Anyway, like I was sayin’, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey’s uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan-fried, deep-fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, and shrimp sandwich. That- that’s about it.

What a fun weekend of cooking and since there is a Newly coronated King in England I’ll call this coronation “King” Creole shrimp dinner

Once a gain my library of cookbooks drew me in and for my second week of cooking from my books I chose Creole Gumbo and All That Jazz-A New Orleans Seafood Cookbook by Howard Mitcham given to me by my friend Susan. The book is an absolute treasure chest of fabulous recipes and I chose a Shrimp a la Creole (Sauce Piquante) despite the lengthy list of seasoning ingredients opting for a good Creole seasoning, a bit of seafood seasoning, some fresh herbs, and pinches of some of the spices in the list. I mixed the spices listed and stashed them in a jar for another time I was confused by the mace, cloves, and allspice, but who am I to question it in small amounts? I scaled back the recipe for a 1-pound shrimp dinner (serves 4 with a nice bowl of Carolina Gold rice)…I loved the results and will make it again, so easy in the Instant Pot, but I did season and grill the shrimp before tossing it into the totally heated sauce.

I adapted the ingredients somewhat according to what I had on hand:

1 celery heart finely chopped
1 seeded poblano pepper, finely diced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 of a large Vidalia onion, finely diced
2 fat cloves of garlic minced
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
A pinch of cayenne
A pinch or two of dried basil
3 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves
1-inch piece of fresh oregano
1 big fat bay leaf
2 Cups shrimp stock, have extra if your sauce is too thick
salt and pepper
Sprinkle of Phillips seafood seasoning (about a teaspoon) and taste before adding more and the same with
a good Creole seasoning of choice

1+1/2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon EVOO to sauté all of the fresh veggies

Heat the IP on high sauté heat oil and melt butter, sauté all of the veggies except the garlic for 3- 4 minutes stirring often, stir in the tomato paste and cook for several seconds, add the minced garlic and sautécook for several seconds, about 30, and stir in the garlic.

Pour in the shrimp stock, canned tomatoes, and all of the seasonings. When the sauce is hot and bubbly switch to Manual Pressure, close the vent on the lid, and set the timer for 8 minutes. When the timer goes off quick release, stir the sauce and add the shrimp to cook for about two minutes more minutes on sauté once again, but I used a grill pan to cook my seasoned shrimp and then added to the hot sauce in the pot.

My sauce had thinned out some so I stirred in a little Wondra flour to thicken it slightly and then add the cooked shrimp.

*Note I seasoned the shrimp with a bit of Creole seasoning along with some seafood seasoning, heated a cast iron skillet or grill pan, brushed in a bit of EVOO, and quickly seared the shrimp.