Creole Shrimp and Creamed Corn

In honor of Fat Tuesday, which is tomorrow, I made a real New Orleans dish for dinner tonight. This is a take on Shrimp and Grits which is one of my favorite Southern dishes. This recipe uses creole seasoning, not cajun seasoning. I didn't know there was a difference but there is. Cajun seasoning consists of many different peppers, such as white and black pepper, bell peppers and cayenne peppers. Cajun cuisine also incorporates paprika, garlic, onion and celery. Creole seasoning primarily relies on herbs like oregano, bay leaf, basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley and paprika. You can probably guess that if your dish has tomatoes in it, the recipe will most likely be asking for creole seasoning. Creole seasoning will result in a well seasoned dish while cajun seasoning will give you something very spicy. This dish has creole seasoning and I can vouch that it was full of flavor. Creole seasoning may be hard to find if you don't live in Louisiana. There is a very common brand called Tony Chachere's and I was able to find it at our local Fred Meyer store.

The original recipe called for fresh, shucked corn but since this is not corn season, I used frozen corn and it still worked out perfectly so I'm putting that in my recipe. This recipe once again came from the Cooking Light, although I don't know why it would be in a diet plan. I wouldn't think that creamed corn has less calories than grits but it certainly tastes just as good. (1 cup of corn mixture + 1/2 cup of shrimp mixture = 430 Calories)

Serves 4

3-1/2 cups frozen corn
1-1/2 cups 1% milk
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. butter, divided
3/4 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1 lb. raw large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tsp. Creole seasoning such as Tony Chachere's
3/4 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio

1. Set aside 1/2 cup of frozen corn and place the rest of the corn in a food processor. Pulse corn until very fine.

2. Add processed kernels, milk and cornstarch into a medium saucepan.

3. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often. Reduce heat to low; simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes.

4. Stir in 1 Tbsp. butter and 1/4 tsp. salt. Remove from heat, cover and keep warm.

5. Combine shrimp, creole seasoning, paprika and pepper.

6. Heat a skillet over medium-high. Add oil and remaining 1 Tbsp. butter to skillet.

7. Add shrimp and cook, without stirring for 1 minute.

8. Add tomatoes, thyme, garlic, green onions, remaining 1/2 tsp. salt, and remaining whole corn. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are done, 1 to 2 minutes.

9. Add wine, cook, stirring and scraping pan to loosen browned bits, 30 seconds.

10. Serve shrimp mixture over creamed corn.

Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Oatmeal, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don't have very many gluten-free cookies on my blog because quite frankly, I usually don't like gluten-free. But occasionally, I do find a good recipe and this is one that is from the back of the Trader Joe's oatmeal and it's a good one. My friend brought some over to our house last weekend when Nick and family were here for our birthday celebrations and we all loved them. My friend lives a few blocks away and we walk the neighborhood together on weekends. We can easily go 5 miles in no time, talking non-stop. She loves exploring our neighborhood as much as I do and we discover so many favorite little spots. We even found a property with a horse (or more like a pony, I should say.) The views are always quite lovely, too. Bruce and I had our thirty-ninth wedding anniversary on July 18th and I made a point of walking past the house where we had our wedding reception. I told my friend, "Thirty-nine years ago today, t...

Meatloaf by Mark Bittman

Once again, I turned on the television yesterday and saw that Mark Bittman was on the Today show and was making his version of meatloaf . This must be meatloaf season. It was surprisingly similar to the Pioneer Woman's version who was also recently on. I was a little surprised of his version because Mark Bittman is into healthy eating and has lost a lot of weight and improved his health by changing his diet which he writes about in his book, Food Matters . His meatloaf recipe also included bacon and cheese! I must be doing something wrong. The thing to remember, which he writes about in his book, is that you can eat healthy without going extreme or changing your whole life. If you don't know who Mark Bittman is, he is a food writer and a four star chef with multiple cookbooks who loves to eat but changed his food philosophy to improve his health. He tells his story in Food Matters and provides ...

Two-Bean Soup with Kale

This hearty vegetarian soup warms up chilly nights. Use any type of canned beans you happen to have on hand and add chicken or Italian sausage for a heftier dish, if you prefer. Makes 4-6 servings 3 Tbsp. olive oil 1 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup chopped carrots 1/2 cup chopped celery 1/2 tsp. salt, divided 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 cups vegetable broth, divided 7 cups stemmed, chopped kale (about 1 bunch) 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed, drained and divided 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary or 1 tsp. dried rosemary 1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, carrot, and celery, and saute 6 minutes or until tender. Stir in 1/4 tsp. salt and garlic; cook 1 minute. 2. Stir in 3 cups vegetable broth and kale. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simme...

Sylvia's Scenario

Search This Blog