Take A Page Out Of Ina Garten's Book And Use This Salad Dressing For Shrimp Dip

If your go-to move is reaching for cocktail sauce whenever shrimp is on the menu, hostess with the mostess Ina Garten wants to encourage other accoutrements. In a recipe shared with Food Network, Garten pairs roasted shrimp with homemade Thousand Island dressing; the tangy combo is a hit among guests. Also known as Louis sauce, a dressed-up Thousand Island offers a creamy, sweet brininess that serves as a delightful contrast to the traditional acidic heat from classic cocktail sauce. The unexpected pairing is difficult to put down.

Shrimp cocktail Louis dates back to 1915, when it was first served at San Francisco's St. Francis Hotel. While you can use store-bought dressing to make the sauce for the shrimp, a homemade recipe made with mayo, ketchup, capers, gherkins, sweet pickles, lemon juice, salt, and pepper can be stirred until smooth and adjusted to taste. The briny kick from the capers and gherkins ensures that the mayo isn't too rich, while fresh lemon juice brightens the mixture to let perfectly-prepared shrimp shine. 

Homemade Thousand Island can be customized according to preference. Heat lovers may want to sneak chili sauce or hot sauce into their recipes or swap capers for pickled jalapeños. Anchovy paste mixed with mayo creates an umami-rich dip that can pair well with shrimp and salty french fries. This dressing can be made in advance, so all you need to do is roast shrimp and set out platters for guests to help themselves.

Instead of boiling shrimp, as Garten revealed on an episode of "Barefoot Contessa: Cook Like a Pro," via YouTube, she prefers to roast shrimp. Shrimp coated in olive oil, salt, and pepper can be roasted in eight to 10 minutes in an oven set to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The shrimp will be lightly caramelized on the outside and remain juicy in the middle. "I made this for the first time yesterday, and will NEVER boil the shrimp again! Absolutely delicious!" explained a fan on YouTube. Recipes can be easily doubled to feed a crowd, and for impromptu cocktail parties or last-minute guests, the entire presentation can be put together in under 15 minutes.