Northwest Wine Academy wines

The South Seattle CC Northwest Wine Academy wines will be on sale for delivery on CheapWineStore.com in the next week or two!! I am very excited to be working with them. The instructor/winemaker Peter Bos has really led the class into making some great wines and the unoaked Chardonnay is really a first class wine. I’m thinking it will definitely win awards this year.

Down home cooking and wine

So, it’s cold in Seattle.  Very cold to me as I relocated here from Florida.  I remember when I lived there and we would all get so excited when the mercury dropped below 50 for that whole week in January.  Now I’m happy when it stays above 40 for more than a few months!!  Anyways, here is one of my favorite recipes for when the weather gets cold.  It takes me back to Florida so I can reminisce about the amazing food and great weather.  This recipe can be changed a hundred different ways, and my real favorite is to use crawfish.  Crawfish are in short supply up here, so shrimp will do.

I recommend pairing this with a nice Voignier like the McKinley Springs or Sauvignon Blanc like a DeLoach… nice a crisp with pear and a great finish.  I’ve also just made this and I had a Beaujolais Nouveau which added a whole different dimension!

Shrimp Etouffee

Seasoning mix

salt and pepper (use white and black if you have it)

cayenne pepper

dried basil and thyme

Other stuff

Onions, celery and green pepper all in the same proportion to equal about a cup diced up

Green onions very finely chopped

3/4 cup of flour

2 sticks of butter

3 cups seafood stock  (use the shrimp shells or crawfish shells)

shrimp or crawfish (you can use as much as you like but a couple pounds will do

How To

1.) Make a Roux- heat 7 tbls. of olive oil in a pan till almost smoking and gradually add the flour (stirring constantly) for about 3-5 minutes until it turns a dark brown.  Take it off of the heat and add a tablespoon of the seasonings and the veggies and stir some more until it cools.

2.) In a saucepan bring 2 cups of the stock to boiling and whisk in the roux until it is completely dissolved.  Reduce the heat and keep whisking for another 2 minutes- then remove from heat

3.) In another pot, melt a stick of butter and then add the shrimp.  Add the green onion. Saute for a minute and the add the rest of the stock. Add the other stick of butter and the stock/roux mix and let the butter melt.  Add the remaining seasonings and add hot sauce if you want to at this point.  Cook for 5-6 minutes and keep stirring

4.) Serve over a nice bed of white rice and serve with some nice french bread, torn into hunks