Rosie Makes A Quick Shrimp Dip.

I have company coming. So I'm making appetizers. Shrimp. Two ways. 1) Chilled, boiled shrimp with Old Bay sprinkled o'er. With a ketchup/horseradish/Lea & Perrins/lemon cocktail sauce.

and ... 2) Shrimp/dill dip with Ritz and Triscuits

Now, on to the shrimp.

I brought a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and dropped in the shrimp.

Do not overcook shrimp. I took these out in about 2 minutes and they were perfect. I'm excited about my company because I've never met these people before - only exchanged emails. Lori (not her real name) from Michigan reads my blog and drove ALL THE WAY from Michigan with her two children, Teague (not her real name) and Trey (not his real name), stopping in Hickory to pick up her mother, Jan (not her real name), JUST TO MEET ME. (OK. Maybe that last part wasn't totally true. I think the beach might have been involved in their decision. Whatever.) Anyways, Lori (not her real name) assured me she wasn't an Internet Stalker. I prefer to think of her as my Blogger Groupie. Hee. Rosie has a Groupie! We had a lovely visit. Dixie had a wonderful time in the pool playing with the kids and Rosie had a wonderful time meeting new friends. Now, my shrimp dip:

Ingredients for my shrimp dip: shrimp mayo ketchup onion celery fresh dill Actually, Jan asked me about the dip ingredients and that led to her question about the type of mayo I use. I told Jan immediately, "Hellman's," but looking at the pic I see it's not Hellman's. It's the brand found at WalMart and Mr. Hawthorne has told me it was the same thing as Hellmann's. I am not a Mayo Person. I'm Buttah through and through.

Here's a quick method to shell and devein shrimp. Cut the shrimp down the back to the tail, going deep enough into the shrimp to take out the vein. Then just take your thumb and peel off the shell. Works like a charm.

Now for the amounts. 2 parts mayonnaise

to about 1 - 1 1/2 parts ketchup.

Or until you get this nice shade of shrimp pink.

I chopped a handful of shrimp, about 1/3 onion, 1 stalk celery, and the fresh dill. If you don't have fresh dill, you could use dill seeds, but I prefer the fresh.

Mix all ingredients.

And stir in the dill. I served these with a new type of chip I've found - Ritz Toasted Chips - Main Street Original.

I've bought several bags of these and after I've served them, the bag disappears. The first I found under the bed in Middle Hawthorne's room. The second I found empty in Youngest Hawthorne's room. Try them, but if you have children, hide them. I would like to thank Lori (not her real name) and her family for taking valuable time out of their vacation to come and visit with me. I truly appreciate it and hope to see you again in November.