Shrimp Stew

I mentioned last week that hubby and I had been sick.  This left me with a near constant craving for soup, which is very odd for me.  And even odder still, I really wanted shrimp stew.  That's weird because I'd never had shrimp stew.  It just sounded like something I wanted to eat.  Can you crave something you've never had?  I guess so.   

Having a general idea of what shrimp stew was (a traditional Cajun comfort dish), I did some searching online at checked out various recipes.  I came across recipes from the big names (Emeril, John Folse) and a few from fellow bloggers.  They were all basically the same and what I expected; a roux (varying from light to dark), with the trinity (onions, bellpepper, and celery), shrimp stock, shrimp, and seasonings.  Some had tomatoes, some had potatoes.  So, with that knowledge in hand, I took a look in the pantry, and then I tried my hand at crafting a pot of shrimp stew.  

(Hello shrimp stew; how do you do?)

Shrimp Stew

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 4 cups seafood broth*
• 2 cups water
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 - 1 tsp Tabasco
• salt, to taste
• 1/4 tsp red pepper
• 1 lb peeled shrimp**
• chopped green onions, to garnish

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat until smoking.   Slowly add flour, stirring vigorously, until fully incorporated.  Cook over medium-low to medium heat, stirring constantly, until milk-chocolate brown.

Stir in onions and garlic and cook until onions are soft and fragrant.  Whisking vigorously, slowly add water.  You must do this slowly and steadily or the roux and water won't come together.  Once the water is fully incorporated, whisk in the stock.  Add tomatoes, oregano, Tabasco, salt, and red pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, covered for 45-60 minutes. 

15 minutes prior to serving, add in shrimp.  Serve over white rice, garnished with green onions. 

*Preferably, you would buy fresh, head-on shrimp and use the heads and tails to create your own broth.  I made this on a weeknight, so while I had a big bag of shrimp heads and tails in the freezer, I wasn't willing to spend the time making the stock in addition to making the stew.  

**As I just mentioned, it would be preferable to use really fresh, head-on shrimp.  In that instance, you would want to buy 2-3 pounds of shrimp, since about half the weight is head and shell. 

Shrimp Pasta with a Tomato Cream Sauce

Today is hubby's birthday; happy birthday hubby!! Of course, for his birthday he got to decide what we had for dinner.  He requested the "orange shrimp".  After a dumbfounded look, he continued to explain that it looks, but does not taste, orange.  Then I knew what he was talking about.  It's the first recipe I tried from the Pioneer Woman; she calls it Penne a la Betsy after her sister.  As I looked through my blog for the recipe - and I was absolutely sure I blogged it - I could not find it.  I searched "pasta"and "shrimp" to no avail.  I even looked through all my blog entry titles.  I have no idea how this one slipped through the cracks! It is a wonderfully, amazingly, sinfully delicious dish that is pretty simple to prepare.  It is definitely one of my go-to dishes if I want to impress. 

Hubby and I have experimented with different pasta varieties (I don't think we've used the same one twice).  So far, our favorite has been rigatoni.  Tonight, I used bowtie because it's what we had in the pantry. 

 Shrimp Pasta with a Tomato Cream Sauce

• 1 pound extra large, peeled, deveined shrimp
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 pound pasta
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 – 1 cup white wine (chardonnay)
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tbsp parsley
• basil

Start the pasta water boiling. Rinse the shrimp under cool water. Heat 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet. Sauté shrimp, then remove them to a plate to cool. Boil the pasta.
 Finely dice the onion and garlic. Heat 2 tbsp butter, then add 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the onions and garlic; stir occasionally. Pull tails off the shrimp, then cut them into bite size pieces. Pour wine over onions and garlic. Cook for a few minutes to let the alcohol evaporate. Add tomato sauce; stir. Stir in cream. Simmer for a few minutes. Add shrimp; salt and pepper. Chop parsley and basil. Add to sauce. Pour 3/4 over the pasta to the sauce; salt and pepper as needed.

Vietnamese Caramel Shrimp

Oh, to be in Louisiana during shrimp season is one of my greatest joys in life. There are few things as satisfying as going to the store and picking up large, local gulf shrimp. Yum yum. Now I finally get to try out the shrimp recipes I accumulated while in Iowa, like the one I found years ago for Vietnamese Caramel Shrimp. This dish is a perfect marriage of sweet, savory, and heat. And while it's easy to make, this will most certainly impress anyone it's served to with its complexity.


Vietnamese Caramel Shrimp

• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 cup water, divided in half
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp ginger, grated
• 1 small chili, seeded and chopped
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• pepper to taste
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp cilantro, chopped

In a small sauce pan, heat sugar and 1/4 cup water over medium high heat. Stir constantly until it caramelizes and turns dark brown. Add the other 1/4 cup water and heat until caramel dissolves. [Be careful as you pour the water in; otherwise, you will steam the bejeebs out of your hand.] Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add shallot, garlic, ginger, and chili; saute for 3-5 minutes. Add in the shrimp, 2 tbsps of the caramel sauce you made, fish sauce, and pepper. Simmer until the shrimp is pink all over, about 2-4 minutes. [I flipped the shrimp half-way through the cooking process so sauce would be on both sides. You know the shrimp are done when they are stiff.]

Remove from the heat and stir in sesame oil and cilantro.



Not surprisingly, I served this dish over rice, which was great as the rice mixed with the sauce made a tasty dish on its own.

Spring Shrimp Pasta

It has been a foodless week here in Mama Sarah's Kitchen. Hubby and I experienced greatly reduced appetites all week long. Luckily, we didn't experience any other maladies, but needless to say, I haven't cooked much this week. When we did our weekly grocery shopping, I bought all sorts of fresh veggies and such for the things I planned to cook, and now I'm frantically trying to get them all cooked.

