Rosie Makes A Quick Shrimp Bisque

I’ve mentioned it before - I always have shrimp on hand.  I buy heads on, in bulk, during the fall months, always trying to stay ahead of those pesky hurricanes which can wipe out my shrimp prospects.  And I freeze them - 12-16 oz. in a bag.  That way, I always have a meal for two just waiting for me in the freezer.

With the weather being what it is on the Outer Banks - sunny and 70s-80s for a few days then gray, windy, and 60s, I decided a nice shrimp bisque was in order.  So, on today’s menu is a creamy shrimp bisque, made from my own shrimp stock.  

Whenever I pull out a bag of frozen shrimp, after shelling the shrimp, I save the shells in the freezer for the express purpose of making shrimp stock.  The nice thing about shrimp stock is that, unlike making a beef or chicken stock which can take a couple or more hours, shrimp stock is good to go in 20 minutes.  After simmering with whatever aromatics you put in the pot with the shells, everything that can be extracted from the shells - all the flavor - is produced within the first 20-30 minutes.  No more flavor is forthcoming.  So a good stock is just minutes away.

Here’s how I made my shrimp stock.  These amounts are not etched in stone.  You have wiggle room, so you don’t have to be exact here.  I’ve just given you a starting point.

Shrimp Stock

3 pints shrimp shells

onion

carrots

celery

garlic cloves

peppercorns

kosher salt

Coarsely chop the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic.

I use the skin of the onion too.  

In a stock pot, heat a tablespoon or two of oil and dump in the shells. 

                                                                               

 Stir.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

                   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Stir the whole time over medium heat until they turn nice and pink.

                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Then add in the vegetables and continue stirring for about 3 minutes.

      

  Add in a tablespoon or so of whole peppercorns and a teaspoon or so of kosher salt.

Add water to cover.  

About 5-6 cups.

Bring to a boil.

Reduce to simmer.

And simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat.

                                                

                              

  Let cool a bit, then strain the liquid, and discard the solids.

 

            

And now you have shrimp stock.

                                               

     Let’s start on the bisque now.

                             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the shrimp bisque, want some vegetables to go in the soup:

 

 sliced mushrooms

chopped onions

sliced carrots

sliced celery

 

Again, the amounts are up to you.

You have latitude here. 

   

 

 Vegetables ready to be sautéed and shrimp stock ready. 

 

 

I put about two tablespoons butter in my stock pot and added the mushrooms first, sautéing to get a little brown to them.

Then I added in the onions, carrot, and celery.  Sauté for a few minutes.

Next, I added a knob of butter and let it melt, then 3-4 TB of flour.  We're making a roux.  A roux is how we thicken our soup or bisque.  It's a paste made of equal amounts of flour and butter cooked together over medium-low heat and it's the foundation for thickening soups, stews, gravies, and sauces.  Let the flour cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes, until the raw taste is cooked.  Also, as the flour cooks in the fat, the starch granules are coated, which prevents clumping and lumping when we add the liquid stock later on.  Cooking eliminates the raw taste of the flour and gives the mixture a richer, nutty flavor.

Gradually add in the shrimp stock, 1-2 cups, stirring constantly, letting it thicken nicely.

 

 

              

  Next, stir in about a cup of milk/cream.  I used 1/2 cup each.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you've achieved the consistency you like, top it off with a big splash of sherry. 

 Or white wine.  I love the flavor it brings to the table.

 

Now, along the way, I'd boiled a batch of shrimp. 

Because we're going to put shrimp in our shrimp bisque.  

For this, I had a bag of shrimp I'd shelled and de-tracted.  Yes, I say de-tracted, not de-veined, because that black line running down the back of the shrimp is the digestive tract, not a vein.  I brought a pot of water, generously seasoned with Old Bay, to a boil.  I dropped in the shrimp and cooked, stirring, for maybe a minute.  Depends on the size of the shrimp.  Then drained the shrimp and saved them for the bisque.

 And here's my bisque:

I decided to throw in some frozen peas, for color and flavor.
I also had some fried wonton strips leftover from the other day when I made egg rolls and decided to slice strips from the egg roll wrappers to fry up, drain, and salt, and use in place of croutons in my salad.  You could also sprinkle some sesame seeds on the strips when you pull them out of the fry pan and put on racks to drain.

