Recipe Box: Shrimp Creole

Six weeks. That's how much longer we have to endure the winter. I don't know about y'all, fellow foodies, but I feel that winter should end right after the Holidays. The song specifically says "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas" not "a white Ashe Wednesday". Yes, spring break is coming next month, but what to do for some warmth when one hasn't fully recovered from all that holiday spending? You EAT! Cooking is the most inexpensive trip you can take. So today's passport stamp: New Orleans, Louisiana.

Having Haitian roots, I have a certain affinity for "Nawlins" as the natives say ( although I have yet to go). The French Quarter, Mardi Gras, the history, and of course the Food! Today's recipe box selection, is a very simple but bold ,spicy, and very flavorful dish- kinda like the people: Shrimp Creole. Laissons le bon temps rouler!!

Ingredients:

• 1lb Tiger shrimp, peeled and de-vained
• 2 large cans diced tomato
• 1 cup shrimp or fish stock
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 green bell peppers, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• Spinach
• 2 Andouille sausages cut in chunks; if not available, spicy chorizo will do
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 tsp worcershire sauce
• Salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
• 2 sprigs thyme
• bay leaf
• 2 tsp Crushed red pepper flakes, more or less depending on the amount of heat you want
• 1/2 tbs Cajun seasoning
• 2tsp Old Bay seasoning

In a large stew pot,  heat the oil on medium heat and cook the sausage till some of the fat has rendered and oil has changed color,  about 5 min. Remove cooked sausage and set aside. Saute Onion, peppers and celery in same pot until soft and aroma is given off, about 7-8 minutes. Add diced tomatoes, worcershire sauce, and spices' let cook 10 minutes. Reincorporate sausage, and add herbs and stock. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and let simmer for about 45 minutes. Near end of cooking, add shrimp and spinach and let cook till the spinach has wilted and shrimp becomes pick in color. Discard bay leaf and serve with rice or plain with your favorite crusty bread. Bon Appetit!