Thanks Neely's, thanks a lot...

This morning while I was enjoying a leisurely start to the day doing my favorite Sat. morning activity - drinking coffee and watching the cooking channel - I was presented with a challenge.

I was watching 'Down home with the Neely's' and commented on how good the coconut fried shrimp with dipping sauce looked about the same time Mike asked me to flip to some sporting event on another channel. (This happens every time I try to watch anything) I explained that I wanted to finish watching the show to see what was in the dipping sauce...

At this point Mike said "I don't know why you need to finish, you're not ever going to make it".

Really? What? I won't ever make it?

I really don't know why he said this... I love to cook, I love shrimp, I love coconut shrimp... as I am drilling him about what possessed him to say this all he could muster was "well, you don't have a deep fryer and I just didn't think you would"

So, guess what we had for dinner tonight? Yep. That's right. Coconut Shrimp with spicy orange dipping sauce. And might I add that is was some kind of good! My favorite thing at Joe's Crab shack is the coconut shrimp and it tasted just like theirs, sauce and all.

All the breading ingredients and the sauce I had just mixed up...by the way, oriental chili sauce is HOT. I now have a whole jar that I needed about a tsp. out of... Did I mention it is very hot?

Here is the load of fried shrimp and I figured if I was frying I might as well make french fries.

The perfect dipping sauce. I think I could eat this on ever thing.

The bad part is Mike was right. I probably wouldn't have made the shrimp but I felt that the day could not end without making it after he told me I wouldn't... I had to prove him wrong.

The reason I wouldn't have made it is that I hate to fry foods, I hate the way it makes your house smell, I'm a afraid of popping grease and well, I hate to fry food.

After seeing "Monster's vs. Alien's" in 3-D today we went straight to the store to gather the ingredients to make the shrimp.

And Mike's comment on dinner was "I like plain fried shrimp better, I really didn't think you would make it"... Really? Is he trying to get me to kill him?

Now my house is stinky, but in a good southern fried food sort of way, like when I was growing up. My mother was not afraid to fry things.

So, thank you Pat and Gina Neely for the wonderful Coconut shrimp idea. Now could you come clean up the grease?