Hey ya’ll, Randy here again with Karen for us to give one of our favorite Valentine’s Day meals. When we starting thinking about past Valentine’s Days, there was one meal that came to mind. So Karen asked me to share the main protein part where she is going to take over for the risotto. But I should probably start by giving a little back story on how the recipe came about. I think she has shared with you in the past that our first date was at a Spanish Tapas Restaurant. It was great, lots of small plates to try different dishes and you order as you need more. So if it didn’t go well, you could end the date after just a few dishes.
For us, it worked out and we ordered quite a bit! One of the items I ordered was their Stuffed Figs. The waiter asked if we wanted to wrap them in bacon and without thinking or asking Karen first, I was responded quickly with “Heck yeah”! I mean most guys when given the option are going to wrap just about anything in bacon. Well apparently that was a good thing and it gave me extra points in Karen’s book. That also let me know how much Karen enjoyed bacon, something I banked in the back of my memory for the future.
So for our first Valentine’s Day rather than going out to a restaurant with the masses, I figured I would make us a nice dinner, but what should I make. Well, I had learned of her love for bacon but also of cheese and seafood. So let’s put it all together plus add a little spice for me. Thus, I came up with the Bacon Stuffed Shrimp. Some people will tell you that cheese has no place with seafood but if you enjoy it, just do it!
I served this over risotto with some roasted Brussel Sprouts, another two favorite things of hers. Now my risotto included opening up a pack of frozen risotto from Trader Joes as my skills only go so far. Thus why Karen will be stepping back in for her much better take on Risotto.
Overall this meal is fairly easy to make, takes a little prep time to get the shrimp ready but then cooks quickly. I use my nifty air fryer to make my shrimp but if you don’t have one, you should ! In all seriousness though, you can also make this in the oven.
Start with the largest shrimp you can find as it will make your life easier. Normally the larger shrimp tend not to have as much flavor as the mid-sized shrimp, but in this case you will be adding enough other flavors so it shouldn’t be a problem. You want to make sure your shrimp are shelled and deveined. You can do it yourself but I like short cuts so I bought mine already done. The tail is your call, you can leave it on but as Karen will say, she prefers the “kitchen love” when they do the work for you. Since you will need to cut your shrimp as you eat them no need for the handle, I would suggest removing them.
Slice the shrimp about halfway open, creating a pocket to stuff the blue cheese into.
Take a strip of bacon and cut it in half. Now roll the bacon around stuff shrimp keeping it nice and tight. Make sure you are aware of where you bacon ends, you will want to start your shrimp cooking with this side down. As you cook the bacon, it will meld together and seal it itself. If you go with this technique, no need to use a toothpick or anything to keep it together.
Coat the bacon wrapped stuffed shrimp in your favorite sauce. In the past, we have used a whiskey infused BBQ sauce that worked well, or a Buffalo Sauce if you want some kick. Feel free to make your own, but really why? There are so many good ones out there. This time I am going with a Honey Based Buffalo Sauce. As I have said, I am all about the spice, Karen is a little more tame than I am but also enjoys a sauce with good flavor and a little kick. Since it is for that special night, make sure to pick a sauce you will both enjoy.
Cook these in your air fryer or oven until the bacon is to the crispiness you enjoy. The shrimp will be done before the bacon so you are cooking it to your liking. I prefer a little crisper, in the air fryer it takes about 15 minutes on 400 degrees. Make sure to flip halfway to get all the bacon nice and crispy.
Karen here! It’s true, Randy seduced me with bacon. When he ordered it on the figs, he definitely gained points because he was obviously a foodie. If you haven’t figured out by now, my life literally revolves around food. So someone who was also game to try different flavors and spice levels is a big check off on my list. The fact that he chose a Spanish restaurant with Tapas got my attention too. He could have picked a run of the mill restaurant but instead, he stepped outside the box, something he continues to do to this day and I love about him.
I’m a sucker for risotto, and almost every kind. The Shrimp are to die for and that first presentation of it was so nice. I was thrilled to have someone cook for me as it doesn’t happen all the time. With that being said, I loved that he enjoyed cooking as well.
