Shrimp Etouffee

I decided that in 2009, I was going to make one new fancy dish for dinner once a month. For January, I chose to make a Cajun dish, Shrimp Etouffee. We are familiar with this, because we have eaten it at a good Cajun restaurant here in Wichita. I chose a random recipe from the web and bought all of the ingredients when I did my monthly shopping. Tonight, I decided that was what I wanted for dinner. The recipe said that it takes two hours to make. I started at 5:15 thinking that it would be just a little late for family home evening night. But apparently the recipe assumes you have previously made the shrimp stock. So it actually took nearly 3 hours. But we just had our family home evening lesson and game while the etouffee was simmering for 45 minutes. So it all worked out pretty well.

The shrimp etouffe was absolutely divine. I don't think I have ever made anything that has tasted so good. John said that it was as good as the best thing in our favorite Cajun restaurant. I just loved it, and I cannot wait to have more. The kids liked it, but it was way too spicy for children. Johnny actually ate his. He hardly eats anything that is not bread, cereal, or candy. But he ate all of his etouffee.

I changed a few things in the recipe. I left the bay out completely because I did not know that I did not already have some. I used fresh tomatoes that I pureed instead of canned diced tomatoes, and I pureed all of the other vegetables for the sake of my husband and children who cannot stand chunky sauce stuff. Otherwise I followed the recipe fairly carefully. If I make it again, which I think I will but not often, I will cut down on the spices for the sake of my children. I will also double the amount of rice I cooked with it. I will probably also cut the recipe in half. We have a lot of leftovers. John and I will take care of those with out too much trouble, and I may make it for one more dinner. All in all, it was really, really good. So if you like shrimp and spicy, and have three hours to make dinner, try this.

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups chopped onions
• 2 cups chopped green bell peppers
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons Essence, recipe follows
• 1 quart shrimp stock
• 3 pounds medium shrimp (21 to 25 count per pound), peeled and deveined
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves
• Steamed white rice, for serving
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion tops, for garnish

Directions

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven set over medium heat. Add the flour and stir continuously to make a roux. Stir the roux over medium heat until the color of peanut butter, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onions, bell peppers, celery, and garlic to the roux, and cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes to the pot and season with the bay leaves, salt, cayenne, and 1 tablespoon of the Essence. Cook the tomatoes for 2 to 3 minutes and then whisk in the shrimp stock.

Bring the mixture to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cook the etouffee, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Season the shrimp with the remaining tablespoon of Essence and add them to the pot, stirring to evenly distribute. Cook the shrimp for 5 to 7 minutes, or until they are cooked through. Add the chopped parsley to the pot and stir to combine.

Serve immediately over steamed white rice and garnish with sliced green onion tops.

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Shrimp Stock:

1 pound (about 1 quart) shrimp shells and heads

1 cup coarsely chopped yellow onions

1/2 cup coarsely chopped celery

1/2 cup coarsely chopped carrots

3 smashed garlic cloves

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 teaspoons salt

Place the shrimp shells and heads in a large colander and rinse under cold running water for several minutes.

Combine the shrimp shells and remaining ingredients in a heavy 6-quart stockpot, add 4 quarts water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim to remove any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes, skimming occasionally.

Remove the stock from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean container; let cool completely. Refrigerate the stock for up to 3 days or freeze in airtight containers for up to 2 months.

Kate's Manga Drawings

These are Kate's drawings. I should note that they stayed up really late doing these most school nights, and now they use them as paper dolls.

Ruth's Manga Drawings

Ruth and Kate checked a book out of the library on how to draw Manga (Japanese animation). These are some of Ruth's drawings.

