In the Chorizone

On my endless quest for fun appetizer recipes (not just for parties, but because I would rather have a few appetizers for dinner than one main meal!), I came across the trifecta of Awesome Appetizers on (where else?) FoodandWine.com. I will be making each of these over the next week because frankly I can't help myself so keep checking back.

Last night I decided that to celebrate such a bland day at work I would have a spicy dinner with Spicy Shrimp and Chorizo Skewers. Adam claims not to like shrimp that is not involved in a Shrimp Cocktail but I knew this dish would change his mind since the man loves spice, and come on EVERYONE loves chorizo.

So let's get to it.

Food and Wine's Spicy Shrimp and Chorizo Skewers (tweaked a bit by me)


2 large cloves garlic, thickly sliced
1 tsp sea salt
1.5 tsp carraway seeds <--- my first time using this. LOVE IT
1/4 cup olive oi
l 2 tbsp chili powder
1 lb shrimp , shelled and deveined
1 lb chorizo
wooden skewers

Mash the garlic and sea salt into a paste on a cutting board (I used the flat end of a meat tenderizer). Mix in the carraway seeds and chop with large knife.



Put paste in large bowl and stir in olive oil and chili powder. Mix well.


Now take your fabulous shelled and deviened shrimp (I bought one of those bags of frozen, cooked shrimp that already had all that jazz done and just defrosted them in the sink) and mix them into that tasty marinade.



Holy hell those look good. Stick those in the fridge for now.

Get a medium sized pot and fill it with a couple cups of water and heat over high heat. Now take your chorizo and slice it all thick like.



When the water is boiling drop the slices in and boil on high for five minutes. Then drain and set aside for 10-15 minutes until cool to touch.

Now get your shrimps and wrap each shrimp around each slice of chorizo and skewer. You should be able to fit three shrimp/chorizo yin yangs on your skewer like so.




Then fire up your grill (or a grill pan on your stove over high heat) to HIGH and grill those skewers until they are hot. About 3 minutes a side if you are using precooked shrimp, more if not (watch for the shrimp to turn pink in that case and then you know it's done)

Serve this up with whatever kind of side your heart desires. I went with black beans and rice as a kind of mild offset to the spicy kebabs.




These worked well as a main course and I think would be fabulous appetizers for a party - especially since you can skewer them ahead of time and just throw them on the grill when your guests arrive!