Asiago Shrimp Bisque

Go ahead and “Slap Yo Mama” cause this is so darn good I don’t have the words!

This recipe was adapted from one of my new favorite cooking blogs How Sweet Eats.  

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds shrimp peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 leeks
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 5 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup half & half
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 12 ounces asiago cheese, freshly grated
• bread bowls or crusty bread
• fresh parsley to garnish

Tear off the dark green tops of the leeks.  Slice off the ends so that you are left with the white and a bit of the light green.  Cut these in half and then slice them uup.

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and add olive oil.  Add in the leeks and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes.

I sliced my shrimp in half because they were quite large and then sliced and diced my garlic.

Add the shrimp, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes to the pot.  Stir. Cook for about 5 minutes, until shrimp is pink.

Add the white wine and stir.  Cook this for another 5 minutes.

Transfer the shrimp and leek mixture to a food processor.

You want to just slightly chop this so don’t hold down the button.  Just touch the “pulse” button a few times.  Set this aside.

Reduce heat under your pot to medium and add your butter.  Once butter is melted, add in flour.

Stir and cook this until a nice golden roux is made.  Add the half & half and heavy cream to this, mixing well. Stir and cook this for about 4 minutes until slightly thick.

Stir in the stock and tomato paste until well mixed.

Add in the cheese and stir this until cheese is completely melted.  Add back the shrimp and leek mixture. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stir occasionally, for about 10 minutes.

I found these wonderful bread bowls at Wal Mart in the bakery section and all I had to do was bake this in a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes then cut the hole and hollow it out a bit.  Nice and crusty on the outside and warm and chewy on the inside.  You will not be disappointed!

Creamy Shrimp Pasta

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound of your favorite pasta (make according to directions)
• 1 pound shrimp (peel, devein, etc.)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 5 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1  1/2 cups monterey jack cheese
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 cup fresh spinach

Peel and devein your shrimp.  Chop and dice up your onion and garlic.

Heat a LARGE skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Add shrimp with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

Add onions and garlic to the shrimp and stir.  Cook this until shrimp curls up and turns pink. Remove the shrimp, onions and garlic to a plate.

Melt 5 tablespoons of butter in your skillet.  Add 5 tablespoons of flour.

Mix this together to form a goo.  Cook this for about 3 minutes stirring until it smells kind of nutty.  Turn heat to low and stir in 1 cup of heavy cream.

Stir in can of chicken broth and then cheese.  Stir until cheese is melted.  Add Italian seasonings and stir.  Allow this to cook a few minutes to thicken up a bit.

Add 1 cup of fresh spinach and stir.  Add back the shrimp, onion and garlic.  Stir. If your sauce is too thick add a bit more broth to thin it out.

This is the reason for the large skillet because I now add the pasta directly to the sauce and combine.

Enjoy!

T

Basil Butter Parmesan Shrimp

I love shrimp!  Any recipe that calls for shrimp has to be a good one and so I was pleasantly surprised to find a recipe that did a cool twist to some roasted shrimp.

http://www.howsweeteats.com/

And yes, it tasted as good as it looks!

Ingredients:

2 pounds raw shrimp; peeled and deveined

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt and pepper

1 stick of butter (room temperature)

a handful of fresh basil (5-6 leaves)

4-6 cloves garlic

1/4 cup shredded parmesan

Place butter in a bowl and let sit until it is soft at room temperature.

Chop the garlic and basil.

Add the basil and garlic and just a pinch of salt to the soft butter.

With a fork, squish and mix this together completely.

Take a small piece of wax paper or parchment paper and scoop out the butter and place it on the paper.  Roll the paper with the butter to form a log and stick this in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Place your shrimp that has been peeled and deveined into a casserole dish.

Add 1/4 cup olive oil.

Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.

Toss and mix all of this so that every piece of shrimp is coated.

Place this in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.  Just until the shrimp is pink.

Remove from oven.

Get the basil butter out of the refrigerator and slice and then quarter your butter.

Put shrimp on a plate, top with basil butter pieces.  Sprinkle ith parmesan and extra basil.

Enjoy!

T

Shrimp ‘n Grits

Okay, this is the epitome of Low Country cooking.  Originally known around those parts as “breakfast shrimp” it has taken off across the country.  I have eaten my share of shrimp and grits in many restaurants but there was always something missing.  Mostly, big juicy shrimp and plenty of them in my dish.  So I took it upon myself to create my own recipe and ever since then I will not spend money on it because it is so easy to make.  Enjoy, cause I know I do every time!

