Shrimp Thomas

Happy Valentine's Day! I thought I'd share with you what we made for dinner tonight. 

After racing to the 4:30 pm hot yoga class (holy sweat), it was time to get down to dinner making business. Tonight, the manfriend was very helpful in the kitchen. Often times I shoo him out of the kitchen, but it was nice to cook together. Plus, this is his family's recipe. 

Shrimp Thomas

This is a creamy dish, but heck, if you don't have it too often, you should be just fine. 

Serves 4

Ingredients: 

1.5 lbs large shrimp or prawns

1 cheep bear (PBR, Coors Light)

4 T butter (or earth balance)

1/4 c minced shallots or green onions

1 c whipping cream

1.5 T worcestershire sauce 

2 T Kahlua

1/2 t salt and cayenne

2 T flour

Hot cooked rice (I use brown)

broccoli for side

1/4 c chopped parsley + 1 t dried tarragon (for garnish, optional)

1. Shell and devein shrimp. Place in glass bowl/dish with beer. Marinate for 2 hrs (or 30 min if that's all you have). 

2. In broad skillet, melt butter and saute green onions over medium heat about 5 min until soft and golden.

3. Drain beer from shrimp into skillet with butter mixture. Set shrimp aside. Simmer about 10 min to reduce liquid to 1 cup. 

4. Add cream, salt, cayenne, worcestershire sauce, kahlua and simmer 2-5 min. 

5. Work flour into sauce, stirring until slightly thickened. Easier to do if you take a bit of the beer mix in a small cup and work the flour into it similar to making gravy. 

6. When sauce starts to thicken, add shrimp and cook 2-5 min depending on the size of shrimp. Be careful NOT to overcook. Shrimp can quickly become rubbery if overcooked. 

7. Serve shrimp and sauce over rice. Garnish with broccoli and a sprinkling of parsley and tarragon. 

Enjoy your dinner with a glass or two of cheap wine. Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon isn't bad for $1.99!

Mmm...

I added some chopped red pepper and shredded carrots to my plate to beef up the veggie factor, but otherwise, mine looked the same. The manfriend and I have made this dish together about four times and this was definitely the BEST ever.

It's all about using cheap beer so it doesn't overpower the sauce and not cooking the shrimp too long.

I hope you had a great Valentine's! I ate way too much sugar and chocolate, but it was all in the name of the holiday. Yeah, bad excuse. I do need to sport a bikini in 3 weeks...

What's your favorite indulgent meal? Pizza for me! Do you prefer holidays out or in? If it's New Year's, I like to be out on the town most of the night, but for Valentine's I'd rather just stay in and relax.