Black Pepper and Parmesan Shrimp

A few years ago, Deedy found a salad dressing called "Black Pepper and Parmesan Dressing". Unfortunately, it's been a long time since we've seen this particular dressing. We like to marinate shrimp with this dressing and throw it on the BBQ. I bought a mixer last year that came with a recipe book and lo-and-behold, a recipe for the dressing. It's not exactly the same, but it's definitely our favorite way to cook shrimp.

Not all shrimp work with this. We always look for the shrimp that is cleaned, uncooked, with the shell on. Some shrimp we get with the shell on, the shell is too soft. Others are just right. The shells, after cooking, are nice and hard and easy to peel off of the shrimp. The other problem is that not all people we've shared this with have had shrimp with the shells on. So they chomp away, make wierd faces, spit out shrimp parts, and wonder what in the world is the deal.

For the shrimp, we've found the best ones at Trader Joes and Safeway in the seafood section.....frozen.

Here's our favorite recipe:

Ingredients

2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
1 oz Reggiano Parmesan, cut in 1/2" or smaller cubes
1 shallot, about 1oz, peeled, cut in 1/2" or smaller pieces
1 clove garlice, peeled and smashed
1/2 tspn kosher salt
1 tbl Dijon-style mustard
1/4 tsp Wocsestershire sauce
2 tbl light mayonnaise
1/4 cup wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup canola or other flavorless vegetable oil

Directions

Place the whole peppercorns in a blender jar. Blend for 10 seconds. Some peppercorns will be pulverized, some will be cracked and crushed; remove and reserve. Place the Parmesan cubes in the blender jar; blend for 20 seconds; scrape sides of blender jar. Add shallot, garlic and salt. Blend for 10 seconds; scrape sides of blender jar.

Add remaining ingredients in order listed; blend for 10 seconds. Add reserved black pepper; blend for 5 seconds. Transfer dressing to a resealable container and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer to allow flavors to develop. Keeps for one week in regrigerator.

BBQ Part

This is the part that's not in the book. We cook the shrimp directly over hot coals that has a few pieces of hickory or misquite that's been soaked in water. The shrimps cooks fast, but with the shells on, it protects the meat from burning. So, don't worry if the shrimp gets black. That's only the shell. The shrimp will cook in minutes, turning once or twice. Put the shrimp in a bowl and serve hot.

Make sure you've got wet towels nearby, your hands will be dirty while eating these.