Ingredients: for shrimp

1 pound bacon

2 pounds medium shrimp

Tony’s Chachere’s Creole Seasoning

4-5 Tablespoons flour

2 Cups mushrooms

2 garlic cloves

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 medium onion

1 medium green bell pepper

2  3/4 Cups chicken stock (or broth)

Ingredients:  for grits

4 1/2 Cups water

2  3/4 Cups chicken stock (or broth)

1  1/2 cups half & half

salt

2 1/4 Cups grits

1  1/2 Cups shredded white cheddar cheese

3/4 Cups shredded parmesan cheese

3 Tablespoons butter

1/2 – 1 teaspoon hot sauce

Slice up your bacon into small pieces.  ( I use my kitchen scissors.)  In a large cast iron skillet, fry the bacon nice and crisp.

While the bacon is cooking, peel and devein the shrimp.  Sprinkle some Tony’s Chachere’s Creole Seasoning.

Bacon is now browned and a bit crispy.

Remove to a paper plate with paper towels and allow to mostly drain…..

Keep 2 Tablespoons of the bacon grease to use.

In the skillet that you cooked your bacon in, pour the 2 Tablespoons of bacon grease that you kept aside.

Chop up the onion and add it to the skillet. Stir them around until they are coated by the bacon grease.

Chop up your bell pepper and add that to the cooking onion.  Again, stir around until all the pepper pieces have touched the grease.

Chop up the garlic and add that to the skillet.  Stir this up.

Slice up mushrooms.

Add to the skillet.  Stir this up until all the mushrooms are mixed into the other vegetables.  You will continue stirring this occassionally for a few minutes until the mushrooms are a golden brown color.

(I missed this picture.)  Add your shrimp now to the vegetables and stir completely.  You will let this cook, stirring occassionally until the shrimp are a pink color.

Squeeze your lemon over the shrimp, adding about 2 Tablespoons.  Stir this into the shrimp mixture.

Sprinkle shrimp with 4 – 5 Tablespoons flour.    Mix this up.  It will be a thick gooey consistency.

Add  2  3/4 Cups chicken stock  to this and stir up until all the thick goo is incoorporated into the stock.  As you are stirring, make sure to rub the bottom of the skillet well, pulling all those bacon bits that were stuck to the bottom after cooking the bacon.  More flavor!  Now allow this to simmer on low while you work on the cheese grits that will compliment this shrimp to perfection.

In a medium pot, stir together 4  1/2 Cups water, 2  3/4 Cup chicken stock, 1  1/2 cups half & half, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Bring this to a boil over medium-high heat.

Whisk in 2  1/4 Cups grits into the boiling liquid.  Stir continuously until the grits are slightly thickened.

Add the white cheddar cheese and the parmesan cheese to the thickened grits and whisk these together.

Add 3 Tablespoons butter and 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (or more if you like a bit more of a kick like I do).

Now spoon some of the grits into the bottom of a bowl and then spoon the shrimp mixture over that making sure to get plenty of the liquid.  Top with some bacon pieces and tell me if that is not the most incredible meal ever!!!!

Shrimp Etouffee (A-2-fay)

My husband and his family are from Louisiana and introduced me to a bit of cajun cooking.  I fell in love instantly with this one and requested it whenever we went to eat at my in-laws’ home.  I now make it every month because I am still in love with this dish! It is super simple and the depth of flavor is incredible.  So if you have never had cajun food, this is the one to start with!

Ingredients:

2 pounds medium shrimp

1 stick butter

1 medium onion

3 stalks celery

1 green pepper

4 galic cloves

1 Cup water

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can tomato soup

1 Tablespoon fresh parsley or 1/2 Tablespoon dried parsley

1/2 Tablespoon dried cilantro

1/2 Tablespoon marjoram

salt and pepper

1 pound imitation crab meat

2  1/2 Cups white rice (make according to directions)

Directions:

Peel and devein shrimp.  Season shrimp with salt, pepper and Tony’s seasoning.  Set this aside in the refrigerator until you need them.

Dice and chop up the onion, celery, green pepper and garlc.

In a large pot, melt a stick of butter on med-high heat.

Add vegetables to melted butter.

Add salt.

Add pepper. Stir.

Cook until the vegetables are wilted.

Add seasoned shrimp to the pot and stir.  Cook for 15 minutes.

You want all your shrimp to be pink and curled up.

Add 1 Cup water as well as tomato soup and cream of mushroom soup. Stir.

Add parsley, cilantro and marjoram.  Stir. Cook for 10 minutes.

Tear up the imitation crab meat into small pieces.

Add imitation crab meat to pot and stir.  Cook for 10 minutes.

My mouth is watering right now!

Serve with a scoop of white rice on top as well as a bit of chives.