Cooking
Help! I'm undergoing gulf shrimp withdrawal! On my Louisiana Seafood adventure I ate shrimp every single day and never got tired of them in the least. In Louisiana there are white shrimp, brown shrimp and freshwater shrimp. I particularly liked the flavorful brown shrimp I tried, though they are less popular than the larger white shrimp.
Shrimp from the gulf are sweet and succulent and perfectly safe to eat. At the Sustainable Foods Institute (part of Cooking for Solutions at the Monterey Bay Aquarium) I spoke with scientists who told me that the shrimp population came back quickly after the oil spill in the gulf and the testing has not shown any signs that the seafood is contaminated. Fortunately Louisiana gulf shrimp are available all over the country and are really worth seeking out for their superior flavor and texture and because they are harvested in a more sustainable way than the cheap shrimp you find imported from Asia.
So how many ways are there to eat shrimp? Probably more than I can count, but here are my absolute hand's down favorites from the trip:
Barbecue shrimp from GW Fins, upper left hand corner. Now barbecue shrimp in Louisiana are not "throw a shrimp on the barbie" Australian shrimp, or doused in Texas style barbecue sauce, they are cooked in butter and spices and positively delicious. I found this recipe online, so you can try making them at home. Now if I could just get my hands on the savory Jazzmen rice pudding recipe that accompanied the shrimp...
Shrimp boil is next, shown in the upper right hand corner. But here's what I learned about shrimp boil. It's shrimp poached gently in a spiced broth, off the heat! The shrimp never get boiled, just the seasoning mix and cooking liquid. This was news to me, but explains why you end up with such juicy shrimp, it's probably the most gentle way to cook them. Cooking them in the shells helps prevent them from overcooking and yet they do take on the flavor of the "boil."
Shrimp remoulade is in the bottom right hand corner, as served at Mandina's. My thanks to Pim for introducing me to this neighborhood gem and my other charming and enthusiastic dining companions–Adam aka the Amateur Gourmet and Chichi who writes for Serious Eats. The secret to this dish was of course the remoulade sauce, which was heavily spiked with horseradish. Yum! Horseradish makes pretty much everything taste better. Especially remoulade sauce.
Last but not least, fried shrimp (and some oysters too). This was another dish at Mandina's and while I never got my hands on a po' boy, this was the same thing, just no bread. More shrimp! The folks in New Orleans know how to fry their food so every thing is crisp and greaseless. Seriously, they are deep frying experts and I am happy to leave the frying to them.
What's your favorite way to enjoy shrimp? Shrimp etouffée? Shrimp bisque? Is there a particular NOLA style shrimp dish you love?
My thanks to Louisiana Seafood for sponsoring this trip. It was a blast!
- Gulf Coast Seafood
I started blogging ten years ago and since then, everything has changed. Blogging has changed, my career has changed, my shopping, cooking and eating have all changed. Hands down, the best thing about blogging is not the food, but the people I get to...
- Fennel Shrimp:recipe
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- Arugula Shrimp Salad: Recipe
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- Halfway To Liking Shrimp
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- Those Fruits De Mer Are Rotten
Yes, I've been away. I was dealing with some Blogger problems; I couldn't even access this blog. Kind of hard to post when faced with a 'you don't have permission to view this address' message, eh? And then...well, I made Creole...
Cooking
Louisiana Gulf Shrimp
Help! I'm undergoing gulf shrimp withdrawal! On my Louisiana Seafood adventure I ate shrimp every single day and never got tired of them in the least. In Louisiana there are white shrimp, brown shrimp and freshwater shrimp. I particularly liked the flavorful brown shrimp I tried, though they are less popular than the larger white shrimp.
Shrimp from the gulf are sweet and succulent and perfectly safe to eat. At the Sustainable Foods Institute (part of Cooking for Solutions at the Monterey Bay Aquarium) I spoke with scientists who told me that the shrimp population came back quickly after the oil spill in the gulf and the testing has not shown any signs that the seafood is contaminated. Fortunately Louisiana gulf shrimp are available all over the country and are really worth seeking out for their superior flavor and texture and because they are harvested in a more sustainable way than the cheap shrimp you find imported from Asia.
So how many ways are there to eat shrimp? Probably more than I can count, but here are my absolute hand's down favorites from the trip:
Barbecue shrimp from GW Fins, upper left hand corner. Now barbecue shrimp in Louisiana are not "throw a shrimp on the barbie" Australian shrimp, or doused in Texas style barbecue sauce, they are cooked in butter and spices and positively delicious. I found this recipe online, so you can try making them at home. Now if I could just get my hands on the savory Jazzmen rice pudding recipe that accompanied the shrimp...
Shrimp boil is next, shown in the upper right hand corner. But here's what I learned about shrimp boil. It's shrimp poached gently in a spiced broth, off the heat! The shrimp never get boiled, just the seasoning mix and cooking liquid. This was news to me, but explains why you end up with such juicy shrimp, it's probably the most gentle way to cook them. Cooking them in the shells helps prevent them from overcooking and yet they do take on the flavor of the "boil."
Shrimp remoulade is in the bottom right hand corner, as served at Mandina's. My thanks to Pim for introducing me to this neighborhood gem and my other charming and enthusiastic dining companions–Adam aka the Amateur Gourmet and Chichi who writes for Serious Eats. The secret to this dish was of course the remoulade sauce, which was heavily spiked with horseradish. Yum! Horseradish makes pretty much everything taste better. Especially remoulade sauce.
Last but not least, fried shrimp (and some oysters too). This was another dish at Mandina's and while I never got my hands on a po' boy, this was the same thing, just no bread. More shrimp! The folks in New Orleans know how to fry their food so every thing is crisp and greaseless. Seriously, they are deep frying experts and I am happy to leave the frying to them.
What's your favorite way to enjoy shrimp? Shrimp etouffée? Shrimp bisque? Is there a particular NOLA style shrimp dish you love?
My thanks to Louisiana Seafood for sponsoring this trip. It was a blast!
- Gulf Coast Seafood
I started blogging ten years ago and since then, everything has changed. Blogging has changed, my career has changed, my shopping, cooking and eating have all changed. Hands down, the best thing about blogging is not the food, but the people I get to...
- Fennel Shrimp:recipe
We all know that fresh herbs can make a dish sing. But my herb garden is in hibernation these days. Some of the parsley is coming back, and a few leaves of mint, barely enough for a garnish really, so I've had to resort to buying fresh herbs, and...
- Arugula Shrimp Salad: Recipe
You may have noticed that there haven't been very many new recipes around here lately. But it's not because I haven't been cooking. I've actually been cooking quite a bit. The recipes I've been working on have been for a wine retailer...
- Halfway To Liking Shrimp
Shrimp Fra Diavolo I do believe I’ve reached a milestone of sorts. If, as Jeffrey Steingarten claims, you can rid yourself of a food phobia by eating it eight to ten times at moderate intervals, then I am halfway to liking shrimp. I made Shrimp...
- Those Fruits De Mer Are Rotten
Yes, I've been away. I was dealing with some Blogger problems; I couldn't even access this blog. Kind of hard to post when faced with a 'you don't have permission to view this address' message, eh? And then...well, I made Creole...