My Chili Lime Shrimp Recipe

With a bit of reluctance, I am sharing my famous shrimp recipe. It was going to be in my cookbook, but it's become a fan favorite and so many people have asked me for it.

I am only reluctant because now that a lot of people will have the recipe, I'll have to come up with another signature Carla dish to bring to parties. They won't need me to bring it anymore. :)
Okay, so with all of that said, and without further ado, here is the recipe.

25-35 bag large shrimp, deveined, uncooked and peeled (note: it's hard to find uncooked peeled shrimp sometimes, so purchasing a bag of uncooked un-peeled will do. just more work to peel the shrimp)

2 tbsp finely minced garlic

1/4 c butter

1 tbsp crushed dried chili flakes (more or less depending on the heat you like)

Zest of one whole lime

Juice of whole lime

Juice of half a lemon

Approx. 1/4 cup of fresh chopped Cilantro

1 Large French Baguette

Various Cream Cheese Flavours (herb and garlic, chives, onion and garlic or plain)

In a large hot skillet, combine garlic and butter until combined and the smell of garlic fills your kitchen. (the best part...YUM!!)

Add the peeled shrimp, and chili flakes. Combine

Add the lime zest, lime juice and lemon juice and cook until the shrimp are no longer pink. May take up to 6 mins. (check the shrimp, do not over cook) As soon as they are all no longer pink, they are done.

Remove from heat and stir in chopped fresh Cilantro

Cut french baguette in 1 inch slices on an angle. (I like to make crostini out of the baguette. Take sliced baguette, brush with a little olive oil on both sides, place on baking sheet and bake in a 375 degree oven until lightly brown)

Take fresh baguette slices or crostini, spread desired cream cheese flavour and top with two shrimp. Make sure to drizzle some of the delicious juice from the pan over the shrimp and crostini.

Then...fall in love with this appetizer as you bite into it and the flavours explode in your mouth!!!

Quick and easy appetizer great for the sharing with family and friends over the holidays. They will fall in love with your cooking skills with this one. I promise!!!!

We love it so much, we don't only have it for special occasions.

Other ideas for serving the shrimp, other than on crostini:

-make the shrimp following recipe, and toss or serve on top of your favorite pasta

-serve over a spanish or plain rice

-serve just as is as a side dish to any choice of protein (chicken, pork, beef, lamb)

-let the shrimp slightly cool, and top a green salad

-toss in couscous or orzo

-before cooking the shrimp, let marinade in the melted butter, garlic, chili flakes, and lime zest. Skewer alternating with mushrooms, protein and place on the grill. Finish it off by combining the lime juice, lemon juice and cilantro, and drizzling it over the finished skewers as they come off the grill. (delicious)

So many things to do with this wonderful dish. Have fun experimenting!!! The ideas are endless.

Until we cook again :)

Butter

Ingredient of the Day: BUTTER
How many of us like butter? Come on. Let's be totally honest. Butter is so good. We can cook with it, bake with it, and finish things off with it, and let's not forget spreading it over some fresh out of the oven buns. DELARSHIOUS!!!! (i know...not a real word, but it is in my book) Moving on...and back to the topic at hand BUTTER.
I am going to be honest and say that I try really hard not to add a ton of fat into my recipes, but there are certain things substituting margarine or low fat for butter, well...it just doesn't cut it.

Since Christmas is just around the corner, and baking is at an all time high, and all kinds of veggies will be gracing many dinner tables, I thought it would be fitting to post about this deliciously, very obviously fattening, yet so tempting lovely pale of yellow yumminess.

That brings me to COMPOUND BUTTER.What is compound butter? To put it plainly, it is plain ole butter, softened (not melted) that is fancied up by putting varying ingredients into it. Mixing it up, and then placing back into the refrigerator to set up again. When I make my compound butters, I like to roll them up into cylinder shapes making it easier to cut and serve on top of a warm steak, veggies, or to finish of a sauce. The varying ingredients are and can be endless.Some examples: Lemon/Lime Zest, any herb of your liking, chili flakes, garlic, pepper, cinnamon, brown sugar, sea salts, and any spice blends you can dream of. Making the butter savoury or sweet.

Now let's take a simple vegetable side dish. One that will more than likely be at more than a handful of tables this holiday season.CORN. Corn is one of those vegetables that tastes great with butter, salt and pepper, but is even better when you COMPOUND BUTTER it UP!!!!I came up with this recipe last summer. It was a hit. Since then, I've served it many different places and have had rave reviews on it, so since I am in the giving spirit....(thanks to Christmas) I thought I would share it with my faithful blog followers.So simple...yet everyone will wonder what you did with the old staple stand by side dish of corn. Here's the facelift.

Lime Compound Butter
1 lb butter (softened at room temperature and placed in a small mixing bowl)Zest of 3 LimesJuice of 1 1/2 limesSea Salt to tasteCracked Pepper to taste1/4 tsp garlic or less if you wish

Place all ingredients in the bowl with softened butter and mix well. Take a good size piece of cling wrap or wax paper and place the mixed butter in the center of the paper. Using one of the outer edges of the paper, form the butter into a log and roll. Store in the refrigerator until ready for use.

Corn:
Corn Cobs, Kernals, Fresh or Frozen. Once your corn has been cooked, take desired amount of lime compound butter and mix into warm corn. Serve and Enjoy!!!!

You can do so much with compound butter. Try it next time a vegetable, meat dish, or dinner roll could use a little pick me up or facelift. Take some of your favourite flavours and create your own compound butter. You'll be surprised with the results and how little effort it takes to transform a simple dish.
Until we cook again :)