Low Country Grill: Grilled Shrimp, Corn, Potatoes, and Onions with Grilled Asparagus on the Side

“How much shrimp should I get?”
“Oh, whatever the amount of cash in my wallet will buy.”

(replied Jill…not realizing that she had $60 in her wallet. That was a true feast!)

ingredients
1 pound medium or large headed, deveined, shell-on shrimp (1/2 pound per person)
zest and juice of one lime
2 garlic cloves grated or crushed and chopped fine
1 Tbs white wine
¼ tsp Old Bay or your favorite seafood seasoning
1 ear corn with husks (per person)
2-3 new potatoes, rinsed and cut in quarters or eighths depending on size (per person)
¼ sweet or purple onion, cut into big chunks (per person)
6-8 asparagus spears with woody stem snapped off (per person)
olive oil
salt and pepper
cocktail sauce for shrimp

directions
Soak corn with husks in salted water for 1 hour or more.

Rinse and drain shrimp in shells; combine with lime zest and juice, wine, 1 Tbs olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper, and Old Bay and chill for 30 minutes to an hour.

Toss potatoes and onion in 1 Tbs olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper.
Toss asparagus in 1 Tbs olive oil.

Preheat grill.

Drain corn.  With husks intact (not pulled back), place corn ears directly on hot grill for 15-25 minutes, turning every 3-4 minutes. Silk will singe away and husks will blacken but should not flame. Remove husks and slather cobs with butter and salt to taste. Cover to keep warm.

Grill potatoes and onions in grill basket 10-15 minutes on medium-hot grill until tender, turning every 3-5 minutes. Onions will have some char and potatoes should look roasted.
Remove potatoes and onions from heat and cover with foil while shrimp and asparagus cook.

Grill shrimp (still in shells) in grill basket 3-5 minutes per side on medium-hot grill until done. Some charring is ok but don’t over cook!

Grill asparagus directly on hot grill for 5-10 minutes until tender, turning several times to get fairly even sear.

Serve piled together on plate with a ramekin of cocktail sauce and an empty bowl for the shrimp shells.

our comments
Wow! This was easy! Alas, no leftovers.

Kabobs

“What’s the secret to your great steaks?”
“We marinade them in Dale’s Sauce.”
“Day Old Sauce? What’s that?”

(When we converted Donna. Dale’s Sauce is a Birmingham original, now available throughout the Southeast. Don’t eat steak without it.)

ingredients (serves 4-6)
1 ½ pounds sirloin steak cut into 1 ½ inch cubes, trimmed of fat
8 oz. package whole baby bella mushrooms*
2 onions (Red or sweet or both!) cut into eighths, layers separated*
sweet peppers (We like the bags of little red, orange, and yellow.) stems removed, and cut in half lengthwise*
2-3 yellow squash and/or zucchini, cut into thick slices (These didn’t look so good this time so they are not pictured.)*
½ of a fresh pineapple, cut into slices/chunks*
*To ensure even cooking, cut the vegetables into the same diameter size as the mushrooms so that the kabob will be a uniform stack (no extra long onions vs extra short peppers).
store-bought Greek vinaigrette dressing or your own vinaigrette
Dale’s Sauce
bamboo skewers (We don’t like the metal kind.)

directions
Soak the bamboo skewers in water at least 30 minutes before assembling kabobs. Plan for at least one veggie and one meat kabob per person with a few extra kabobs of each for good measure.

Toss steak and one onion in enough Dale’s Sauce to coat, with a tablespoon or so pooling in the bottom of the bowl. Marinate 30 minutes, stirring gently several times.
Toss remaining vegetables in similar amount of dressing. Marinate 30 minutes, stirring gently several times.

Preheat grill.

Assemble meat kabobs on skewers alternating onion slices/wedges and steak pieces with onions on each end.
Assemble vegetable combinations on the other skewers to fit your fancy.
Assembly can be done by the main cook or each diner can build as they prefer.

Cook on hot grill, turning every 3-5 minutes until steak is done to your liking.

serve
Serve with corn on the cob or rice. (We boiled the corn as the grill didn’t have room for corn, too!) Green beans and a salad would also go nicely with this.

our comments
Leftovers are a bonus! We’ve found the secret to kabobs is cooking the veggies and meat on separate skewers; this allows for ideal cooking times on each. Kabobs can also be made strictly vegetarian and are lovely served with rice.

How do you stack your kabobs?