Have you ever experienced riding along and all of a sudden you get a great idea and have to scramble around for a piece of paper so you can write it down? That is what happened when I thought of making a shrimp salad then stuffing it into endive. Because life is so busy right now I have to write down my ideas or they fly out the window and may or may not come back home.

My hubby and I were driving back from a basketball tournament and I was trying to create new recipes for dmariedining.com when I started thinking about seafood and a different way to present a nice light seafood salad. I don’t know why the thought of endive popped into my head since I had never worked with it before. I just wanted something that would be easy to make, pleasing to the eye and wonderful to eat.

The combination of the shrimp salad and endive created a cool refreshing appetizer that makes you want more. The first time my daughter taste tested this for me it left her speechless for a few seconds. When she finally did say something she told me it was a hit!

For a light crisp appetizer consider making endive stuffed with shrimp salad. This will be a hit at any party and is pretty simple to make. So try this recipe the next time you have a few friends over and you want to show off your new culinary skills.

Endive Stuffed with Shrimp Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb shrimp

2 boiled eggs chopped

1 stalk celery diced

1 tbsp red onion diced small

1 tbsp parsley chopped

1 tbsp spicy brown mustard

1 tbsp old bay seasoning

1 tsp dill

2 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

pinch sugar

Juice from 1 small lemon

Add salt to 1 quart of water and bring to a boil Add shrimp and cook until shrimp are pink and cooked through. Let cool then peel and dice shrimp. Pour lemon juice and set aside. Combine shrimp with lemon juice and remaining ingredients to a large bowl. Chill for 30 minutes.

Separate endive leaves and stuff with shrimp salad.  Garnish with dill and lemon zest.