spicy shrimp dip

by tijuana, 12/29/2012

we are having a few friends over for new year's, and i wanted to think of some creative dishes that i have never made before. i knew of one of the menu items would be a dip. of course, i quickly thought, spinach and aritchoke dip. as i was trying to go to sleep one night, shrimp hit me like a ton of bricks. let's do a shrimp dip, but kick it up a notch and add some heat! (alright, emeril) so i tested this recipe out and it is EXACTLY what i am going to make for the party. i took a batch of the dip over to my neighbors, who just had a baby. they said, 'this dip is so good! how did you get the perfect sized piece of shrimp to fit on my tortilla chip?' lol! it is creamy, just enough spice not to push it over the top, velvety from the cream cheese... just heaven. please try this appetizer and brace yourselves. 🙂

total Time: 40 minutes
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 25 minutes
yield: 8 servings

ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter -
1/4 onion - chopped
1/4 red bell pepper - chopped
1 jalapeno - chopped
2 cloves garlic - grated
1 lb shrimp - defrosted if frozen, peeled, deveined, patted dry, coarsley chopped, tails removed
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce -
1 teaspoon hot sauce -
8 ounces cream cheese - room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream -
1/2 cup mayo -
1 cup mozzarella cheese -
1/2 cup cheddar cheese -
old bay - optional

instructions:

preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
heat a large saute pan over medium high heat. melt the butter in the hot pan, and add the onion, bell pepper, jalapenos and garlic. season with salt/pepper to taste. saute until slightly tender. add in the shrimp (make sure the shrimp has been dried well), worcestershire sauce and hot sauce.

season with salt/pepper and cook until shrimp are pink.

meanwhile, in a medium sized bowl, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, mayo and cheeses. using a slotted spoon to avoid the juices, remove the shrimp mixture out of the pan into the bowl with the cream cheese mixture. if you add in all the cooking juices along with the shrimp, your dip may be watery. stir in the shrimp mixture until combined. taste, season with salt/pepper to taste (if needed) and spoon into a baking dish.
bake in the preheated oven for about 25 - 30 minutes or until bubbly and slightly brown. serve with sliced baguette, tortilla chips or even crackers.

unfortunately, i am not a fan of old bay seasoning. but it is used by many on their seafood. feel free to sub in old bay instead of salt. if you do not like it real spicy, leave out the seeds!