Baked Shrimp Imperial

This particular dish is rich, flavorful and very filling. I adapted it from a recipe book I have - "The Red Cat". They called it a seafood imperial.  There was more shellfish and fish in it and a few ingredients that I knew my family would not care for, so I adapted it to suit our tastes and our budget. It's a little time consuming to put together but worth every minute of preparation! Hope you enjoy making it and love the outcome.

The original recipe as it was written seemed hard to follow, so I will try and simplify the steps. It seems each time I do a recipe it takes longer and when I make it a second time it does get easier. You could do this up as a dinner or make it as an appetizer if you are having a small dinner party. Serving out of a clam shell or oyster shell makes the dish that much more attractive. I always have little neck clam shells on hand; however you could assemble and bake this in an oven proof casserole dish as well or in small ramekins.
The yield I got from this recipe was a bakers dozen. I had half a bag of frozen 16-20CT shrimp in my freezer so this was my second meal from a two pound bag purchased for New Years Eve.

Step 1:  In a skillet over medium low heat melt
3 tbsp. butter and 1 tbsp. olive oil
add in 

• 1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs
• 1 tbsp. fresh or dried parsley flakes
• 2 tsp. fresh minced chives
• 2 tsp. fresh minced garlic

Keep stirring until the bread crumbs are a light golden brown, then remove from the heat. Place in a bowl for assembling later on. They are the topping.

Step 2: In a sauce pot over medium low heat
add in

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup grated white cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp. fresh minced chives

Bring to a simmer stirring until the cream reduces by about one half and the cheese is melted. Remove from the heat.

Step 3: Prep the Shrimp

• 1 lb. shrimp - peeled, deveined and cut into small bite sized pieces

Place the shrimp in a large bowl.

Step 4: Saute in the same pan you used for the bread crumbs the following ingredients until soft:
Melt: 2 tbsp. butter and 1 tsp. olive oil

To that, add in-

• 1 large shallot - minced
• 1/4 cup (1 long stalk celery) - peel the outer skin and cut into small dice
• 2 tsp. minced garlic

THEN - add in the pieces of shrimp along with:

• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

Stir to combine and cook the shrimp about 1/3 cooked through. About 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and put in a large bowl and combine it with the cream mixture and 1/4 cup or so of the Panko bread crumbs. Give a good stir to mix together and place the mixture into clam shells or small ramekins.

Top with the remaining Panko bread crumbs. Bake on a cookie sheet if using clam shells.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes until the shrimp are thoroughly cooked.