Roasted Shrimp w/ Homemade Cocktail Sauce and Steamed Artichokes

Roasted Shrimp w/ Homemade Cocktail Sauce

Roasted shrimp are easy and simple to prepare and roast. They are great because they take little preparation and they cook within minutes. My mom buys frozen raw shrimp (medium size, 31-40 count per pounds) and will de-frost them about an hour before we want to make them. To speed up the thawing process, run them under warm water. Keep in mind that if they are not pre-cooked, then they need to be deviened, which means cutting down the back of the shrimp and pulling out the black vein. Only devein when shrimp are THAWED. Cut just deep enough to pull out the vein. It should be pretty easy to pull out as one piece. 

Recipe: About 20 shrimp 

Serving Size: 2

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper (about 4-5 pepper grinds)

When the shrimp have been deveined and cleaned, throw them into a bowl that is big enough that they can be tossed around in. Then take the olive oil, salt, and pepper and put them into the bowl with the shrimp and mix until all shrimp are evenly coated. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Next you want to take a piece of tin foil and line it on the bottom of a cookie sheet. Place the shrimp on the tray. They should be evenly spread out with space in between them so they aren't cramped. 

Once they are on the tray and the oven is preheated, place them into the oven to be cooked for about 5-6 minutes. When they are all a light pink color, they are done!!

Here is a yummy cocktail sauce recipe to dip your shrimp in...

Homemade Cocktail Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup Ketchup

1/4 cup Chili Sauce (we use Heinz)

2-3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice (much better to use fresh than from the bottle)

1-2 Tablespoons creamed horseradish sauce (Buy in same section as ketchup)

      *Horseradish is pretty strong so you can use more of it or less in your sauce depending on what you like!

Artichokes:

Artichokes are very easy to make and quite delicious! My roommates in college loved them! They used to microwave them which didn't take much time but if you want them to be super tender they need to be boiled in water for awhile! 

First thing we want to do is bring a large pot of water to a boil and before we being to cook them, they need to be pruned. Artichokes have spikes on the tip of every leaf and they all need to be clipped off. Notice in my picture how all the leaves are flat at the tips (this is from clipping off the spikes). 

Once your artichokes are pruned and the water is boiled, they are ready to start cooking! You want the artichokes to cook  in boiling water with a top on the pot for about 45 min-1 hour. After 45 minutes I check to see how tender they are by taking a leaf off and seeing how easily the "meat" comes off of it. 

How to Eat an Artichoke:

Simply pull off a leaf, stick about 3/4 of the leaf in your mouth, bite down while keeping your teeth clenched on the leaf and pull. If the artichoke is tender enough, a lot of the leaf should be sliding off into your mouth.

If you think the artichoke is tender and finished cooking, you are ready to take it off the heat and eat! 

Whats great about artichokes is that you usually dip the leaves into a sauce! I personally enjoy dipping them into melted (salted) butter. My mom on the other hand likes to dip it in a lemon-mayo sauce. 

Lemon-Mayo Dipping Sauce: (For one artichoke)

2 heaping Tablespoons of mayo

1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

ENJOY!