Fourth of July Appetizer – Sharing a Memory and a Summer Recipe

Looking for an amazing Fourth of July appetizer. Boy, do I have a good one for you.

But first, let me tell you a story.

This is Why We Evolve. We Learn. We Challenge Ourselves. And We Stay Curious.

It has been nearly a year since I posted this recipe and little memoir about my mother and how much this recipe evokes memories of wonderful summer evenings in Central Park where we would sit and enjoy this appetizer and spend some time together. I felt ultra sophisticated sitting there with all of the grown ups and their pitchers of sangria.

I am reposting this because 1) it is almost the Fourth of July and a bucket of Icy Shrimp and Guacamole is just so celebratory and if you use a blue bucket you will make a holiday statement for sure and 2) last year my photos look like those taken by a twelve year old and I wanted to show you how much I have learned in just these few months. I have found that bloggers and food photographers (lots of overlap there) are incredibly generous with their time and expertise and I have soaked up all of their advice like a sponge. So here are the new photos and many thanks to Lindsay Ostrom at Pinch of Yum for the wonderful Food Blogger Pro Videos and to Brooke Lark at Cheeky Kitchen whose generosity of time and advice is so refreshing in this competitive world! If you like these new photos below (see the older ones below the text for comparison and, hopefully, improvement!) please Pin them or comment below, or if you really love them you can do both.

Many thanks for supporting me as I took the tentative steps away from practicing law to MEtirment and my blogging adventure. It’s been a great transition and not once have I asked myself “how am I going to fill my time in retirement”? No prob. I’ve got this!

“Last Hurrah for Summer” recipe below

But first, my MEtirement thoughts. Now that I am no longer working full-time at my lifelong career my mind/brain (what exactly is the difference when you’re referring to thoughts?). My mind is moving at 100 miles an hour in ways that I can’t even fathom. Creative thoughts are just moving around and when I see the words on paper I can’t even believe that I have written them. I want to write recipes. I want to talk about what I like to wear and what looks good. Everything I think about now is filtered through the prism of the blog and I focus on how to translate these crazy jumping thoughts into what someone else might want to read or hopefully, care about.

Where in the world has all this creativity been all these years?

Definitely dormant. Maybe in order to be creative you have to kill off all the other thoughts in your mind and in the quiet moments allow the creative thoughts to rise to the surface. I’m trying not to overthink this but everyday since I have made the commitment to retire, it is remarkable how easy it can be to change your way of thinking.

So it is time to share a childhood recollection that of course involves food, eating and the social aspects of dining out. As I blog forward (is that even a term?) I will be talking a lot about food and how from early childhood it was a big part of my life. Not only eating, but studying and appreciated the fine art that cooking is. Many of my life experiences (travel, family, etc) have a touchstone in food. Far from being a food snob, I have enjoyed the finest restaurants in the world but I am a huge fan of crispy chicken wings, great BBQ and hot dogs (not kidding, but more about that later).

I grew up in Manhattan and my mother was a foodie before anyone knew what that meant.

She was an excellent cook, relying often on the New York Times for inspiration. Back then, Craig Claiborne was the food editor and his food was not simple but, as my mother always said, “If you can read, you can cook”. And so she did. And I was right by her side watching and helping. And thus began my lifelong appreciation for excellent tasting food. It didn’t matter what it was (the Black Forest Ham and cream cheese at Chock full O’ Nuts restaurant comes to mind) or how much it cost (Papaya King hot dog nirvana), if the taste was wonderful, I was a fan. On the other hand, if the food was not first-rate, I wouldn’t waste my time or taste buds eating it. (That pressed turkey stuff with the jellied whatever all over it comes to mind).

But I digress and didn’t mean to. Still getting in that blogging groove without dragging the readers off down a stream (of consciousness!). My mother was a very social person. She had lots of friends and enjoyed eating out, going to concerts at Lincoln Center and going to Broadway plays. She also loved the opera. And she shared all of those interests with me but first and foremost she wanted me to appreciate good food and to know how to cook it. In order to learn, she felt it was important to bring me along when she would go out with friends so that I would know how to select the most appealing things on the menu (in her well-founded opinion!).

My mother, food lover that she was, loved to take me all over New York to eat.

I ate escargots in a fancy French Restaurant (La Petite Maison) when I was about 4 years old. I savored 3 pound lobsters at Oscars (when I wasn’t eating crab cakes with lobster sauce—I kid you not). But one of my favorite memories is of sitting outside in Central Park in the summer with my mother and her friends eating at what I think was then Tavern on the Green. This beautiful restaurant dates back to 1934 and was a New York City landmark.

I remember dining outside, trees adorned with small twinkling lights, our round table on a patio overlooking a beautiful garden. And, I remember enjoying an amazing bucket of shrimp with guacamole, which I’ve recreated so you can enjoy it, too!

Fourth of July Appetizer

I just had to share my favorite guacamole, inspired by Summer Fridays in Central Park. When combined with my spiced shrimp, it’s the perfect Fourth of July Appetizer!

Click here to get the recipe for my Icy Spiced Shrimp and Guacamole Bucket!