May 26 2010
Pepperoni Shrimp Bites
You must be wondering what the heck is pepperoni and shrimp doing together? No, it’s not a pizza. And no, it’s not some weird jambalaya hybrid. It’s actually an appetizer we came up with one day when we scrounged to put together a quick dish to bring over to our friend’s house for a get-together. You can thank Daniel for this one, because he basically has a stash of pepperoni that he freezes and will try to put pepperoni on everything. Originally, we were just going to butterfly the shrimp and add some caramelized onions and cheese on top, but Daniel had to insist on an extra slice of pepperoni. Since I try to be a health nut, I don’t really care for additional calories and fat, so we decided to make half the batch with pepperoni and half without. To make a long story short, the spicy and salty flavor from the pepperoni marries well with the sweet caramelized onions and the creamy melted cheese – all wrapped up in a nice piece of shrimp. I have to say, it was definitely more tasty than my “healthy” version… duh! So if you happen to have a secret stash of pepperoni lying around, you may want to whip up some of these Pepperoni Shrimp Bites for yourself and make your taste buds happy.
Place the butterflied shrimp on a baking sheet and add a slice of pepperoni on top. We made 16 of them, which is good for 4 people.
Top the pepperoni with caramelized onions and shredded parmesan cheese (or whatever cheese you prefer). Pop this into the oven and broil on high for 5-7 minutes, until the shrimp is completely cooked and no longer translucent.
When you take it out, sprinkle some chopped parsley on top and you've got yourself a fun little treat. This is a finger-friendly appetizer, so just grab the shrimp by its tail and bite! The cooking time for this may appear to be very fast, but keep in mind the time it takes to caramelize the onions. What I like to do when I have a lot of onions on hand is caramelize it and store it in the fridge to quickly add to various dishes to enhance flavor. This is exactly what happened when we made up this appetizer, because I had cooked the onions on another occasion. This dish will definitely intrigue your guests as they probably haven't seen anything like it before. But we all know it was so simple to make and looks fabulous. *wink*
To view or print-out this recipe, click here: Pepperoni Shrimp Bites
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First! How cool that you guys throw (random) stuff together and it always ends up working out!
Sandy, I love your “First” comments. LOL. But yeah, I wouldn’t say it always works out when we throw stuff together. We get lucky sometimes.
That is neat! Seems really easy to make something bombastically flavorsome!
.-= tigerfish´s last blog ..Spicy Fish Cake Custard, Otah or Haw Mok Pla =-.
Wow…creative shrimp bites! I can eat the whole plate…mmm
.-= MaryMoh´s last blog ..Fish Fritters With Cucumber =-.
WOW,
They look fantastic and special
really great garnish
.-= Food Lover´s last blog ..Fried Shrimp & fish with special rice =-.
I am loving this appetizer!! I’m gonna have to save it for a party…or me…
.-= Belinda @zomppa´s last blog ..Photo of the Day: We Need Your Vote!! =-.
oh my that is a great combination.. fabulous for parties, too!
.-= deana@lostpastremembered´s last blog ..Bread =-.
Looks incredible!
.-= Fight the Fat Foodie´s last blog ..Shrimp Taco with Avocado Salsa Verde =-.
I would of never thought of pepperoni and shrimp together.
Looks great, will differently have to give this this a try.
The photo looks very inviting. Great job!
Awesome – I love this!
.-= HoneyB´s last blog ..Don’t breathe on me………please! =-.
This looks so interesting! I love it when random ideas in the kitchen turn out to be brilliant!
.-= my boyfriend cooks for me´s last blog ..don’t worry, we’re alive =-.
This looks so good, and easy to do. A must try.
Thank you,
I wish I could give you guys a virtual taste. Some of our friends have tried it already and have been pleasantly surprised and loved it! We will have to do it again, soon!
It is like a little pizza without carbs
the end result looks fantastic..perfect bites!
.-= ravenouscouple´s last blog ..Banh It Ram Recipe Fried Mochi Dumpling =-.
Sounds delicious! I wonder if a slice of salami would work as well, or even a wrap of thinly sliced prosciutto? I think you’ve just inspired me! I never thought about combining Italian deli meat with shrimp before, but I will now!
.-= Leah´s last blog ..Paso Robles Wine Festival Weekend =-.
GENIUS idea! I can’t wait to make this.
.-= julia´s last blog ..Strawberry Spinach Salad =-.
What a great little fund summer bite for the grill. Love the idea. And shrimp with a salami? YUM… right now I am loving the Iberico Salami that has just come into our local Italian Store. It would be perfect with this…. and instead of cheese, you could add a little salsa: Cha-cha-cha!
Valerie
.-= A Canadian Foodie´s last blog ..Silver Hills Bread Review, Janet’s Gazpacho Soup and a Giveaway =-.
i think this is pretty darn inspired! i don’t usually give shrimp a second look, but if it was topped with pepperoni and cheese, i’d be making a beeline for it.
.-= grace´s last blog ..hot tamales and free money* =-.
That looks phenomenal! I can finished it all up in a sec, lol! Wow, as if the shrimp itself is not enough, lol, add cheese and pepperoni and its a seal deal. I will make this one for my husband (and for me of course), he loves shrimp, too. Thanks for sharing this.
All it needs is a pizza! I’d try it!
OMG! awesome yumminess! love the idea
.-= Simon Food Favourites´s last blog ..Slip Inn: Free Singha Beer Full Moon Party, Sydney (27 May 2010) =-.
Oh, these look so delicious. I’ve never tried salty meat with shrimp. I’ll have to give this a try.
Thanks for sharing.
Joanne
.-= WineladyCooks´s last blog ..Citrus Salad =-.
OMG, shrimp and salami…Phil’s 2 fave foods! Can’t wait to surprise him with this one.:)) Keep up the good work!!
Wow, I love this idea! I’ll keep it in mind for the next time I need an appetizer.
Wow, these look great! I never would’ve thought to combine shrimp and pepperoni, but I can’t wait to try this out. I already have all the ingredients on hand (my boyfriend loves his pepperoni too!), so it’d be easy to throw together
.-= Anne´s last blog ..Asparagus Soup =-.
Thank you for sharing some with us when you had us over for dinner. It was DELICIOUS!!!