Shrimp dish recommendations, Please.

Liz turns 60 on July 6th and the three kids will be home to help her celebrate. She has requested shrimp for dinner. We most often have Shrimp Scampi or Shrimp Mosca and I like to try something different. I'll have nothing else on my mind that day so a more or less complicated dish is OK with me.
Any tried and true recommendation would be welcome!

Robin posted this many years ago. I always wanted to try it, but never got around to it.
Uptown Shrimp & Grits

Ideas... kabobs on the grill, either plain or wrapped in bacon; gumbo or creole style; in a pot pie with andouille; curried and cold in a salad

IRENE GRADY’S SHRIMP SALAD:

3 lbs Medium cooked shrimp (thawed and detailed)
2 C Dry macaroni (cooked)
1 Small onion chopped
1 Bell pepper chopped
¼ C Sweet pickle relish

Sauce:
1 Bottle chili sauce
¼ C Mayonnaise
2 tbl Ketchup
3 tbl Lemon juice
6 dashes Texas Pete or other hot sauce
Salt & pepper to taste

Mix the sauce and season to taste. Put onion, pepper, and relish in food processor and process to a fine mince. Add to sauce. Fold sauce into shrimp and macaroni.

This post is really starting to take shape - keep 'em coming.

Perhaps as an appetizer:

Lemon-Avocado Spaghetti with Shrimp

Ingredients

1 large red onion, finely sliced
1/4 cup (60 ml) dry white wine
8 ounces (225 g) small shrimp, shelled and deveined
Olive oil
Salt
1 pound (455 g) spaghetti or any pasta, preferably Felicetti Monograno
1 avocado
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper

Procedures

In a skillet large enough to hold the pasta, combine the onions and wine over medium heat and simmer until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and raise the heat to high to evaporate any remaining wine; cook until the onions are caramelized and the shrimp are cooked, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, add 1 tablespoon oil and salt to taste.

Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss with the onions.

Meanwhile, peel and pit the avocado and puree it with the lemon juice, in a blender or small food processor until very smooth. Stir the mixture into the pasta and add half the lemon zest until well combined; re-season the dish with salt, if needed. Top the pasta with the remaining zest and pepper.

lemon-avocado-spaghetti-with-shrimp.jpg

This probably isn't best for your dinner, but when I saw title of a recipe I particularly liked from a cookbook called "Bon Appetit, Y'all."
You make and simmer a court-bouillon with halved lemons, bay leaves, carrot, celery, onion. Bring to a boil, add wild shrimp. Drain, peel as soon as they are cool enough (but still warm). As you peel those in a bowl with olive oil & lemon juice. Marinate , then add parsley, serve over baguette with the dressing.

Another great recipe that probably isn't best for this dinner (I'm no help at all) is Gabrielle Hamilton's pickled shrimp
Salt
1 recipe Ruby Boil Spice Mix (recipe follows) or 1/4 cup Old Bay
1 1/2 pounds large (21/30) shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 lemons, washed and sliced paper thin
1 red onion, sliced paper thin
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
6 crushed cloves garlic
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon coriander seed

1. Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil (use about 2 cups salt for 8 quarts water) with the Ruby Boil Spice Mix or Old Bay. Have a large bowl of ice near the stove. When the water reaches a rolling boil, drop in the shrimp and poach them just until they are firm, not more than 45 seconds (the water probably won't even return to a boil). Using a finemeshed strainer, transfer the shrimp (and whatever of the Ruby Boil Spice Mix comes with them) into the bowl of ice. Toss them with the ice to stop them from cooking further.

2. Combine the oil, lemon slices, onion, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, peppercorns, coriander, and 1 tablespoon salt in a large bowl. When the shrimp have cooled, remove them from the (now) ice water, shaking or brushing off any of the spices clinging to them from the boil, and transfer them to the bowl. Toss and taste, adding more salt or vinegar as necessary. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or preferably overnight. Serve at room temperature.