Today, I had to use up my asparagus (sans tips which had gotten very.. soft). Quite awhile ago, I made an Easy Italian Mac and Cheese that I found in a magazine at the laundromat. I used that as a basis for this dish. Peas, asparagus, pasta, and cheese with the additional of shrimp. I realized as I started to prepare this that I only had macaroni noodles; they worked well enough, but I think I'll stick with bowtie next time.


Spring Shrimp Pasta
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 - 2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 - 2 cups cooked pasta
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced (yes, garlic is supposed to be listed twice)
1 bunch asparagus, chopped into 1 - 2 inch pieces
1/2 onion, diced
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup ricotta
1 cup shredded mozzarella
2 tbsp heavy cream
salt and pepper (white if available)

In a medium skillet, melt butter, then add 1 clove of minced garlic. Saute until the garlic becomes fragrant. Lay the shrimp in the skillet in a single layer; you may need to cook in batches. Sprinkle with salt. Once the shrimp begin to pink and curl, flip them (1-2 minutes). Cook until the shrimp are opaque and firm. Remove to a plate or bowl.

Drizzle olive oil across the bottom of a large skillet. Add garlic (2 cloves) and saute for a minute or two over medium-low heat. Add asparagus and onions and saute until tender, but crisp (5-10 minutes). Add peas and cook a few minutes longer, until the peas are thoroughly heated and soft.

Reduce heat to low and stir in ricotta, mozzarella, and cream. Stir constantly while cheeses melt, making sure to combine all of the elements. Salt and pepper to taste. It will take quite a bit of each to get it well seasoned. I added salt at just about every stage and still needed to add a good bit at the end.

Stir in shrimp. Let everything incorporate and settle, then serve.

I added a bit of parsley also.

Hubby and I both enjoyed it. He was quite disappointed when he walked into the kitchen for thirds (!!!!) only to find I had already put everything away. It's a difficult life he leads here in Mama Sarah's kitchen. Difficult indeed.

New Orleans Shrimp

Oh my. OH. MY. I do believe I need a moment to collect myself after this delicious dish.. .. .. okay. I think I'm ready.

A few days before my Daddy Dearest drove up for my graduation, he asked if hubby and I wanted any foodstuffs. I didn't intend to ask for anything, but then he mentioned shrimp. If there is one thing that breaks my heart about living in the midwest, it's the lack of delicious, fresh Gulf shrimp. So the mere mention of shrimp sent my little heart a pitter-pattering. When I mentioned Daddy Dearest's offer to hubby, his face lit up. Ours is a shared love of shrimp. Dad was more than willing to oblige.

Now, I always grew up with my dad saying such things as "it's better to have too much than too little." He is the king of preparing at least twice as much food as is needed (granted, I think it's mostly because he LOVES leftovers). So, I wasn't all the surprised when he showed up with a full sized cooler. It contained: 3 lbs of boudin, stuffed mushrooms and jalepenos, my absolute favorite sausage, and AT LEAST 5 (FIVE!!) pounds of shrimp! It's heavenly having this food filling my fridge.

So now I've got enough shrimp for 5 (well 4 now) delicious meals. Nom nom nom. This brings us to today's New Orleans Shrimp*. It's slap-yo-mama** good. This is exactly something you ccould order at any Creole restaurant. If you want to know what New Orleans tastes like, eat this. If you enjoy shrimp, eat this. Know that this is going into my arsenal of foods to impress people, especially since it is as easy as it is delicious.


New Orleans Shrimp:
1 lbs raw shrimp, deveined and peeled with or without tails (we removed them)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp paprika (I didn't have any, so I obviously didn't use any)
1/16 cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp parlsey, finely chopped
salt and pepper

If you haven't already, rinse your shrimp.

Lightly drizzle olive oil in a medium sized skillet and heat over medium high heat. Arrange the shrimp in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once the shrimp begin to turn pink, flip them over. Once they are opaque, remove them from the pan. Shrimp only need a few minutes to cook; it doesn't take long at all. If need be, you can cook them in batches. I did.

Once your shrimp is cooked and removed from the pan, add a small amount of olive oil to the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Add the minced garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Stir moderately frequently so your garlic doesn't brown too much, but a bit of browning is perfectly all right.

Add the wine; cook until reduced by half. Stir in butter, paprika, cayenne, worcestershire, and parsley. (You can just sprinkle the parsley on the finished dish, but I added it at this point.)

Once the butter has melted, return shrimp to the pan and stir to coat. Salt and pepper to taste.

In true Southern Louisiana fashion, I served this over plain white rice. The original recipe advises eating the shrimp on a crusty bread. I say do BOTH! Have it on a rice with a piece of crusty garlic bread. You won't regret it, I promise.

Hubby and I both LOVED this dish. The sauce has a buttery, tangy, spiceness that perfectly complements the shrimp and rice. Hubby would have liked a bit more cayenne (of course) but I'm not sure I'd want to tweak this at all. It's that wonderful. Please, try this if you can.

* The original recipe calls this New Orleans BBQ Shrimp, but where's the BBQ, I ask. So, I removed it from the title.

** Slap yo mama is a common saying in South Louisiana (as well as a brand of seasonings) which implies that the food is SO good it'll make you want to slap your mother for not preparing such delicious treats for you. Now, I agree it's a silly saying and I definitely did not come up with it, but it's fun to use. Of course, I don't really condone slapping your mom... unless she really deserves it.. or you eat this shrimp.