A day of lazy dipping in Gulf Coast waters calls for a cold bowl of cooked shrimp dipped in a sweetsavory sauce. That’s what my mom thought, anyway, and she always had cold shrimp on hand when we stayed at the beach. I love it, too, and it’s a great do-ahead that lets you set out something for your hungry guests as soon as you step inside after a day of sand and sun. I cook the shrimp and make the dipping sauces the day before and stick ’em all in the fridge. When I pull them out, everyone thinks I’m an organized genius. (Naturally, I politely demur.) Snacking on shrimp, nobody notices if I disappear into the kitchen for a little main-course prep work. I usually figure about one-third pound per person. The shrimp usually runs out before anyone’s hunger does, but that works for me. I want my friends to have room for dinner and dessert. If I don’t feel much like cooking, I allow about one-half pound of shrimp per person for a hands-on main course. Of course, I always offer dessert, often as simple as cookies (like Vanilla Sand Dollars, page 83) and ice cream.

　　

Ingredients

serves 12

　　

Shrimp

1 bottle (750 ml) brut Champagne, sparkling wine, or cava

　　1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 medium lemons)

　　1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves (preferably Mexican)

　　1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

　　4 pounds large (21/30 count) shrimp, deveined, with shells

　　1/4 cup prepared shrimp boil seasoning (such as Old Bay)

　　Typical Red Sauce (page 254), for dipping

　　Spicy Remoulade (page 255), for dipping

　　

Step 1

TO MAKE THE SHRIMP: In a large bowl, stir together the Champagne, lemon juice, oregano, and cayenne. Add the shrimp and refrigerate for at least 1 hour but no longer than 3 hours, or the shrimp could turn mushy.

　　

Step 2

Fill a large stockpot with about 2 gallons water. Add the shrimp boil seasoning. Bring the seasoned water to a boil over high heat, add the shrimp, and return the water to a boil. Decrease the heat to medium and simmer the shrimp until they turn pink, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain the shrimp, dump them into a large bowl, and cover with ice cubes to stop the cooking. Once the shrimp are cool, drain the ice, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

　　

Step 3

Serve cold with dipping sauces.

　　

do it early

Step 4

Cooked shrimp can be refrigerated for up to 1 day. The red sauce will keep, refrigerated, for up to 1 month, and the remoulade for about 2 weeks.

　　Pastry Queen Parties by Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman. Copyright © 2009 Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman. Published by Ten Speed Press. All Rights Reserved.A pastry chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author, native Texan Rebecca Rather has been proprietor of the Rather Sweet Bakery and Café since 1999. Open for breakfast and lunch daily, Rather Sweet has a fiercely loyal cadre of regulars who populate the café’s sunlit tables each day. In 2007, Rebecca opened her eponymous restaurant, serving dinner nightly, just a few blocks from the café.  Rebecca is the author of THE PASTRY QUEEN, and has been featured in Texas Monthly, Gourmet, Ladies Home Journal, Food & Wine, Southern Living, Chocolatier, Saveur, and O, The Oprah Magazine. When she isn’t in the bakery or on horseback, Rebecca enjoys the sweet life in Fredericksburg, where she tends to her beloved backyard garden and menagerie, and eagerly awaits visits from her college-age daughter, Frances.Alison Oresman has worked as a journalist for more than twenty years. She has written and edited for newspapers in Wyoming, Florida, and Washington State. As an entertainment editor for the Miami Herald, she oversaw the paper’s restaurant coverage and wrote a weekly column as a restaurant critic. After settling in Washington State, she also covered restaurants in the greater Seattle area as a critic with a weekly column. A dedicated home baker, Alison is often in the kitchen when she isn't writing. Alison lives in Bellevue, Washington, with her husband, Warren, and their children, Danny and Callie.