100 Recipes - #59-60 Shrimp Scampi and New York Cheesecake
Today is my father's 87th birthday, so we had my parents over for dinner and made some of Dad's favorites. I made shrimp louis for the first time, but since that didn't involve a recipe and only involves plating a bunch of pre-cooked shrimp on lettuce and putting a dollop of Thousand Island dressing on top, I'm not going to count it.
#59 Shrimp Scampi I made something sort of like scampi once in 1995, but this recipe was both easier and better. So good, in fact, that I will be doing it again very soon, I think. The sauce was amazing on rice pilaf mixed with chopped spinach and the shrimp were just done and still extremely fresh-tasting.
#60 New York Cheesecake I wanted to do something with the rest of the duck eggs and Dad loves cheesecake, so this recipe seemed like a good plan. I was interested that the crust was made with vanilla wafer crumbs and eggwhites, rather than the graham cracker crumbs and butter that I've always used in the past. Also, this batter was much heavier than I'm used to and I think would be fluffier if I hauled out the KitchenAid, instead of my handheld. So the resulting cheesecake was dense, but very rich and wonderfully flavorful. Topped with strawberries, it made a very festive birthday cake.
It is always so wonderful to celebrate my father's birthday. He's had some close calls through the years that make us appreciate each one, but while he's definitely aging, he is still with us and that is a great joy.
#59 Shrimp Scampi I made something sort of like scampi once in 1995, but this recipe was both easier and better. So good, in fact, that I will be doing it again very soon, I think. The sauce was amazing on rice pilaf mixed with chopped spinach and the shrimp were just done and still extremely fresh-tasting.
#60 New York Cheesecake I wanted to do something with the rest of the duck eggs and Dad loves cheesecake, so this recipe seemed like a good plan. I was interested that the crust was made with vanilla wafer crumbs and eggwhites, rather than the graham cracker crumbs and butter that I've always used in the past. Also, this batter was much heavier than I'm used to and I think would be fluffier if I hauled out the KitchenAid, instead of my handheld. So the resulting cheesecake was dense, but very rich and wonderfully flavorful. Topped with strawberries, it made a very festive birthday cake.
It is always so wonderful to celebrate my father's birthday. He's had some close calls through the years that make us appreciate each one, but while he's definitely aging, he is still with us and that is a great joy.