Baked Stuffed Shrimp

The only downside to living in our apartment is the MIT cable, and more specifically the lack of Food Network (and HGTV). Way back when I didn't live at MIT, I liked to watch Paula Deen pound on the butter, Rachael Ray whip up meals in 30 minutes, and Alton Brown show me why foods do what they do.

The closest thing I have to Food Network now is Cook's Country on PBS, which I really appreciate, especially in HD! They are part of America's Test Kitchen, a New England based company that tests recipes and makes improvements to them so that the end result produces the best possible product. Cook's Country is sort of a Paula Deen meets Alton Brown kind of thing - they make good, wholesome, home cooking, but also explain why they chose the ingredients and methods they did.

Most things I watch them make on the show are more complicated than I am willing to try, but upon browsing their website at cookscountrytv.com, I came across a recipe for Baked Stuffed Shrimp that looked delicious and not to difficult. I scaled down the recipe for 2, and it came out wonderfully. I served it with garlic mashed potatoes, which were scrumptious! Here is the recipe I used:

2 slices white bread
1/4 c. mayonnaise, w/ olive oil variety
1/8 c. chicken stock
1/8 c. finely chopped parsley
2 scallions, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
1 t. grated lemon zest
2 t. lemon juice
1 1/2 t. Dijon mustard
1/16 t. cayenne pepper
Salt
15 medium-large shrimp

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Pulse bread in food chopper to coarse crumbs. Transfer crumbs to large pan with edges and bake until golden and dry, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time. Remove crumbs from oven and reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees.

2. Combine toasted bread crumbs, mayonnaise, chicken stock, parsley, scallions, garlic, lemon zest and juice, mustard, cayenne, and a sprinkle of salt in large bowl. Mix together well.

3. Pat shrimp dry with paper towels and season lightly with salt. Grease large pan. Butterfly and cut hole through center of each shrimp and arrange cut-side down on prepared pan. Divide bread crumb mixture among shrimp, pressing to adhere. Bake until shrimp are opaque, about 20 minutes.

4. Remove shrimp from oven and heat broiler. Broil shrimp until crumbs are deep golden brown and crispy, 1 to 3 minutes. Serve.

Looking back, I accidentally omitted step four from the process, and I think the topping would have been tastier had I broiled them at the end. They were good without it, though. Also, I would also recommend turning the heat even lower than 275 because the shrimp were cooked in about 15 minutes. I encourage you to try this one out... it's really good!