Story time! (heeeey now, there’s an ACCORDION in it.)
I used to have a job that wasn’t related to food. I drove to a building. Sat at a desk. Hung out with human beings. Minimized chat windows and Facebook every time my boss walked by. Brushed my hair.
When work slowed down this awesome woman from next door (hi, Libby!) would walk over and we’d chat about food for 5,298 minutes. She shared the passion, and by the end of our conversations we would mop the floors with our own saliva and turn out the lights because we realized it was like 3 in the morning.
She’d often times leave printouts of recipes for me while I was at lunch or gone for the day, which was like Santa and the Easter Bunny having babies all over my Herman Miller.
So as I was cleaning up my life last week, I found this printout! I promised her like, over a year ago that I’d make it. Of course I willy nilly’d with it a bit, to please the buds on my tongue. You guys, it was like my mouth turned into a very hip nightclub in the French Quarter and this bisque was the band and the bouncer wasn’t letting anyone else in due to dangerously high levels of delicious taste capacity rules.
Oh, and – Libby’s husband plays the accordion. Which is totally Cajun! SEE HOW THE STARS ALIGNED JUST NOW?
This bisque is ragin’. Oh! It’s RAGIN’ CAJUN.
(just love me)
Cajun Shrimp Bisque:
Now I really want an accordion.
What it took for 4:
For the Shrimp Stock:
* 1 pound shrimp shells (shrimp to be saved for the bisque)
* 1/2 medium onion, sliced
* 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
* 1 tsp coarse salt
* 2 dried bay leaves
* 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 Tbs. fresh parsley
* 6 cups water
For the Bisque:
* 1 pound reserved shrimp
* 4 Tbs. butter
* 1/2 medium onion, finely diced
* 2 celery stalks, finely diced
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
* 2 Tbs. tomato paste
* 3 cups milk
* 2 cups shrimp stock
* 1 dried bay leaf
* 4 fresh basil leaves, torn
* 3 Tbs. hot sauce (I used Franks)
* few pinches coarse salt
* 3 scallions, finely sliced
Bring the water to a boil and toss in all the stock ingredients. Boil for 20-30 minutes. Strain stock into a bowl or container and discard the solids.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the onions, celery and garlic. Saute until soft, 5 minutes. Add the flour and tomato paste and toss to coat the veggies. Remove pan from the heat.
Stir in the milk and broth and whisk until combined. Add the bay leaf, torn basil and hot sauce. Put back on the heat and bring to a boil; reduce and simmer 10 minutes. Toss in some salt.
Add the shrimp and cook until they’re pink, 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and add the scallions. Taste it. More salt? Do it. More hot sauce? Ohhhh yeah. Get it just right for your taste buds.
Ladle up and serve with crackers!
Oh my! This looks fantastic. Thanks to Libby!
This looks absolutely delicious. Simply perfect. Happy Friday!
I still have that office job and would love a Herman Miller accessory. We’re more of a what’s on sale at Staples kind of company. So I get to talk about food and blogs with coworkers, just in a crappy chair.
My congested sinuses and sick self could sooo use a bowl of this right now!
Oh my Lordy. This looks awesome!! I think back to when I had a “real” job and I’m pretty sure that FB wasn’t even invented yet. I’m pretty sure I’d have been fired by now if social media were in full-swing back then.
My husband never understands when I tell him that my blog is slow on government holidays, weekends, etc. I’ve tried to explain that most of my readers are AT WORK when they read but he still just refuses to believe it. I guess he thinks that worker people just go to work to do their normal job. Snort. Crazy man.
And now I will obsess about this bisque all afternoon, and my peanut butter and jelly will taste pitifully unawesome.
Wow, that bisque looks amazing. Great job on the photos!
this looks so tasty! and you are so funny! thanks for the story
Bev I am humbled – what a lovely article. I certainly miss our conversations and I’m still cooking;) This weekend is all about soup! I’m trying out a new recipe for Cauliflower soup and then on to Roasted tomato and finally black bean. There’s nothing like a bowl of something hot and spicy when it’s cold.
And I’m going to send you a recipe for Shrimp Arrabbiata – Arrabbiata means “angry”, in this case it means spicy!! It’s quick, easy and delicious.
Hugs – Libby
Dude. You just describe my work day to a tee.
Can’t wait to make this!
P.S. Is that Sharpie on your thumb??
