Baked Shrimp Scampi

I have been reading several rave reviews online

about Ina Garten's Baked Shrimp Scampi

and decided to try the recipe.

Surprisingly for me,

the only changes I made to the recipe were

to halve it since I was making this for 

just my daughter and myself 

and to use dried parsley as the fresh parsley

has been killed by the cold temperatures.

Just remember to use 1/3 less of the herb if you are 

using dried when the recipe calls for fresh herbs.

These are the amounts I used in the halved recipe:

1 pound large shrimp (16-18 shrimp per pound, from Fabian Seafood.)
1-1/2 tablespoons good olive oil*
1 tablespoon dry white wine
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6  teaspoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cloves garlic, grated
1/8 cup onion (or shallots), grated
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 large egg yolk
1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
lemon wedges for serving


*Ina Garten will hunt you down if you dare to use anything less than good olive oil.  Don't make her angry.  She has money and can afford the good lawyers.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.

In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper until combined.

Starting from the outer edge of a 6- in baking dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curling up and towards the center of the dish.** Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp.

**My note: this takes patience as shrimp, especially dead shrimp don't take direction well.  Just be patient and do your best.

Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly. If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1 minute.

The shrimp scampi is out of the oven and out from under the broiler.

We wanted a light dinner, so our side consisted of one-half of an apple.  We are partial to Honeycrisps, so that is the apple de jour.

We thought that this dish had potential, but that it wasn't great.  For one thing, the panko coating was simply too heavy, so the next time I will cut that back.  Also, the lemon was a bit over powering.  I am thoroughly convinced that Ina Garten suffered from scurvy in a past life and she is trying to make up for it now.

We had a bit left over and my dear husband got to eat the left overs when he got home late last night.  He remarked that he thought that Parmesan cheese would be a good addition to this recipe.

So, here is my road map for the next time I make this recipe:
     Reduce the amount of Panko to 1/4 cup
     Replace the egg yolk with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
     Reduce the lemon juice to 2 teaspoons


I will report on how the revisions to the recipe work.

Meanwhile, Minx looks on from his new box.