When you think of Manhattan, do you think of beaches, seascapes and coastal vacations? I don’t either! When I think of Manhattan, I think of fantastic restaurants, Broadway shows and great shopping, but I don’t think of coastal activities or coastal cuisine.

But, Manhattan actually is an island. It is completely surrounded by water. In fact, it is almost the exact same size as SeaPak’s home, St. Simons Island. But, size is pretty much where the similarities end with these islands. St. Simons has a laid-back, island-casual atmosphere where as Manhattan is all hustle and bustle!

I was recently in Manhattan meeting with magazine editors and sharing lots of great news about SeaPak’s delicious seafood products. While I was there, I had to squeeze in time for some delicious seafood “Manhattan-style” with my co-worker, Lauren. After plenty of research and recommendations, we settled on eating dinner at Blue Water Grill, a hip seafood and sushi restaurant in Union Square.

My meal was a classic Chilean Sea Bass dressed with a balsamic vinegar reduction and served on a bed of gnocchi with a mild Asian sauce. I would call it “fancy seafood” as compared to the more home-style seafood fare we see on St. Simons Island. It was certainly as delicious!

Our dinner made me think about little touches you can do at home to turn dinner into a white tablecloth experience in no time at all. I took my inspiration from the gnocchi side dish I had at Blue Water Grill and came up with Butterfly Shrimp with a Garlic Butter Gnocchi.

If you are not familiar with gnocchi, it is an Italian dumpling typically made with potatoes and flour. The dumplings are boiled and then served with butter or a savory sauce. You can buy pre-made gnocchi in the pasta aisle of your grocery store. I have even found it in a regular Target store! Gnocchi makes a great (and unexpected!) alternative to rice, potatoes or pasta. In addition to tasting great, these little dumplings cook up very fast (2-3 minutes), making them perfect when you need a gourmet meal in a hurry.

Give this meal a try next time you need a white tablecloth meal in a flash and let me know what you think. And, next time you visit Manhattan, don’t forget that you’re on an island and keep an eye out for delicious seafood!

Butterfly Shrimp with Garlic Butter Gnocchi
Cooking time: 14 minutes – Time start to finish: 15 minutes – Serves: 2

• 1 package (12 oz) SeaPak® Butterfly Shrimp
• 1 package (16-17 oz) dried gnocchi
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 clove)
• 2 teaspoon fresh parsley, finely chopped (may substitute 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley)

BAKE Butterfly Shrimp according to package instructions.

BOIL gnocchi according to package instructions while shrimp are baking. When fully cooked, drain gnocchi and set aside.

RETURN pot to the stove. Add olive oil, butter and garlic. Sauté for 1-2 minutes until garlic is sizzling but not turning brown.

REMOVE pot from heat. Pour drained gnocchi into the pot with the garlic butter mixture. Add chopped parsley and toss until gnocchi are well covered. Set pot aside (do not return to heat) until ready to serve.

The SeaPak team was on the move again this past week. This time we were on Tybee Island with a photographer, a few models and lots of yummy SeaPak products for a photo shoot. Tybee Island is just off of the coast of Georgia–near Savannah. It’s actually not far up the coast from St. Simons Island (our home town), but the two coastal towns have a very different feel.

Tybee Island is connected to the mainland by a series of bridges. As soon as you cross over you feel the pace of life slow down. In fact, there are signs everywhere announcing you are on “Tybee time” now.

The atmosphere on Tybee is very, very casual. The dress code is bathing suits and flip flops– at all times. Many of the restaurants even have signs letting patrons know that shoes and shirts are not required until after 7 pm. How cool is that?! Another distinctive feature of Tybee beaches are the series of wooden bench swings built by the dunes. They are great place to sit and take in a sunrise over the ocean or even enjoy some local take-out cuisine.

Speaking of cuisine, you know that when I am traveling I love to sample all of the local flavors. I asked a friend of mine who used to live on Tybee for a recommendation for this trip. He suggested Spanky’s, a local place near the entrance to the pier. Lucky me – this restaurant was walking distance from where I was staying. So, my son and I took a stroll over to Spanky’s our first night in town.

Spanky’s turned out to be local’s place that caters to the beach crowd streaming off the sand at the end of a day of sun bathing. The dark interior is a stark contrast to the bright sunshine outside. It offers a basic menu which includes lots of fried seafood. I had the Neptune’s Platter with fried shrimp, crab cakes, steamed veggies and a baked potato.

The Neptune’s Platter was good but, in my totally unbiased opinion, our SeaPak crab cakes are definitely just as good! And, the whole dish is something you could make at home with a minimal of effort. Below is my version of a Neptune’s Platter. I bake everything in the oven because it is so convenient to throw everything in and do other things until dinner is ready. (Remember we are on “Tybee time” tonight!) However if you wanted to speed things up you could “bake” potatoes in the microwave… just be sure you skip the butter and tin foil if you are microwaving! Now if you really want to create the Tybee experience, I recommend you dress appropriately for this dinner – a bathing suit, tank top and flip flops!

Neptune’s Platter
Prep Time: 7 minutes Cook time: 60 minutes Serves: 4

• 1 (22 oz) package SeaPak® Popcorn Shrimp, frozen
• 2 (8 oz) packages SeaPak® Crab Cakes, thawed
• 1 package frozen steamable vegetables (any frozen steam-in-bag variety)
• Seafood Shack Baked Potatoes (recipe below)

PREHEAT oven to 400F. Prepare Seafood Shack Bake Potatoes for baking (directions below) and place in the oven. Bake otatoes for about 1 hour or until tender when pierced with a fork.

ARRANGE thawed crab cakes on a baking sheet and place baking sheet in oven when potatoes have 20 minutes remaining.

POUR frozen popcorn shrimp onto a baking sheet and place baking sheet in oven when potatoes and crab cakes have 14 minutes remaining.

REMOVE crab cakes, popcorn shrimp and potatoes from oven when each are fully cooked. Serve and enjoy!

Seafood Shack Baked Potatoes

WASH potatoes and prick skins all over with a fork.

TEAR off 4 sheets of tin foil. Sheets must be long enough to fully wrap around potatoes.

SMEAR 1 tablespoon softened butter all over each potato. Place each potato on a sheet of tin foil.

SPINKLE Old Bay Seasoning or Sea Salt around potatoes. Wrap tightly in tin foil so that the seams end up on the top of the potatoes.

PLACE wrapped potatoes seam side up on a baking dish. Bake for 1 hour at 400° or until fully cooked.

If you decide you really are not on “Tybee time” and can’t wait an hour for baked potatoes you can “bake” potatoes in the microwave in less time. You will want to wash and prick the skin but then skip the butter, tin foil and Old Bay if you are going the microwave method or dinner will get a lot more exciting than you meant it to be. Enjoy!