It's grilling time again...the shrimp issue.

As classical musicians, my husband and I rarely stop to smell the roses--there is always more work to be done, higher levels to achieve.  So when we were chatting over beers at the end of the spring semester, fantasizing about summer break, it wasn't surprising for him to ask me what my summer goals were.  I racked my brain to come up with some lofty answer: learn some new, crazy-hard solo; rewrite my flute pedagogy syllabus, that sort of thing.  But I wasn't feeling particularly ambitious while drinking beer after a long week, so I mumbled something vague and felt guilty about how it would likely compare to his answer, which I imagined would involve a lot of fancy research and stuff.  Imagine my delight when he proudly informed me that his goal was to do more grilling!  That's my boy--burned out at last. Never one to discourage my spouse's dreams, I have been trying to help with some shrimp recipes...

Peanut-Cilantro Shrimp Skewers

Serves 4-6

2 pounds shrimp peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon sugar


For the sauce:
1 cup loosely packed cilantro, majority of stems removed
½ cup salted, roasted peanuts
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
Crushed red pepper to taste


Toss shrimp with sugar in a ceramic or glass bowl and set aside. Combine all sauce ingredients in a food processor and blend until the mixture is still chunky but will hold together (add more oil if necessary).

Coat a grill or grill pan with canola or peanut oil. Place shrimp on skewers and grill over medium-high heat.  Cook 5 minutes, turn, and cook another 5 minutes.  Carefully press the chunky sauce onto the top of the skewers and continue to cook another 2-3 minutes, then remove skewers to a platter and serve.  I added some plain grilled vegetables in the photo above and served with Asian Rice Salad.

Garlic Shrimp Skewers

Serves 4-6

2 pounds shrimp peeled and deveined

1 teaspoon sugar

For the sauce:

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon salt

4 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

Crushed red pepper to taste

Toss shrimp with sugar in a ceramic or glass bowl and set aside. Combine all sauce ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth and thick (add more oil if it‘s not holding together). Stir into shrimp, coating thoroughly.

Coat a grill or grill pan with canola or peanut oil. Place shrimp on skewers and grill over medium-high heat.  Cook 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown around edges. Remove skewers to platter and serve. This is delicious with some pasta and Raw Puttanesca Sauce.