Last night I dreamed that my friend Stephanie had us over for a murder-mystery-themed Christmas dinner. I’m a little disappointed that I never made it to the murder-mystery segment of my dream, but I am pleased to be able to share a very special recipe with you. It was presented cooking-show-style in my dream, so you’ll have to make an educated guess on the amounts if you really want to try it.

Stephanie’s Dreamy Shrimp Casserole
water
sugar
fresh basil
a bunch of large shrimp, peeled and deveined
butter
garlic
more butter
panko bread crumbs

Place shrimp in a large bowl and set aside.

Combine water and sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves to make a simple syrup. Bruise basil leaves and stir into syrup. Bring just to a boil, then pour over shrimp. Marinate shrimp in syrup overnight.

Preheat oven. Butter a large casserole dish. Add some minced garlic. Drain shrimp and line them up in the casserole dish. Top with panko crumbs, more garlic and butter pats. Bake until golden brown and delicious.

As delicious as it looked in my dream, I don’t think I’ll be trying this one at home. I don’t think the syrup/garlic combination is for me, and I’m pretty sure all that cook time would result in some pretty tough shrimp.