Crab Stuffed Shrimp

No plans for New Years Eve? That's OK, stay in and make this for dinner and ring in the new year at home. Baked shrimp generously stuffed with a delicious blue crab filling all sitting pretty in a champagne cream sauce, every bite is decadent! Perfect for a big party or just dinner for two.

What I like about this recipe is that you can prepare all 3 components in advance. I cleaned and cut my shrimp the night before and placed them in a container in my fridge ready to be stuffed making sure my shrimp was free of all moisture by blotting them with a paper towel.

The filling was also made the night before and placed in a separate container as well as the cream sauce which heats up beautifully when ready to use, I call this stress free cooking!

By cutting the shrimp on the inner circle you'll create the perfect platform to place your mound of stuffing on top. I used about one tablespoon of filling for each shrimp.

You can serve this with a little pasta on the side, something small like orzo or even some rice, I promise you that is all you'll need because the shrimp and crab are really the stars here just remember to swipe each bite through the champagne sauce!

And be sure to have a glass of your favorite bubbly beside you. Cheers!

To Prepare the Shrimp:

Make sure your shrimp is completely dry with no moisture, padding it with paper towel. Remove shell but leave the tails on. Along the inside of the curve take a sharp knife and cut along the length being careful not to cut all the way through. Take out any vein you see and then open like a book and press lightly to flatten.

Crab Filling:

For 3 lbs. of large shrimp I used a little less than a pound of wild caught, fully cooked, blue fin crab, it comes in a can and it's pasteurized. Worth every penny!

For the filling my suggestion is to taste and add things as needed to your own personal liking, since the crab is already cooked you'll have no problem doing that. Here's what I added, you could use more or less.

2 cloves of smashed garlic

fresh parsley

1 teaspoon of Dijon

Tabasco sauce

celery finely diced, 2 small stalks

onion or scallions finely diced 1/2 of a medium onion or a few scallions

1 1/2 rolls of smashed crackers ( Ritz )

melted butter, 3 0r 4 tablespoons

lemon juice and lemon zest

salt and pepper

Saute the diced celery and onions in 1 tablespoon of butter, then add in everything else, the mixture will hold together nicely and you will be able to mound it on top of your shrimp easily.

Place stuffed shrimp on a parchment lined sheet pan and then spray or baste each one lightly with olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika. Bake at 375F for 15 or 20 minutes until pink and the stuffing is warmed through.

After they're baked set them in a shallow pool of champagne cream sauce and garnish with parsley and a lemon wedge.

Champagne Cream Sauce:

1 1/2 cups of white champagne

1 1/2 cups of cream

2 0r 3 shallots diced

Saute shallots in a dab of butter, pour in the champagne, let it reduce and then add cream and whisk until thickened.