When I was growing up, my Uncle Sonny trapped lobsters and crabs from his boat just outside Boston Harbor. In those days the Atlantic was teeming with "water bugs" and he and my Aunt Franny always had a freezer full of lovely crustaceans. I was a kid, and, unfortunately, I thought lobsters and crabs were gross. Every time we stopped by their house for a visit, my uncle would offer some of his catch. No thanks, I thought as I popped peanut M&Ms into my mouth. I didn't start eating seafood until I was twenty-one. Now I love, love, love all of the ocean's creatures…on my plate! I’m definitely making up for lost time.
Ingredients
12 large shrimp, one sleeve of Ritz crackers, 2 tbs butter, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, a few squirts of Worcestershire sauce, canned or fresh crab meat, and an Uncle Sonny.
Step 1. Peel Shrimp. One trick I learned from Uncle Sonny is to squeeze the end of the shrimp tail (right before the end at the base of the shrimp) and pull. This prevents you from losing half the shrimp to the tail shell.
Step 2. Clean and devein the shrimp. That's a fancy way of saying get rid of the, um, "digestive tract." Of course, you don't have to; it's tasteless and harmless. You can also buy shrimp that has already been deveined.
Step 3. Use a food processor to transform the crackers into crumbs. A few pulses should do.
Step 4: Combine the remaining ingredients, including butter, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and crab meat.
Step 5: Stir until it becomes a stuffing like mixture. Then spoon the stuffing into the shrimp slit.
Step 6: Place stuffed shrimp on a greased cookie sheet.
Step 7: Bake in oven at 375 degrees until they look like this (about twelve minutes).
Squeeze some lemon on top and enjoy!