Once we became more serious, I showed him how to make real risotto.The thing with Risotto that intimidates people and throws them off with cooking it is that it is time consuming. You need to be committed to that risotto and that risotto only for 20 minutes. It takes time, but it’s worth it. So I focused on that and Randy focused on the shrimp. That is another great thing I love about our relationship, we enjoy being in the kitchen together and creating new dishes. But for this one, we both took care of a part of each dish to come together for a great meal.
For your risotto, start by heating 4 cups of chicken stock over medium heat. Then you are going to do a rough chop of your onions. Although even cuts will also result in even cooking, for this situation you are moving them around constantly so it doesn’t have to be so strict.
In a large sauce pan, heat up your oil and butter. Once that is warm, add your onions and stir until they begin to sweat but not brown. Then, add your arborio rice.
Make sure every grain of rice is coated evenly in oil. Once they start to brown slightly, deglaze your pan with some white wine. This will infuse all that wonderful flavor from the pan right into the rice, while also adding more depth of flavor with the wine itself.
Now here’s where you need to really take your time. With a ladle at a time, slowly add in your warm stock to the risotto. It’s crucial at this point to make sure your heat on is low to medium. If you have it too hot, it will cook the stock quickly, but the rice will not properly absorb what it needs to in order to become the right texture. Also, the broth being hot is very important. Adding cold stock in will only slow down the cooking time and result in unevenly cooked risotto.
Once you add in the stock, continue to stir slowly. You will notice that it is starting to show signs of a creaminess texture. This is the starch cooking out of the rice, which is what you want.
As the liquid cooks out, slowly add another ladle of warm stock. Continue this process of constantly stirring and adding liquid until the rice is full cooked, creamy and still has a bit of sauciness to it. If you’d like at this point, you can add in any extra salt, pepper or even a bit of cheese if you want.
Since we are both a little saucy and cheesy, we add additional sauce over the top of the shrimp and blue cheese. Make a nice little mount of risotto in the center of your plate and serve six of the shrimp placed on top. Remember everything looks better with a drizzle so you can drizzle your buffalo sauce or whatever sauce you’d like over the top.
Whether you are making this for your significant other, treating yourself or making this for your family, you’ll find this to be indulgent while deceptively easier then expected. Whoever you are making this for, we hope it’s made with love. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Air Fried Bacon Wrapped Blue Cheese Stuffed Shrimp with Caramelized Onion Risotto
Makes enough for 2 during a romantic dinner
Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 35 minutes
- 12 Jumbo Shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 6 oz Blue Cheese, crumbled
- 6 Slices Bacon, cut in half at the midpoint
- 1 cup Buffalo Sauce or BBQ Sauce
- 4 cups Chicken Stock
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp Butter, unsalted
- 3/4 cup Spanish Onion, roughly chopped
- 1 cup Arborio Rice
- 1/2 cup White Wine
- Salt & Pepper to Taste
To prepare the shrimp, slice down the center of the shrimp 3/4 of the way through, following the natural curve of the tail.
Stuff the open cavity of the shrimp with approximately 1/2 teaspoon of Blue Cheese, could be more or less depending on the size of your shrimp.
Taking a piece of the bacon, start wrapping the shrimp tightly with the bacon. Be aware of where the bacon ends as you will want to put that part down while cooking.
Continue until all shrimp are completed. Brush with your selected sauce. Cook in Air Fryer for 12 minutes at 400 degrees, turning half way.
For the risotto, heat the chicken stock in a saucepot over medium heat.
In a large saute pan, heat oil and butter over low to medium heat. Add onions in, stirring constantly until they start to sweat. Continue stirring as they start to brown.
Add in arborio rice and stir to ensure all rice kernels are coated in fat. Continue stirring and cooking until rice starts to give a toasted aroma and starts to slightly change colors.
Deglaze the pan by adding in the white wine. Stir until evaporated.
Carefully ladle in one ladle full of hot stock to the rice. Continue stirring constantly until the Stock starts to absorb. Continue this process, stirring constantly using a wooden spoon or spatula until the rice is cooked and the texture is creamy and thick.
At this point, add in your salt and pepper and if you’d like to add cheese or anything additional.
Serve risotto with Stuffed Shrimp on top and drizzle with additional sauce. Enjoy!