BritoMom's Oven-Barbequed Shrimp

This is a classic. Pure comfort food. Especially when served with comfort beer. Provided you are someone who likes beer, it is a crime to not drink beer with this dish. It is definitely a crime against nature not to eat this with a big loaf of sourdough bread, thickly sliced.

This is a messy, messy dish. The only sane way to eat it is to cover a table with layers of newspaper. Serve the shrimp in bowls, make sure everyone has lots of bread to dip in the sauce and have plenty of beer chilled & ready.

• 2 lbs unpeeled shrimp (medium to large)
• 1 lb butter
• 1 tablespoons poupon mustard
• 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• ¼ teaspoon basil
• ¼ teaspoon thyme
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 4-5 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 small onion, grated
• ¼ cup of Old Bays seasoning
• 1/2 tsp tabasco (or to taste)
• 1 tsp liquid smoke (and not a drop more or it will be disgusting - the recipe doesn't work without it, though)

Melt butter in a skilled then add all spices. Preheat oven to 375°. Put shrimp in a baking dish (I generally use my big lasagna pan) and cover with butter & spice mixture. Cook for approximately 20 minutes. Start checking to see if it's done at about 15 minutes. The worst thing you can possibly do is overcook this.

BritoMom's Blue Cheese Ball

So, when I moved into my first place post-grad school & finally had a decent kitchen again, my mom gave me a recipe box filled with my favorite recipes of hers. While searching for the white lasagna, I decided there were a couple more I had to share. This is a classic Britofamily appetizer, used for anything from football weekends to cocktail parties to just being in the mood.

• 12 oz cream cheese
• 2 oz blue cheese (Maytag or val & my favorite new blue: Hook's Blue Paradise - paradise is an understatement)
• ¼ tsp garlic salt
• 1 tablespoon green pepper, very finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon pimento, diced
• ½ cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Let cheeses soften. Mix all ingredients together and shape into a ball. Roll ball in the chopped nuts.

BritoMom's White Lasagna

So, val & I were on the phone talking about white lasagna. I realized, with utter horror, that I'd never posted this marvelous, marvelous recipe. Very easy to make. Though mushrooms are a main ingredient, anti-mushroom folks have marveled. Oh! And the cottage cheese is crucial. I tried it with ricotta once and it was all kinds of wrong.

I've played with this over the years. If you're in a garlicky sort of mood, you can abuse the quantity of garlic in it. Chicken and veal are both lovely additions. Playing with different mushrooms works, though I like it best if other varieties (baby bellas are awfully nice) are mixed with the standard button mushroom.

lasagna base

• 8 oz lasagna noodles
• 1 ½ lbs small curd cottage cheese
• 16 oz grated mozzarella
• 4 oz shredded parmesan (Using parmigiano reggiano is especially worth it in this dish. Well, I'm rather fantatically obsessed with this type of parmesan that cheese & think it's always worth it. So, if you haven't tried it, try it. Seriously. You can just nibble on it alone! Especially if you have a nice red wine to sip along with it.)

creamed mushrooms

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 lb mushrooms washed & sliced
• 3-4 cloves of garlic minced finely
• 2 ½ cups milk
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ¼ cup flour
• ⅓ cup finely chopped parsley

Sauté mushrooms in butter & lemon juice until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add flour and continue cooking for about 5 more minutes. Add milk and parsley, stir frequently until nicely thickened.

In a greased 13x9x2 pan, layer noodles, cottage cheese, creamed mushrooms, mozzarella & parmesan.