After the quick turnover to the Dallas wedding (flew there at 6 a.m. Saturday and was home by Monday, mid-afternoon), I unpacked, played with the cats, watched a Connecticut Sun game I had DVR’d) and finished a book, then slept until 7:30 Tuesday. Then I drove to Madison and took friends to pick up their new car in Westchester County, N.Y.

Eric drove the new car home (the next morning he drove to Montreal to pick up their son from college), Lisa and I stopped at Trader Joe’s in Milford to do some quick food shopping, but realized we could not both go because Lucy the dog was with us. Since I really needed nothing (I’d gotten my Trader Joe’s fix the week before), I read in the air conditioned car and played with Lucy. About 20 minutes later, Lisa arrived with a cart filled with goodies, giving me some frozen shrimp and her favorite goat cheese.

I assumed the pink shrimp was cooked. Instead, it was the raw pink shrimp we used to get in Stonington. I had just gotten my new Bon Appetit and saw the recipe below. The next morning, I bought a lime, some cilantro and a little green jalapeno; that night I made the recipe below. It was as good the night I made it, as it was twice more as leftovers.

Creamy Coconutty Shrimp Salad

From Bon Appetit, Summer Issue, June/July 2022

Yield: 4-6 servings

1 large lime

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk

2 teaspoons fish sauce

1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined, patted dry

Kosher salt; freshly ground black pepper

½ small red onion, thinly sliced

1 small jalapeno, thinly sliced on a diagonal, seeds remove if desired

½ cup cherry tomatoes, preferably heirloom, halved, quartered if large

1 cup packed coarsely chopped cilantro

High-quality extra-virgin olive oil (for serving)

1 cup tortilla chips, lightly crushed

Flaky sea salt

Remove zest from lime in wide strips with a vegetable peeler, cut lime in half and set aside. Bring zest, garlic, coconut milk and fish sauce to a simmer in a large skillet over medium heat. Arrange shrimp in a single layer and cook, maintaining a bare simmer, until opaque, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to a large shallow bowl and let cool.

Increase heat to high; cook coconut until thick and pourable (similar to the consistency of runny honey), about 5 minutes; remove from heat. Remove and discard lime zest and any shrimpy bits. Season coconut sauce with kosher salt and pepper and let cool in pan.

Squeeze juice from reserved lime half over shrimp and spoon coconut sauce over. Top with onion, jalapeno, tomatoes and cilantro. Squeeze remaining lime over. Drizzle with oil, then top with tortilla chips and sprinkle with sea salt.

Go ahead: Shrimp can be cooked and coconut sauce can be made a day ahead. Transfer to separate airtight container; cover and chill.

Lee White lives in Groton. She can be reached at leeawhite@aol.com.

ON THE SIDE

Why has it taken me so long to visit Chamard Vineyard, especially since so many friends have told me the food is divine?

Last Wednesday, we had lunch there. It was a birthday lunch from my friend Lisa and a chance to meet an incredible couple who now live in Madison. The menu is simple and very French; the menu is the same for lunch and dinner. The frisee salad at Chamard is exactly like the same one I ordered every lunch my husband and I ordered in Paris. Here it is called the Lynonnaise and it was just perfect: the lettuce crisp, the tiny pork just chewy enough, the half-inch-square croutons so luscious it seemed to be drenched in butter. Atop the salad was a perfectly poached egg that poured warm yellow as I poked my fork over the frisee. As for the pommes frites (French fries) with garlic aioli, I am still dreaming about it.

Chamard Vineyard

115 Cow Hill Road

Clinton