Shrimp Salad Croissants

Shrimp salad croissants are decadent and special. Perfect for picnics or a special lunch, this shrimp salad is delicious even in an avocado!

Shrimp salad croissants remind me of St. Augustine; old St. Augustine, the oldest continuously settled town in America. Why shrimp salad croissants?

I promise I’ll get to it!  A long, long time ago Manservant and I  drove to Jacksonville, Florida where Manservant  accepted his first real job, after completing his masters degree. It was 1981, which also was the year we got married.

The choices of jobs were slim at the time and it was either Jacksonville or International Falls, Minnesota. Not really much of a choice, huh? (With all due respect to International Falls. They did offer him a snowmobile as part of the deal!)

We found ourselves leaving Fort Collins with all of our belongings including our beloved Honey dog. (She used to chase the alligators at the apartment complex where we lived). Arriving in Jacksonville,  I remember the first smell that greeted us was the aroma of paper mills. Not a pleasant aroma, I dare say.

Jacksonville was a new experience for us. Manservant grew up in Texas and he was a bit used to Southern ways, but for me it was like being a fish out of water.

Well, we lasted about two years in Jacksonville and actually it turned out to be a pretty good place.  Except for maybe the humidity, the bugs and the sweet tea! I never could get used to sweet tea!

Luckily, a beautiful, new apartment where there was no smell of mildew and not a palmetto bug in sight was quickly found. (A palmetto bug is a polite way of saying cockroach.) Our new apartment was sprayed monthly by the management which made me feel so cockroach free. Until it didn’t.

That was about the point when I started bugging (BUGGING!) Manservant to look for a new job. Avoiding palmetto bugs became an obsession with me. I was afraid to open cabinets, especially at night, for fear of what I might find. These guys fly! And they fly at you!

But back to shrimp. Shrimp salad. On flaky croissants.

Not far from Jacksonville was the quaint little town of St. Augustine. We quickly discovered the back road to get  there and on weekends it was often our quick getaway! It always felt as if we were on a mini vacation, even if we had just spent a few hours walking the narrow cobblestone streets lined with tchotchke shops. (Tchotchke – a Yiddish word meaning trinkets or items of little value.)

Amidst all those shops we discovered a little French cafe that served  shrimp salad croissants. It was a cute little place with clay tiled floors and with that find we never looked for another restaurant whenever we drove down.

Driving back, I think it was on Old Route 1, passing the alligator farm on the way, made me realize I wasn’t in Colorado anymore. Yes, we did stop one time and if you’ve never been to an alligator farm it is a unique experience. There is even one in Colorado that we’ve toured. 

So it is when I’m by myself, I often find my mind wandering down memory lane. I find myself thinking of the beach and how long it has been since I’ve seen one. I found myself thinking of where I’ve been and where I’ve come from and well, one thought leads to another until I find myself wanting a shrimp salad croissant.

I don’t want a turkey sandwich. I don’t want shrimp salad stuffed in a tomato or an avocado. I want the soft, salty taste of shrimp salad with little bits of crunchy celery, stuffed into the confines of a giant flaky croissant. Trust me. This is the way to eat shrimp salad.

Also just a quick tip: Try to find some arugula or spinach to place on the croissant. This helps keep the croissant from getting soggy.

I don’t want frou frou shrimp salad. I want my shrimp salad croissant with potato chips. I want an icy beer sitting in front of me. And I want to remember how far we’ve come from St. Augustine, Florida. It’s been a bittersweet journey!

Shrimp salad croissants are perfect for  Mother’s Day. They are easy to make and always seem  special. After all it isn’t every day, I eat a croissant. And it isn’t every day I find myself having shrimp for lunch.  These are perfect for a picnic basket. Just pack the shrimp salad in a container and quickly make these up at your favorite destination! Don’t forget the beer!

I prefer to buy baby shrimp for these. They are found in the freezer section though you may also find them in a can in the tuna section. Frozen shrimp is very handy to use in fried rice and great to have on hand.

They are already cooked and have a brinier taste than other shrimp, in my opinion. Take what you need from the package, put them in a strainer and run cold water over them. They will be thawed in minutes.

Don’t have frozen salad (baby) shrimp? That’s OK. Just chop up any cooked shrimp and you are good to go. During this pandemic, I sent Manservant to the store and he came back with a giant bag of cooked shrimp. I never buy cooked shrimp, so this is one way to use them!

I use fresh dill in this salad, but any herb will do. Tarragon would be delish, as would some fresh basil or chives. 

These shrimp salad croissants often become dinner for us. Just heat up the croissant to make them extra crispy and flaky and you have a meal fit for royalty. Enjoy.

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