Sheila Lukins: Buffalo Shrimp

Serves 6 as an appetizer

Taking some liberty with the classic buffalo chicken wing, I’ve substituted shrimp and served it along with crisp veggies and a super blue cheese sauce for a hot new appetizer. It’s as good as it gets! Don’t miss this one for the Super Bowl!
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 to 1½ tablespoons Tabasco sauce, to taste
1 pound (about 24) large shrimp, cleaned and deveined but tails left on, rinsed and patted dry
Coarse (kosher) salt, to taste
4 large ribs celery, trimmed and cut into sticks, for serving
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into sticks, for serving
6 scallions, trimmed, for serving
Blue Cheese Sauce (recipe follows), for serving

1. Combine the butter and the Tabasco sauce in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, and cook until the butter has melted. Stir, and let cool slightly. Then divide the butter mixture between two large mixing bowls.

2. Place the shrimp in one of the bowls and coat them well with the butter mixture. Cover the bowl loosely and let the shrimp marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes.

3. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Using tongs, lift the shrimp from the marinade and cook them, in batches, in the skillet until they are pink and opaque, 2 minutes per side. As they are cooked, transfer the shrimp to the second bowl and toss them well in that batch of butter-Tabasco mixture.

4. Again using tongs, transfer the cooked shrimp to a serving bowl. Sprinkle them with coarse salt. Serve immediately, along with the celery, carrots, and scallions, and a bowl of Blue Cheese Sauce for dipping. If you have extra Blue Cheese Sauce, drizzle it over a wedge of iceberg lettuce: another classic!

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