Cajun Shrimp Skewers

After an up and down week in the kitchen (Monday was a seared beef with Chinese spinach, Tuesday ended up a wash, Wednesday was a mussels kinda day and Thursday was Flamenco Eggs) I had to close the kitchen down with something in line with my philosophy. Good and simple.

Paired down food that does exactly what food should in my opinion -- delight and comfort you. So I decided that I would go with a meal that has simple ingredients that don't need a lot of attention but if you give it to them, they sing arias in your honor.

Enough talk....


Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
• 2 pounds uncooked large shrimp, peeled and de-veined

CAJUN BUTTER:

• 1 cup butter, cubed
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon
• 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 drops hot pepper sauce

Directions:

Before you even think about dealing with the ingredients, check if you are using metal or wooden skewers. If metal move on, if wooden is your skewer of choice then grab 8-10 and inspect them for breaks.

After you gently run your fingers over them and find them to your liking, soak them in water. I'm talking completely submerge them and set them aside.

Now you can combine everything but the shrimp in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Place the shrimp in a large resealable plastic bag; add half of the marinade. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade for basting.

There is another way to approach this if you're like me and don't always plan one to two hours ahead. Instead of the long marinades, I just go with my FoodSaver and force the action when and where I can.

This cuts the time needed from 1 -2 hours to 20 minutes.

In a small saucepan, combine the Cajun butter ingredients; heat until butter is melted. Keep warm.

Drain and discard marinade from shrimp. Thread shrimp onto eight me tal or soaked wooden skewers. Grill, uncovered, over medium heat for 2-4 minutes on each side or until shrimp turn pink, basting once with reserved marinade. Serve with Cajun butter.