Celebrate: Yummy Southern Gulf Coast Shrimp and Crab Boil

*** Find out how easy it is to do your own shrimp and crab boil to celebrate the great seafood of the summer!





From Denny: As a Louisiana blogger, we sure do appreciate all the support we have received all over the country since the disaster of the BP oil spill. "The Early Show" from CBS did their part by announcing the Gulf coast shrimp grounds have been cleared by the government testers as safe to eat. Those fishing areas reopened to shrimpers. Louisiana shrimpers provide about 20 to 30 percent of America's shrimp.

There are three agencies who have been testing hundreds of samples from all over the Gulf: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Food and Drug Administration. So far so good as the samples are coming back clean.

We do love shrimp boils down here in Louisiana and CBS decided to celebrate the reopening of the fishing in the Gulf with this great recipe to do your own shrimp boil. And make sure you add a cold crisp beer to wash it all down! :)

Make sure when you boil the shrimp that when they are cooked they curl up. If they are straight, then discard them because they were not fresh and are not the best idea to eat.

Pull out those old newspapers and cover your outdoor tables because a shrimp boil is messy - and good. Also, if you are in a part of the country that still has summer high heat, make sure you wrap up those shrimp shells in that newspaper and then put that wrap in the freezer until your garbage day. Trust me; you don't want that horrible smell just killing your garbage can, especially if it's stored in a closed garage. Here in Louisiana we always freeze the shrimp shells in newspaper and then dash out at the last minute to deposit it in our garbage cans when we see the garbage trucks rolling down our street. :)

The Louisiana seafood industry employs about 28,000 people and impacts the national economy by $2.4 billion a year. Louisiana is the number one producer of blue crabs, shrimp and oysters in the nation.







Low-Country Boil

From: Katie Lee

Ingredients:

2 lemons cut in quarters
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons Old Bay or crab boil seasoning
1 onion cut in quarters
1 pound kielbasa sausage links
12 red new potatoes
6 ears corn, cut in half
3 pounds shrimp, with peels
(In Louisiana we spice it up by adding Zatarain's liquid Crab Boil and Old Bay Seasoning)


Directions:

Bring a very large pot of water to a boil. Add lemons, garlic, seasoning, and onions. Add sausage and potatoes. Let cook 20 minutes. Add corn and cook 5 minutes. Add shrimp and cook no more than 2 to 3 minutes, until pink. Drain and serve immediately.




Crab Boil

From: Katie Lee

Ingredients:

2 lemons cut in quarters
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons Old Bay or crab boil seasoning
2 dozen blue crabs
(In Louisiana we spice it up by adding Zatarain's liquid Crab Boil)


Directions:

Bring a very large pot of water to a boil. Add lemons, garlic, and seasoning. Add crabs and cover. Let cook 20 minutes, until crabs are red and cooked through.

Serve with sriracha mayo (mix equal parts mayo and sriracha sauce) or clarified butter.


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Chef Recipe: Seared Grouper with Crawfish, Bacon Risotto, Softshell Crab

*** Louisiana chefs celebrate fabulous new recipes in local food and wine competition.




Chef Austin Harrell at Mansurs on the Boulevard in Baton Rouge, Louisiana


From Denny: At the end of this month (August 26 to 28) Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is putting on the culinary ritz for three days. It's called "Fete Rouge - A Louisiana Celebration of Food and Wine," the fourth annual event of gastronomic events. It will take place at the Belle of Baton Rouge Atrium. The event is hosted by the Baton Rouge Epicurean Society and is a showcase for local chefs, farmers, foods and wines. It definitely is a "do not miss celebration."

The Grace "Mama" Marino Lifetime Achievement Award (of Gino's Italian Restaurant fame where Hollywood celebrities visit) will be awarded to restaurateur and chef Charles Brandt. He owned the local hotspot Chalet Brandt from 1973 to 1996. Chalet Brandt was known for its continental dining as was popular during that period. It was also the only Baton Rouge restaurant to ever earn the four-star Mobile Guide Award for excellence in food, service and hospitality. Get this; it also received this award for a succession of the 20 years it was in operation. Chef Brandt will not be able to attend for his award due to illness.

