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. 

Turkey Stew

I've been wanting to try this for weeks. It looks so delicious, doesn't it? Well, I'm not sure I'll ever make it again. It takes a good while (though much of that time is inactive for the chef) for a not-mind-blowing tastebud experience. Hubby and I both liked it well enough, it just didn't rock our collective socks off. I think the prunes were the problem; neither of us can wrap our tongues around liking them. But, my tastebuds are not yours so perhaps you will enjoy this. It is sweet. Bobby thinks it would be better with some red pepper added, and also perhaps duck instead of turkey. Also, I did not have the proper cookware, so I had to switch back and forth between a pot and a foil-lined glass baking dish.

Turkey Stew:
1 tbsp olive oil
4 turkey drumsticks
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cup dry white wine (I used sauvignon blanc)
4 sprigs of thyme
4 sprigs of rosemary
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup pitted prunes
1/2 cup brandy
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup pearl onions

Preheat the oven to 325F. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil, then brown each drumstick. Salt and pepper. Obviously, only the meaty part will brown. This is what two of my drumsticks looked like. Remove any extra fat.


Add the wine; cook until reduced to 1/2 cup. How do you know when it's down to 1/2 cup? Well, I would pour the liquid into a measuring cup to measure my progress, then pour it back into the pot. Once you've got 1/2 cup, add the sprigs of rosemary and thyme. It's recommended that the be bundled, but it's not necessary. Add 3 cups of stock and drumsticks. Bring to a simmer. (This is the point at which I switched everything into the foil-wrapped glass baking dish. If you have a nifty cast iron skillet, you should use that. I do not. I had to make do.) Cover and braise in the over for 1 1/2 hours.

At the hour point, soak the prunes in the brandy; they should plump up a bit. Next, blanch the pear onions for 2 minutes, then drain and cool them a bit. Remove the root end and skins. Heat the remaining tsp of olive oil and brown the onions for about 5 minutes. Add the onions, prunes, and left over brandy to the casserole/baking dish in the oven. Braise for an additional hour.

Remove the turkey legs, prunes, and onions from the dish.


Throw away the herbs and get rid of an excess fat. Simmer the broth until it is 1 1/2 cups - about 30 minutes. Once the turkey has cooled enough, remove the skin and tear the meat into chunks. Discard the bones. Add the meat and veggies back to the broth.


Serve with pasta or rice (I vote for rice though I originally made noodles).


And that, my friends, is how you spend 4 1/2 hours preparing a meal. Hubby and I would eat it again, I'm just not sure I'd be willing to make it again. But, decide for yourselves if you have an afternoon free!

In the oven: vanilla pound cake. Can't wait!!

Baby, It's Cold Outside; Eat Stew!

After discovering it was -9 degrees this morning (not counting the windchill), I decided today would be a stew day. What else can one eat when it is so deliriously cold outside? Lucky for me, I had picked up some stew meat at the grocery store a couple days ago. Stew is one of my absolute favorite cold weather foods; it's heartier than most soups and I love potatoes. I do. I really, really do. The base is slightly tomatoey but not enough to be the focus; it complements the simplicity of the beef and potatoes and adds a slight zing. Delicious. So without further ado......

Mama Sarah's Mama's Delicious Beef Stew
2 lbs lean stew meat (I used 1 1/2 because 1) it's expensive and 2) there's just the two of us)
flour, salt, and pepper
1 onion, chopped roughly
1 glove garlic, diced
1 tsp worchestershire sauce
2-4 bay leaves (Mom uses 2, I used 4 because I enjoy putting leaves in my food.)
Salt, Pepper, and Chachere's/Season-all to taste
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup ketchup (don't gross out, it works!)
Potatoes
Carrots (if you like mushy, gross cooked carrots)

Mix flour, salt, and pepper. Roll the meat bits, covering them in flour.
Brown the meat, onion, and garlic in a little bit of olive oil.
Once the meat is browned, add water. I add a couple cups, but it depends on how thick or thin you want the "broth" to be.
Add worchestershire sauce, bay leaves, sugar, and ketchup. Season to taste/smell. Mom had a friend who always said "season to smell" because that's going to tell you off the bat how you're doing. He's right, to a certain degree. At this point, I didn't taste it. Once you add the veggies, you'll have to season a bit more anyway.
Let the stew cook on medium heat for about 30-45 minutes so the meat will be tender. Add the chopped potatoes and carrots. Cook until the potatoes are cooked and slightly mushy: the few that crumble apart will thicken the broth.
Now it's time to season to taste. I ended up having to add a lot more salt, some more ketchup, and a dash more worchestershire.
***Make sure you stir frequently so your meat doesn't stick to the bottom... not like that happened to me or anything ..... thankfully, I like crunchy meat bits....)

Enjoy!