I'm going to apologize for some things today so bear with me. First and foremost I'm sorry I did not publish this dip before the big game so that you could have made it too. It was one of those unplanned moments of just throwing something together and it wasn't until I was done that I knew I had to share this Shrimp Scampi and Parmesan Cheese Dip.
It's definitely a celebration dip. Because you sort of need a good excuse and plenty of people to share it. Why? Let's see...as I told my friends it has fat, fat, fat, fat, and fat...and some shrimp. How could it not be DELICIOUS? If it's Shrimp Scampi, the shrimp is sauteed in a garlic butter. Then instead of just combining it with cream cheese I decided to break that part down into a combination of cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream. Then lots of Parmesan too. I'm telling you, it was worth every single calorie but I'm most grateful that my friends all loved it too; we each got a couple of toasts with enough to please but not enough to require an entire day at the gym. Whew!
My house has become our street's gathering place for events like the Super Bowl. I have the advantage of no little kids to corral and quite honestly that means my house is always in pretty decent shape and the floors aren't filled with toys so I can easily do spontaneous. Of course I am also the one who loves to cook so stands to reason I love the excuse of making something new; even if unplanned.
And boy was this unplanned. I hadn't planned to watch the game, just the entertainment. I hadn't planned to invite neighbors until there was a consensus that the entertainment would be worth it. I hadn't planned on an appetizer...but, well, it all happened and we had a great time. Luckily the shrimp was thawed for something else; it's just that I had not quite figured out what that something else was going to be. It was time to use it or fear that soon I would lose it so I decided I had to make something for the Super Bowl with only a couple of hours before the start of the big game. Uh oh...
Shrimp Scampi came to mind, I assessed what I had in the fridge and out came this complete deliciousness. Have I mentioned it was delicious already. Should I come up with something else to describe it? Yummalicious maybe? I shed a tear when the last morsel was gone. It will be done again! By the way? The adorable 6.5″ Mini Cast Iron Pans? So perfect for a warm appetizer; not just their size but they actually retain heat and keep foods warm; I love them!
So what else do I have to apologize for? Well, not that I would expect any of my wonderful readers to complain but I'm REALLY struggling with a new camera. I decided to give myself a Christmas gift and upgraded my crop sensor camera to a full frame camera; a Canon 60D. This has been akin to going from driving a small sedan with an automatic transmission to trying once again to get my Dad's baby, a big old '55 Chevy, up a hill with a manual transmission when I was but 13 years old. I'm rolling backwards a bit!
I have been assured that I will get there but I also realized early on that with a new camera, the lens I've been using is seeing things completely differently and my up close and personal shots are just not as satisfactory anymore; it's a zoom lens and has worked beautifully with my now older camera but this camera needs two things. Me to get better acquainted with it and a macro lens. The irony does not escape me that the rebate credit card I got from my camera purchase has now also gone to Canon for a new 100mm macro lens. Smart guys, very smart!
Still, I had one chance to snap some photos and not a whole lot of time at that but this Shrimp Scampi and Parmesan Cheese Dip was too good to pass on. My hips won't allow me to make it again without another event so we'll just have to make do with these photos until then. My photos might be subpar but this dish is NOT!
Shrimp Scampi and Parmesan Cheese Dip
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 12 ounces raw shrimp, peeled & deveined
- ½ tsp salt
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese)
- Parsley, for Garnish
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease with butter or nonstick cooking spray either two small or one medium size ramekin or other oven safe dish.
- Melt the butter in a medium skillet. Add garlic and simmer for 30 seconds; add the shrimp, (See Notes) salt, and pepper and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp is pink and the garlic is fragrant (about 4 minutes).
- In a medium bowl stir together the softened cream cheese, mayonnaise and the sour cream or yogurt and mix until smooth. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir until well combined.
- Add the shrimp and garlic butter mixture from the pan and the lemon juice and stir everything well.
- Spoon into the prepared baking dish and place in the oven; bake for 20 minutes until bubbly.
- Turn on the oven broiler and broil for 1-2 minutes (watch carefully) just until the top is lightly browned.
- Serve hot with melba toasts, sliced and toasted baguette, or crackers.
Recipe Notes
I had really large shrimp so I cooked them first and then chopped them into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces; I did not want to overcook small pieces so handle yours accordingly.
