"Go To" Guacamole

I absolutely love avocados. It’s a combination of the taste and texture… it’s just perfect. I put them on sandwiches with meat and/or eggs. I mash them up or chunk them for use in tuna, taco, and egg salad. I like to fill the space where the pit is with things like the previously mentioned salads, cottage cheese, or other veggies.

So, naturally, I love guacamole. I eat it in tacos and burritos, on nachos, and with chips. Or just a spoon. I also am a firm believer that guac is a great dip that doubles as a wonderful condiment for slathering on sandwiches instead of mayo or eating with grilled chicken, steak, or fish.

After a lot of experimenting, I have found that this is my “go-to” guacamole recipe. I definitely love putting crazy spins on it by mixing in different ingredients on occasion, like corn, peppers, raspberries, mango, pineapple, etc. But this is the base that I use for the majority of my creations. The same rule applies as with my pico de gallo. I generally double the jalapeno and cilantro if I’m making it for myself.

So make this guacamole and feel free to add your own crazy creations!

Guacamole  from How Sweet It Is

·         4 ripe avocados

·         1/2 red onion, chopped

·         1 jalapeno, chopped

·         1 small tomato, chopped

·         1/4 cup chopped cilantro

·         1 lime, juice

1.       Scoop out avocado meat and mash it. Add chopped vegetables to the mix. Squeeze in fresh lime juice. Serve with… anything. 

maybe a green bowl wasn't the best photo choice but it's still delicious!

Pico de Gallo

I love making my own salsas and dips because I can make them to fit my tastes perfectly. For example, with any type of salsa, I generally like more heat and cilantro than most people. I literally cannot get enough of those two flavors. So when I make this pico de gallo for only myself I usually double or triple the amount of jalapenos and cilantro. If I’m making it for a dinner party, I’ll make it as directed and then leave some extra jalapenos and cilantro in a small bowl that I can add to my plate to satisfy my taste buds. It’s perfect!

Pico de gallo is really easy to make. It tastes way better than the stuff you can buy in the grocery store, especially when tomatoes are in season. I also think it tastes better on the second and third days because the garlic, cilantro, jalapenos, and onions meld together and the tomatoes soak up the flavor.

This should definitely be a staple in any Mexican dinner.

Pico de Gallo (4 servings)

• 4 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
• 2 chile peppers, mild or hot, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves (no stems)
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• salt and pepper, to taste

1.  In a bowl combine all ingredients. Let it marinate in the refrigerator at least an hour (I think overnight is best) for best results.

Fresh Strawberry Margaritas

Toward the beginning of the summer, I made a big Mexican-themed meal and realized that I never blogged about it! So the next couple blog posts are going to be dedicated to that dinner.

Let’s start with the most important aspect – the drinks. For a Mexican-themed meal, I knew I wanted to drink a margarita but wanted to spruce it up a bit. Strawberries were on sale at the grocery store so I decided to do a strawberry variation.

God, these were good. Maybe too good, since my friend and I finished off two whole pitchers. They are so tasty that I think I forgot that they were alcoholic until it was too late. Wayyyyy too late.

There are so many excuses to make these. To celebrate Mexican holidays. To beat the heat of summer. To use up extra strawberries. To cure a bad day. To celebrate something awesome. Or just because margaritas are delicious.

Fresh Strawberry Margaritas (1 margarita) from How Sweet It Is

• 2 ounces triple sec
• 1 1/2 ounces Tequila (I was definitely heavy handed on the tequila…)
• 2 ounces lime juice
• 2 1/2 ounces strawberry simple syrup [recipe below]
• lime + fresh strawberries for garnish
• sugar for the rim

1. Rim the ridge of your glass with a lime wedge and dip in a mix of margarita salt + sugar [I used about 3 tablespoons salt to 2 teaspoons sugar]. Fill the glass with ice. In a cocktail shaker, combine tequila, grand marnier, simple syrup and lime juice with ice, and shake for about 30 seconds. Pour over ice and squeeze in lime slices and add a few strawberries.
2. For strawberry simple syrup: combine equal parts sugar and water, bring to a boil and let sugar dissolve, then turn off heat and let cool completely. Combine 1 cup simply syrup + 1 1/2 cups slices strawberries in a blender and blend until combined. I don’t mind strawberry seeds, but if you’d like you can strain the mixture over a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds.

so pretty and delicious!

Raspberry Tiramisu

I have lots of deal-makers and breakers. That goes for T.V. shows, clothing, men, and food. Let me share some with you.

