Cooking Around the Calendar

Whether you celebrate Twelfth Night on January 5th or 6th, or not at all, it’s still the time we take down the Christmas décor.

My mother and I are big fans of themed Christmas decorations. When I was little, we had our tree done up in a magical silver and blue color scheme. Much prettier, in my opinion, than my friends parents traditionally decorated trees.

Over the years, I have changed my theme many times. When my children were little, I had the tree decorated with classic wooden toy ornaments; the bonus was they weren’t breakable. Later, I had my Scottish tree, loaded with plaid ribbons and a kilt wearing Santa. And there was the tropical tree, strung with garlands made of leis and a hula girl in place of an angel.

My personal favorite was the dragon tree, hung with dozens of dragon ornaments and dragon tree topper I made myself. My son loved it so much, that when he got married, I gifted him and his bride all the dragon ornaments. They still continue the tradition and add a new unique dragon ornament every year.

Around 10 years ago or so, my mother and I decided to put together a New Orleans Mardi Gras themed tree. It’s loaded with fleur-de-lis, musical instruments and masks, all in the traditional gold, green, and purple of the season.

What you might not know is that the Carnival season, starts on Twelfth Night, and runs through Fat Tuesday, aka Mardi Gras.

So, on January 5th or 6th, when we are putting away our Mardi Gras tree decorations, we celebrate with a dinner loaded with Cajun and Creole favorites. Today, I want to share a favorite recipe, that is nothing short of absolutely decadent.

New Orleans Barbeque Shrimp! This recipe has nothing to do with grilling or barbeque flavors at all. No, I don’t know how the name came about. What I do know is that my version is slightly healthier than the NOLA original. I only use a pound of butter, not two pounds! It’s cooked shell on, so it’s rather messy to eat. Feel free to use peeled shrimp instead; you lose a little bit of the flavor, but it makes for a easier experience.

New Orleans Barbequed Shrimp

A delectable buttery Creole shrimp dish.

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Creole

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 medium red onion
• 12 cloves fresh garlic
• 3 stalks celery
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
• 4 tablespoons parsley
• 4 sticks unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 cup dark beer
• 2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• black pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
• zest of one lemon
• juice of 2 fresh lemons
• 4 pounds shrimp shell on, rinsed
• lemon slices for serving
• sourdough bread for serving

Method

 

1. In your food processor, combine onion, garlic, celery, rosemary and parsley. Pulse until coarsely ground.
2. Melt butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add in the onion mixture and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Add in the beer, Old Bay, red pepper, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, lemon zest and juice. Bring to a simmer.
4. Add the shrimp to the hot liquid and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. Once the shrimp turns pink and begins to curl, remove from heat.
5. Serve immediately, in a deep bowl, with lots of sauce and sourdough bread for dipping.

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