Friday Food: Lemon-Garlic Shrimp Skewers

This is a super easy and very tasty meal that takes little prep and always impresses guests. You need an hour or so to marinate the shrimp but the rest of the prep and cooking takes only minutes.  

Lemon-Garlic Shrimp Skewers
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 to 1 1/2 pounds peeled, deveined shrimp (med or large)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 or 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper
Lemon wedges

- In a bowl, mix salt and sugar. Add shrimp and stir gently to coat. Cover and chill 45 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse shrimp well and drain; also rinse and dry bowl.
- Return shrimp to bowl. Add olive oil, parsley, lemon peel, garlic, and pepper. Mix to coat. Thread shrimp on metal or soaked wooden skewers, running skewer through the body once near the tail and once near the head end of each shrimp so it looks like the letter C.
- Lay shrimp skewers on an oiled barbecue grill over hot coals or high heat on a gas grill (you can hold your hand at grill level only 2 to 3 seconds); close lid on grill. Cook, turning once, until shrimp are bright pink and opaque but still moist-looking in center of thickest part (cut to test), 5 to 6 minutes total. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over shrimp.
 - You can also grill some seasonal veggies (like asparagus coated with olive oil) and serve with bread to round out the meal.