T.V. deal-makers: total trash, anything food related, lots of drama, Christopher Meloni

T.V. deal-breakers: anything requiring higher-order thinking skills, cartoons, shows about people whose lives make me jealous

Clothing deal-makers: things that give the illusion of curves to my lack of body shape, bright colors, black, things that go can go from work appropriate to night out with a simple twist like popping a button or removing a tank-top

Clothing deal-breakers: dry clean only, things that need to be ironed, rompers (I HATE THEM)

Man deal-makers: considerate to me and others, fun-loving (because I can be a little neurotic…), eats all types of food, common interests.

Man deal-breakers: Please contact me for my current list of horrific ex-boyfriends and atrocious dating experiences. There’s a lot.

Food deal-makers: interesting flavor combinations, anything sweet, anything covered in peanut butter, pretty much anything edible. I’m not picky, obviously.

Food deal-breakers: okra, clams/mussels/oysters, anything bland.

So, this recipe probably looks familiar, right? It looks a lot like the one that I made for my grandmother’s birthday. But there are a couple differences that could be deal-makers or breakers for certain people.

If you love raspberries, especially fresh ones, the second recipe is probably for you. If you’re not a huge raspberry fan, you would probably prefer the first one I posted because it gives you the option of only adding a little bit of raspberry sauce or none at all. I also prefer my ladyfingers to be soaked in something. In the first recipe, the ladyfingers would have been a little too dry for me if I didn’t drown them in the raspberry sauce before digging in. In this recipe, the ladyfingers are brushed with a mixture of raspberry jam and orange juice, which makes them flavorful and moist. I love the very subtle orange flavor the orange juice in the jam mixture and the orange zest in the filling gives this dessert.

Basically if you’re not a huge fan of raspberry, which my mother and sister are not, the first recipe would be a better fit for you. I, on the other hand, would consider raspberries to be one of my favorite fruits so I prefer this recipe.

Try both and let me know what you think!

Raspberry Tiramisu

• ·         1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
• ·         zest and Juice of 1 orange
• ·         1 cup ricotta cheese, at room temperature
• ·         2 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• ·         1 cup whipping cream
• ·         1/4 cup sugar
• ·         1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ·         2 packages of lady fingers
• ·         about 2 cups fresh raspberries
• ·         Confectioners' sugar, for serving

1.  Reserve 1 tablespoons of orange juice. Stir the jam and remaining orange juice in a small bowl to blend.
2.  Combine the ricotta, cream cheese, and remaining 1 tablespoon of orange juice in a large bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream, sugar, and vanilla in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Fold orange zest into whipped cream.
3.  Using a large rubber spatula, stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture to lighten. Fold the remaining whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture.

4.  Line the bottom and sides (the long way) of a 8x8 glass baking dish or other decorative serving dish with ladyfingers. Spread half of the jam mixture over the ladyfingers. Spread half of the mascarpone mixture over the jam mixture, then cover with half of the fresh raspberries. Repeat layering with the remaining ladyfingers, jam mixture, mascarpone mixture and raspberries.
5.  Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours overnight (which is what I did) to let the flavors blend.
6.  Dust with the confectioners' sugar and serve.

whipped cream

filling

layer of ladyfingers

jam and orange juice mixture

filling in the tiramisu

middle layer of raspberries!

ready to be served!

individual slices :)

Southwestern BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad

I made this for our second coworker dinner. I saw it on one of my favorite blogs a couple weeks ago and have not been able to stop thinking about it. I had some leftover chicken that I needed to use, ears of corn are only $0.25 each, and I found a bottle of spicy BBQ on the sale shelf at Safeway. That couldn’t be a coincidence. The universe was practically begging me to make this.

I marinated the leftover chicken in BBQ sauce overnight so that the flavor would really soak in. For the corn, I decided to grill it in my grill pan. It came out slightly charred but still a little raw. It was so fresh and flavorful. I also made the quinoa in the microwave, which was a first for me. I was a little nervous because it smelled like popcorn when it was cooking and after the 8 minutes of cooking, it didn’t look done at all. But if you follow the directions that I listed in the recipe, everything should turn out perfectly! It’s not any easier than cooking it on the stovetop but, due to my recent move, I have only one gigantic pasta pot right now so stovetop wasn’t a practical option.

To assemble the salad, I started everyone’s plate with a bed of lettuce. The original recipe didn’t call for this but I absolutely love the way quinoa tastes with lettuce. It’s such an interesting texture and it looks really gorgeous. So then I topped the lettuce with quinoa, black beans, corn, BBQ chicken, shredded cheddar, BBQ Greek yogurt dressing, jalapenos, and cilantro – in that order.

