Baked Shrimp

My friend gave me this recipe over 25 years ago. For a couple of decades I had it written on an index card labeled "Katy's Shrimp." In moving up here I lost the index card (I'm sure it will turn up when I least expect it), but of course with a new piece of technology called "the internet," I was able to send her a message requesting the recipe again.... here it is with some adjustments.

2 lbs large shrimp, shelled and deveined, tails on
1/2 cup butter  (I used olive oil)
1/4 cup sherry
1/4 cup minced parsley (I used cilantro)
a splash of lemon juice
3 large cloves garlic, minced (I used more garlic)
a splash of Worcestershire sauce
a splash of hot sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs


Preheat oven to 400 F. Combine all ingredients except shrimp and breadcrumbs in a baking dish. Mix well. Remove 1/4 of this mixture and set aside. Add shrimp to baking dish and mix thoroughly. Combine breadcrumbs with reserved sauce and sprinkle over shrimp. Bake 20 minutes.

Shrimp Stuffed Portabellas

Cubans aren't known for eating mushrooms. A mushrooms is a fungus and we don't eat fungi, my mother would say. I don't even know of any Cuban recipe that calls for mushrooms.

The first time I ever ate a mushroom was probably as a pizza topping in my late teens, and I wasn't introduced to portabellas until my thirties when my vegetarians friends encouraged my husband and me to try a portabella appetizer at an Italian restaurant. After that day I would order them at restaurants whenever they were offered on the menu, but I never really made them at home.

I was tempted to buy these portabella mushrooms at the supermarket the other day thinking I'd make something with them for Meatless Mondays. Well, that idea went out the window because I decided to make a shrimp stuffing that turned out delish.

2 large portabella mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped cooked shrimp
1/4 cup onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic finely chopped or pressed
6 Saltine crackers, crushed
1 heaping tablespoon of mayonnaise
olive oil

Wash your mushrooms and remove the stems and dark scaly parts with a spoon. Do not discard this. It is quite edible and we are going to incorporate it into the stuffing. Chop the stem into small pieces.  Drizzle olive oil into a skillet and sauté your onions, garlic and mushroom pieces. Add your cooked shrimp and crushed saltines and mix together. Add your mayonnaise, mix and turn off the heat. If you want to grill these, then brush the outside of the mushrooms with olive oil before stuffing. If you're going to bake them in the oven as I did, then coat a baking dish with olive oil and place your mushroom in the pan, stuff with the filing and bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes. Remove from the oven, slice into wedges and serve as tapas, or you can eat a whole one as a meal. (I cut up some red peppers as an afterthought  and sprinkled on top.)

Camarones al Ajillo: Garlic Shrimp

This didn't fit into my diet, so I'm not writing it as a diet post, but I did eat a little of it (2 shrimp and a little pasta). I mostly had salad.

1 lb shrimp deveined, tail on
3-4 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped
olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of your pan and then some)
1 tsp paprika
sprinking of cilantro
salt and pepper to taste


This is so simple, it's almost silly to post it. Heat your olive oil in a skillet with your pressed garlic until it becomes fragrant. Add your paprika and shrimp. Add your cilantro (I was going to originally use parsley which would have been the more "obvious" choice, but I only had cilantro and it was marvelous), salt and pepper. Toss back and forth. The shrimp cook rather quickly.


Serve on a layer of rice or as in my case fettucini. Accompany with a salad.

Shrimp Spring Rolls

Not long ago I was in line at a local pharmacy.  In front of me stood a slim woman, well dressed with tight jeans and heals.  I've never been a girly girl, but I admired her style, and especially her hair. I've always had bad hair days, and this woman's hair had no frizz, no split ends, it looked healthy and bouncy with a lovely color. Dare I ask what product she uses? As I contemplated approaching her, she turned around. To my horror, she must have been about 90 YEARS OLD!  I gasped!  This is an example of what I would call false advertising! 

This happens with food too.  Have you ever been into a fancy bakery where the confections are outrageously priced, but they look sooooo good that you're willing to take out your wallet for what you imagine must be delightfully orgasmic.  You take one bite and then it's F*!% S^&#;! This tastes like crap! What's on the inside matters.

I found rice paper for spring rolls at the market the other day, and I decided to try it out. I read online that you just have to dampen it to make it pliable. It's ready to eat as is, or you can fry them or steam them. I made these with cooked shrimp, lettuce, cucumber, avocado, and shredded carrots, and they are translucent so we can see what's on the inside! Oh, and of course it goes without saying, these are NOT Cuban.