| I couldn't wait to get home; at least back to the | | | | stopped at a grocery store to get wieners for |
| house on the beach I was calling home for the | | | | the kids. When they grow up they can have |
| week. I was hungry and the evening sky had just | | | | shrimp and scallops too. Hopefully all this would be |
| turned that amazing color of purple you see just | | | | enough to feed the crowd that was waiting back |
| before the sun disappears behind the horizon for | | | | at the houses we had rented. |
| the night. After spending the day fishing in the | | | | Back at the house, while waiting for the charcoal |
| bay side of the island for speckled trout, I was | | | | to get just the right shade of gray, the shrimp |
| anxious to get back and fire up the grill for some | | | | and the scallops were marinating in a mixture I |
| steak and salad. It was my turn to cook for the | | | | have made many times without ever a complaint. |
| family! | | | | I could hear the mullet jumping in the bay as we |
| Each year in June, our scattered family all migrate | | | | relaxed to the music of old Willie's honky tonk |
| to a chosen location; the destination determined | | | | songs. |
| at last year's reunion. Renting suitable housing for | | | | To make up a marinade for 6 pounds of seafood, |
| a week can be rather expensive if you want to | | | | I started off with a quarter cup of olive oil, a half |
| stay at a seaside home or condominium unless | | | | cup of butter, two teaspoons of salt, two |
| you split that cost over six or seven families. This | | | | tablespoons of pepper , about 6 tablespoons of |
| year's pilgrimage was to be at St. George Island | | | | finely chopped parsley, a half cup of finely |
| on the Apalachicola Bay in northwest Florida. | | | | chopped garlic, a little paprika and a quarter cup of |
| Stopping at the fish market on my way home | | | | lemon juice. Mix all this together and heat. Bring all |
| from fishing all day, I was looking for something | | | | this to a boil and let simmer for about 30 minutes |
| for tonight's meal. I wasn't going to buy fish and | | | | before letting the shrimp and scallops marinate. It |
| pretend I had caught them; I'd caught my limit of | | | | may be wise to increase the amount of the |
| those today. If you can't catch a fish on St. | | | | ingredients so the guests will have some for |
| George Island, you're stupid. That's what the | | | | dipping the shrimp and scallops. |
| tackle store owner told me the first day of my | | | | When the charcoal is of a medium heat, lay the |
| vacation. He was right. You would have to have | | | | shrimp and scallops on the grill. The jumbo shrimp |
| been an idiot not to catch something where I had | | | | are large enough so that you won't need to use a |
| been fishing that morning. | | | | skewer unless you prefer them cooked with one. |
| I drove across the bridge to the small fishing | | | | If you want skewers, use two instead of one for |
| town of East Point where the fishing boats tie up. | | | | the shrimp so they won't slide and spin around on |
| I was looking for fresh shrimp, just off the boat. | | | | the stick when you flip them over to cook the |
| When you're taking your vacation on the ocean, | | | | other side. |
| you have to have seafood. That's a law down | | | | Leaving the shell on the shrimp seems to make it |
| here in Florida. There was a little store just across | | | | more flavorful and appears to prevent them from |
| the street from the dock that boasted the sign, | | | | drying out, but you can peel them if you like. |
| "Fresh Fish". It was a small store with a counter | | | | Cook until the meat is white and take them off; |
| behind which offered seafood of various types all | | | | usually 6-8 minutes total. Some folks use a pair of |
| covered in ice. | | | | small scissors to cut along the top of the shell to |
| There were trays filled with mullet, pompano, | | | | devein the shrimp before putting them on the grill. |
| grouper, red snapper, shrimp, oysters and scallops. | | | | I tried it and I came to the conclusion that it was |
| They also had frozen containers of seafood | | | | easier to remove the shrimp after they were |
| gumbo which is a staple on the coast. It's said | | | | cooked. |
| that babies down here are weaned on gumbo. | | | | The scallops are done when they are no longer |
| There's nothing quite as tasty as shrimp cooked | | | | translucent. Keep some of the marinade on the |
| over the barbeque grill. After buying three pounds | | | | table for dipping into the buttery sauce. The ladies |
| of jumbo shrimp, the bay scallops were calling my | | | | had fixed up the side dishes that were ready by |
| name, so I bought three pounds of those also. I | | | | the time the seafood was. It was quite a meal! |