Seven chefs are preparing the awards dinner menu that begins at 6 PM for cocktails and 7 PM for dinner. Entertainment will be enjoyed from Ned Fasullo and the Fabulous Big Band Orchestra. Dinner dress is black tie optional for men and cocktail attire for women. Lifetime Achievement Award Dinner tickets are $200 per person. And this was just for the first day.

The second day of the event brings on the "Food and Wine Fete" which is also hosted at the Belle of Baton Rouge Atrium downtown. This dinner sounds like a real blowout as it goes from 6 PM to 10 PM. Our Louisiana chefs will be presenting tastings of the latest fun foods and new recipes they are developing for culinary competitions. These dishes are what you see featured as Chef's Specials on the local menus. DeAngelo's chef, Mike Dardenne, says, "It’s a grand opportunity for food enthusiasts to see and taste the evolution of these dishes."

There are two categories of competition:

Open - this is where the dish can be anything like an appetizer, an entree or a side dish

Desserts - yes, this IS Louisiana where desserts reign king, deserving a category of their very own.

Louisiana ingredients are encouraged to be employed in these competition dishes.

Who are the esteemed judges?

Chef John Folse - who has won numerous national awards, becoming a national celebrity and promoter of Cajun and Creole cooking and yet is still a down to earth guy. Owner and founder of Chef John Folse & Company. He is also founder of the culinary education department at Nicholls State University. Chef Folse is also a well known local star of public radio and television culinary shows: "Stirrin' It Up" and "A Taste of Louisiana."

Chef Rick Tramonto - He is from Tramonto, of Tru, Osteria di Tramonto and Tramonto's Steak & Seafood restaurants in Illinois. He is known as a judge of Food Network's "Top Chef" and as a cook-off competitor on the esteemed foodie show "Iron Chef America."

OK, back to what you get when you go to this event besides enjoying the dozens of chef's tastings of future Chef's Specials on local menus. If you are a wine lover too then you will be able to sample from 150 wines. There is also a silent wine auction where you can bid on various culinary experiences and items like an instant 150-bottle wine cellar. Tickets for this Food and Wine Fete event are $50 if purchased in advance or $65 at the door.

The last day of the Baton Rouge Epicurean Society's Fete Rouge Festival is a free family fitness event. It will be held at the Main Street Market in downtown Baton Rouge from 9 AM to noon on August 28. You will get to witness culinary experts presenting cooking demonstrations for preparing seasonal healthy recipes for your family. The Red Stick Farmers Market (same immediate area just outside the door in the parking lot) will offer tastings of fruits and vegetables from the local farmers, vendors and chefs. Also present will be dietitians for advice and fitness experts leading family fitness classes.

Where do the proceeds from this festival go? Your dollars benefit child nutrition and 4-H youth education programs. It will also fund scholarships and cultural preservation projects in the Greater Baton Rouge area. They also spread the wealth to include the program ProStart that is a curriculum for high school students who desire to enter the culinary profession.

Want to purchase tickets? Just go to BresBR.com or call (225) 773-4889. If you plan on traveling to Louisiana consider a stop in Baton Rouge next year for this event.

Now check out this fabulous seafood recipe from this event! Mansurs on the Boulevard is a favorite restaurant at our house. It's always an imaginative menu along with familiar standards so there is something for everyone. Mansurs is a lively place on the weekends, like walking into an well-heeled jazz bar where regulars gather. The Sunday brunches are popular with families too.




Both Photos by Arthur D. Lauck @ The Advocate



Seared Grouper, Set Over Smothered Okra and Berkshire Bacon Lardon Risotto, Finished With Crawfish Butter, and Crowned With Blackened Soft shelled Crawfish

From: Chef Austin Harrell, executive chef at Mansurs On the Boulevard

Serves: 7

Risotto:

1 qt. risotto

2 yellow onions, diced

1 gallon or more crawfish stock

2 bottles Abita Amber beer

1 lb. butter

1-1/2 lbs. Berkshire bacon cut into lardons

2 lbs. fresh cut okra

1 batch spiced stewed tomatoes

1 each lime and orange zest

Salt and cracked black pepper to taste


Directions:

Bring seafood stock to a simmer.