I've got whole boiled shrimp floating on stop of the bisque, buoyed by the consistency, 
and some freshly ground pepper with a considerate sprinkling of chopped parsley.

And it's delightful

Smooth.
Velvety almost.
Shrimpy.
Colorful.
Boozy from the sherry.
Nice crunch from the wonton strips.

I went through all the wonton strips the first day.
So on the second day, I added oyster crackers for the crunch
and some Togarashi seasoning for color and taste.
And if you're not familiar with Togarasi seasoning,
it's red chilies, black and white sesame seeds, garlic, nori (seaweed), poppy seed, and lemon and orange zest. 
 Quite a versatile seasoning when you think about it.
  Try it on scrambled eggs or an omelet.

Enjoy.

Rosie Makes Banana Bread.

 Whenever I have bananas on the counter emitting alcoholic fumes, I know it's time to make a loaf of banana bread.  The riper the bananas, the better the bread.  Plus, I had some plain Greek yogurt leftover from a cheesecake I'd made and I needed to use that up.  And while I'm on Greek yogurt, I have a question  -  Do they make plain Greek yogurt in any size besides HUGE?  As in 32 ounces?  If they do, I can't find it.  So here's a recipe to use up some plain yogurt, if you find yourself in that somewhat enviable position.  Now, if you have bananas fuming away and need to use them up and have no plain yogurt, you can always substitute sour cream here.  That said, let's make banana bread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rosie's Banana Bread      

1 stick unsalted butter, softened    

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temp  (Put whole eggs in bowl of hot tap water to warm them up to room temperature.)

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt   

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 TB vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda               

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

 

 Heat to 350°.

In small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. 

In large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs.  Add yogurt, bananas, and vanilla.

Stir flour mixture into banana mixture until just combined. Pour into buttered 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

Bake in 350° oven about 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out fairly clean.  A few crumbs on the toothpick are fine. Cool in pan for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

 

 

 

Let banana bread cool completely, and then pour on a powdered sugar icing.

 

 For the icing:

 2 cups powdered sugar

pinch of salt 

1 TB lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla 

1-2 TB cream or milk 

 Whisk lemon juice, vanilla, and a tablespoon of the cream or milk into the powdered sugar.  I've found that a pinch of salt helps take the slightly bitter edge off the powdered sugar mixture.  Add in enough cream until the consistency is thick, but pourable.  Drizzle or pour the icing on.

 

 

    

Spread it out.

Let the icing naturally slide down the sides.

Give it a little lemon zest love.

 

 

 

 

 

Oooh...

How pretty! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's Soft Shell Season!

 

 

It's Time For Soft Shells!

 One of the best things about living where we do is our easy access to some of the best seafood available.  Right now, what’s available is the soft shell crab.

The blue crab is a wondrous thing. It starts with its name – Callinectes sapidus, or in Latin, “beautiful savory swimmer.”  And the wonder continues throughout the crab’s lifecycle, particularly during the spring months when the crabs molt.  Right now, crabs, essentially, are getting too big for their britches and they’re shedding their outer shells, the exoskeleton, in order to grow larger.  For a very brief time, they become soft shell crabs.  

 

 The beauty here is that the entire crab is wonderfully edible. And Rosie’s here to tell you how to prepare and cook them.

  When buying your crabs, be sure all fingers and toes are accounted for – there should be 4 pairs of walking legs and one large pair of pincers.  You’re paying for the whole crab, so be certain all appendages are included.  Those claws, particularly, make for mighty good eating!

 Once you’ve procured your soft shells, they need to be cleaned.  And I’m very particular about cleaning my crabs. 

 First, cut off the crab’s face with scissors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Simply cut straight across just behind the eyes.

  

 

Secondly, lift the pointed flaps on both sides of the top shell and remove the gills, also called the “dead man’s fingers.”  These are feathery, inedible organs.  While not toxic, they are tough and chewy and have a bitter taste.  Cut off at the base with a knife or you can slice with scissors.

  

 

Thirdly, turn the crab over and remove the apron on the back.  

 

  

 This one happens to be a female crab.

How do you tell?  I guess it's time for a biology lesson.

