Between the ages of four and eight, my younger brother went through what I would call his “army” phase. His favorite color was “army green” and there were dozens of plastic G.I. Joe figurines strategically hiding throughout our house. Anyone who walked around barefoot risked toe impalement by a little green man with a gun. During this time period my brother often wore camouflage pants and green t-shirt and could be seen running through the bushes carrying a plastic Fisher-Price walky-talky. As his older sister I felt it my duty to inform him that, despite his attire, I could still see him crouching behind that tree and if he attempted to conduct a surprise attack while I was playing with my friends he would most definitely regret it. This is when I learned an important rule of international negotiation: diplomatic threats only work when backed up by the firepower of a garden hose.

Now what does this all have to do with shrimp you ask? Well, to celebrate the Superbowl last weekend we cooked up a bunch of fantastic party food. To keep our arteries from clogging before half-time, I included a delicious spicy shrimp dish in the line up. Adapted from a recipe for broiled Tilapia in the February issue of Gourmet, the shrimp were easy to cook at the last minute and excellent finger food. The only problem was…they were very green. In fact when I set the shrimp on a rack to go under the broiler, my first thought was: “These are camo green”. The cilantro-chipolte sauce, while imparting a fantastic spicy kick to the shrimp, makes them look like they are ready to go on a five-mile march through the woods. So if your guest list includes any five year old boys going through an army phase, this just might convince them to eat shrimp. For everyone else, maybe wait to put these out until they’ve had a few beers!

I served these shrimp with the recommended accompaniment of a Mexican Pineapple salad. The salad perfectly balanced the heat of the shrimp and I would definitely recommend serving the two dishes together.

Cilantro-Chipolte Marinated “Camo” Shrimp
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, February 2007
Serves 6 (as an appetizer)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chopped canned chipotles in adobo (less if you are afraid of spicy)
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pound shrimp (fresh or frozen), shelled and de-veined with tail left on

Directions:
Preheat broiler.

Purée cilantro, oil, chiles with some adobo sauce, water, cumin, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a blender until smooth. Transfer mixture to a gallon size Ziploc bag and add shrimp (thaw shrimp first if previously frozen). Seal Ziploc and use your hands to move the bag around until the shrimp are well coated with the sauce. (This can be done a few hours ahead of when you cook the shrimp. Store sealed bag in fridge until ready to cook.)

Line rack of a broiler pan with foil. Spray a metal rack with cooking spray and set shrimp on rack spaced apart so shrimp do not touch. Broil shrimp 4-6 inches from heat until just cooked through, 4-6 minutes.

Serve with Mexican Pineapple Salad. (Recipe coming on Friday.)