The Shrimp Collection

When I was a kid here in Knoxville seafood was somewhat of a rarity, but every now and then someone would bring a truckload of fresh shrimp up from the Gulf coast and sell it out of the back of the truck. When this happened my mother would often buy four or five pounds, boil it in beer, and we’d have a shrimp picnic on the living room floor with newspapers spread out to catch the shells as we peeled and ate it.

I’m not sure when I last had peel and eat shrimp, but it’s been a long time. These days I’m more likely to make one the recipes included below.

Cajun Barbequed Shrimp:
These shrimp aren’t really barbequed – they aren’t even grilled, they’re actually sautéed in a skillet with onion, bell pepper, and some Cajun Seasoning. But despite this identity confusion they’re mighty good and easy to make.

Grilled Shrimp: I was living in Egypt the first time I had grilled shrimp — or prawns, actually. I was 17 and had invited an older woman (she was 18) out to dinner. I don’t recall the occasion, but there almost certainly was one because dating was rare — we American’s tended to do things in groups. But somehow I’d gotten the nerve up to ask Colleen out and to my amazement she accepted.

Jerked Shrimp: Knoxville now has a fish store and twice a week a truck delivers fresh fish from the Gulf. I can even get crayfish there in season as well as fresh oysters and clams, but I still generally buy frozen shrimp at the supermarket. Shrimp freezes well and thaws quickly so I like keeping it around. This recipe features lime and a Caribbean spice mixture.

Shrimp & Crab Curry: This is a dish my mother came up with and instead of serving over rice or dal she scooped it into puff pastry shells. The result was not only delicious but visually appealing making for a elegant meal.

Shrimp & Grits: Shrimp plays a particularly big roll in the Carolina Low-country, with Charleston Receipts offering dishes such as Breakfast Shrimp, half a dozen shrimp pies, and Shrimp Stuffed in Bell Peppers. Oddly enough, the shrimp dish I think of as most typically Low Country doesn’t appear: Shrimp and Grits. This causes me to wonder if, despite the dish’s fame, it’s a relatively recent invention.

Shrimp Soufflé: This recipe was inspired by Shrimp & Grits. I figured I’d make an ordinary soufflé (using goat cheese) and then make a shrimp sauce like that used in shrimp and grits. The dish was absolutely delicious and I’ve made it several times since then.

Shrimp Cakes: The flavor appeared from nowhere — literally. I was trying to decide what to fix for supper, flipping through magazines, when suddenly I tasted a shrimp cake. I’d never had a shrimp cake before. Never even thought of shrimp cakes. But out of the blue I could taste the shrimp, cayenne, a bit of thyme, a hint of lime, an unidentifiable sweetness.

Shrimp Ravioli: I’ve had an Atlas pasta roller for a number if years, but making pasta by hand with a hand-cranked machine requires three hands so I didn’t make it often. Then I got a pasta roller for my KA stand mixer and making pasta got a lot easier.The ravioli are stuffed with minced shrimp, ricotto, and Italian herbs and topped with a shrimp sauce. I like making large ravioli (about 4 inches square).

Shrimp Gumbo: This gumbo uses a chocolate-brown roux and, in addition to shrimp, includes Andouille and chicken. The recipe is based on a gumbo I had in a restaurant named Celestin’s Caribbean Restaurant in Sacramento, California. They offer a large selection of gumbos but this was my favorite.

Shrimp Bisque: Bisques are the queens of soup. Luscious, rich, subtle, and smooth, they fill your mouth with the essence of whatever ingredient they’re based on. Lobster bisque is the queen of queens, but given the price of lobster it would take me years to collect enough shells to make lobster stock, so in the seafood category shrimp is my fallback.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | shrimp