Spicy Steamed Shrimp - Pink Saturday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The shrimp at the market were gorgeous today, perfect for an informal company meal. I couldn't resist. Shrimp as fresh as these give new meaning to the phrase "finger licking good." They were also on sale and that helped this penny pincher throw caution to the wind. This is a nearly effortless meal. Team the shrimp with steamed corn and potatoes, add some flaming Brandywines for color and you have the makings of a feast. I know you're going to ask about the heads. I buy my shrimp this way whenever I can. When I serve the shrimp to guests I remove the heads with scissors before steaming. When I serve them to family we pass the scissors at the table. While commercial seasoning blends are fine, they are very salty so I prefer to make my own. I use flat beer to steam the shrimp. My steamer, by the way, is a canning kettle. Bob has fashioned a fine mesh screen that holds the shrimp in a rack just above the boiling liquid. I toss the shrimp in a small amount of olive oil before sprinkling them with the seasonings. The light coating helps the seasonings adhere to the shrimp. This is a messy meal. I put two small bowls at each place at the table. One is for shells, the other is for a small damp finger towel. The recipe I use for seasoning comes from Rick Rodgers and it, too, is very easy to assemble. Here's how we do this.

Spicy Steamed Shrimp

Ingredients:
Seasoning Blend
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon ground celery seed
1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Shrimp
3 to 4 cups flat beer
4 pounds medium shrimp
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup seasoning blend
Optional garnish
Lemon wedges
Hot sauce

Directions:
1) To make seasoning blend: Combine salt, cayenne, celery seed, paprika, dry mustard, black pepper, ground bay leaf, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon in a small bowl. Mix well.
2) To make shrimp: Place a steamer rack in bottom of a large kettle or pot. Add enough beer to almost reach steamer rack. Bring to a boil over high heat. Toss shrimp in olive oil. Arrange a single layer of shrimp on steaming rack. Sprinkle with seasoning blend. Repeat procedure until no shrimp or seasoning remain. Cover pot tightly and steam until shrimp are pink and firm, about 3 minutes. Serve immediately with lemon wedeges and hot sauce if using. Yield: 8 servings.

They post is being linked to Pink Saturday, sponsored by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.