Flamin' Cajun Shrimp

Author Notes

Actually, I think the spicing of these shrimp is a little more Creole, but that doesn't make a slant rhyme with flamin' now does it? Anyways, this is actually a recipe from a college boyfriend of mine. I think I've said it before (I have a terrible habit of repeating myself), but I'll say it again, there is no relationship that doesn't wind up leaving you with something worthwhile, and this dish is certainly one of those things. It's one of my very favorite dinners—super fast, super easy, and super delicious. I've tweaked it over the years, and now I finally decided it was time to let it go up in flames, but only literally. The addition of cognac and the lick of the flame over the shrimp adds a whole new dimension of wonderful flavors to those already in the dish. Make sure to have lots of good French bread on hand because you really don't want to let any of the sauce go un-sopped up. This dish is fabulously messy, as you have to peel the shells off of the sauce slicked shrimp as you go. And then you get to lick your fingers, yum. If you need to, you can use peeled shrimp, but I really recommend shell on shrimp because the shrimp meat cooks to a nicer texture and has more delicate flavoring, while the sauce also winds up with better flavor. —fiveandspice

Test Kitchen Notes

Tender and garlicky, fiveandspice's shrimp skew more towards gumbo than other boozy shrimp dishes like scampi or shrimp with beurre blanc. There's a subtle background tingle of cayenne, and fiveandspice capitalizes on both the fragrance of lemon zest and the gentle astringency of its juice. Worcestershire sauce and paprika give the sauce an earthy quality, while the Cognac envelops the shrimp like a warm, sweet blanket. We love any recipe that embraces the ritual of peel-and-eat, and like fiveandspice, we suggest serving this with plenty of crusty bread to sop up the sauce. - A&M —The Editors