We had a pricey post-anniversary celebration at Ocean Prime the other night and after we paid the bill, we decided to go to the freezer and pantry for the rest of the week. The food was fresh and good, the service was quite fantastic, but I thought it was a bit overpriced for what we had. Each entree comes with a vegetable, but our server explained it was more an extension of the garnish than an actual side. I think we might go back to split an appetizer and have a drink, but it was too expensive for us to achieve a full belly there. Sigh. Oh, and did I mention that an older lady at the table next to us smoked Virginia Slims all over us the whole time? Yeah, that was fun, too. Anyway, back to the freezer! We found some jumbo shrimp knocking around and I decided that I could continue my “no oven, no way” manifesto for the summer. Here’s what I came up with.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp

www.dulanotes.com (my recipe)

My husband had the great idea of using 2 skewers per shrimp for easier flipping. I got my metal skewers from Crate and Barrel and they worked nicely. Make sure to protect your hands once the grilled shrimp is ready, the metal skewers will be hot! These have a nice flavor and you can dial the heat up or down by how much hot sauce you use.

20 jumbo raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

3-4 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 T. smoked paprika

2 T. garlic salt (I used roasted garlic salt that I found at a seasoning shop)

2-4 T. Cholula (you can use Tabasco, Frank’s or other hot sauce)

If using a charcoal grill, start your coals in a starter and when they have turned white, add them to your grill and prepare a medium hot fire. Peel and devein the raw shrimp. For the jumbo shrimp, insert your skewers on opposite ends of the shrimp (about 2 inches apart). Add 6 shrimp per pair of skewers and make sure to skewer them evenly. Transfer skewers to a large plate or rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle one side of the shrimp with half of the above olive oil and Cholula. Sprinkle half of the above amount of garlic salt and smoked paprika on the shrimp. Turn and repeat on the other side. Once your grill is ready, put the shrimp on the grill. Only grill for about 2-3 minutes per side or until the shrimp turns pink. The shrimp cooks really quickly and becomes rubbery if it’s left on too long.

Boy, do I love easy and delicious! I hope to soon post a great summer cocktail and easy plum jam.