Baked Stuffed Shrimp

Ingredients:

20 jumbo shrimp
1 medium bag seasoned breadcrumbs
1 stalk celery, diced
1-2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp butter

1 stick (8 tbsp) butter, melted
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
2-3 tbsp white wine
Lots of black pepper, to taste
Paprika, for garnish

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

In a small frying pan, heat 1 tbsp of butter.

Saute the celery and garlic for 3-4 minutes on low heat, until softened but not browned.

Add to a large mixing bowl.

Add the breadcrumbs to the bowl with the celery.

Stir in the melted butter, lemon juice, parsley, white wine and pepper. The mixture should be fairly dry but should just hold together.

Taste and add, as needed, more lemon juice, more pepper, or more wine.

Remove the shells from the shrimp, leaving the tail section on.

Turn the shrimp with the inside of the curve facing up.

Butterfly the shrimp by running a sharp paring knife along the length of the inside, cutting down but not all the way through (you should be able to flatten the shrimp, except for the tail section, and scrape out the black vein).

Set one shrimp on a plate, cut side facing up (the tail should be standing up, too).

Mound one tablespoon of the breadcrumb filling on the shrimp, and smooth into a large mound.

Place the shrimp on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray.

Repeat until all of the shrimp are stuffed.

Sprinkle each shrimp with a tiny bit of paprika.

Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes or until the shrimp are cooked and the stuffing on top is browned. Serves 4.