Baked stuffed shrimp, my way.
These are the U-15 fresh Gulf shrimp that were on sale and inspired this effort.
These are some big boys. Normally I will use the U 16-20 size, but these gulf shrimp looked and smelled so fresh, I had to go with them.
When buying shrimp for stuffing, you must find raw shrimp, that are not peeled and deveined (easy peel) because the shell has been cut on those. They are fine for shrimp cocktail and most other uses, but not good for stuffing. I find that your typical steak knife does a good job cutting down into the shrimp from the leg side, being careful to stay in the middle of the shrimp and going all the way to, but not through the shrimp shell. Clean the vein out under running water.
As a general rule, a typical serving is 4 stuffed shrimp and I like to use 2 shrimp, cut up into pea sized pieces in the stuffing for every serving. This means that for each typical serving , 6 shrimp are required, 4 shrimp to be stuffed and 2 that go into the stuffing.. Here are the 8 shrimp that will be stuffed and the other 4 that will become part of the stuffing tonight.
Normally, I use U-16 to 20 for stuffing and one sleeve of Ritz crackers is just about right, but these are U-15's and a bit bigger, so I went with one sleeve and a quarter of crackers to do the job. I crush the crackers by hand and try to leave the biggest pieces as big as a large kernel of corn. To this, I add about a half cup of grated Romano cheese and 3 chopped green onion tops. Keep in mind that a big part of the aroma and flavor of this dish comes from a combination of the grated cheese and the dry sherry, so don't even think about using that stuff in the cardboard can from the fridge.
In a small fry pan, I combine 1 small chopped shallot, 2 cloves of finely minced garlic, 4 raw shrimp (cut into pea sized pieces) 4 TBS of butter and several dashes of smoked paprika to get a cheerful color. 
Sautee this over medium high heat until the shrimp are fully cooked, adding a splash of dry sherry towards the end.
Add the contents of the fry pan to the stuffing mix and deglaze the pan with a bit more dry sherry, adding that to the mix as well. Mix the stuffing and added pan deglazing offerings and you should have a mixture that can be easily formed into the shrimp stuffing.
Having worked for years in restaurant kitchens, I find the sizzle platter, ubiquitous there, to be an essential part of my kitchen and the absolute ideal platform for this effort. I put about a quarter inch of water (or dry white wine) in the base to assure that while the stuffing bakes, the shrimp meat steams and bake in a 375 F oven for about 35 min. The shrimp are done just about the time the liquid is exhausted in the bottom of the sizzle platter.
HC
