Post by damnoldhippie on Dec 30, 2007 21:08:28 GMT -5
I got to make a jaunt to New Orleans at the beginning of December, and had a wonderful time at the Boswell Sisters Centennial Celebration. One of the spots where we stopped for lunch was a splendid old four-story building on Canal Street called The Palace Cafe. It used to be Wurlein's Music Store in the early part of the 20th century, and in 1925 it was the site of where the Boswell Sisters recorded their first record, for RCA Victor, in one of the studios on the second floor. One of the famous Brennan sons got the building and turned it into The Palace Cafe. This is the dish I had for lunch there, and I was so blown away by it I had to figure out how they made it after I got home. I'd never had a mustard sauce like this before, and it's amazing. I've made it twice for Char since I got back, and she gives it a big thumbs up. We had the sauce by itself over a roasted pork tenderloin this week. Sorry no pics yet...next time I make it I'll try and remember to take pics.
Pasta St. Charles
Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh large Gulf Shrimp (8-10 count)
1 link smoked Andouille sausage
1 large yellow onion
4-5 large stalks of celery
1 large jar of Zatarain's Creole Mustard (or other coarse-ground brown mustard, like Plochmann's, but use the Zatarain's if you can find it...it's just the right grind and consistency)
Creole Seasoning (any of the several brands out there...I used Konriko (from New Iberia, LA)
about 2 tablespoons of butter and about the same amount of olive oil
2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken broth
1 16 oz container of heavy cream (or whipping cream)
Finely grated romano cheese
salt
coarse-ground black pepper
1 pkg penne pasta
How To:
Peel, de-vein and rinse your shrimp. Blot-dry them with a paper towel and sprinkle liberally with the Creole Seasoning. Pat the seasoning into the shrimp and get your cast-iron grill pan hot (we have what is basically a large cast iron skillet with grill ridges in the bottom, and it works fine) and grill the shrimp for a bare minute or two, turn them and grill for about another 45 sec. to one minute. Remove them from the pan and put into a sealed container and into the fridge immediately. You want to trap the moisture as much as possible, and get them cooled down to add later.
Take your link of Andouille, slice it in half down its length, and then slice each half in half again, so that you have four long triangle wedges. Slice them in 1/4 to 3/8-inch chunks and brown in a deep cast iron skillet over medium heat, turning often. After they've browned, remove and place in a bowl on the side.
Chop your onion and celery medium-fine, about the same size chunks as your sausage. Add about one tablespoon of butter and the same amount of olive oil to the cast iron skillet and saute the celery and onion. After they both begin to clarify or become translucent, scoop out all but about a 1/2 cup, and place in the bowl on the side along with the sausage. Leave that 1/2 cup of veggies in the skillet.
Oh, yeah, you should be gettin' that pasta water boilin' right about now!
Now to make the Creole Mustard Cream Sauce:
In the deep skillet with the 1/2 cup reserved veggies, add another tablespoon of butter and one of olive oil. Over medium-high heat, allow it to carmelize the veggies just a touch, and stir in the two tablespoons of flour. Reduce the heat just slightly. Stir. Keep stirrin'. Stir some mo'. Stir it again. Keep stirrin'! When you've cooked the roux for about three or four minutes, stirring all the while, add about half the jar of Zatarain's Creole Mustard (about 3/4 to 1 cup's worth) and add two teaspoons of the Creole Seasoning. Stir, stir, stir! After the mixture has gotten smoother, you can start whisking in first the chicken broth, and then alternate with the cream, about a 1/2 cup at a time, until it's all added. The more time you take adding and whisking, the smoother your sauce will be. After you've added all the cream and chicken broth, whisk for another minute or two until everything is completely smoothed out. If you've got lumps, take a mixer to it. Continue to let it simmer and thicken over medium heat.
Get your pasta in the boilin' salted water! Usually takes penne about 11 minutes. Keep stirring your sauce while you are waiting for the pasta to be done. At about five minutes before the pasta's done, add your sausage, onion and celery to the sauce, and stir. At about two minutes to go, get the shrimp out of the fridge and add them back into the sauce, as well...make sure you get all the liquid from the shrimp container, too. Stir. Add salt and coarse-ground pepper to taste. Now sprinkle the entire top surface of the sauce evenly with about 3/4 cup of the Romano cheese, and stir that in until smooth. And hey! Pasta's done!
