Food experiment #6: Parmesan risotto & sauteed spiced shrimp

G and I needed a simple, relatively easy, relatively quick meal for a Saturday night. I decided to make risotto, because I knew we had some arborio rice left over from G's champagne risotto the previous weekend, and because Gregg adores risotto - and because I'm no longer intimidated by risotto-cooking.

I knew we also had some salad mix left, so all we needed was a quick, easy protein. And I decided shrimp would do the trick nicely. We first went to the local Harris Teeter, but the fish counter didn't have any shrimp that had been pre-deveined and pre-peeled, so we headed to Whole Foods. Whole Foods may be pricey, but they've not let me down yet when it comes to fresh meats and fishies, all nicely prepared and ready to go.

For the risotto, I followed the same recipe as the previous weekend - for Giada's champagne risotto - substituting a nice crisp, zippy French white (I can't for the life of me recall the specifics) for the champagne and the chianti salami for the prosciutto (again).

For the shrimp, well, I winged it. I checked out the contents of G's spice cabinet - he's got a healthy spice cabinet! I ended up combining the shrimp with massive quantities of smoked paprika, cayenne, Cajun spice seasoning mix, and chipotle red pepper flakes, along with the juice of about half a (huge) lemon and a little olive oil. I sauteed the shrimp mixture, including all of the marinade juices, in G's trusty All-Clad pan in a bit of olive oil for about 3-4 minutes, removed and set aside the shrimp, and stirred in a couple of tablespoons of butter to make a quick pan sauce.

The meal was simple, and it was a hit. I think G and I will be playing around with shrimp recipes quite often...