Medium-sized shrimp was on sale the other day at Harris Teeter for $5.99 a pound, so I decided to grab some and prepare them with some buffalo sauce and my homemade bleu cheese dressing. It was a dark and stormy night (yeah, we’ll go with that), so I battered and fried the shrimp – yum!

You can grill the shrimp instead of frying, but I would recommend buying large shrimp instead of medium ones. Skewer the shrimp, cover them with the buffalo sauce of your choice with a few sprinkles of garlic salt. Marinate for at least half an hour. Shake off extra sauce and grill over medium heat until the shrimp have just cooked through, about 6 or 7 minutes total.

If you are a blue cheese fan, you will love, love this dressing. It is simple to make and can be used on salads as well. It will keep in the fridge for several days. I like to use some big crumbles of bleu cheese in this dressing. Yum, yum, yum!

Ingredients for the Bleu Cheese Dressing

• 1 container (8 oz.) light sour cream
• ¾ cup buttermilk bleu cheese, crumbled
• ¼ cup green onions, both white and green parts, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons 2% milk
• ¼ lemon, juiced
• Hot sauce, to taste
• Seasoned salt, to taste

Ingredients for the Buffalo Shrimp

• ½ – ¾ cup of Hot Wings Sauce (either Texas Pete or Frank’s is good)
• ¾ to 1 lb. of medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• Seasoned salt, to taste
• White pepper, to taste
• 2 eggs, beaten

Preparation

Make the dip first, by combining all of the ingredients and mixing well. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Heat the hot sauce until simmering, keep warm.

Pour the vegetable oil in a large skillet so that it covers the bottom, about ½ inch or so. Heat the oil to medium/medium high. In a large plastic bag, mix the flour, paprika, salt and pepper.

Coat the shrimp with the egg mixture, shaking off any excess.

Place the shrimp in the bag of flour and shake well (I do this in a couple of batches. Fry the shrimp until golden, about 2-3 minutes per side.

Place the fried shrimp in a bowl.

Toss them with the buffalo wing sauce.

Serve as an appetizer with celery and the bleu cheese dressing, or as part of a meal with pasta or on a bead of salad greens.

Bon appétit!

Eat, drink and be merry!

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