American Seafood Cook Off

I like simple and easy recipes, the one that won't take me long in the kitchen to prepare because I have a very demanding toddler to take care of. One simple seafood dish that I like to make is Baked Shrimps with Ritz crackers, it only takes 15 minutes to bake and dinner will be served in no time. This simple dish originally calls for scallops but since scallops are usually pricey, I can't afford to make it often. Shrimp is the very convenient substitute to scallops as I have them stocked in the fridge all the time. This dish only calls for a pound of shrimps; 10 to 12 pieces of Ritz crackers, ground; 6 tablespoons of butter, melted; salt, pepper and garlic powder. For I just add cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes for some kick. I just coat the shrimps with half of the melted butter then sprinkle them with salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. Then I cover them with ground Ritz crackers and pour the rest of the butter over to brown it up. I bake it at 375 deg. F preheated oven for 15 minutes. That simple!

If there is a Cook off for the easiest seafood recipe this can be a contender, don't you think? Yeah right. If you want to see the real seafood cook off watch the Fifth Annual Great American Seafood Cook-Off on Aug 2-3 at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center within the Louisiana Foodservice EXPO and the Gulf Coast Seafood Pavilion. I'm so excited to see top chefs as they battle in their culinary expertise using fresh and local American seafood. American seafood is by far the finest and is managed in sustainable manner. So if you are 18 years old and over you are invited to cheer on your favorite chefs, tickets are $10 and can be purchased on the door. Come early and stay till the burner is off.