In another sauce pot, render lardons in the butter. Just before the bacon is completely rendered, add the onions and cook until the bacon is fully rendered.

Add the risotto and stir with a wooden spoon. Let the risotto cook for about a minute with the onion and bacon, but do not allow risotto to stick to the pot.

Deglaze with the Abita and add enough stock to almost cover the risotto. Constantly stir to keep the risotto from sticking and to also work the starch out to make it creamy.

Add the Spiced Stewed Tomatoes.

As the risotto takes in the stock, add more and continue the process until the risotto is almost cooked. At this point, the risotto should be almost cooked and very creamy.

Add the fresh okra and cook until the okra is fully cooked.

Season with salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Add lime and orange zest.




Spiced Stewed Tomatoes:

2 poblano peppers, diced

3 jalapeño peppers, diced

3 large shallots, thin sliced

12 large cloves garlic, thin sliced

10 large tomatoes, cut into 1/4–inch dice

6 ozs. Worcestershire sauce


Directions:

In sauce pot, sweat shallots, garlic, poblano peppers, jalapeño peppers until soft.

Add tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes.

Deglaze with Worcestershire and reduce by half. Season with salt and pepper.





Crawfish Butter:

2 lbs. butter

5 lbs. live crawfish

3 sliced shallots

2 lemons, cut in half

Small bunch of fresh thyme

2 cups heavy cream

1 bottle Abita Amber beer


Directions:

In saucepan, melt butter with live crawfish, let sit on low heat for 10 minutes.

Puree butter and crawfish and strain through a fine mesh strainer.

Let chill until butter has become solid again.

In another sauce pot, add shallots, thyme, Abita and lemons. Reduce beer by 3/4 reduced. Add heavy cream and reduce by half.

Turn heat to low and slowly whisk in butter a little at a time. Add more butter as it melts. Season with salt and pepper.





Blackened Softshell Crawfish:

14 soft shelled crawfish

Blackening seasoning

Cornstarch


Directions:

Season crawfish with blackening seasoning.

Dust in cornstarch. Sear in sauté pan with oil for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side.





Seared Grouper:

Ingredients:

7 (8-oz.) portions of grouper

1 cup white wine

Salt and pepper


Directions:

Cut each portion in half and season with salt and pepper. Sear in a hot sauté pan with a little oil until golden brown.

Turn heat down and flip the fish and let the other side develop some color.

Deglaze with white wine. Cook until the albumin (the white protein) starts to come out.



*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:

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The Soul Calendar - science, astronomy, psychology
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Dennys Food and Recipes
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Louisiana Crawfish Etouffee From Lafittes Landing

Boiled crawfish photo by adie reed @ flickr


From Denny: Crawfish are coming into season and besides the first crawfish boil of the season my tummy goes to thinking about crawfish etoufee, a savory stew served over rice. Traditionally, this is a Creole dish but is now found all throughout Cajun country. It's served in the most upscale restaurants which makes a lot of old timers chuckle. To them it's just a good ol' country dish that tastes good and not expensive to make when you live off the land.

"Etoufee" is a word that means to stew, smother (a favorite technique throughout the entire American South for everything from pork chops to crawfish) or braise. My Cajun father-in-law always talked about smothering his Mississippi Pork Chops. And, oh, were they good too! Anyway, call it smothering, stewing or braising, this method of easy slow cooking is used for shrimp, crab, crawfish, meats and game.

This is an easy version of etoufee for the beginner cook as it is made with the simple light colored roux, sometimes called white roux. You don't have to master the darker roux.

Lafitte's Landing is about 40 minutes outside of Baton Rouge, the capital city. Baton Rouge is an hour plus 15 minutes west of New Orleans. If you come to visit, come long enough to traipse across southern Louisiana, going from New Orleans to Baton Rouge and farther west to Lafayette in a horizontal bee line. Lafayette usually has an International Music Festival around Easter or early April which is great fun.

