Shrimp Creole

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            FOOD FUNNY
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Thanks to Harriet St. Amant for this one. For the benefit of my
overseas readers, a well-known ad campaign for Folger's coffee used
the catch phrase "The best part of waking up is Folger's in your cup."

A grandmother was surprised by her 7-year-old grandson one morning.
He had made her coffee. She proceeded to drink what was the worst cup
of coffee she'd had in her life. When she got to the bottom, there
were three of those little green army men in the cup. She said,
"Honey, what are these army men doing in my coffee?" Her grandson
said, "Grandma, it says on TV, 'the best part of waking up is soldiers
in your cup!'"

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            TODAY'S RECIPE
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The term Creole was used originally to describe people of European
heritage who were born in the New World, and the term has been used in
cooking to describe the fusion of European and native ingredients and
cooking techniques. This recipe is a typical example of cooking local
ingredients such as peppers and tomatoes in a traditional European
style. This dish is usually served over white rice, but with the addition
of a little liquid it also makes a fine soup or stew.

Shrimp Creole

4 Tbs (60 ml) butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
1-2 fresh jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped
4-6 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 Tbs (15 ml) lime or lemon juice
1 tsp (5 ml) Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp (2 ml) sugar
2 bay (laurel) leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 1/2 - 2 lbs (675-900 g) medium shrimp, peeled
and deveined
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Heat the butter in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat and saute
the onion, garlic, celery, and jalapenos until tender but not brown,
about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients except the shrimp and
parsley and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered
until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. Add the
shrimp and cook just until the shrimp have turned pink and become
firm, about 3 minutes. Serve over white rice, garnished with chopped
parsley. Serves 4 to 6.
Received on Thu May 13 10:14:50 2004