Fricasse Aux Chevrettes (Shrimp Stew)

The song "Je t'aime pas mieux" (track 1 from My Suitcase Is Always Packed) is all about not liking your current love as much as his or her predecessor, but if your current love were to make this delectable dish for you, you'd fall head-over-heels all over again. Yep, it's that good.

- [Download this song for free]

Here's what you'll need: (Serves 8-10, Depending On How Hungry They Are)

A bottle of your favorite olive oil

2 sticks of butter (optional, see Step 1 below)

All-purpose flour

3 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and de-veined; preferably fresh, but raw-frozen works fine

3 medium ripe tomatoes,

diced 2 jalapeno peppers,

minced the "Holy Trinity" of Prairie-Cajun seasoning: salt, black pepper, and ground red or cayenne pepper

2 large yellow or sweet onions;

chopped 3 bell peppers: one red, one yellow, one green;

chopped 6 cloves of garlic,

minced green onions or onion tops, finely chopped, but not until you're ready to put it in (about 1 cup chopped)

Italian or flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, but not until your're ready to put it in (about 1 cup chopped)

water

a couple bottles of your favorite dark beer; I like Newcastle, Beck's Dark... your favorite rice or pasta

Here's what you do:

 

1. First, you start with a roux. Roux is a paste, made from flour and oil or butter, used to thicken and flavor Cajun stews and gumbos. You can use a couple sticks of butter — or, for a healthier (and still tasty) option, you can use a cup and a half of olive oil. Begin by melting the butter or heating the olive oil in a skillet (preferably cast iron, or some thicker metal to ensure even heating) on medium heat until it is hot enough to fry; then sift flour (about 2 cups) into the hot liquid and stir continuously with a flat-edged utensil, like a wooden mixing spatula, to make sure nothing sticks. IMPORTANT: If the roux burns, it will be ruined, so watch your heat carefully and take your time. For this dish, we're making a "peanut-butter" roux, which is a lighter roux with a less bitter flavor for delicate things like seafood. So continue stirring the paste until it is the color of peanut butter or slightly darker.

If the paste seems too thick, add a little more oil or butter; if it seems too runny, you can add more flour, but once it cools, the flour will settle and you can pour off the excess oil.

2. Next, in a medium-sized cast-iron pot — or other roasting pot with lid — heat a half-cup of olive oil and sautee the onions, bell peppers, garlic and jalapenos until translucent. Keep the heat high during this step so that the vegetables are tempted to stick rather than cook down and give off water. When they start to stick, you can pour a glug or two (I'm lobbying to have "glug" added to the culinary dictionary as a valid quantity) to deglaze any sticky stuff, and also to help caramelize the veggies.

3. When the veggies are cooked, add tomatoes and enough water to fill the pot halfway. Once the water begins to boil, add roux gradually (it will take a few minutes to dissolve), and stir to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom. The sauce should be thicker, but not too thick, and you shouldn't be able to see through the liquid when you spoon some out.

4. Add seasoning until it tastes right to you. Roux can make a sauce want a good bit of salt, but it's all about it tasting right to you. Keep simmering while you season your shrimp.

5. Spread shrimp out in a single layer in a pan and season with the "Holy Trinity"; mix around. This will give the right amount of seasoning for the sauce once you add the shrimp.

6. Cut your green onions and parsley, and cook rice or pasta.

7. Bring the sauce to a good boil and add the shrimp, stir in, and cover. Once it starts to boil again, uncover and stir. Reduce heat to medium and add green onions and parsley, stir, and simmer for 10 or 15 minutes — or until shrimp are firm and tender, but not rubbery or chewy.

8. Serve over rice or pasta, garnish with green onions and parsley, and enjoy!

Order a copy of "My Suitcase Is Always Packed" here

Listen to more music from this record

Download the first three recipes as a PDF here

The Red Stick Ramblers on iLike - Add iLike to your MySpace

Rooster Gumbo
Best enjoyed with “Barnyard Bachelor” (track 13 from My Suitcase Is Always Packed) - [Download this song for free]

There’s only room for one rooster in the barnyard, so cull some of those extra birds and enjoy this Louisiana favorite.

Ingredients (serves 8-10)

2 or 3 Roosters, skinned and cut up into pieces, leaving drumsticks whole and discarding tip section of wings. Cut rest of wing at joint into two pieces, thigh into two pieces, breast into four pieces. Leave necks whole. Include giblets. Season well.
2 pounds smoked sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 large Onions
2 large green Bell Peppers
4-6 cloves Garlic
1 bunch of Green Onion Tops
1 bunch of Flat-Leaf Parsley
Salt, Black Pepper, Cayenne Pepper
Rice
Roux: (instructions below)
-all purpose flour
-vegetable oil

Roux: (keeps well in fridge, so once you’ve got the hang of it, make enough to keep around) Heat 3 cups of vegetable oil (canola, etc.) over medium heat in a heavy skillet or pot. Cast iron is preferable. Sift in 2 cups of flour and blend in, stirring constantly with a whisk or spoon. Once flour is blended in, add another half cup of flour and continue to blend.

