Shrimp Caesar Salad

Okay, I have a confession to make... I had never actually purchased uncooked shrimp before. I always got cooked, or cooked and frozen. But in the interest of upping the quality of my cuisine, I knew I had to stop being so lazy. Sometimes at least. Especially since the fresh takes about two minutes to cook. I still plan on getting frozen sometimes -- but maybe I'll be frozen uncooked shrimp. Do they make those? I cleaned these under water, and left the tails on.

Anyway, I used Alton Brown's "No Guilt Caesar" dressing recipe... It got such rave reviews on FoodTV.com that I just had to give it a shot. It's made with tofu, and no raw eggs. I thought it was really good!! It made so much, that two days later I served it at a little dinner party, and everyone seemed to dig it. My pregnant friend, Lindsay could indulge and not worry about the eggy-weggs. I used firm tofu, cuz that's what I had -- and I added a little milk to thin it to the consistency I wanted. I also added anchovies (which pregnant women can have, as long as they are the tinned kind). Anyway, Alton claims that anchovies have no place in real caesar dressing, but I can't imagine it without. Call me trashy.

I marinated the shrimp briefly in lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and Nonno's seasoning. Chris' grandfather makes this with fresh herbs (sage, rosemary, garlic and red pepper flakes) and a mezza luna, and then freezes it for us. I grilled them on my handy-dandy grill pan.

I covered the salad with parmesan cheese, and added more fresh lemon juice. It was fantastic!