Farewell Foods

This past weekend, we had to say goodbye to our great friend, dog-sitter, and long time coworker, Shelby - she's off to Arkansas to start her first year of college! To celebrate, she hosted a party at her parent's house off of beautiful Highland Rd. in Baton Rouge, LA. We had a great time hanging out, laughing, and talking (despite the 97 degree weather...followed the by torrential downpour). Other than hanging out with friends and FINALLY meeting "Cousin Cindy", I have to say that my favorite part was...the FOOD!! The hotdogs, hamburgers, pasta and potato salads, and (of course) desserts were all amazing...which explains why I basically had seconds of everything. I have to say, I was most impressed with the pasta salad (top right in picture), so I asked Mrs. Cindy to share the recipe with me so I can pass it on to y'all. Check this out!

Mimi’s Grilled Shrimp and Pasta Salad (Courtesy of "Cousin Cindy")

(Preheat oven to 400)
Cook pasta till al dente. Drain and pour in a large bowl. Whisk together dressing ingredients* and pour over hot pasta and stir well.

*Ingredients:
½ c. lemon juice
½ c olive oil
1-2 tsp. salt
½-1 tsp. pepper
 1 lb. tubular pasta of your choice or orzo
2 lbs. shrimp
1 cup minced scallions
1 cup fresh dill
½ cup parsley
1 hothouse cucumber or 2 regular cucumbers (remove seeds) diced
½ cup small diced red onions
¾ - 1 lb good feta cheese large diced
Black calamata olives (use about a ¾ to 1 cup)
Place shrimp on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 400 for 5-6 minutes (until pink and firm to the touch).

Dressing: If you want to cook the day before, you may need to add extra olive oil and lemon juice to loosen up as the pasta tends to absorb liquid over time.

Add the shrimp to the pasta along with all the other ingredients except the feta. Toss well, then add the feta and allow to sit at room temperature for an hour

You HAVE to try this - it is amazing!!