So, one blog that I read on a regular basis is Kalofagas, by Peter Minakis up in the Toronto area. On Friday, May 16, he posted a "recipe" for shrimp and chorizo skewers. I'm using quotations here because he calls it a "non-recipe." This is because all you do is take a piece of chorizo, wrap a shrimp around it and impale them both on a skewer. Of course my imagination and foodie lust was captured by this. Shrimp? Chorizo? On a stick? Naturally I had to have it. I especially loved how beautiful the shrimp looked wrapped around the piece of chorizo. When I planned out my menu for that week, of course, I decided that my husband and I would eat Shrimp and Chorizo Skewers on Monday night. I purchased fresh shrimp - the largest that I could find at Whole Foods that day, because you had to get them large enough to wrap around the chorizo - and some cured chorizo.
Well, there were two small snags to my plan. First: We were invited to an impromptu dinner party on Sunday night, meaning that Sunday's planned dinner (also involving fresh seafood) absolutely, positively had to be made Monday night at the very latest. Unfortunately, my husband was leaving town on Tuesday, meaning that I had to cook two entrees Monday night in order to not waste the food. We solved this by inviting friends over - the same generous couple who had fed us on Sunday night. The second obstacle was not so easily overcome: my shrimp were too small. 
Yes, even though I bought the largest shrimp Whole Foods had that day, they were too small to fit around the chorizo. I stood there at the counter before my guests arrived, struggling to stretch a shrimp around a little piece of cured sausage. It would not go. I tried to use toothpicks to hold it in place. The first one shredded, leaving me with a pile of shrimp strips. The second one worked. The third one worked... kind of.... except that now my skewer was starting to look like the unfortunate result of a hedgehog's liaison with a snake. This couldn't stand, and the harder I tried to make it work the sillier it became. My guests would laugh at me. My husband would laugh at me. Peter in Toronto would laugh at me. (He may yet laugh at me.) I removed the toothpicks from the shrimp and chorizo, and I removed both proteins from the skewers and started over. It would not be nearly as pretty or exciting, but it would get the job done. I just alternated chorizo and shrimp on skewers and grilled them that way. Since I had purchased only enough for two, I served the skewers with some mixed greens that I dressed up with a little lime juice. It wasn't what I intended, but it worked. The shrimp and chorizo tasted beautiful together, and satisfied the craving that Peter's original post sparked. Thanks to him for the idea!
Jessica, these snags do occur, next time the shrimp will fit...for sure!
The bottom line is that you loved the shrimp/chorizo combo and it's a winner. I know I'll make them again!
Thank you for the kind mention.
Posted by: Peter | May 31, 2008 at 11:50 AM