Should I Satay or Should I Go?

The Bride pulled out some frozen shrimp last night, so I didn't have to think too much about what to make for Shellfish Tuesday.  I wanted something more than the garlic/lemon/herb concoction that I usually pull together when cooking shrimp.  Sure, occasionally I do something along the lines of 'Nawlins shrimp to change it up, but this was going to be my first attempt at anything Polynesian.  I went with Shrimp Satay on page 75.  I know that traditionally a satay only has one piece of protein per skewer and it is usually served on said skewer, but I would be grilling three skewers with five pieces per skewer set as I was running short on skewers.  I was also feeling lazy.  With this in mind, I gathered the materials.

I've always been entertained by the phrase "deveining" shrimp.  It's not a vein that you're removing.  :)

With the shrimp readied and resting in the fridge, I remembered (for once) to soak the skewers.  This is an easy step that keeps your skewers from turning to pure carbon.

With those in order, I went about making my salad which I wanted to be crisp and summertimey.  I selected the Cucumber Salad With Toasted Sesame Seeds on page 359.  What drew me to this salad was that, like last week, there were several common ingredients with the main dish. 

The salad came together quite quickly, and so I pulled the shrimp and set them on their skewers.  I was ready to grill!

And so was the dog!

The shrimp were done in four minutes, and I was ready to eat.  Notice that, except for the very tips, the skewers held up well.  Soaking did its job.

For plating the meal, I used my squeeze bottle.  It makes presenting a nice meal rather easy.

This was exactly what I wanted.  I've had peanut sauces at various restaurants, but this outright spanked them all.  This was, by far, the best peanut sauce I've ever had, and it was rediculously easy.  The spice rub for the shrimp will only need a minor tweak, but this sauce is definitely a keeper.  It had the perfect texture, viscosity, spice, and arrangement of savory ingredients.  Well done, Weber! 

The salad went well with the meal, but I did make some minor modifications.  I only used half the red onion, as I tend to prefer a two to one ratio of cucumber to red onion.   Next time I will also reduce the amount of fresh ginger by half.  It wanted to be harmonious with the shrimp, but the ginger was just a bit too noticealbe and unsubtle.  The salad will be used again, and with these adjustments should be pretty darned near perfect.  The crispness and brightness of the dressing and cucumbers are excellent for summer dinners.