I don’t clean shrimp.
When I’ve attempted to, way back in the beginning of time when I worked in a restaurant, my hands would break out in hives.
I have no problems eating them but I do not clean them. (Which also means that I starve when there is a big platter of ‘peel & eat’ shrimp at a party.)
Mon mari hates cleaning shrimp.
He used to do it occasionally but I had to bribe him with an ‘endless martini’.
He doesn’t drink pitchers of martinis any longer.
All that is to say that whenever we go to Grand Frais, which is erratic and infrequent, we buy shrimp.
They sell peeled shrimp.
Last weekend we went crazy and had two shrimp dishes. This is the first.
Shrimp Newburg
Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 8oz (240gr) cleaned shrimp
- 2 shallots, chopped.
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup (6oz, 180ml) chicken stock
- 1/4 cup (2oz, 60ml) sherry
- 1 tbs cornstarch (maizena, corn flour)
- 1/3 cup (3oz, 90gr) crème fraîche
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp dried chives
- 1 tsp dried tarragon
- 1/2 cup (3.3oz, 95gr) Basmati rice
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 cup (8oz, 240ml) chicken stock
Instructions:
- To cook rice: Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat.
- Add rice and sauté, stirring for a minute.
- Add stock, cover and cook rice for length of time on package.
- When done fluff with a fork
- Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté 5 – 7 minutes or until just starting to get tender
- Add garlic, shrimp and sauté until shrimp are done, 3 – 5 minutes. Shrimp will curl and become opaque.
- Add chicken stock, herbs to skillet and bring to a boil.
- Dissolve cornstarch in sherry.
- When stock is boiling add cornstarch/sherry to pan and stir until thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in crème fraîche.
- Spoon rice onto 2 plates, spoon shrimp and sauce into the center and serve.
I tried something new this week.
Normally I walk with my neighbor on Thursday morning. We do 12.5 kilometers (7.5 miles) in a bit over 2 hours. It’s not particularly fast but it’s a good, sustained pace over gentle, rolling hills.
For the rest of the day I’m a little tired and rather lazy.
On Friday mornings I do the weekly shopping and run whatever errands need doing.
For the rest of the day I’m a little tired and rather lazy.
This week, rather than being lazy for 2 afternoons I decided to do the shopping after the walk.
Strangely, I wasn’t the least bit tired after doing it all in the same day plus I was much more efficient doing the shopping.
Apparently, I’m just very good at using a little bit of activity as a good excuse to be lazy and I’m gullible enough to believe me.
Thinking about being tired reminds me of something that happened when I was in my 20’s…..
I had a friend who was always complaining about being unhappy and tired. She went to see her doctor and was given Prozac. (Do they still do that?).
She was immediately happy.
I thought: hmmm…. Looks like fun!
The next time I went to see my doc I complained about being tired.
He looked at me and said ‘Of course you’re tired. Who wouldn’t be tired carrying around 10 lbs of extra weight all day long? Get rid of the 10 lbs and you’ll be fine’.
A French doctor would still say that today…. I don’t think a doc in the U.S. would.
And really – it was only 10 lbs!
Katie I love shrimp Newburg…have not had it in years. There used to be a restaurant in town that made the most delicious seafood Newburg – it had baby scallops in it too – it was heaven!
Ina, I love it with scallops, too but they are so expensive here lately….It is a classic ‘steakhouse’ dish. I miss those….