Occasionally I look through my recipes and know that I am looking for something that I can’t put my finger on. An old recipe here and there, one I know that I wrote down or I can remember on a card in a friend’s handwriting. Then this weekend something great happened.

My daughter Holly was helping me clean out a storage unit we have and there it was, a box on the bottom of a stack of boxes. A small box with old food magazines on the top and underneath them, my recipes! Lots of pieces of paper, some typed, some handwritten, big ones and little ones. How could I have forgotten where they were? Some of these recipes I had made many times and some only a few times, but I had missed all of them.

And now I can share them with you and I hope you will be as happy as I am that they are now home, safe and sound.

This recipe for broiled shrimp is excellent. Cook the pasta while you are cooking the shrimp so you can toss the shrimp and the seasoned oil with your hot pasta as soon as they are both done.

Elegant shrimp

3 pounds shrimp

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup olive oil

2 cups coarsely chopped onions

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 cup white wine

1/3 cup Italian salad dressing

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules

8 ounces fettucine, cooked

Peel shrimp leaving the tail on, devein and butterfly. Place the shrimp in boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain and place in a shallow broiling pan.

Combine the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan and place on medium heat until butter melts. Add onion, garlic, parsley and oregano, cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is transparent. Next add the water, wine, salad dressing and bouillon. Stir until bouillon is dissolved, reduce heat to low and cook for 3 minutes. Pour mixture over shrimp. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or up to overnight. Uncover shrimp and broil 4 inches away from heat from 3 minutes on each side. Toss the shrimp and seasoned butter and oil with cooked fettucine.

This next recipe is one of the most useful recipes you will ever have in your repertoire. You can slice it and serve over rice. I cook my rice in chicken bouillon and sprinkle in a little parsley. It is also excellent sliced thinly and served at a party on small rolls.

Honey gingered pork tenderloin

2 pork tenderloins

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup Hoisin Sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon ketchup

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon red pepper

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all the other ingredients and whisk together. Place the tenderloin in a gallon or two gallon Ziploc bag and add the marinade. Place in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray the baking pan with nonstick spray. Place the pan in the oven. Cook 10 minutes and turn. Baste with the pan juice every few minutes and check the meat with a thermometer. Cook till it registers 150 degrees, remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes, basting occasionally.

It’s time for fresh spring strawberries and this recipe will show them off. They are excellent on slices of pound cake or in puff pastry tart shells.

Sweet and tart fresh strawberries

1 quart fresh strawberries, rinsed, leaves removed and halved

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Whisk the brown sugar and vinegar together. Place the strawberries in a plastic bowl with a tight sealing lid, add the brown sugar and vinegar. Marinate the strawberries for 1 to 2 hours, turning the bowl occasionally.

Serve over slices of pound cake and a spoonful of fresh whipped cream.

Christina Hall writes a weekly column for The Democrat. She can be reached at christina.hall@natchezdemocrat.com.