Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad. It's both easy to prepare and light enough for the "pre-holiday" season.
I don't know about you, but I think it's a good idea to focus our attention on lighter meals this week. We all know what's coming, right? I don't just mean Thanksgiving. I mean all six weeks, and the whole shebang!
Caesars aren't typically what you consider "light". However, the trick to this Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad is to add as much brightly flavored citrus as you can– both to the dressing and in the shrimp marinade. My version still has a whole (practically) raw egg in it, and plenty of Parmesan. In my book it just doesn't deserve the Caesar moniker without these ingredients. However, the big bite of acid from two kinds of citrus means you can cut back on the more caloric additions as much as you see fit.
Eating flavorful but lighter is part of what I love about citrus this time of year, but I have to admit I have another reason for turning to citrus just in time for Thanksgiving.
To me Thanksgiving (not Halloween) is the gateway to the holidays. When I was a kid there was no "on demand" TV, so Charlie Brown and his pathetic tree always waited until after Turkey Day to hum their way into my heart and herald the holidays at the same time. Nothing could get me wound up for Christmas quite like Lucy refusing to eat "November snowflakes" and Schroeder in a pair of skates (all set to some of the best music of the 20th century). I still can't get in the Holiday spirit until I've heard the songs from the show.
Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad
But Charlie Brown isn't the only reason I chose to rev up this Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad with citrus flavors. Nope. Tangerines, lemons, limes, and especially oranges all remind me of the holidays because my mom used to stuff an orange into the toe of my Christmas stocking. Year after year– no matter how old I got. Once I was bigger you'd think she'd graduate to a grapefruit, but no, my mom adhered to that old European tradition and considered oranges and other citrus the rarest of treats. Just the thing to lighten up a Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad. GREG
