Headed Shrimp

When we were on Tybee a few weeks ago, we tried a few new receipes. Going with the flow of the beach we decided to go to the fish market and buy some fresh shrimp right off the boat. Even though I have lived in some major coastal cities I have never, for whatever reason, bought shrimp with the heads on. I was feeling adventurous, walked up to the counter and ordered four pounds of the little suckers. My son informed me quickly that they had horns that could cut your finger...yeah, thanks, I found out the hard way! Plus, I was amazed at the long whiskers that they sported. It was easy though...just pop off the heads...and voila. Our dish was made with the shells on and it was totally delish. The recipe came from the cookbook Falling Cloudberries: A World of Family Recipes by Tessa Kiros. It contains a lovely collection of ethnic receipes from her family memoirs. Her other cookbook Apples for Jam is just as yummy. The dish was simple, but so good that you wanted to lick the pan, which I refrained from, but wanted to! Cilantro, garlic, chili powder, lemon juice, butter (lots and lots of butta), feta cheese and of course headed shrimp The fresh shrimp were AMAZING. They were sweet and succulent..nothing like the tasteless critters you buy at the grocery store. At $5.99 a pound they were a steal. We made a fresh green bean salad with a balsamic vinegar glaze to go with it. We sat in the living room around the coffee table and ate, laughed and joked. It was quite a lovely time!