

¼ tsp. seasoned salt

½ c. finely chopped celery

1 sm. shallot, finely minced

¼ c. thinly sliced green onion

1-1½ c. frozen petite peas, room temperature but not cooked

3-4 c. cut romaine lettuce

Heat the butter and olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Place shrimp in an even layer on the bottom of the pan and cook for 1 minute without stirring. Season shrimp with salt and pepper; cook and stir until shrimp begin to turn pink, about 1 minute.   

Stir in garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, and caper brine; cook until all the shrimp are pink and opaque, 1-2 more minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. When cool cut the shrimp in half. (I use my kitchen shears for this. I cut them right in the pan.)

Meanwhile, whisk the mayonnaise, mustard, pepper, dill weed, and seasoned salt together in a salad bowl. Stir in the celery, shallot, and green onions.  Gently fold in the peas and romaine. Plate the salad and top with cooled shrimp including any butter/garlic residue in the bottom of the pan. Serve immediately. This is the perfect amount for 2 people.