Saturday mornings are supposed to start off slow and lazy aren't they? It was not the case for us yesterday as Max picked 4:30 am to start his watusi dance and by 5 he'd already had a couple of seizures. Needless to say the big guy ended up doing the grocery shopping as I stayed home to nurse a recovering furball.
I should have known better than to ask him to behave at Lee Lee's Supermarket - the absolute best place at our end of town to pick up fresh seafood. Darn it all if he didn't come home with gorgeous shrimp with their heads still intact. Now personally I have an issue with eating shrimp that still have their eyeballs never mind the intestinal tract, so he had his work cut out for him as he cleaned the darn things, but he neglected to tell me he'd left their beady eyes intact.
Eyes or not, a bowl of perfectly cooked spicy gooey shrimp is just too difficult to pass up so we compromised. He removed the heads for me before I chowed down. I know for a fact in the last year and a half I've shared this recipe with you before, but some things require repeating from time to time, and yes this version of Cajun Shrimp is that good. Loaded with butter, lemon, worcestershire, garlic, Old Bay, rosemary and dried thyme the little bottom feeders are roasted quickly in a hot oven and ready to eat in less than 20 minutes.
To enjoy them one need nothing more than a glass of crisp wine, or a cold beer, a loaf of good bread and time. Very messy to eat, they are the epitome of finger licking good!
Cajun Shrimp (adapted from Southern Living Magazine)
2 pounds medium shrimp, de-veined but shell and tail on
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 tablespoons Old Bay
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Rinse shrimp and dry well. Place in a pan with lemon wedges and bay leaf on top. Melt butter in small pot. Add ketchup, Worcestershire, garlic, old bay, rosemary and thyme. Mix well. Pour over shrimp. Bake in 400 oven for 15 to 20 minutes until shrimp are just cooked. Stir half way through cooking period. Recipe may be doubled or tripled as required. Serve in bowls with crusty bread on the side. Download Cajun Shrimp
C M E D B D I's? L I B. M R I's
Ain't no way I'd eat anything with eyes still attached!!!
Posted by: Mags | 11/07/2010 at 09:33 AM
hee,hee,hee. As Lea would say!
Posted by: June | 11/07/2010 at 10:00 AM
hehehehehe is correct - you take the heads off before you eat them silly!!!! you know they are fresh if the eyes are still lookin at ya! It is kinds like knowing not to eat the dead ones at a crawfish boil!
Posted by: Nanan | 11/07/2010 at 01:35 PM
Big guy says you're the bomb Lea! Listen, he wants to be made an honorary Cajun.
Posted by: June | 11/07/2010 at 05:26 PM
I dub him an honorary Cajun for sure - with all that he eats! We eat anything that won't eat us! He qualifies!
Posted by: Nanan | 11/08/2010 at 06:05 AM
You've just made his DAY, MONTH, YEAR!!!
Posted by: June | 11/08/2010 at 06:38 AM
You're Darn Right You Did!!! Thanks Lea
Posted by: Big Guy | 11/08/2010 at 06:42 AM