CEimB: Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

I couldn’t go wrong.  Both Emeril and Ellie were in my kitchen

When I asked the girl serving at the fish counter in our local market about  1 1/2 lb of medium, raw shrimp, she steered me away from the ones in the display and, pointing to the “Emeril” bag of frozen shrimp, said “these are your best choice”.  Who am I to question that fishy chick?

I was excited about this CEimB night and cooking up a shrimpy dish because I really enjoy shrimp. A true seafood lover which is why I could never declare myself a true-blue Vegetarian.  When I saw what Cookies With Boys chose as tonight’s main feature, I was beside myself!  And FETA cheese as well?! Oh Heaven!

I surfed a little and found a couple of suggested alterations for this recipe which were right up my alley. 1. Add a little crushed red pepper. 2. Add wine. 

Adding the wine was a no brainer since there was so much to use from our Wine and Food Pairing Party last Saturday.  I like a little spice in my life so the red pepper worked for me.  However… I forgot to add it.

I used fresh tomatoes instead of canned. Not sure why because this time of year in New York (maybe even where you are), the tomatoes look really nice, all red and plump, but they lack flavor. Still… something about “fresh” makes me think “better”.  They sure did smell good when being chopped and smashed!  A green bell pepper was also a spur of the moment addition.

Here are the ingredients used with another change:  I tossed that old McCormick Dill Seed and used  Spice Hunter dill.

My procedure: 

I cooked the onion with 3/4 green bell pepper (chopped) for about 6 minutes. 

Ted smashed the chopped fresh tomatoes and, after adding the garlic, we added the tomatoes along with 1/4 cup very light, somewhat sweet red wine (the Abby Rose).  Brought our mixture to a boil, however instead of thickening, it got juicier. Probably - well, definitely, the fresh tomatoes fault. 

After simmering for 10 minutes, I transferred the mix to a baking dish with a slotted spoon to get rid of some of the juice. Added my cilantro instead of parsley, dill, shrimp, salt and pepper, put in the oven for 20 minutes.

We served our Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta with broccoli and snap peas cooked in Glenora Riesling (another left over wine).

What did we think of this dish?  Well, Ted enjoyed it and I was not thrilled. I really wish I hadn’t forgotten about that crushed red pepper. In my opinion, it needed a bit more flavor. 

I really don’t know.  It was easy to make and with some adjustment, we just might embark on this adventure one more time.

Good pick  Pamela of Cookies With Boys!