Drain your pasta, give it a good shake and then dump it directly into the deep skillet your sauce is in. Toss/stir/fold everything together, making sure everything is evenly distributed and that all the pasta is coated with sauce...add more Romano if you like at this point.
Serve in large bowls with either onion toast or garlic toast.
You can make the sauce by itself to go over lots of different things...like I said, we had it over a roasted pork tenderloin, and it's also great over cauliflower and brocolli, believe it or not!
Y'all enjoy!
Pasta St. Charles
Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh large Gulf Shrimp (8-10 count)
1 link smoked Andouille sausage
1 large yellow onion
4-5 large stalks of celery
1 large jar of Zatarain's Creole Mustard (or other coarse-ground brown mustard, like Plochmann's, but use the Zatarain's if you can find it...it's just the right grind and consistency)
Creole Seasoning (any of the several brands out there...I used Konriko (from New Iberia, LA)
about 2 tablespoons of butter and about the same amount of olive oil
2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken broth
1 16 oz container of heavy cream (or whipping cream)
Finely grated romano cheese
salt
coarse-ground black pepper
1 pkg penne pasta
How To:
Peel, de-vein and rinse your shrimp. Blot-dry them with a paper towel and sprinkle liberally with the Creole Seasoning. Pat the seasoning into the shrimp and get your cast-iron grill pan hot (we have what is basically a large cast iron skillet with grill ridges in the bottom, and it works fine) and grill the shrimp for a bare minute or two, turn them and grill for about another 45 sec. to one minute. Remove them from the pan and put into a sealed container and into the fridge immediately. You want to trap the moisture as much as possible, and get them cooled down to add later.
Take your link of Andouille, slice it in half down its length, and then slice each half in half again, so that you have four long triangle wedges. Slice them in 1/4 to 3/8-inch chunks and brown in a deep cast iron skillet over medium heat, turning often. After they've browned, remove and place in a bowl on the side.
Chop your onion and celery medium-fine, about the same size chunks as your sausage. Add about one tablespoon of butter and the same amount of olive oil to the cast iron skillet and saute the celery and onion. After they both begin to clarify or become translucent, scoop out all but about a 1/2 cup, and place in the bowl on the side along with the sausage. Leave that 1/2 cup of veggies in the skillet.
Oh, yeah, you should be gettin' that pasta water boilin' right about now!
Now to make the Creole Mustard Cream Sauce:
In the deep skillet with the 1/2 cup reserved veggies, add another tablespoon of butter and one of olive oil. Over medium-high heat, allow it to carmelize the veggies just a touch, and stir in the two tablespoons of flour. Reduce the heat just slightly. Stir. Keep stirrin'. Stir some mo'. Stir it again. Keep stirrin'! When you've cooked the roux for about three or four minutes, stirring all the while, add about half the jar of Zatarain's Creole Mustard (about 3/4 to 1 cup's worth) and add two teaspoons of the Creole Seasoning. Stir, stir, stir! After the mixture has gotten smoother, you can start whisking in first the chicken broth, and then alternate with the cream, about a 1/2 cup at a time, until it's all added. The more time you take adding and whisking, the smoother your sauce will be. After you've added all the cream and chicken broth, whisk for another minute or two until everything is completely smoothed out. If you've got lumps, take a mixer to it. Continue to let it simmer and thicken over medium heat.
Get your pasta in the boilin' salted water! Usually takes penne about 11 minutes. Keep stirring your sauce while you are waiting for the pasta to be done. At about five minutes before the pasta's done, add your sausage, onion and celery to the sauce, and stir. At about two minutes to go, get the shrimp out of the fridge and add them back into the sauce, as well...make sure you get all the liquid from the shrimp container, too. Stir. Add salt and coarse-ground pepper to taste. Now sprinkle the entire top surface of the sauce evenly with about 3/4 cup of the Romano cheese, and stir that in until smooth. And hey! Pasta's done!
Drain your pasta, give it a good shake and then dump it directly into the deep skillet your sauce is in. Toss/stir/fold everything together, making sure everything is evenly distributed and that all the pasta is coated with sauce...add more Romano if you like at this point.
Serve in large bowls with either onion toast or garlic toast.
You can make the sauce by itself to go over lots of different things...like I said, we had it over a roasted pork tenderloin, and it's also great over cauliflower and brocolli, believe it or not!
Y'all enjoy!