***If Roux burns you have to start over, so when in doubt, turn the heat down. Take your time! Continue to stir/whisk ‘til mixture becomes a milk chocolate color, then turn off heat and continue stirring for five minutes. Allow to cool, then pour off excess oil.

Fill a large stock pot half full with water and heat to a boil. While water is heating, brown chicken pieces and sausage in a skillet, discarding excess grease. Once water boils, add roux and stir to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom.

Once roux has dissolved in water, add vegetables (*except for green onions and parsley) and meat and bring to a boil. After everything has been boiling for 10 or 15 minutes, the gumbo should be a muddy brown color and not transparent. If it is too transparent, add more roux. Check seasoning after half an hour and adjust to taste with salt, pepper and cayenne. Cook at a low boil ‘til chicken is tender (1 ½ to 2 hours), serve over rice like a soup.

Download This Recipe as a PDF here

Order an autographed copy of "My Suitcase Is Always Packed" here

Listen to more music from this record

Download the full recipe book (3 recipes) as a PDF here

The Red Stick Ramblers on iLike - Add iLike to your MySpace

Uncle Son’s Biscuits and Gravy
Best enjoyed with “Bloodshot Eyes” (track 3 from My Suitcase Is Always Packed) - [Download this song for free]

Great for one of those mornings after one of those nights, when you wake up and know, without looking at yourself in the mirror, that your eyes must be bloodshot. This breakfast is bound to coat your tummy and get you feeling better.

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

1 package of hot or mild breakfast sausage meat
All purpose flour
Milk

Prepare your favorite biscuit recipe. * *Don’t bake biscuits ‘til the simmer stage of this recipe, so they’ll be nice and hot when you're ready to spoon a heap of sausage gravy on there.

Cook sausage in skillet, crumbling with a spoon as you brown the sausage.

After sausage is thoroughly cooked, drain excess grease (leaving some to lube up your innards! – this is part of the cure).

Add milk to cover sausage meat and allow to start to boil and reduce heat to medium.

Begin sifting flour in gradually and stirring ‘til gravy is desired thickness, and simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally.

Add milk or flour as necessary to adjust thickness of gravy.

**Now’s a good time to bake your biscuits

Open biscuits in half like a book and dump that gravy on nice and generous like … enjoy!

Download This Recipe as a PDF here
Pre-order an autographed copy of "My Suitcase Is Always Packed" here
Listen to more music from this record

Drunken Rabbit
Best enjoyed with “Drinkin’ To You” (track 2 from My Suitcase Is Always Packed) - [Download this song for free]

Ingredients (serves 6-8)


2 or 3 Rabbits (wild or tame), cut up into 2 inch pieces and seasoned with salt, pepper, cayenne.(If possible, season, drizzle with olive oil and store covered or wrapped in refrigerator overnight)

2 Large Onions, chopped

2 Sweet Bell Peppers (one yellow, one red), chopped

4-6 Cloves of Garlic, chopped or minced

Olive Oil

6 Newcastle Beers

Salt, Black Pepper, Cayenne Pepper

1 ½ pounds potatoes, skin on, cut up

 



Heat thick, heavy pot (cast iron or aluminum with lid) and add 1/3 cup of olive oil. Add a drop or two of water to oil, and when water pops, add chopped onions and bells and garlic and sauteé until translucent and then remove with slotted spoon so as to leave some oil in pot.

Add enough oil to have close to 1/3 cup again, and heat oil again til a drop of water sizzles.

Using tongs, add pieces of rabbit to hot oil and brown thoroughly, turning with tongs or stirring infrequently. Allow pieces to stick and then pour a couple of “glugs” of beer to deglaze pot and stir until the sticky layer is loosened. Allow liquid to boil off and rabbit to stick again. Repeat until rabbit is a nice dark brown color. Add one or two bottles of beer and sautéed veggies and potatoes.

Drink remaining beer.

Simmer ‘til rabbit pulls off bone easily and potatoes can be cut with a fork. Season to taste (simmering for 5 or 10 minutes to allow added seasoning to set in) before serving. Recommended sides: sweet peas, good company and Drinkin’ to You by the Red Stick Ramblers.

Download This Recipe as a PDF here

Pre-order an autographed copy of "My Suitcase Is Always Packed" here

Listen to more music from this record

The Red Stick Ramblers on iLike - Add iLike to your MySpace

Hey now everybody,

The long-awaited new record is now available for a special pre-order through Newbury Comics.  Place an order now and your copy will come autographed by all of the Ramblers.

Order your signed copy of "My Suitcase Is Packed"

We've attached one of the songs from the record for you to enjoy - you can check out some others on our Myspace or Facebook (click on the ilike Music tab).

We're gonna have some more goodies coming at you in the next few weeks, so keep an eye out.

The RSR

The Red Stick Ramblers on iLike - Add iLike to your MySpace