Katie Bradford, Mystic Nice Girl

When Picked Shrimp Gets Weird

by Katie Bradford

At an engagement party for my college roommate, the hostess presented "pickled shrimp".   I was dieting strictly, so was pleased to find something I could eat.  I complimented her on the dish.

Here's where she really irritated me:  she knew that I would be attending my friend's shower, and she remembered to bring the recipe on a cute little herb circled recipe card.  Too perfect to stomach.

Well, this dish made me a one trick pony.  I brought the shrimp to every event I was invited to.  I'm pretty sure pickled shrimp became the reason I WAS invited.  Come to find out, the recipe came from the cookbook, "Charted Courses: Treasured Recipes from the Auxiliaries of Child & Family Agency of Southeastern CT, Inc." The cover of this book is a water color by my good friend, Carol Connor, of the view from her kitchen window in Noank. 

Here's where picked shrimp gets weird:

Fast forward 15 years. My mom, in cleaning out her basement, found a cookbook compiled by my aunt Louanne Cromwell and her fellow Navy wives, the Mine Force Officers Wives club.  My uncle, Jack Cromwell, was Commander of a minesweeper.  Under appetizers is "Italian Shrimp"--the exact same recipe, except that they had to cook the shrimp first, and I buy cooked, frozen shrimp.  Amazing. 

In 2012, the new building housing the Submarine Warfare Learning Headquarters at the Sub Base in Groton was named for John Cromwell, uncle Jack's father, who was one of eight Medal of Honor winners in World War II. 

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