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Yummy horseshoe crab Macaroni Salad Recipe aboard Take Me There

Yummy horseshoe crab  Macaroni Salad Recipe aboard Take Me There

horseshoe crab , we’re talking about food again today. And today it’s all about our yummy crab macaroni salad recipe that we often serve at lunchtime aboard Take Me There full-day charters.

I love this salad for several reasons horseshoe crab

:

1. It’s easy to make this yummy crab macaroni salad

2. It is inexpensive and helps save money on the grocery bill

3. Our guests rave about this yummy crab macaroni salad and so I never worry about throwing any away

4. My grandmother and I used to make this together and so it brings back wonderful memories of grandma and me shopping and cooking together

5. Depending on the size of your crowd, you can easily cut down or increase the amount of pasta you cook and put into this yummy crab macaroni salad and that gives you a lot of flexibility with the amount of salad you make with this recipe.

Once again I am making a recipe that you can tailor to your likes or dislikes. If you have people who don’t like onion, leave it out. If you have people who especially like Old Bay seasoning, put a few more dashes in the bowl. Personalize this salad to meet your needs!

INGREDIENTS

  • Santa Barbara Bay Crab Salad
  • 4 stalks of diced celery
  • 1/4 cup chopped red onion (I left the onion out this time because I have folks who do not eat raw onion)
  • 1 16-oz box of large sea shell pasta
  • 1 12-oz bag of frozen peas
  • Salt and pepper
  • Old Bay seasoning
  • About 1.5 cups of mayonnaise

STEPS TO MAKE THIS YUMMY CRAB MACARONI SALAD

Boil a pot of water for your pasta. As I mentioned earlier, you can use as much or as little pasta as you want for this recipe and it will enable you to increase or decrease the amount of yummy crab salad that you have for everyone to enjoy. It keeps well covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so feel free to make a little extra for tomorrow’s meal (But don’t be surprised if there is not much left of this yummy crab macaroni salad). 1 16 oz box of large sea shell pasta mixed with the other ingredients makes a Very large bowl for 15-20 servings.

Once the water boils, put your pasta in the pot with a dash of olive oil until it is just past al-dente. About 8-10 minutes.

While your water and pasta are boiling, you can dice your celery and chop your onions.

diced celery for yummy crab macaroni salad

When your pasta is finished cooking, strain it in a colander. While it is cooling, sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper onto the pasta and mix it up in the colander. I love putting my salt and pepper on the hot noodles because the flavor tends to sink into the noodles.

After straining the noodles, adding salt/pepper, and stirring the noodles, add the bag of frozen peas. This will defrost the peas.

yummy crab macaroni salad pasta and peas

Open your container of Santa Barbara Bay Crab Salad, take a fork and break up the larger chunks of crab before you add it to your mixing bowl. I have had many people stop me at the deli counter when I am picking this up to ask me if this is any good. Of course, I tell them, I love it! At just over $5, I would not buy it as a stand-alone meal to make sandwiches with, but as the main ingredient to my yummy crab macaroni salad, it helps us serve something unique and cost-effective.

santa barbara bay crab salad

Now add your celery and red onion (if you are using onion) to your big mixing bowl. Add your crab salad to the bowl and mix these ingredients together.

Then you can add your pasta and peas to the big mixing bowl.

yummy crab macaroni salad before mayo

Add your 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning to the box and mix everything together.

And last you can gradually add your mayonnaise. It may take up to 1.5 cups or it may take a little more or a little less. Then you can sprinkle a bit of the Old Bay Seasoning on top as your garnish.

yummy crab macaroni salad

VOILA! You have just finished making your first (But certainly not your last) batch of yummy crab macaroni salad. Remember- if you don’t feel like making it yourself, just book a charter aboard Take Me There and request this yummy crab macaroni salad as part of your menu. Just say, “TAKE ME THERE”!

 

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Amazing Shrimp Ceviche Recipe aboard Take Me There

Amazing Shrimp Ceviche Recipe Aboard Take Me There

Hi sailing and foodie friends! You guessed it- this post is going to be about one of my favorite appetizers aboard Take Me There.  Shrimp ceviche – Take Me There style has again gotten rave reviews this week and when the third person asked me for the recipe, I decided it was time to publish my recipe so you can make this amazing shrimp ceviche at home. After seeing how easy this is to make, you’ll want to make this amazing shrimp ceviche recipe for your next get-together. And with June just days away, this appetizer has cool summer snack written all over it.

So let’s jump right into the ingredients for this amazing shrimp ceviche recipe. Ready? The list is so short you may miss something if you read too fast. So slow it down and take it all in.

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 Campari tomatoes (They are little so that is why you need so many)
  • 1 red or yellow pepper
  • ¼ small red onion
  • ¼ – ½ teaspoon garlic (depending on how much you like garlic)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh finely chopped cilantro (Buy a full bunch and then you’ll just need about 1/5 of the bunch)
  • 10-12 large cooked shrimp (you can buy raw and boil them yourself or buy them already cooked)
  • 2 limes
  • 1/8 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and Pepper

Before I jump right into the step-by-step part, let’s talk a little bit about the ingredients.