Ruby Boil Spice Mix

Makes: enough for a 6- to 10-quart boil
Time: 5 minutes

The quintessential spice mix for a seafood boil. Feel free to double or triple the recipe and use in place of Old Bay or the like whenever you're boiling seafood.

1 large bunch fresh thyme
15 to 20 bay leaves
1/4 cup paprika
1 head garlic, unpeeled
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons cardamom seeds
1 tablespoon allspice berries
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 cinnamon stick

Combine the ingredients in a medium bowl, then transfer the mixture to a sealable container. This keeps, sealed, more or less indefinitely.

[Jenise]

This probably isn't best for your dinner, but when I saw title of a recipe I particularly liked from a cookbook called "Bon Appetit, Y'all."
You make and simmer a court-bouillon with halved lemons, bay leaves, carrot, celery, onion. Bring to a boil, add wild shrimp. Drain, peel as soon as they are cool enough (but still warm). As you peel those in a bowl with olive oil & lemon juice. Marinate , then add parsley, serve over baguette with the dressing.

Another great recipe that probably isn't best for this dinner (I'm no help at all) is Gabrielle Hamilton's pickled shrimp
Salt
1 recipe Ruby Boil Spice Mix (recipe follows) or 1/4 cup Old Bay
1 1/2 pounds large (21/30) shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 lemons, washed and sliced paper thin
1 red onion, sliced paper thin
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
6 crushed cloves garlic
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon coriander seed

1. Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil (use about 2 cups salt for 8 quarts water) with the Ruby Boil Spice Mix or Old Bay. Have a large bowl of ice near the stove. When the water reaches a rolling boil, drop in the shrimp and poach them just until they are firm, not more than 45 seconds (the water probably won't even return to a boil). Using a finemeshed strainer, transfer the shrimp (and whatever of the Ruby Boil Spice Mix comes with them) into the bowl of ice. Toss them with the ice to stop them from cooking further.

2. Combine the oil, lemon slices, onion, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, peppercorns, coriander, and 1 tablespoon salt in a large bowl. When the shrimp have cooled, remove them from the (now) ice water, shaking or brushing off any of the spices clinging to them from the boil, and transfer them to the bowl. Toss and taste, adding more salt or vinegar as necessary. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or preferably overnight. Serve at room temperature.


Ruby Boil Spice Mix

Makes: enough for a 6- to 10-quart boil
Time: 5 minutes

The quintessential spice mix for a seafood boil. Feel free to double or triple the recipe and use in place of Old Bay or the like whenever you're boiling seafood.

1 large bunch fresh thyme
15 to 20 bay leaves
1/4 cup paprika
1 head garlic, unpeeled
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons cardamom seeds
1 tablespoon allspice berries
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 cinnamon stick

Combine the ingredients in a medium bowl, then transfer the mixture to a sealable container. This keeps, sealed, more or less indefinitely.

Since Jon lives in Old Bay territory, and since Liz requested shrimp and it's her birthday, the possibility of doing the pickled shrimp as an appie and something else as a shrimp main course would not be out of the question. I love this recipe.

This may be a little off the wall, but as a shrimp lover I could not be happier if someone served me a meal consisting of -

Shrimp bisque starter

Shrimp (and more seafood, what the heck) ceviche

and

Chow Tom. I love Chow Tom. Love.

It's looking like Dale's as a starter and Robin's as a main - as Jenise mentioned. Dale's especially can be done ahead of time.
I'm still open to ideas but I know I have to decide by Friday PM or early Saturday. All three kids will be home too!

We actually had the pasta dish for dinner last night and it was amazing! As were these tomatoes. Incredibly good summer meal.

Balsamic Marinated Tomatoes with Spinach and Cheese

Marinate sliced tomatoes with balsamic vinegar for 4-6 hours. Bake at 350 for about 7 minutes or a little tender. Meanwhile, sauté spinach and garlic with a dash of salt and lemon juice. Put spinach on top of tomatoes and sprinkle with cheese of your choice (I chose Italian blend) and broil til cheese is golden.

Tomatoes.jpg

Those look really good. I like the idea of, ahem, tomato pizza!