Roasted Shrimp Cocktail

I was at the salon getting my hair cut and I heard Christmas music.  “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” swirled through the air on November 12th.  Poor Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is like the middle child of fall and winter holidays.  The poor thing is sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas or Hanukkah.  As a defender of all things Thanksgiving, I want to ask, “Can we just give Thanksgiving a moment to shine?”.  Is anyone else out there with me? (lol)

As the holidays approach, I have started putting together menus and making plans.  I have found some incredibly interesting new recipes to add to my collection.  However, it’s hard to beat a classic.  Plump, juicy, perfectly spiced, roasted shrimp served with homemade cocktail sauce are mouth watering.  Whenever I serve this incredible classic, I get asked for more.  I am also often crunched for time.  I love that I can prepare the cocktail sauce ahead and cook the shrimp that day.  Be sure to try the homemade cocktail sauce recipe.  You’ll never go back to the bottle.

Roasted Shrimp Cocktail

serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 lb shrimp (21/25 count)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp Old Bay Seasoning

Cocktail Sauce (recipe follows)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Peel and devein the shrimp leaving the tails in tact.

3. Place the shrimp and the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and toss to thoroughly coat the shrimp with the spices.

4. Place the shrimp in a single layer on a baking sheet

5. Roast the shrimp for 10 minutes or until the shrimp have turned pink and are cooked through.  You can serve the shrimp warm or put in the refrigerator and chill for an hour.

Cocktail Sauce

Makes 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

1/2 c  Heinz chili sauce

1/2 c  ketchup

4 Tbsp prepared horseradish*

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 tsp Worcestershire

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp Tabasco

*If you are using homemade horseradish cut the amount in half.  The food blog Simply Recipes has a wonderful recipe for homeade horseradish .

Method:

Stir all ingredients together.  Adjust the amount of horseradish to your liking.  Some like it spicier than others!

Cocktail sauce can keep in the refrigerator for a week.

Cheers!

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