Short FAQ list for your amazing shrimp ceviche recipe

Why Campari tomatoes? Can’t I use any kind of tomatoes?
I’ve tried several different kinds of tomatoes in this recipe. And while large tomatoes are certainly easier to slice, remove seeds, and dice the meat of the tomato, there is something about the sweetness and richness of Campari tomatoes that I absolutely love. There is usually 8-10 in a small plastic tub. And remember that tomatoes NEVER get refrigerated. Store them in a cool, dark place and they ripen beautifully and provide the savory sweetness for this amazing shrimp ceviche recipe.

Why red or yellow and not green peppers?
Another great question. Red or yellow peppers have a sweetness to them that is missing in green peppers which tend to be a bit more on the tart side. Red peppers are the sweetest, but yellow peppers add more color to your amazing shrimp ceviche recipe against the red tomatoes. In these photos, you’ll notice that I used red pepper this time.

Does it have to be red onion?
Yup, red onions have a sweetness to them that you won’t find in raw white onions. The slight purple color also looks appealing.

I notice a jar of minced garlic in the picture, can I use fresh garlic?
Absolutely, you can use fresh garlic. I happen to like the punch that you get from minced garlic (And I really hate to use a garlic press). Another reason- I use a LOT of garlic in many recipes and being able to stock up and open a jar when I need it makes my life easy. And shouldn’t life be easy sometimes?

Can I use dried cilantro or already bottled lime juice for this recipe?
NOPE! What makes this amazing shrimp ceviche recipe is really not the shrimp, it’s the fresh cilantro, fresh limes, and the Campari tomatoes.

Can I cheat and use frozen shrimp?
YES! I have done that too and honestly; I do not notice a difference. Buy the already cooked frozen shrimp and you will be just fine! Lately, fresh shrimp has been too expensive, so I have been buying frozen raw shrimp. I defrost the shrimp (Defrost slowly in warm water) and then boil a pot of water. I put the shrimp into my metal colander and poach them in the boiling water for about 2-4 minutes until they are fully cooked. What I DO NOT do is use raw shrimp and allow the shrimp to “cook” in the lime juice, as many restaurants do. The shrimp must be fully cooked and then diced. But do not overcook the shrimp because then it gets rubbery.

Can I make this recipe ahead of time?
YES! Here’s the trick. Mix together the tomatoes, pepper, onion, garlic, diced shrimp, and cilantro and refrigerate. The morning that you are going to serve this amazing shrimp ceviche, juice your limes and make a dressing out of the lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the other ingredients and let it marinate in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Stir it before you serve it and you are ready to go! You can make this up to 4 days ahead of time and it stays fresh in the refrigerator if you do not have the dressing on it.

I’ve seen other ceviche recipes mix the cilantro into the lime juice as part of the dressing. Can I do it that way?
You could do it that way, but I have found that part of what makes this amazing shrimp ceviche recipe is that you are not mottling the fresh cilantro into the lime juice and making the cilantro soggy. The cilantro stays crisp when you mix it with the other vegetables rather than using it as part of the dressing.

What if we don’t like shrimp?
WHAT??!! Just kidding! That’s ok. I have substituted conch, cooked halibut, roasted chicken, or mango in place of the shrimp. My second runner-up to this amazing shrimp ceviche recipe is made with fresh mangos.

So with those FAQs out of the way, you already have an idea of what the steps are to making this amazing shrimp ceviche recipe, but here it is anyway! 😊

raw ingredients with a bowl of amazing shrimp ceviche

DIRECTIONS TO MAKING YOUR AMAZING SHRIMP CEVICHE

Dice your onion and pepper and put them into a mixing bowl.

Cut your Campari tomatoes in half and remove the seeds and the core. Then you can dice the meat of the tomatoes and mix it with the onion and pepper.

Dice your cooked shrimp.

Chop your cilantro finely – about 1/5 of the bunch.

Mix onion, pepper, tomatoes, shrimp, garlic, and cilantro together and refrigerate.

DRESSING
Juice your limes. Mix the juice with a dash of extra virgin olive oil, a few grinds of salt and pepper and whisk together. At least a few hours before you are ready to serve, pour the dressing over the shrimp ceviche and refrigerate.

juicing limes for amazing shrimp ceviche

GRAND ENTRANCE TO THE TABLE

Serve your amazing shrimp ceviche recipe with Tostitos Lime flavored chips. DONE AND YUM!

amazing shrimp ceviche with lime chips

There you have it folks- your amazing shrimp ceviche recipe. But if you don’t feel like making it yourself, we hope you get some friends together and come enjoy it with us on your next sailing charter- where all food and drinks are just part of your sailing adventure. Just say, “TAKE ME THERE”!

amazing shrimp ceviche with take me there tumblers

 

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