While I am sure you might argue, many US cities are pretty similar. When you are downtown in many cases you could be in Houston or Cleveland or Denver. Yes, there are some differences, but the general look is not too different. Tall buildings. Parking garages. Some have hills, and some don’t. Some have better layouts, but there is a lot that is the same.
Several cities stand out as really having a different character. San Francisco and San Antonio are two that I have found to be rather unique. One other is New Orleans.
I did not get to The Big Easy until after Katrina had been through. I had the opportunity to go several times and enjoyed each visit. The architecture is so unique and the food…oh yes the food…is so good.
I like Shrimp Étouffée. One of the signature dishes of New Orleans, it has such great flavor.
Not too bad on the ingredient list.
Like many great Cajun dishes, start with a roux.
Fry up the veggies.
Add the shrimp.
Shrimp Étouffée
Prep Time: 20 mins | Cook Time: 45 mins | Servings: 4 |
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon(s) margarine or butter
- 2 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
- 1 large red pepper, chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 medium celery stalks, thinly sliced
- 2 clove(s) garlic, crushed with garlic press
- 1 bottle(s) (8-ounce) clam juice
- 2 tablespoon(s) tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 3/4 teaspoon(s) chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
- 1/4 teaspoon(s) dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon(s) ground red pepper (cayenne)
- 1 pound(s) large shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup(s) (loosely packed) fresh parsley leaves, chopped
Directions:
1. In nonstick 12-inch skillet, melt margarine over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook 4 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Add red pepper, onion, celery, and garlic and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Into mixture in skillet, stir clam juice, tomato paste, bay leaf, chili powder, salt, thyme, ground red pepper, and 1/2 cup water. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
3. Add shrimp, green onions, and parsley, and simmer, covered, over medium-low heat 8 minutes or until shrimp turn opaque throughout.
Rantings of an Amateur Chef 
Reblogged this on NeuralGear's Blog and commented:
Well, obviously the universe is screwing with me! This is the post I _thought_ I had deleted, but somehow I found it in “read” mode, even though it wasn’t in my dashboard’s trash. Well, slap me senseless (watch it!) and sell me some swamp land!
I hope you enjoy the post. For some reason it took me a long time to assemble it…mainly because I do _everything_ from my android; cool, but not exactly lightning fast. I should do a post on the hilarious typos I get trying to write this blog using speech to text.
Until next post, “salt life!”
-« N•G »-
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Sounds delicious… a lot of parsley, which I really like and think is underused as an ingredient and over-used as a garnish! When I saw the title of the blog my mind jumped to Michel Roux Jr – the rather delicious chef!
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You can make this with chicken instead of shrimp, and omit the tomatoes, if you are my husband and catering to a picky eater. He grew up in Louisiana, and etoufee is one of his favorites. I adore his chicken, tomato-less version. Either way, it is a dish not to be missed.
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I too think you find similarities among big and small cities in different places, one thing I find unique is the flavor of an area. Love this blog.
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Omg, you’re making me drool. Pinning this one for later use…
~D
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Looks great – there’s nothing like a nice dark roux to balance hot spices.
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Another great recipe! Thanks for sharing!
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Reblogged this on Cmblake6's Weblog and commented:
This just looks fantastic! I do like my food. I like GOOD food, and this sure enough looks it. I am a fairly good cook, but I’m damn sure not a chef, but I can follow a recipe. This looks CHEF grade!
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I love shrimp etouffee – never thought of making my own.
Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
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Glorious!
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Cajun food is something I think is so delicious but have never learned to cook. You should post a Gumbo recipe soon.
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I grew up in Louisiana and my dad was the one who taught me the southern rite of passage on making roux. Yep, you got it right with this recipe. If you add tomato sauce to this, you’ll basically have shrimp creole. Thanks for visiting me over at Wisdom for Mom!
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After seeing this recipe, I was thinking you might like to try crawfish etouffee sometime. http://pachomp.com/2012/06/15/crawfish-etouffee/
I’m looking forward to making shrimp etouffee! Thanks for the recipe!!
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Always want to make this. Will try. Thanks for sharing!
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