Creole Seafood Mixed Grill from New Orleans Famed Commanders Palace

Photo by pink_fish13 @ flickr



From Denny: The restaurant owners, the Brennans, are practically a New Orleans institution themselves! They are well loved by the public as much as by those who have worked for them.



The Brennans trained Emeril Lagasse when he was just starting out. Emeril didn't know much, nothing about Cajun cuisine, and his previous employer was so jealous he landed somewhere good that he gave him an ugly "recommendation."



What did he say? He sneered that Emeril was good with the customers and chatted them up too much. Uh... folks, in New Orleans, and Louisiana in particular, that's exactly what a restaurant owner wants: a friendly chef! :)



Like the Brennans said, "Oh, I'm so glad to hear he has good people skills. The rest is easy; we can teach him how to cook Cajun and Creole. Thank you very much!" The rest is history. When Emeril went off to start his own restaurants the Brennans could not have been prouder of him than if he was their own son.



In Louisiana, we frequently do seafood at holiday seasons, like seafood gumbo on Thanksgiving along with the turkey and Christmas Eve along with a turkey or ham!



Creole Seafood Mixed Grill



From: Chef Tory McPhail at Commanders Palace, New Orleans, Louisiana



*** Great American Seafood Cookoff Winning Recipe, featured in Country Roads Magazine (without photos)



Ingredients:



1 lb. Sheepshead fillets, boneless and skinless

1 lb. 10–15 count head on shrimp, peeled and deveined with heads and tails left intact

½ lb. jumbo lump crabmeat, picked free of shells

4 oz. champagne or white wine

1 tbsp hickory sea salt

Black pepper, to taste

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp bacon fat, warmed

1 shallot, minced

1 jalapeño, seeds discarded and minced

1 oz celery, minced

2 cups corn—use a variety if available

1 cup milk

1 cup tomato concasse, small dice

2 teaspoons fresh thyme, picked and chopped

Salt and white pepper to taste

1 oz basil oil

½ cup mixed herbs, or herb sprouts for garnish (optional)



Directions:



Prepare a grill to medium heat and place a medium sauté pan on the stove over medium flame. Season the seafood on all sides and reserve. Next place vegetable oil and bacon fat in the sauté pan and swirl. Add shallots, jalapeño and celery and sauté for 1 minute. Add the corn and continue to sauté for 30 seconds. Add the milk and bring to a simmer. Next place ¼ of the corn into a blender and purée for 20 seconds. Add the puréed corn back to the pan and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes or until corn is cooked through, and at sauce consistency. Finish with fresh tomatoes, thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and reserve.



To cook the seafood, place the crabmeat and champagne in a small saucepot and place on the hottest part of the grill. Heat the crabmeat for 3-5 minutes before placing the sheepshead and shrimp on the grill around the pot. Cook the fish and shrimp for approximately 3 minutes per side, until cooked. Make sure the crabmeat comes to a simmer also and swirl to make sure it’s hot all the way through.



To finish, spoon the corn into the middle of 4 hot entrée plates. Place the sheepshead down next and add 2-3 shrimp to the top of that. Spoon the warm crabmeat over the shrimp and into the corn sauce. Drizzle remaining corn sauce around the plate and garnish with basil oil and fresh herbs.



*** Thanks for visiting and have a great Thanksgiving! :)

Recipe: Oyster Soup

From Denny: Touted as a rock star on the food scene in New Orleans comes a simple recipe anyone can do!

Here's an excerpt from the article about him from Country Roads Magazine. For the rest of the interesting article, go here:

Appearing on Food & Wine magazine’s cover as one of America’s ten best new chefs for 2007 must be the culinary equivalent of being on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Even in a world of rock-star chefs, Ian Schnoebelen might not have perceived himself in that limelight. Iris’ chef-and co-owner Schnoebelen was caught by surprise by the honor although Food & Wine‘s representatives had been calling the restaurant and asking questions.

“I was excited they were interested in the restaurant but had no idea they had chosen me for best new chefs,” Schnoebelen said. As far as seeing himself on the magazine’s cover, he said, “It was great, especially for business, but a little embarrassing.”

Schnoebelen will have to get used to the attention. He’s made the city proud and he’s turning out fantastic fresh cuisine at the tiny forty-two-seat restaurant he co-owns with partner Laurie Casebonne."


From: Chef Ian Schnoebelen at restaurant Iris, New Orleans, Louisiana, published in Country Roads Magazine

Ingredients:

5 lbs Vidalia onions (mild, sweet onions)

4 ribs celery

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 quarts fish stock

1 quart milk

Salt and pepper to taste

8 doz oysters

Method:
Sweat vegetables in medium potatoes with no color. Add liquids. Bring to boil. Turn down and simmer until potatoes are soft, stirring bottom of pot occasionally. Puree in blender and strain through medium fine sieve. Add freshly shucked oysters and oyster liquor as needed, about 4 oysters per 8 oz. Serving. The oyster will cook in simmering soup.

Fish Stock:

1 cup fish scraps

1/4 onion, diced

1 celery rib, sliced thinly

2 quarts water, cold

Directions:

Place all ingredients in sauce pot and bring to a boil. Skim and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain through sieve and cool.

Recipe: Crawfish Pie

From Denny: Crawfish Pie is easy to make and a huge favorite around here. During crawfish season (from about March through the end of May, sometimes into the first week of June) we enjoy these simple pies. If you don't have crawfish available, use shrimp! We don't use Chinese crawfish because of the heavy metals contaminants found in them. Use Louisiana crawfish whenever you can - just buy it as the frozen tails already shelled for you.

From: Shelley Boudreaux and given to publish in the 2theadvocate.com food section (local newspaper in Baton Rouge, Louisiana)

Makes 2 (9-inch) pies.

Ingredients:

2 pie crusts

1-1/2 sticks butter

2 onions, chopped

1 bunch green onions, washed, dried and chopped

1/2 bunch fresh parsley, washed, dried and chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)

2 lbs. crawfish tails

Tony’s Cajun Seasoning or salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste

2 (14-oz.) cans cream of mushroom soup

2 (14-oz.) cans cream of celery soup

2 to 3 cups cooked rice


Directions:

1. Place pie crust in bottom of 9-inch pie dish. Repeat with second crust. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In large skillet, melt butter and sauté onions, green onions, parsley and garlic until onions are soft.

3. Add crawfish tails and season to taste. Cook, uncovered for about 10 minutes.

4. Add cream of mushroom and cream of celery soups. Cook another 5-10 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and gently stir in at least 2 cups of cooked rice. You will have to judge if it looks too soupy and if so add more rice. Allow the filling to cool slightly.

6. Spoon into prepared pie crusts. Crimp top edge of pie or gently fold it over the pie filling. Repeat.

7. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes or until each pie crust is nicely browned and pie is heated through. If after 15-18 minutes pie crust top is getting too browned, cover top edges with strips of foil to prevent burning. Cool about 5 minutes before serving.