Haha! It looks like it, huh? And it probably should be. Wait, it actually might be. Uh oh…
The shrimp looks so delicious floating around in that bowl. Looks yummy!
Thank you, LIbby – this looks fantastic!!
Girlfriend you are a cooking machine! Love all of your mouthwatering recipes! Now…..why can’t we be neighbors?! xoxo
This looks amazing! A big bowl of this delicious soup would be perfect on a 20 degree day here today!
BEAUtiful. I need an accordion to go with it, right?
So this soup tastes the best with a Cajun cocktail right? RIGHT?
Can you pllleeasseee come live with me and take all my “in progress” photos for me?!
Also, I am going to make this as soon as I can get my hands on some Crawfish. Because Shrimp are skeevy…and crawfish are already cajun.
Oh duuuuude, crawfish would be so good. I’m doing that nay-ext time.
super yum!! this sounds fantastic!! happy friday
This looks awesome. And I’m happy to see someone else doing a seafood bisque. Peeps were leaving comments like I was a crazy lady with my salmon bisque. Hellloooo people!
I must have this Cajun Shrimp Bisque and I must have it now. Who cares if I’m at work, someone must make it and bring it to me because I won’t be able to focus on anything else until I’m able to have some of this bisque!!
This looks insanely delicious! It’s so freezing here that I wish I had a bowl of it right now!
I love a good bisque. Omg I want this. Too bad I am highly anaphalactic allergic to shrimp now but as a child I wasn’t, and have such fond memories of lobster and shrimp bisque. It looks so good, Bev!
This bisque looks amazing!
I adore shrimp or lobster bisque! It’s looks amazing!
I’m dyin’ over here. NEEEEED!!
My mouth is watering! I MUST try this!
I live in Dungeness Crab country, so I make a similar bisque with crab. Yum!!!!
aww what a nice story
i love bisque anything and this looks totally amazing.
ok, these following questions are random but must be asked lol
1. where’d you get your tongs? are those OXO?
2. what kind of tripod do you use? i’m in the market for one..
1) They are OXO! Silicon ends…the best. No scratchy…
2) It’s actually a Target tripod! Targus is the brand…and they should be pay me for how many times I mention them.
Get iiiiiit.
Now I need to go to Target..shall I brave the ice & snow? I say, yes!
Having been a notoriously picky professional editor in a former life, I’m confused. You say “one pound of shrimp shells.” IMHO, you’d need a lot more than one pound of shrimp to yield “one pound of shrimp shells.” Can you please clarify? I think you mean “shells from one pound of shrimp” but I could be wrong. I want to make this, but I want to make it right!!! The bisque looks absolutely stunning, beautiful photography!!
Oh! I just mean, the pound of shrimp that you’re going to use for the bisque, use THOSE shells for the stock. You’re right! Not an entire pound of shrimp shells. Ew, smelly.
Thanks for catching that!
I love and want it ALL!
A masterpiece! (and the photos are fabulous!)
Oh wow, this looks right up my alley. Those shrimp are soooo pretty. Want in mah belly!
I love story time! And I love bisque! Only fancy people eat bisque, therefore I’m major fancypants. I like this.
Looks SO good…and I see the Mary’s Gone Crackers in the photo, yes?! Glad you’re enjoying them
2 questions.
1. What all do you do? Cook, write, sing…what else?!?
2. Can we have foodie chats like this, too?
And yum to this soup. I love those shots of tomato paste. It’s my most coveted ingredient in the fridge.
you’re hilarious. And that soup looks like it’s to die for!! Will try it, yummm
Bev – your post are always so beautiful and the food is divine. Really enjoy what you do.
Good morning! I have featured this recipe on my blog today for my weekly seafood round-up and have linked this recipe to your original post so that my readers will be forwarded to your site. Thank you for allowing me to share! Here is the link: http://carriesexperimentalkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/10/seafood-frenzy-friday-week-39.html
Just finished slurping this wonderful bisque that I made for my sweetie for Valentine’s Day lunch, and I had to come back to the site to post a comment. It was absolutely delicious!!! (my husband approves with his mouth full, savoring his second big bowl). The only change I made was substitute two tbs butter with the same quantity olive oil. I love to cook but I was always scared of bisques thinking that they are very difficult to make. Well, not this one! This recipe is a keeper! Will definitely make it again (and very soon). Thanks for posting.