Honeymoon on the Mind: Baked Greek Shrimp

Only three days until we leave for the honeymoon and I just can't wait!! We'll be posting all sorts of shots while we're away so you'll be able to follow along if you want. But until then, here's our itinerary.

We're flying into Athens and taking a ferry to Mykonos where we'll be lounging for 5 days. Anyone have suggestions on things we must do while there? Then from Mykonos, we're hopping on a puddle jumper and flying over to Rome where we'll spend 2 days before getting in a car and heading up to wine country. We're driving up to a town called Castellina in Chianti which is a little town outside of Siena. We'll spend a few days there wine tasting and eating before heading up to Florence. From Florence, we're heading to Bologna to eat and drink a little bit more. And our last stop will be a couple of days in Lake Como in a town called Varenna. All together, we'll be on vacation for 3 weeks. For sure the longest vacation I've ever taken.

We're so excited to eat and drink our way through these two beautiful countries. Stay tuned to Instagram because we'll certainly be posting a few pics to keep you all jealous.

Before we take off, I'm making sure our palettes are ready for the delicious Greek food we're about to head face first into. I whipped up a really, really delicious baked shrimp recipe while we watched football this past weekend. It's really simple. You mix everything up and pop it into the oven. That's it!

P.S. I took these pictures on our fire escape. Anything for good lighting.

Baked Greek Shrimp
makes 3-4 servings

15 - 20 peeled and deveined raw shrimp
1 small eggplant (1/2 in. cubes)
1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved or quartered)
1 jalapeno (seeds and stem removed, minced)
1 tbsp fresh thyme
4 cloves garlic (minced)
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp dry white wine
1/2 cup + 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 small lemon (juice)
3/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, combine raw shrimp, eggplant cubes, cherry tomatoes, jalapeno, garlic, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, white wine, 1/2 cup Panko and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly to distribute liquids.

Transfer mixture to a small baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup Panko and spread Feta cheese over top. Finish top with an extra sprinkle of salt.

Pop into the oven and bake uncovered for 20 minutes in middle rack. Turn on broiler after 20 minutes, leave dish on middle rack, and broil for 4 minutes.

Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes before serving.