Add marinated shrimp to your party menu

Every holiday season, I break out one of my all-time favorite recipes. Officially known as pickled shrimp, the marinated shrimp dish hails from my hometown, Columbus, Ga., and is still served frequently there as a party hors d’oeuvres. I bring it annually to my husband’s family Christmas party in Alexandria, La., and the houseful of Louisiana natives can’t get enough of it.

It’s simple: Cooked shrimp, along with celery and onions, marinate overnight in a briny solution of oil, vinegar, celery salt and other herbs, resulting in tangy, tender shrimp packed with flavor. It’s a great use of plentiful plump white shrimp from the Gulf, and it can be made a day or two ahead. These shrimp are an awesome contrast to many of the other items commonly found on holiday tables.

Here’s what you do:

Pickled shrimp
Serves 20

1 ˝ cups cider vinegar
1 3 oz. jar capers with juice
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
8-10 shakes Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons celery seed
several turns fresh ground black pepper
3 large peeled garlic cloves
1 ˝ cups canola oil
5 lbs fresh large shrimp, cleaned and cooked until just done
3 white onions, sliced into thin rounds
10 celery tops with leaves
3 lemons, sliced thin

Mix first nine ingredients in blender or food processor. Once blended, add oil carefully and combine. In large jar or other container with fitted lid, place alternating layers of cooked shrimp and onion slices until they reach halfway up container. Tuck celery leaves and lemon slices on sides. Pour half of marinade over mixture. Continue alternating layers of shrimp and onions and tucking celery and lemons on sides. Pour remainder of marinade on top and close lid. Refrigerate for a least 24 hours, turning jar often.

—This recipe has been modified from A Southern Collection of Tested Recipes, Junior League of Columbus, GA