Spicy Broiled Scallops →

This spicy butter sauce works equally well with scallops under your broiler,  or freshly shucked oysters done on your grill. For oysters, place a teaspoon of the mixed butter on each oyster; set each oyster on a piece of crumpled tin foil on the grill to keep the shell from tipping out all the delicious buttery juice. Quick, easy, elegant, and simply delicious! Enjoy!

Broiled Scallops
Yield: Serves 4 as a starter

 INGREDIENTS
·  4 ounces sweet butter
·  1 tablespoon hot sauce of your choice (this produces a mild spiciness)
·  ½ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
·  1 very small garlic clove or ½ a medium clove finely minced or grated
·  Zest of ½ lemon grated, plus a few drops of lemon juice
·  1 small anchovy fillet rinsed and patted dry
·  8 large sea scallops, hinge muscle removed (preferably fresh or dry chilled)
·  3 tablespoons of dry white wine
·  ¼ cup Panko breadcrumbs

PREPARATION
1.  Melt the butter; add hot sauce, Old Bay, garlic, lemon zest, juice, and anchovy. Mix and mash well until the anchovy has dissolved. Scrape the mixture into a small bowl and set aside in the fridge until the butter has solidified.
2. Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel and give them a light sprinkle of salt.
3. Preheat your broiler with the grate 6 inches from the flame.
4. Grease the bottom of an ovenproof skillet or small heat-proof casserole with a small amount of the prepared butter. Assemble the scallops in the skillet/casserole and place dabs of the butter around them and a dab on top of each. Add the wine and sprinkle the scallops with Panko; place under the broiler for 6 minutes or until the Panko turns golden brown. Note: monitor closely so the Panko does not burn.
5. Use tongs to transfer hot scallops to small plates or 3-inch scallop shells. Pour any sauce around each scallop. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley and serve while hot with lemon wedges on the side.

Wine pairing: depending on how spicy your sauce is, for mildly spicy an Albariño, Chablis, Vermentino, Sauvignon Blanc; for spicier sauce, try a Viognier, White Rhone, or a dry Riesling.

Iberian Garlic Shrimp and Calamari (Camarón y Calamar Ajoso) →

Iberian Garlic Shrimp and Calamari (Camarón y Calamar Ajoso) is inspired by one of my favorite Spanish tapas. Serve as an hors d’oeuvre or first course for a larger meal, or pair with sauteed bitter greens or baby spinach and pine nuts as a delicious light meal you can have on the table in less than a half-hour. Add a thin pasta like Capellini, tossed with the sumptuous garlicky-sherry-olive oil sauce, topped with the shrimp and calamari with sauteed greens on the side for a more substantial meal. Don’t forget the crusty bread to dip in the rich spicy sauce. Vamos a tapear! y Buen provecho! 

Iberian Garlic Shrimp and Squid
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons of Spanish extra-virgin olive oil

• 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• 16 large shrimp (21-25 count), peeled.

• 1/3 pound of squid; tubes cut into ½ inch rounds

• 2 teaspoons Red Pepper Paste (or one small dried chile pepper of your choice)

• 1 tablespoon dry sherry or white wine

• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon chopped parsley

• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium sauté pan or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Sauté the garlic cloves until just beginning to brown, about 2 minutes.
3. Add the shrimp and stir for a minute; add the squid and stir; add the red pepper paste and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for another 2 minutes. (Don’t overcook or the shrimp and squid will be rubbery.)
4. Add the sherry and lemon juice and cook for another minute.
5. Season to taste with salt, sprinkle with parsley and serve with a crusty bread to dip in the delicious sauce.

Marinated Sweet and Spicy Shrimp →

Here’s a great shrimp recipe to serve as a delicious appetizer/hors d'oeuvres, or as a main dish with rice like Chinese Fried Rice. Quick and easy to make, the marinade sauce caramelizes in the skillet as you cook the shrimp coating each piece with a rich savory sweet and spicy sauce sure to please your family and guests! Serve the reserved sauce for dipping or drizzling over rice. Truly tasty!

Marinated Sweet and Spicy Shrimp
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 16 large shrimp (21-25 count), peeled and deveined

• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced or grated

• 1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced or grated

• 4 tablespoons honey

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• ½ teaspoon chili-sesame oil (Note: if you don’t have chili-sesame oil, use ½ teaspoon of sesame oil and ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes.)

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Preparation:

1. Mix the ingredients and marinate the shrimp in half of the sauce for about 30-40 minutes, reserving the other half to drizzle over the cooked shrimp or rice.

2. Remove the shrimp from the marinade and discard the marinade.

3. Add 1-2 teaspoons of canola or other neutral oil to a hot cast-iron skillet. Working in two batches, add half the shrimp to the hot skillet and sear for 1 minute on each side. The marinade on the shrimp will caramelize. For added flavor, rub the shrimp in the caramelized sauce as you remove them from the skillet.

Note: substitute 3-4 large sea scallops per person and sear for 2 minutes per side after marinating as above. If possible use U-20 dry fresh or air-chilled frozen scallops rather than chemically treated scallops. Allow frozen scallops to thaw in the fridge before using.

Wine pairing: a crisp Chablis, Albariño, Sauvignon Blanc, Verdicchio, Verdejo, or Rosé would complement this dish.

Grilled Shrimp →

This savory, flavorful grilled shrimp recipe is adapted from the baked Spicy Cajun Shrimp recipe on this site. Serve the grilled shrimp with refreshing Water Melon Salsa and marinated grilled veggies. Summertime and the grillin’ is easy!

Serves 4
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1 tablespoon Cajun or Creole seasoning (this yields a mildly spicy marinade)

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or cilantro)

• 1 teaspoon minced serrano or jalapeño chile

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 1 pound uncooked large shrimp, shelled, deveined

• lemon wedges (optional)

Preparation:

1. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a baking dish. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. While the shrimp are marinating, soak some bamboo skewers (figure about 4-5 shrimp per skewer)

3. Preheat your grill while you thread the shrimp on the skewers by piercing through the head end and through the tail end.

4. Oil the grill grates and grill the shrimp 2 minutes per side.

Adapted from: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spicy-baked-shrimp