Jeudi Gras

I was accidentally Louisiana-inspired yesterday. A great coincidence, as it turned out! We had proclaimed this Thursday of our week-long vacation as official "Pajama Day" and I wanted to have only prepared and easy-to-prepare meals on hand. On Wednesday, I made a giant, tasty muffaletta sandwich (Giada's recipe) which became extra tasty overnight. We are still snacking on it.



I LOVE the Camptown Shrimp appetizer from the Border Cafe and have long dreamed of stealing the recipe from their kitchen. I did not. But I think someone else might have? I found a recipe online for "Camptown Shrimp" that looked to be a match, right down to the Negra Modelo beer. I smeared roasted garlic (love my garlic roaster!) on toasted bread, and followed the very easy shrimp recipe...kind of. I used O'Doules amber "beer" and added some flour to thicken the sauce. It came out GREAT. A little too spicy, but that can be adjusted for next time. This recipe was made even easier by mixing together all of the dried herbs and salt earlier in the day. Highly recommended!



Camptown Shrimp
as posted by Lakini Malich

2 lbs shrimp, shelled and deveined (I used 1lb)
4 TBS butter (I used a little olive oil, too)
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp cayenne pepper (will cut this bby half next time)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 cup Negra Modelo beer (or other dark beer)
Beurre Manié: 1 TBS flour/1 TBS butter combined to form a paste

Saute garlic and herbs in butter until garlic is slightly browned.
Add shrimp, stirring constantly, until shrimp are pink and done.
Pour in beer, add beurre manié, simmer and stir for about a minute.
Serve atop buttery grilled french bread.