Cognac Berre Blanc Sauce

Last night I made a baked flounder over crabmeat stuffing with a cognac cream butter sauce.
The pic was too bad to post so I used the one from my sister site of this sauce but with flounder topped with shrimp.

I will tell you this.....it might not look professional but is sure did taste like it was straight out of  a professional kitchen.

This is the kind of sauce that would be a main staple for baked seafood.

Cognac Berre Blanc Sauce
makes about 1 cup

* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 small shallot, minced
* 4 cloves garlic, crushed
* 2 tablespoons white wine
* 1/4 cup cognac
* 1/4 cup chicken broth
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and saute the shallots and the garlic until tender. Add the wine & cognac and cook for 2 minutes.
2. Add the broth and taste for seasoning. Adjust the salt & pepper.
3. Add the cream and simmer until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon.

Louisiana Inspired Seafood Sauce

Way back in January I posted a Louisiana BBQ Shrimp recipe over at my main blog Wish Upon A Dish.
Not the Emeril's version that was my first introduction to a non BBQ BBQ shrimp, but an Atlanta Chef's version.
This one had no cream and no spices. I wanted to try it, to compare it to Emeril's and because it was healthier without all the cream.

While I love Emeril's version, with a small change here and an addition there, this one could make one hell of a seafood sauce.

I went to work. If you are familiar with NOLA BBQ shrimp, you will be familiar with these ingredients.
Louisiana BBQ shrimp is not even BBQ'd. It's poached in a savory, spicy, cream sauce that screams BREAD PLEASE. I surmise that the Spanish influence of sizzling garlic shrimp helped fuel the sparks that started this dish. Whatever started it, everyone should try it at one time in their life.

This version is extremely easy with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.
Let's get cooking.

You will need a pound and a half of shell on, deveined large shrimp. A head of garlic, one large lemon, a stick of unsalted butter, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauces. See? Nothing unique.

I made this batch with a touch of cognac to be spooned over a beautiful snapper fillet that I roasted in the oven. The longer you simmer the sauce, the more mellow the ingredients become so for a simple fillet, it's perfect. If I was serving this in a big bowl with peel 'n eat shrimp, I would add minced fresh garlic right before serving.

<U>Louisiana BBQ Shrimp Sauce</u>
makes 1 cup

* 1 stick unsalted butter
* 3 large garlic cloves + 1 for garnish
* 1 tablespoons freshly minced rosemary
* Juice from 1 large lemon, the rinds chopped
* 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
* 1 1/2 teaspoons Tabasco
* 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
* Freshly ground pepper
* 1 tablespoon cream
* 1 tablespoon cognac or brandy

1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan and saute minced garlic until it is fragrant. Add the rosemary, lemon juice and skins, Worcestershire, Tabasco, salt & pepper. Simmer on low for 10 minutes. Strain.
2. Place strained sauce back into the same pan and using the residual heat, melt the rest of the butter into the sauce. Add the cream and cognac. Stir to combine and serve.

Lousiana BBQ Shrimp

Fifteen years ago, when in Las Vegas, we made it our mission to check out two of my favorite chef's restaurants. Emeril's Fish House and B.Flay's Mesa Grill. The first dish I ordered was the infamous BBQ shrimp (for which Emeril sold aprons imprinted with the recipe). Now Vegas plays host to hundreds of star chefs, but back then you could still count them on your fingers.

My main meal was a crawfish stuffed mignon. Needless to say I came home, bought his cookbook and made both those dishes with great success.

That was the last time. Not sure why I had a hankering to make those shrimp after all that time but after we ate, I immediately put them back on the menu for February.

If you have never eaten a Louisiana BBQ shrimp I implore you to make them. Louisiana "barbecued" shrimp never touch an actual barbecue. Created at Pascal's Manale restaurant in New Orleans in 1954, the recipe has become a Southern staple. The approach may vary, but it's certain to include ample amounts of shrimp, butter, and garlic. This version is almost always served with French bread for soaking up the rich sauce but I made a small batch of Basmati rice.

Louisiana BBQ Shrimp
Makes 4 servings

* 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

* 3 garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon)

* 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

* 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons), rinds reserved and sliced

* 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

* 1 1/2 teaspoons hot sauce, such as Tabasco 

* 1 pound (about 30) medium to large shrimp, peeled

* 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

* Freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Heat a 12-inch skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium-high heat. Season shrimp with salt and pepper. Add butter and when it is melted and foamy add the shrimp and fry until the edges are crispy and golden brown. Remove to a bowl.
2.  Add garlic, rosemary, and lemon juice and rinds to pan. Stir in Worcestershire and hot sauces, and bring to a simmer.Cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add shrimp back to pan and simmer until the shrimp are hot and the sauce is bubbling. Serve with baguette or rice.

Although there is a whole stick of butter in the sauce, serving rice allowed me to cut way back on the amount of that sauce I would actually eat if using bread.

Next time I make this, I will being recreating a lighter version with all the same flavors that make this dish phenomenal.

Lime, Honey and Sumac Butter Sauce

There is always a food bailiwick that I just can't master consistently. Grilled corn on the cob is mine.

Either it's not done enough, it's over grilled and spotty or it's just plain dried out. I have no patience to stand at a grill and babysit, there just has to be a better way to speed up the process.

Yes, I have tried grilling them in the husks. Sometimes it's perfect, other times not.
I have tried slathering them in lots of butter only to have the butter drip into the coals and cause a flare up. Not good.

Tonight I tried a technique I haven't used in some time and I think I finally will have that perfect grilled cob.

I took the husks off just before cooking and rubbed a lime butter into every crevice. I wrapped each cob in wax paper and nuked them for 4 minutes and let them sit till they cooled down.
I unwrapped each cob and then placed them on the grill just as I moved the chicken off the coals for indirect grilling.
The cobs grilled to perfection and I saved extra lime butter to reapply for a fresh burst of flavor before eating. I added some sumac for extra zing!

Cook's Note: Sumac has a tart flavor that is very nice sprinkled on fish, chicken, over salad dressings, rice pilaf, or over raw onions. Try substituting in any dish on which you might squeeze fresh lemon juice. If you enjoy hummus, try topping it with a sprinkling of sumac. It's delightful!

Sumac is considered essential for cooking in much of the Middle East; it served as the tart, acidic element in cooking prior to the introduction of lemons by the Romans. Sumac has a very nice, fruity-tart flavor which is not quite as overpowering as lemon. In addition to their very pleasant flavor, flakes from the berry are a lovely, deep red color which makes a very attractive garnish.

Lime, Honey & Sumac Butter
makes 1/2 cup

* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
* 1 teaspoon honey
* Zest of 1 lime
* 1/4 teaspoon Sumac (I buy mine from Penzy's)
* 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Mix everything together until well incorporated. Taste for salt and adjust if needed.
Refrigerate until ready to use.