Spicy Blueberry-Basil Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp...Featuring NOT Ketchup, Voodoo Chef, and Gourmet Garden #TripleSBites

Today, I'm sharing the third menu item on amy romantic Valentine's appetizer menu for two as part of #TripleSBites. I've been having a blast seeing all of the recipes that my fellow blog participants have been sharing! So far, I've shared phyllo cups filled with a sweetly spicy chicken salad and pesto meatballs stuffed with mozzarella cheese. For the third course, I'm pulling out all the stops. I created over-the-top Spicy Blueberry-Basil Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp. These beauties feature a tasty trio of our #TripleSBites sponsors: Not Ketchup, Voodoo Chef, and Gourmet Garden herbs. These shrimp are super easy to make, and the blueberry-basil mixture serves as both a glaze on the shrimp and as a flavorful dipping sauce. You can even assemble them up to a day ahead and refrigerate until you're ready to pop them in the oven to cook!

The blueberry flavor in the glaze and sauce comes from Blueberry White Pepper Not Ketchup. This line of sauces is sweet and savory -- and proves that ketchup does NOT have to be made from tomatoes. I knew that basil would work really nicely with the blueberry, and Gourmet Garden's lightly dried basil meant  no chopping for me! To bring the spice, I used Voodoo Chef's seductively spicy Red Rub. Add it up and you've got an

Photo from Voodoo Chef

appetizer that'll "put a spell on" your sweetie. Be sure to use the biggest shrimp you can find -- I used U12 super jumbo. This is also a great recipe to feature applewood smoked bacon. I buy mine by-the-slice from the deli counter at the grocery store. I'm even going to show you a trick to ensure you end up with crispy bacon outside and tender, perfectly cooked shrimp on the inside. It's a tiny bit more work -- most of it hands off -- but I promise the end results  are worth it.

Spicy Blueberry-Basil Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp

a Weekend Gourmet Original

Ingredients:

• Six extra-jumbo shrimp (U-12)
• 3 slices applewood smoked bacon
• Voodoo Chef Red spice rub
• Six sturdy toothpicks

For the glaze and sauce:

• 3/4 cup Blueberry White Pepper Not Ketchup
• 1 tsp. Gourmet Garden tubed Garlic
• 1 tsp. Gourmet Garden tubed Hot Chili
• 1 tbs. Gourmet Garden lightly dried basil
• 1 tbs. lime juice

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400. Place the bacon slices on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, until the bacon is just starting to cook. Let the bacon cool for 5 minutes, while you make the glaze/sauce. Add the Not Ketchup, garlic, chile, basil, and lime juice to a small bowl. Stir well to evenly combine and set aside.

Step 2: Cut each piece of partially cooked bacon in half lengthwise. Remove the greasy parchment and place a fresh piece of parchment on the baking sheet. Wrap one piece of bacon around each shrimp, securing with a sturdy toothpick. Sprinkle the Voodoo Chef Red on both sides of each shrimp. Divide the blueberry-basil sauce in half. Reserve half of the sauce and brush the remaining half on both sides of each shrimp. 

Step 3: Bake the bacon-wrapped shrimp for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 2 minutes. Use tongs to carefully flip the shrimp over and crisp the other side. Let the cooked shrimp rest for a minute before removing the toothpicks. To serve, spoon half of the reserved blueberry-basil sauce in the bottom of two shallow rimmed plates. Microwave for 30 seconds to warm the sauce, then place arrange three shrimp on top. Sprinkle with additional Red rub and basil just before serving.

These shrimp are decadently good! Sweet jumbo shrimp are wrapped in smoky-salty bacon...and glazed with a sweet and spicy mixture. Being able to dip each shrimp in more of the spicy blueberry-basil sauce takes them right over the top. These shrimp would also be great as an entree served over pasta or cheese grits...but they make a swoon-worthy romantic appetizer too! They pair very nicely with a sweet sparkling moscato as well. Bottom line: these shrimp are so good you just might get lucky -- after your sweetie eats them!

Be sure to check out the rest of today's #TripleSBites featured dishes today. They're all guaranteed to be romance-approved and very tasty! Also...be sure to go visit our sponsors and check out their amazing featured products. The Rafflecopter giveaway for sponsor prize packs is still going on, so make sure to enter.

An InLinkz Link-up

Disclosure: I received samples of Not Ketchup, Voodoo Chef Red spice rub, and Gourmet Garden herbs to facilitate this post. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

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