Check out the aprons. 

 The crab on the left is female.  The crab on the right is male.

The male has what's euphemistically referred to as the "Washington Monument" on his apron.

Sideways, the female's apron looks like a ... well, it's rounded.

 

 

 

 

 

     Last thing to do is get rid of the "mustard,"  also known as the tomalley. 

 

 

 You can see the orange "mustard" in this shot, hiding up inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The mustard is that yellowish gunk.

You can put the crab under running water, stick your fingers around in the body cavity, and wash, squeeze, and scrape it out.

    

        Some people consider the mustard a delicacy; however, I do not.  The tomalley is the hepatopancreas of a crab, i.e. the liver and pancreas.  Also called “crab butter,” it’s basically a digestive gland and a filtration organ. As such, it acts as a filter and can store higher concentrations of contaminants and impurities. It’s not inherently poisonous, but because it’s a filtration organ, it can store high levels of toxins, heavy metals, pollutants, and PCBs (industrial chemicals or polychlorinated biphenyls), particularly if the crab has been in contaminated waters near industrialized areas.  (We don't have to worry about that down here.)  The toxins can be responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning and are not destroyed by cooking.  Now that I’ve whetted your appetite, let’s get back to the soft shells!

  

After cleaning the crabs, I let them sit in a beaten egg bath while I prepare the batter. Flip crab over to get both sides covered in egg.

 

I’ve got 6 crabs, so two beaten eggs is enough to coat.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the breading mix, combine:

1 cup flour

1 cup corn starch

4 tsp Old Bay seasoning

½ tsp kosher salt

2 tsp Lawry’s seasoned pepper or freshly ground pepper 

Whenever I make a flour breading mixture for frying, I also add in cornstarch - 1 part flour to 1 part cornstarch.  The addition of cornstarch, according to my research and experimentation, gives you a lighter, less greasy, crispier coating by reducing excessive gluten development and inhibiting oil absorption.

Mix ingredients in a large zip-lock bag and drop in one crab at a time, shaking to coat, being sure to get all those legs, claws, nooks, and crannies.  Set aside on a plate.

In a medium-sized skillet, heat oil to 350° - 375°.  Place crabs, one at a time in skillet.  I fry no more than two at a time, so as not to overcrowd the pan and lower the temperature of the oil, which results in greasy, not crisp.  Fry about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.  Remove from oil and set on rack to drain.  Let the oil return to temperature, if needed, and continue frying in batches.

   

Ahhhhh.

  

 The soft shell is the star of this meal, so I like to keep my sides simple.  I’m offering a remoulade sauce that I believe pairs much better with the soft shell than a ketchup and horseradish based cocktail sauce, which I think can almost overpower the delicacy of the crab.  

 A basic cole slaw is always welcome, too. Everyone has their favorite cole slaw recipe; however, if you’d like to kick up your cole slaw a notch or two, let me suggest some welcome additions.  To your basic mayonnaise dressing, try adding a splash of buttermilk for a tart kick.  Also, I like to add in some diced apple and a handful of dried cranberries for a hint of sweetness.  Chopped radicchio will add a slightly spicy taste and a lovely color to your cole slaw also. 

  In addition, I have an apple slaw recipe for you that offers a palate-cleansing counterpoint to the fried crustaceans, providing a refreshing, acidic, and crunchy complement and functional contrast to the crabs.

 

 

 

 Here are the ingredients for the apple slaw.

           

Apple Slaw

1 apple, cored, peeled, and thinly sliced

Juice of 1 lemon

2 radishes, thinly sliced

¼ cup chopped red onion

½ cup peeled cucumber, thinly sliced

¼ cup chopped parsley

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp rice vinegar

1 TB vegetable oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

 

  

Remoulade Sauce

 1 cup mayonnaise

3 TB Grey Poupon coarse, country Dijon mustard

½ cup minced celery

½ cup chopped red onion

2 TB white vinegar

2 tsp capers

1 garlic clove, minced

½ tsp cayenne powder

¼ tsp cumin

Combine all ingredients.

I like to top the Remoulade with sliced green onions, more cayenne, and some chopped parsley for good measure. 

 

The season is short, so enjoy the crabs while you can.