I loved everything about this salad. It reminded me of a taco salad with an American summer barbeque season twist. The chicken and black beans made it filling. The spicy BBQ sauce counteracted the sweet grilled corn. The quinoa gives it great texture and adds nutrition. Cheese is tastes good with everything so that was a no-brainer (Though I accidently bought imitation cheddar because I was shopping the sales. I was too scared to look at what it was really made of but it was low in calories and tasted fine so I suppose that’s fine…). The BBQ Greek yogurt dressing is great because it’s a protein-packed, low-fat substitute for dressing! I could have eaten the whole contain of “dressing” for the same caloric intake as 2 tablespoons of a typical creamy dressing. Definitely don’t leave out the cilantro! Sometimes, I’m totally guilty of leaving out certain fresh herbs because I’m too lazy to look for them or cheap to pay for them. Especially if I think the dish has enough flavor going on with the extra additions. Don’t do it! The cilantro takes this dish to a whole other level and brings it all together. Unless you’re one of those people who hates cilantro, then I guess you can skip it. Boo.

Please go make this immediately before summer corn goes out of season!

Southwestern BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad (4 servings) from Iowa Girl Eats

• ·         6 cups lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
• ·         1 cup quinoa, rinsed very well
• ·         2 cups water
• ·         2 chicken breasts, shredded and marinated in BBQ sauce
• ·         2 ears corn, shucked (or 1 cup corn kernels)
• ·         1/2 cup black beans, drained & rinsed
• ·         1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• ·         1/2 cup pickles jalapenos
• ·         1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• ·         1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• ·         1/4 cup BBQ sauce

1. Shred two cooked breasts of chicken and marinate in BBQ sauce overnight.

2. Rinse quinoa very well in a fine mesh sieve under cold running water. Combine with the water in a microwave safe bowl. Cover the bowl with a microwave safe top or plate and microwave for 8 minutes. Stir and let stand for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork, recover, and microwave on high for 2 minutes more. Let stand for 1 minute before serving.

3. Meanwhile, preheat a grill pan on medium high. Add corn to the grill pan at the same time that you put the quinoa in the microwave. Rotate every couple of minutes to evenly char on all sides. Remove the corn to a plate and let cool slightly. Slice kernels off the cob.

4. Mix together Greek yogurt and BBQ sauce in a bowl. Evenly divide the lettuce, cooked quinoa, black beans, corn, shredded BBQ chicken, and shredded cheese between four plates. Drizzle with yogurt and BBQ sauce mixture, then garnish with jalapenos and chopped cilantro.

why yes, I'm still obsessed with having plates and a table. 

all the goodies :)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Mousse

I made this for dessert for our first girls’ night dinner. As you probably know by now, chocolate and peanut butter is my favorite flavor combination. Don’t get me wrong, I love it all. But when in doubt, I always go for some sort of peanut butter chocolate concoction and am never disappointed. And in a pinch – ya know, those times where you absolutely need dessert to cure whatever troubles you have but haven’t gone food shopping in weeks and can’t imagine moving more than the ten steps from your couch to your kitchen - a spoonful of peanut butter with a couple chocolate chips saves the day.

This dessert is a little more labor intensive than dipping a spoon in peanut butter and shoving it in your mouth but not by much. And it’s totally worth it. I whipped this up right before dinner so it would be nice and chilled by the time we were ready.

The mousse was a little hard to make because my apartment was SO HOT. I don’t think that the whipped cream got as light as it would have in an air conditioned venue. But I’m trying to conserve money and it’s more important for me to have cable so that I can watch TLC all night than it is for me to be cool.  Priorities, people.

For a mousse, this dessert is very rich and dense due to the cream cheese (again, also probably due to the sweltering heat of my kitchen suffocating the whipped cream). It tasted like a softer no-bake version of chocolate cheesecake. Minus all of the time and effort! If you wanted a lighter dessert, it would probably be delicious if you completely cut out the cream cheese and cut the sugar in half. You would obviously lose the cheesecake taste but it would be lighter… if that’s what you like.  I generally like my desserts so rich and sweet that a normal human being could only take one bite, while my sweet tooth and I can finish off a gigantic plate and look around for seconds.

I obviously chose to top the mousse with chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Because… well, why not jump at the chance to pack a little extra peanut butter and sugar in there? And the crust is totally optional. I tend to like a little graham cracker for the texture and because it looks pretty at the bottom of individual portions. But feel free to leave it out if you’re not feelin’ it.