If you have never visited Lafitte's Landing at Bittersweet Plantation - the brain child and huge success and a bed and breakfast too - of Louisiana native Chef John Folse, then hike on over and pay them a visit! The food is top notch; bring your wallet too. It's worth the time and money every time. Take a look at their B & B Suites as they are in the process of adding new ones, go here. Call them for availability and pricing as they may not have updated their website.

This chef is quite enterprising. He has developed his products as frozen entrees and more, ready to ship from his website in case you get a craving for good Louisiana food. For the crawfish etoufee, check it out here.




Cajun sampler platter with crawfish etoufee (front right), photo by Wyscan @ flickr


Louisiana Crawfish Etouffee

From: Chef John Folse, Lafitte's Landing Restaurant in Donaldsonville, Louisiana

Yield: enough for your hungry friends and relatives

INGREDIENTS:

3 pounds cleaned crawfish tails (you can purchase these frozen)
1/4 pound butter
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 tablespoons diced garlic
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 cup flour
2 quarts crawfish stock (by boiling the shells in water to extract the seasonings and seafood flavor)
1 ounce sherry
1 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons basil
2 tablespoons thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Louisiana Gold Pepper sauce


DIRECTIONS:

In a 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat.

Add onions, celery, bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic and bay leaves. Saute 3-5 minutes or until vegetables are wilted.

Add half of the crawfish tails and tomato sauce and blend well into mixture.

Using a cooking spoon, blend flour into the vegetable mixture to form a white roux.

Slowly add crawfish stock or water, a little at a time, until all is incorporated. Bring to a low boil, reduce to simmer and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add remaining crawfish tails, sherry, green onions, parsley, basil and thyme. Cook an additional 5 minutes.

Season to taste using salt and pepper. Serve over steamed white rice or pasta, adding a few dashes of Louisiana Gold pepper sauce.


*** To purchase any of Chef John Folse's products, check out his extensive offerings at his online store, go here.


*** THANKS for visiting, come back often, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers - and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

Recipe: Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Gumbo

From Denny: This is a dish folks in Louisiana make often, especially during the summer and football season! It's easy to make. If you are allergic to shellfish or find it too expensive for your wallet right now - do like we do - make it with chicken and andouille sausage! Both versions are wonderful! This recipe is from a Louisiana tourism site.

Another version of gumbo Photo by foooooey @ flickr. This photo is of a gumbo based off of Chuck Taggert's Gumbo du Monde, found here - where he talks a lot in detail about the making of stock and gumbo. Enjoy!

Shrimp & Andouille Sausage Gumbo

From: Joel Ehrlich @ Experience New Orleans

Serves: 8 Servings

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil (Denny: we like canola oil at our house, cleaner fresher taste and no cholesterol)

1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour

4 Stalks Celery, chopped coarse

2 Medium Onions, chopped coarse

2 Green Bell Peppers; seeded, cored & chopped

2 Bay Leaves

2 teapoons Salt

2 teaspoon Dried Oregano, crumbled

1/2 tsp Cayenne

40 ounces Clam Juice

28 ounces Canned Plum Tomatoes, drained & chopped

1 pound Smoked Andouille Sausage, halved lengthwise & cut into 1/4" slices

1/2 pound Okra, trimmed & cut crosswise into 1/4" slices

2 pounds Uncooked Medium Shrimp, peeled & de-veined

Cooked Long Grain Rice

2 Tomatoes, seeded & diced

Cooking Instructions:

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat until it is almost smoking.

Add the flour and cook, stirring, until dark reddish brown (about 8 minutes).

Add the celery, onions and bell peppers at once.

Cook 5 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan.

Mix in the bay leaves, salt, oregano and cayenne.

Add the clam juice, canned plum tomatoes and sausage.

Boil 15 minutes.

Add the okra.

Reduce heat.

Simmer until the okra is tender (about 15 minutes).

Add the shrimp.

Simmer until just cooked through (about 3 minutes).

Mound rice in each soup bowl.

Ladle the gumbo over the rice.

Serve sprinkled with diced tomato.

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