Shrimp Creole over Basmati Rice-a-Roni

Since everyone was doing Mardi Gras dishes I thought I would get into the spirit myself.

I have made my share of really good crawfish etouffees and gumbos and jambalaya's that I wanted to do something I do not normally prepare when I am in the mood for Cajun/creole dishes.

Shrimp Creole

Very simple dish with basic ingredients I always have on hand, so why no make it more often?

I like my shrimp grilled. I love the crusty crunch of the outside and the moist juicy inside of shrimp on a very hot grill with a really flavorful marinade.

The Nudge requested something shrimp tonight, so I pulled out my Emeril and KPaul cookbooks and searched for a recipe that would knock my socks off.....

but there wasn't any. Emeril came close with a Pernod cream, butter shrimp over grits and KPaul had several with the disclaimer that some say no tomatoes in a creole, others say tomato paste only and others say no roux.

Too much decision making for me so I decided to do my own version of a Creole Sausage and Shrimp Gumbo dish.
I had a few Andouille sausages from a recipe last week.


I sauteed 1/2 a large onion with 2 Andouille sausages sliced on the diagonal.
I added 3 chopped cloves of garlic and 1 tablespoon BAM. I threw in a handful of grated carrots for sweetness.
After chopping 5 peppadew peppers and 1/4 green pepper I added 1 cup white wine and simmered until almost all the liquid cooked out.
I then added 1 cup chicken stock and 1 cup fresh marinara sauce and another teaspoon BAM. When I tasted it it still had no real heat and Creole has to have heat so I shook in a teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Yup, that did it.
Once the liquid was thick I added 10 halved shrimp and simmered until they were cooked.


Homemade Rice-A-Roni

1/4 cup skinny egg noodles and 3/4 cup basmati rice sauteed in oil & butter until browned slightly.
After a pinch of saffron and a teaspoon of BAM, I poured in chicken stock to 2 fingers over the level of the rice and simmered until the liquid met the level of the rice. Stirred one more time, threw the lid on and on very low, cooked for 20 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE LID.
Once done I stirred the rice one final time and removed to a bowl.
The best rice you will ever eat.