So give this rich and creamy mousse a try for yet another twist on the classic chocolate peanut butter combo! 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Mousse (4 servings) from Saving Room For Dessert

• ·         4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• ·         1/3 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
• ·         dash of salt
• ·         1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• ·         1/4 cup milk chocolate chips, melted
• ·         1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ·         1/2 cup whipping cream

Toppings:

• ·         4 Reese’s cups, chopped
• ·         1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped and sweetened with 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Graham Cracker Crust

·         2 tablespoons butter, melted

·         3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1. 1.      Mix together butter and graham cracker crumbs. Push to the bottom of parfait dishes, mason jars, wine glasses, etc.
2. 2.      In a medium mixing bowl beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, salt and vanilla together until smooth. Melt the chocolate chips and stir into the cream cheese-peanut butter mixture. Sift in the confectioners' sugar and blend well.  In a separate bowl beat the whipping cream until stiff peaks form.  With a rubber spatula, gently fold half the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture.  Then blend in the remaining whipped cream taking care not to over mix or beat the mixture.  
3. 3.      Spoon the mousse into 4 serving bowls and refrigerate for about an hour.  Top with additional sweetened whipped cream and chopped Reese’s if desired.  Serve and enjoy!

loving my mason jars :)

Corn Cakes with Tomato Avocado Relish

The girls I work with and I have decided to have a weekly dinner night! I could not be more excited! It means I get to cook, be social, and have a chance to relax during the week. It's absolutely perfect. The wine doesn't hurt either :)

the table setting. aren't my NEW plates on my NEW table super cute and classy?!?!

I hosted prepared the first dinner. Since it's just the girls, I figured I would make a light and girly recipe. Ya know, the ones that if you cooked them for your dad or boyfriend (not that I have that issue, thank God) they would be like... "uuhhh so... that was an okay appetizer but where's my meat and potatoes?".

I chose these corn cakes because corn is on super sale right now and it's ridiculously sweet and delicious. I think these were perfect for a dinner salad because they were hearty enough to fill you up without weighing you down. We used the relish and a sriracha as dressing. I loved how the sweet corn and the creamy avocado contrasted with the bite of the red onion and spicy sriracha.

The original recipe called for frying them in oil. I'm not huge on frying things, especially if I can figure out how to bake the item or cook it in a healthier way. But I tried to fry them and it just didn't work well. My stove is a little lopsided and heats unevenly. I ended up burning the first batch, melting my spatula, and smoking up my apartment. Plus, Arizona is just too darn hot to be frying things in your house. So I quickly washed out my frying pan, sprayed it with cooking spray, and "fried" the rest of the cakes that way. They came out much better and healthier! I love when mistakes work out for the better :) Unlike my chocolate pie from yesterday's post...

Also, the patties freeze well so cook up a bunch and toss them in the freezer. Then you can just pull them out, reheat them, and toss them over some spinach for a quick and tasty salad!

Corn Cakes with Avocado and Tomato Relish (12 cakes)

For the corn cakes:

• 3 large ears of corn, shucked
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cornmeal
• ¼ cup red onion, finely diced
• ¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsp. half and half (I used fat free)
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• cooking spray, for frying

For the relish:

• 2 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped
• ¼ cup of red onion
• 1 tbsp. minced fresh basil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Juice of half a lime
• 1½ tsp. olive oil
• 1½ tsp. white wine vinegar
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 ripe avocado, pitted and diced
• 
  
• Sriracha, for serving (optional)
•  Spinach, for serving

1.  Cut the corn kernels off of the cobs and place in a large bowl.  Place 2 cups of the corn kernels in the food processor and pulse several times, until the corn is slightly pureed but still chunky.  Scrape the mixture into the bowl with the remaining corn kernels.  Add the flour, cornmeal, onion, basil, baking powder, and baking soda to the bowl.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir to mix well.  Add the eggs, half and half, and butter, and stir just to combine.

2.  To make the salsa, combine all of the ingredients except the avocado in a medium bowl and mix well to combine.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 2 days.  Just before serving, mix in the avocado.

3.  Place a large skillet over medium heat.  Spray the pan with cooking spray. Scoop the batter into the skillet a heaping tablespoon at a time, cooking the cakes in batches of 4 or 5 so that they are not touching.  Cook 1-2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Transfer the cooked cakes to a plate and repeat with the remaining batter.

4.  Serve immediately topped with the relish and drizzled with sriracha, if desired.

the relish

batter

sizzling corn cakes

corn cake salad :)

Creamy Ladyfinger Cake with Raspberry Sauce

Ok, so this is the FINAL piece of my grandmother's birthday dinner.

She gave me this recipe and asked if I would try it out. I had never used lady fingers before so I was a little nervous. But she said that it tasted just how she remembered and everyone loved it!

