When I think of Mardi Gras, I think of the time I was in New Orleans for the wild Carnival celebrations. The parades were fun and I ran into the streets along with all the kids to collect candy being thrown from the floats. These same streets were packed at night with tourists, shoulder to shoulder, listening to jazz music while sipping pretty red rum-based drinks called Hurricanes.
Mardi Gras has something to do with masks too, but I don’t remember what that was. If you know, please let me know in the comment box below. I put a couple of the ceramic masks (in the photo above) that I purchased while I was there to add a festive touch.
This recipe reminds me of the delicious Cajun and Creole dishes I tasted while in New Orleans. The shrimp are marinated and then broiled separately from the sauce for lots of flavor.
Spicy Shrimp with Creole Sauce
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Start to Finish: 35 minutes
Shrimp
1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon chili oil or crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 lb uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Rice
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
2 cups water
Creole Sauce
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 small green bell pepper, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cans (14.5 oz each) stewed tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh or 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper sauce
3 large bay leaves
1. In large bowl, mix all ingredients for shrimp except shrimp. Add shrimp, stirring to coat with oil mixture. Cover; refrigerate 15 minutes or no longer than 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, cook rice in water as directed on package.
3. In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook bell pepper and garlic in butter, stirring occasionally, until bell pepper is crisp-tender. Stir in remaining sauce ingredients, breaking up tomatoes into bite-size pieces. Heat tomato mixture to boiling over high heat; reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened. Discard bay leaves. Cover; keep warm.
4. Heat Broiler. Drain shrimp; discard marinade. Skewer shrimp onto 4 (12-inch) bamboo skewers. Broil shrimp on skewers 4 to 6-inches from heat for 4 to 6 minutes, turning once, until shrimp are pink and firm.
5. To serve, spoon rice onto 4 dinner plates. Remove shrimp from skewers and place on rice. Pour about ½ cup sauce over each serving.
4 servings