The holiday season conjures up images of heaping platters, arms reaching one over the other, and mismatched chairs crowded around the familial table (with both leaves in). It’s a time to pass the butter and pretend to laugh at Grandpa’s jokes over the clamor for second helpings.

What it’s not a time for is romance. It’s hard to throw your lover a sexy wink while your brother dredges up that humiliating childhood nickname.

Amidst all the hustle and bustle, set aside a night for some well-deserved couple time. Squint through candlelight and remind yourselves of the joy of being in love. Shrimp scampi, a throwback to the Mad Men era, is a perfect nosh for two. Considered an aphrodisiac, shrimp is a tasty jumpstart to an unforgettable evening. This updated classic from Eddie Merlot’s executive chef Geoff Kelty adds tomatoes and pepper vodka to the mix, giving the dish a modern finish and a seductive flash of color.

Meet the Chef

Spend enough time talking to chefs, and it’ll come out that many hated high school – most found their calling working with their hands in local kitchens. Chef Geoff Kelty is not that guy. A high school academic all-star from a family of whiz kids, Welty is one of those gifted people who needs a constant challenge to feel alive. While whipping up the scampi tableside, as it is normally presented at the restaurant, Welty reflects, “I was gonna be the next doctor or something. My first night in a restaurant ... the controlled chaos, the battling through crazy harsh conditions, the nightmare of orders ... I loved it. It’s like a drug.” As the flame from the vodka shimmers above the pan, Kelty takes pride in his restaurant’s resurrection of the rolling cart presentation. “This is a lost art,” he said while the shrimp sizzled. “It adds a touch of ‘Wow.’”

From washing dishes at age 15 to save money for a car, to today’s gig as executive chef at Eddie Merlot’s, Kelty is still addicted to his drug of choice. “You have to throw yourself in with passion and do your best at everything,” said the 29-year-old. “You have one shot in the kitchen.” While studying the culinary arts at Ivy Tech Community College in Fort Wayne, Kelty started entering recipe contests and went on a victory spree – winning trips to study in France and eventually cooking, eating and learning his way through Germany, Italy and Spain. All that travel and tasting, learning at the apron strings of French luminaries Michel Bouit and Régis Marcon, taught Kelty an important lesson: be patient, not pretentious. From big man on campus to big man in the kitchen, Kelty’s genius shows up on the plate.

Eddie Merlot’s Tableside Shrimp Scampi for Two

4 tbs. butter
6 shrimp, 8/12 count, butterflied*
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, split
1 oz. white wine
1 oz. pepper vodka
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup garlic compound butter (see below)
1 tbs. chopped chives
2 each 7” crostinis, sliced
1 tbs. garlic butter

Heat a 10” sauté pan over medium heat. Add the butter and melt. Add the shrimp and cook for two minutes, then flip. Add the tomatoes and stir. Add the white wine and reduce slightly. Flambé the pan with the vodka and reduce again, slightly. Add the lemon juice into the pan and add the compound butter and chives. Stir until butter melts.

Place the crostinis on two small plates. Arrange the shrimp cascading down the crostinis (three on each) and spoon the sauce over the top. Serve immediately.

*To butterfly shrimp, put all of your shrimp into a bowl of ice water to keep ’em nice and pretty while you work on them one by one. First, shell the critters, leaving on the tail. Then, with a sharp paring knife, make a slit along the back of the shrimp. Take out the vein, via the tip of the knife or your finger. Paring knife back in hand, make the deveining slit deeper, but do not cut all the way through. You can now “open” the shrimp so that it has two “wings,” like a butterfly.

Garlic Compound Butter
1/4 lb. unsalted butter (1 stick), room temp
1 large clove garlic, peeled
1 tbs. parsley

Cut the butter into pats and put in a bowl. Next, finely chop the garlic. Using the side of your chef’s knife, mash the garlic into a paste. Finely chop the parsley. Add both to the butter. Incorporate ingredients using a fork or your fingers. Put in the fridge until ready to use.

How to flambé without a fire extinguisher
To flambé a dish for the first time, do not get all fancy and attempt to do it like they do on TV. Get yourself a box of long fireplace matches. Have them at the ready. Get to cooking your shrimp. When it comes time to add the vodka, pour the vodka into a measuring cup and go from there. It’s not as sexy as doing a few cocktail-twirls and pouring straight from the bottle, but it also ensures that the alcohol doesn’t catch on fire, and the flame doesn’t travel up the stream and into the bottle, leaving you with an explosion on your hands – literally. Catching your arm on fire is not sexy. Being the careful home cook, pour the alcohol from the measuring cup into the pan. Now, watch for the liquid to start bubbling on the edges – not full-on boiling, just saying ‘Hi.’ Light a long match and ignite the alcohol, shimmy the pan back and forth on the burner and watch the flames burn off. Admire your scar-free hand. Smell the smoke-free kitchen. Present the delicious dish. Now that’s sexy.