New Year Shrimp Sizzlers

Shrimps are healthier than red meat, definitely easier to cook, budget-friendly and just so rich in taste. You’ll never go wrong serving these sizzling seafood sides come New Year’s Day.

Cocktail Party Shrimp

Split shrimps are brushed with butter, coated with thyme-flavored bread crumbs and baked to a buttery, toasty shrimp goodness.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 32 jumbo-sized shrimps (about 2 ½ lbs.), peeled and deveined
• 2 (8-ounce) sticks salted butter, melted
• 1-pound loaf white sandwich bread
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Cut each shrimp lengthwise down the back, stopping just short of cutting it in half. Blot the shrimp dry with paper towels and brush with a little of the melted butter.
3. Pulse the white bread into crumbs in a food processor and transfer into a small bowl.
4. In another bowl, mix the remaining melted butter with the hot sauce, garlic and thyme. Pour this butter sauce over the bread crumbs, stir together and season with salt and pepper.
5. Arrange the shrimp, cut side down, on a large baking sheet. Top each shrimp with a generous tablespoonful of the bread crumb mixture.
6. Bake in the center of the oven until shrimp is pink, the tails curl up and the crust is toasty, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Butter-poached Shrimp with Radish Flowers

The rich goodness of shrimps shines through when they’re poached in butter and thyme. Radish petals give a visual charm, a healthy crunch and interesting textural contrast.

Prep time: 45 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 36 large shrimps (about 1 ½ lbs.), peeled and deveined
• salt
• a pinch of cayenne pepper
• 6 radishes, trimmed
• ice water
• 2 (8-ounce) sticks butter, cut into pieces
• a bunch of thyme, tied with a string

Directions:

1. Season the shrimps with salt and cayenne pepper and set aside.
2. Make “petals” out of radishes by cutting the tip off each radish and making vertical cuts around each, but not cutting all the way through. Immerse in water to make the petals “bloom.”
3. Skewer 3 shrimps onto an 8-inch skewer stick. You will come up with 12 skewers in all.
4. In a wide and deep skillet, bring to a boil 3 tablespoons of butter. Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the butter. Add in the bunch of thyme. Working in batches, place the shrimp skewers in the skillet in a single layer, and cook covered for 2 minutes. Flip and continue cooking for about 3 more minutes.
5. Transfer skewers to a platter, discard the thyme and set aside the butter.
6. Remove the radish blooms from the water and blot-dry with paper towels. Serve the shrimp skewers with the radishes on a large platter and the butter in a small bowl.