When you’re thinking about Holiday Party cocktail appetizers, my recipe for Marinated Shrimp with Ginger-Peanut Dipping Sauce is a keeper!! This simple appy can be prepped hours before the game and finished just in time for kick-off. It yields six servings, so I don’t think anyone will go home disappointed. You may also have left over sauce to use as an aioli on the Sunday Best burgers I have in mind later this weekend, wink, wink…

Feel free to mess with the ingredients in both the marinade and the sauce until you find your perfect combination of flavors. By this point, Santa knows if you’re naughty or nice, so what’s the big deal about lots of extra peanut butter, right? And to add insult to injury, I gotta say that dirty martinis are amazing with this appy!

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Marinated Shrimp
with Ginger Peanut Dipping Sauce
MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Shrimp
4 to 5 green onions, thinly sliced, about ½ cup
4 medium garlic cloves, peeled and minced, about 1 tablespoon
2 stalks fresh lemongrass, tender white parts only (substitute with 2 tablespoons lemongrass paste)
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated, about 1 tablespoon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground curry
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon all natural sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt (or kosher salt)
½ lb. fresh extra large shrimp, about 10 to 14

Place the green onions, garlic, lemongrass pieces and ginger into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to create a thick, yellow paste. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the vegetable paste and cook until golden, about 10 minutes. Add the spices, sugar and salt and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes more. Cool this spice mixture to room temperature. Coat the shrimp with the spice mixture. Place into a re-sealable plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 3 hours.
Heat a grill pan, coated with vegetable oil spray, over medium high heat. Grill the shrimp for about 2 minutes, turn and cook until just opaque about 2 minutes more. The shrimp will be golden and moist on the inside.
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Sauce
1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
½ cup all natural peanut butter
Juice of 1 large lime, about 2 tablespoons
½-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated, about 2 teaspoons
Whisk together coconut milk, peanut butter, lime juice, and ginger in a small pan over medium-low heat until smooth. Reduce the temperature to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve warm or at room temperature.
Serve the shrimp on a platter with a bowlful of ginger peanut sauce alongside.