Stranger Cat

When I went on the run with Ruth and Kate on Wednesday, Ruth stopped to pet a cat. The cat then followed us all the way back to our house. After I let the girls pet the cat for a few minutes I made them come inside. To our surprise the cat was still at our house the next morning. Adam and I noticed the cat fighting our cat, Boy. The two cats seemed to fight for a couple of hours and then it turned to more play. The next thing we knew the stranger cat was eating out of our cat food, and sleeping in Boy's favorite spot in the garage. We looked at the stranger and and realized that it is an unnuetered boy cat. (I didn't exactly want one of those hanging out in our house or garage.) The cat stayed around completely moved in and comfortable. He even meowed at the door when he wanted us to feed him. The kids wanted to keep this cat, but last night we drove him back to the spot where Ruth first patted him. I might have been willing to neuter the cat and let him stay because he was very friendly and the kids seemed to like him a lot. But we have lost two cats since we have lived here and it has been very sad. So I thought we better bring him back to where his owners most likely lived. John and I thought that we could see our lost cats taking a walk with some one and not knowing how to get back home.

Treadmill versus Outside

I have been running on the treadmill most weekdays since October. This week I took Ruth out on a couple of mile runs. She actually has asked for more which surprises me. I just wanted to say that running outside is so much better and so much easier. I like that I can visually see how far I have run. I like the fresh air and the trees. But I am grateful for the treadmill because I would have never started running in the neighborhood. I felt so humiliated running/walking about every 2 minutes the first few days. There is no way I wanted to share that with the neighborhood. Plus, I can easily run everyday while my babies play around me in our family room. But I can't just leave home to run anytime.

Kate came on my run with Ruth last night and said, "We need a movie. How can we watch a movie while we run." pause. "Oh, that is why they built treadmills!" Sorry Kate but I would take the trees, the breeze, and the visual distance over the movie any day.

Inauguration Day Thoughts

1. Michelle Obama is definitely the best dressed first lady. I loved her yellow outfit.
2. I started to watch the inauguration while I ran on the treadmill and it was so boring that I had Kate, who was home sick, turn on a movie instead. She said thank you.
3. Ruth and Johnny spent several hours of their school day watching the inauguration. I think this must have really been for the benefit of the teachers. The kids said that it was boring and that Kate was lucky to have missed school. Kate also didn't have the usual make up work.
4. I read Obama's speech later that night. I think it was a pretty good speech. But no matter what he says and how good he looks his voting record on moral issues makes me nervous for what he will do in the future.
   

A Few Cute Things

1. Rachel keeps her toys set up pretty neatly near the couch. Anya will often come, take a toy, and put it into her mouth. Rachel will then take it back, scream a little, grab a tissue and wipe it dry. Then she will often say something like, "That is better."
2. Anya has been crawling over to the long curtains that cover the back door, hiding behind them, and then playing peek-a-boo with whoever happens to be looking at her. If no one notices her, she will yell out, "hi," until some one sees her and plays with her.
3. I have this laundry thing that has three bags hanging down from a plastic frame. I use that to separate the colors for the laundry loads of the dirty clothes. Anya always goes and hugs them because they are big soft things. I think it is pretty disgusting. Sometimes our dirty laundry is very dirty. But she is very insistent and I need to be around that a lot, so I have let her snuggle the dirty laundry bags.
4. Rachel has decided that she is a ballerina. She is telling people that her name is "Ballerina," and often correcting her family when we call her Rachel or Rae-rae.
5. Kate and Ruth have been playing with Anya every night during scripture study. John and I are at a bit of a loss as to exactly what to do because they get Anya laughing and laughing and laughing. We just think that it is so cute to have the older girls having fun with their baby sister and to see Anya laughing her head off even if the timing is all wrong. (maybe Ruth and Kate think it is all right.)
6. Recently whenever Adam says a prayer he sings the amen at the end in a very opera-y way.
7. I feel bad that I do not have a cute story to tell about Johnny. He has been a real stinker lately. I think he is taking lessons from the bad boys in the first grade. For example, when we told him not to stand on his chair at the table he started spinning around while standing on it and laughing. I don't think that sort of thing is cute, so the bum better watch out-- his mom is mad.