New Orleans Shrimp & Jazz Fest & Art

How I miss New Orleans. When Paul brought home the head-on shrimp I knew right away I wanted to make BBQ Shrimp. Which, if you've ever been to NOLA, you know that BBQ Shrimp don't go anywhere near a grill or bbq.

The ingredients for ~1 pound of shrimp are:

1 lb. whole shrimp (not peeled, with heads on)

Olive Oil
Butter

3 cloves chopped garlic
1/4 c. chopped yellow onion
1/4 c. rough chopped tomato

Dark Beer
Worcestershire Sauce
Liquid Mesquite Smoke*
Juice from 2 small lemons

Oregano
Basil
Rosemary
Bay Leaf
Thyme
Cayenne
Paprika
Ground Jalapeno*
Salt/Pepper

Sautee garlic and onion in butter and olive oil, add tomato while the garlic is still semi-raw but the onions are starting to become translucent. Toss in and stir dry ingredients, then 1/2 cup of the beer, a couple of dashes of worcestershire sauce, a dash or two of liquid smoke and the lemon juice.

I use a 12" skillet, and like the sauce to be about an inch deep and burbly before adding the shrimp. Adjust the amount of beer to your liquid preference -- the whole bottle will leave you with lots of juice to soak up with crusty bread, use 1/4 of the bottle and you get a rich dense "dry" shrimp dish.

*The liquid smoke and jalapeno powder are not traditional, they are my "secret" ingredients.

The shrimp will cook up pretty quick, try to put then in a single layer and once they are showing signs of pink on the bottom, either turn them over or cover the pan with a lid.

OK, next on the New Orleans Agenda: JAZZ FEST, is this weekend and next.

And, if you do get to the Big Easy, please stop by and visit friends of ours: Ronda and Walt are the owners of Louisiana LoomWorks in the French Quarter just up the street from Jackson Square (where we got married!).

http://customragrugs.com/custrugs.htm

Ronda made a custom rug for me last year and it's my favorite piece of usable art.