Shrimp Etouffee Dinner
Followed the shrimp etouffee recipe from NOLA Cuisine. It was delicious. I didn’t change a damn thing, except used Tony Chachere’s Cajun Seasoning with a 1/4 teaspoon on dried oregano. Oh, and the puff pastry bowl too (more on that at the bottom of the post). Hee hee.
Don’t get it twisted, this dish takes about 2.5 hours to make WITH proper organization. When you’re buying your shrimp, make sure you keep in mind that you need the shells and heads intact for the shrimp stock – if you’re in a bind, I suppose those canned / boxed broths will do (but you’ll be cheating yourself in the end). IT’S OK, AT LEAST YOU’RE COOKING RIGHT??? Haha.
The hardest part of this recipe for those that are uninitiated in the kitchen is the roux. Essentially cooked application of fat and flour (in my case butter and white flour), the combination of the two ingredients allows sauces, soups and stews to thicken during cooking. A couple things to think about when making roux:
If too loose, add flour
If too dry, add fat
Use the best quality butter or oil – for flavor
Check and double-check what kind of roux you need: blond, brown or black
Add the flour slowly while whisking constantly
When a recipe calls for it, the roux is the main foundation of the dish. It allows the flavor to coat the palate and bring forth unctuous notes to the forefront… so make sure it’s cooked properly. If it hasn’t been cooked long enough, it will have a very “raw flour” taste that makes everything taste like play dough. If it’s overcooked, you’ll have a very heavy burnt taste that will definitely defeat any delicate flavors in your dish. I don’t mean to scary anyone (lol sorry), but IT’S FLOUR AND BUTTER. If you mess up, wipe off the pan and start over – you’re only using about $0.20 worth of ingredients. Hee hee.
Instead of serving the etouffee with white rice (awesome, btw), I wanted to add a bit more decadence and make a puff pastry bowl. Its crisp and airy texture pairs well with the creamy shrimp mixture. I could totally do this as bite sized appetizers! Hmmm… I’ll file that away that for a later date. Hee hee. Again, if you guys n gals have any questions, let me know – I’m here to help!
JUST INVITE ME TO DINNER SOMETIME, KAIES? 
~Spec