It was basically like a very light version of cheesecake! The lady fingers make for a very light and fluffy crust and the filling isn't nearly as dense as cheesecake but is still fairly rich from the cream cheese and heavy cream. Because it's lighter, you can eat a big slice without feeling sick, which I love :)

This recipe looks very elegant but comes together very quickly because the lady fingers are premade, the filling whips up quickly, and the "sauce" is ready as soon as the carton of frozen raspberries in juice thaws. Hey, that's what the recipe called for! So for once it wasn't me being a lazy bum. Surprising, right?

The leftovers also hold up very well. I thought that the ladyfingers might get soggy but I ate it for 3 days after and it was delicious every time!  Just keep the sauce in a separate dish and add it right before you eat it.

On a side note, I'm very glad that this dessert worked out so well because the other dessert was a total flop. At almost every single holiday, my family makes a chocolate pie. It's just a pie or graham cracker crust filled with chocolate pudding.

Now, given how often I have: 1) seen this pie made, 2) eaten this pie, and 2) made recipes far more complex than this simple pie... you would think that I would be able to make this with my eyes closed.  NOPE. It came out like soup. Why? Because I cannot seem to read directions all the way through. I read the first part of the directions and followed them for pudding. If I would have continued to read, I would have noticed that the recipe said to use less milk if using the pudding for a pie.  I've learned my lesson because the pie came out looking like this.

mushy pie

yeah, it looks like poop.

Everyone laughed at me. Ms. Expert-Chef-In-Training can't even make an instant pudding pie. Awesome. At least I'm not too ashamed acknowledge my epic failures.

I just think that my culinary skills did not want to be stifled but something so boring and simple so my brain just rejected the pie so that people would focus their attention the other creamy, tart, homemade, beautiful dessert. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Creamy Ladyfinger Cake with Raspberry Sauce (8 servings)

• 2 packages of lady fingers
• 1 8 oz cream cheese (I used fat free)
• 1 3 oz cream cheese
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 pint heavy cream 
• 2 10 oz containers of frozen raspberries in juice

1. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with lady fingers. Line the sides of the springform pan with ladyfingers (going up and down, the outside facing the pan so that they will show when the pan is removed). 
2. Beat together the 2 packages of cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.
3. Beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently mix the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until completely combined. Do not over-mix.
4. Put half of the mixture into the springform pan. Smooth it over with a spatula. Place another layer of ladyfingers on top of the cream cheese mixture. Layer the other half of the cream cheese mixture on top of the lady fingers. 
5. Chill the cake overnight. Serve with thawed raspberries in juice. We chose to add the raspberry sauce to each individual slice so that the cake wouldn't get soggy. 

um, I probably could have made this look a little nicer...

the base

beginnings of layer two

ready to chill overnight

so pretty!

with raspberries :)

Baked Shrimp Scampi

Hi! I've been totally MIA but with good reason...

I moved to Tucson, Arizona! I had a job interview on Monday July 16th, got offered the job by the end of the interview, left to drive across the country on the 20th, and started work as an ESL teacher on the 25th. How crazy is that?!?!

So far, I love it here. It's a large city but it feels pretty small because all of the sections are sort of quartered off. I have everything that I need within a 15 minute drive. The weather is great. I love the heat and the monsoon season. I love that I live in the Catalina Foothills because I wake up to a gorgeous mountain view every morning. There are so many outdoor activities and cool restaurants to explore. I was really nervous about the move but I'm really glad that I did it! I'm definitely ready for an adventure :)

Back to the food!  This is the final recipe from the dinner that I made for my grandmother's birthday.

This baked shrimp scampi was awesome. It was really easy to put together and even easier to cook because you just pop it in the oven!  It was rich and garlicy without giving you the killer heart burn that buttery Italian food can often cause. I served it with Roasted Garlic Parmesan Broccoli and Roasted Rosemary Red Potatoes. As I mentioned before, it was a stellar meal made with love for an even more stellar grandmother!

the birthday dinner spread

full plate!

the fabulous four Cocozzo women :)

Baked Shrimp Scampi (6 servings)

2 pounds (12 to 15 per pound) shrimp in the shell

3 tablespoons good olive oil

2 tablespoons dry white wine

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)

1/4 cup minced onion

3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 extra-large egg yolk (can leave out)

2/3 cup bread crumbs

Lemon wedges, for serving

1.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2.  Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp. You can leave the tails on for a prettier presentation or remove them for easier eating. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.

3.  In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until combined.

4.  Starting from the outer edge of a 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. 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 -3  minutes, until browned. Serve with lemon wedges.

butterflying the shrimp

butterflied!

arranged shrimp

pre-baked.

finished!