Alice in the Kitchen

Spicy Shrimp

I have to thank my dad for this recipe. I don’t know where he got it, but we have been making it for years to rave reviews all around. Everyone loves these shrimp. Even I love this recipe, even though it makes my forehead sweat for hours. I took it to our Top Chef season finale party last night, and now to appease those of you who have asked for it… here it is!

A few notes: it’s really good served with french bread rounds, as an appetizer, or on top of some linguine as a main course. Whatever you do, make a lot (in fact, I usually double the amount of shrimp and triple the marinade) and be ready to give out the recipe because you won’t be able to keep this a secret. Another tip: bake it wherever you intend to serve it – the sauce will splash out of any dish, no matter how tight the lid, and you will have an oily, shrimpy mess on your hands!

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning (I use Tony Chachere’s Original Cajun)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (regular parsley, not flat!)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (you can leave this out if you’re not a fan of spicy – the Cajun seasoning will make it plenty spicy!)
• 1 pound peeled and deveined raw shrimp

Whisk all these ingredients together and add the shrimp. Allow the shrimp to marinade for several hours, keeping in mind that the longer they marinade, the hotter they will be!

Preheat your oven to 450 and bake the shrimp/sauce for about 10 minutes, until they are done and pink. (I usually use large or extra large shrimp, so it has to bake for around 15 minutes.)

Serve and enjoy!