Warm, clear and a grill recipe for Shrimp in Vodka Lime Sauce

Good Morning Augusta

Today it’s going to be sunny with a high around 63ºF.  Winds will be from the South between 5 and 10 mph.

Tonight we have a 60% chance of rain between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.  It will be mostly cloudy with a low near 45ºF.  Winds will be from the Southwest at 10 mph.

The readings from my weather instruments are:

Humidity is 88%, the dew point is 33ºF, outside it’s 49.3ºF.

The wind direction is South Southwest between 2.0 MPH and 4.1 MPH, generating a wind chill of 49.3ºF.

The Barometric pressure is 30.37 / HPA  1028.4 and rising with a weather graphic indicating sun.

The UV rating is 0 out of 16, Sunrise is at 5:55 a.m. Sunset is 7:23 P.M. Moon rise is at 1:36 a.m., Moon set is at 8:40 a.m. and the moon phase is waning gibbous.

The Raw METAR reading from the airport in Augusta is:

METAR KAUG 151053Z AUTO 19003KT 10SM CLR 04/M08 A3032 RMK AO2 SLP270 T00441078

Visibility is 10.0 miles / 16.1 Kilometers with clear skies today.

We didn’t receive any additional  rain here over the past 24 hours.

Space Weather for this morning is:

Today’s Solar flux is 72, the solar wind speed is 339  Kilometers per second and the chance of a solar storm is 1%.

Folks, the snow is melting by the metric ton out there, so let’s celebrate!  Break out your gril, It’s in the garage behind the snowblower. Move the snowblower, haul the grill out, hit it with the wire brush, fill it with charcoal and grill this:

Grilled Shrimp with vodka lime sauce

Time: 30 minutes

Cooking methods: outdoor grill or stovetop (hey, do the grill)

ingredients

(recipe says you cook 6 shrimp at a time, but I’ve done 12 at a crack. Hungry guests ya know)

36 extra-large shrimp, peeled and de-veined but with tails on

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Vodka-Lime Sauce

Making the lime sauce:

1 cup vodka

1 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3/4 cup sliced green onions, green and white parts, for garnish (I avoid this part, onions don’t like me very much)

directions

Preheat the grill.

To make the vodka-lime sauce: In an enamel or glass saucepan (I used my hard-anodized Windsor pan), combine the vodka, wine, and lime juice. Reduce the

mixture over medium heat to 1/3 the original amount.

Add the butter, 1 piece at a time, quickly whisking in until completely incorporated. You want to blend each piece of butter in fully, not just melt it,

before adding the next. Work quickly but do not increase the heat under the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Keep the sauce warm in a warm water bath

until ready to use. Do not reheat the sauce over direct heat.

Arrange the shrimp in 1 layer in a hinged grill pan. Grill over a hot fire for 4 minutes per side, or until just cooked through. You can also saute them

in batches, using 1 tablespoon of olive oil per batch, in a hot cast-iron skillet for 4 minutes per side.

To serve, put shrimp on each plate, spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of sauce over them, and sprinkle scallion rings on top. Serve at once.

Blogger’s note: Soak the shrimp in the vodka sauce overnight for the best flavor. After all, the booze tends to cook out of the shrimp when you put them on the grill, but the flavor stays in.

nutrition

401 calories, 28 grams fat, 3 grams carbohydrates, 8 grams protein per serving. This recipe is low in sodium and low in carbs.