Bold GameDay Shrimp

Happy New Year y'all! Can you believe January is almost in the books? It feels great to be back into the world of blogging after a strenuous move over the holidays. We're slowly settling into the new house and I promise to share more personal details on Monday! I spent some time yesterday cooking up these delicious shrimp and discovering where the good light is in the new house and it felt so good to be doing something "normal."

What are your plans this weekend? We're catching up with friends and of course, watching the big game on Sunday. I teamed up with Blue Diamond  to create these Bold Gameday Shrimp. Ever heard of the saying, "Go big or go home?" These shrimp are bold enough for the big day but not overly spicy. If you're anything like me, you enjoy the football game but you're really just there for the food, right? What's your favorite gameday snack?

***** Bold Game Day Shrimp *****

// Ingredients //

1/2 cup vegetable oil, more if needed
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 large egg
1 tablespoon hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup Blue Diamond Wasabi and Soy Sauce Almonds, coarsely ground *
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp
Sweet Thai Chili sauce for garnish

// Instructions //

In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, flour, cornstarch, egg, and hot sauce. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine Panko breads crumbs, ground almonds, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper.

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and set aside. Line a plate with paper towels and set aside.

One at a time, dip shrimp into buttermilk mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Then press shrimp into panko mixture, coating both sides. Place shrimp on prepared cookie sheet while dipping the remaining shrimp.

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Working in batches, gently place shrimp into skillet. Allow to cook 2 minutes, flip and cook another minute. Remove promptly and place on plate lined with paper towels.

Serve with sweet Thai chili sauce and lemon slices!

*I used my coffee bean grinder for this task. Be careful not to over grind the almonds because you will end up with almond butter!

** This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. For more game changing snacks, visit Blue Diamond Almonds on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Styling and photography by Amy Mikkelsen

Superbowl Hangover

We had a small party of sorts for the game this weekend.  Being that my mom is a Pittsburgh native, she routes for the Steelers as does all 582 of my family members who live in PA.  (Maybe that number is an exaggeration, but it's pretty close.)  I'm on salt overload from all the nachos my husband insisted on making.  It's kinda his Superbowl tradition.  Apparently, it's also tradition that a man have seven bags of chips on hand during the biggest football game of the year.

My sister (also born in PA) came with her Steelers bling compliments of a care package sent by one of our cousins.  Thanks Chris!

This was my idea of decorating in black and gold.  Spring, we miss you.

Some black and gold brownies for the kids.  (And the adults too...who am I kidding?)  So good and made with Godiva chocolate.  I just packaged up the leftovers to go to my husband's office tomorrow and labeled them "Loser Brownies."

And even though the Steelers lost, I got a new gold sweater from my mom out of the deal.  Thanks Mom!  You're the best.  Sorry the Steelers lost...maybe next time!

How was your weekend fellow peaches?  

Football, Fashion and Oatmeal Lace?

Football season.  Just those two words get me excited for the upcoming fall season. It's my favorite season for so many reasons, football being just one.  I don't have a strong alliance to one particular team other than the Atlanta Falcons.  I really just enjoy watching football! 

In regards to watching sports on TV, football is my favorite.  Baseball moves too slowly and the sound of squeaky basketball shoes drives me bananas.  I love watching golf, but only when I'm napping on the couch on a quiet Sunday afternoon.  Hockey's great in person but I can never follow the puck on TV.  Soccer's nice for the eye candy but that's really about it.

Football is high energy, aggressive and raw.  There's something intriguing about men trying to tackle each other while carrying around all that heavy gear.  (Make of that what you will.)  But there are other reasons why I love football and football season in general.  There's the food factor, there's the pre and post game festivities, there's the adrenaline rush of trying to sneak in a flask of liquor to a crowded stadium and of course there's the fashion.

No other sport has such extreme displays of fan fashion.  Some football fans even go as far as wearing a wedge of cheese on their heads!  I'm sorry but I would voluntarily be excommunicated from a state before wearing a piece of cheese on my head!  Leave it for the nachos.  I'm more likely to route for whichever team's colors better suite my complexion that week.  I know, I'm a fare weather fan.

That gets me to the point of this post.  Football, Fashion and  Oatmeal Lace.  This talented designer is a woman after my own heart, incorporating Football and Fashion!!!  I'm not the least bit surprised that she is a southern girl...  smart and fashionable. I've actually been a fan of hers for a while but when she recently started making stylish clutch purses inspired by collegiate colors, well I had to introduce my readers to her.  Whether you're a young college girl or seasoned alum, these clutches are a must for the upcoming football season.  You can see more of Oatmeal Lace Designs at her blog or more importantly, check out her shop on Etsy.  Tell her Your Southern Peach sent ya!