Tradition in my family is to take Christmas Eve off from work (not a problem this year) and use the time to cook a number of meals that will allow us to spend the days after Christmas together without spending time cooking. This year we went with a Cajun-Creole theme. Winter calls for soup and we made a nice beef noodle vegetable soup that cooked away as we made our other dishes. Of course, I couldn't resist an Asian inspired dish as well. The first dish was Shrimp Creole (Pictured). This is my first attempt at this dish, in fact my first attempt at a dish using shrimp. Early results say that it is a winner and is going to be the first done and the first out of the gate after the holiday. We also make a Sausage and Chicken Jambalaya. My Asian effort is a vegetarian stir fry featuring a black bean sauce to be served over noodles. The house is nice and warm despite the cold outside.

Shrimp Creole

Stuff to gather:

1/4 Cup Olive Oil (Save the EVOO for something else)
1/4 Cup Flour (AP is fine)
1 Large onion, chopped
4 Cloves garlic, minced
1 Bell Pepper, chopped (I used 1/2 Red and 1/2 Green)
2 Stalks Celery w/leafy tops, chopped
Palmful of Flat Leaf Parsley
1 Can Stewed Tomatos
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 Dried bay leaf, crumbled fine
1/4 Teaspoon Celery seed
1 pound frozen shrimp, thawed
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 Green onions, chopped

Stuff to do:

Make the roux:
Heat the oil in a Dutch Oven or other large pot.
Reduce heat to medium and toss in the flour and start stirring.
Cook roux until I is the color of peanut butter.
Add onion, garlic, bell pepper and parsley and cook until onions are soft and translucent.
Add tomatoes, the cayenne, bay leaf, celery seed and lemon juice and stir, you may want to add up to a cup of water here depending on your taste, I like it “soupy”.
Reduce heat to simmer, cover and simmer 30 minutes.
Add the shrimp and the Worcestershire sauce stir, cover and simmer another 30 minutes.
Add chopped green onion and cook another 5 minutes are util it is to the thickness you like. Again, we like it sort of soupy.

Serve over basmati or jasmine rice (we like the basmati).

Eat, enjoy, repeat.


I will share the other recipes at another time, when I can stand up again!