Dining with Disney: The Princess & the Frog: New Orleans BBQ Shrimp

As I've mention in a past post, I love themes. Be it a holiday, a sports event or a movie, I love coming up with dishes that pair with the theme. My favorite pairing is Dinner & a Movie. I'm a big movie buff and a big foodie so this dynamic duo is always a blast to do! On top of being a big foodie and movie buff; I'm a big Disney fan. Lucky for me so is my husband, otherwise I'd drive him mad. Over the years we've collected the many Disney animated films. Unfortunately my hubby hasn't had the time to watch a few of them. So I took the opportunity to line up those films and make dinner menus for each one. I was so excited!! I couldn't wait to start! But why just do those films, why not all our Disney favorites!? So, this post will beginning a periodically series of posts I loving call Dining with Disney.  Tonight's film is "The Princess and the Frog".  New Orleans theme here we come!!!

The thing I love best about this Disney film is that food plays a major role in Tiana's life, the princess in the story. Her dream is to open a restaurant. A restuarant that her daddy dreamed about opening himself but just wasn't able too. It just a sweet back story.

Now New Orleans cuisine has a reputation about being spicy. My husband doesn't do spicy so I had to figure out a dish that wouldn't burn his taste buds. Enter New Orleans BBQ Shrimp. As I was reading up on New Orleans BBQ Shrimp, I came to learn that it has nothing to do with barbeque sauce or the the grill. Not your typical BBQ. It's main flavors come from Worcestershire sauce, lemon, creole seasoning and lots of butter. There was even one recipe calling for 3 sticks of butter for 1 lb of jumbo shrimp!!!  I'm not using that much butter, just because it's just too much to think about, but I bet it tastes crazy good! I melded together two of New Orleans' top chefs' recipes, Chef John Besh & Chef Emeril Lagasse. I took their recipes and made it one. For the most part the ingredients and the technique were similar, but each added an ingredient that the other didn't, so I took and omitted a thing or two and let me tell you it made a wonderful dish!! The sauce alone is outstanding!! All the flavors meld together and don't fight for attention, very well balanced. 

I served up the shrimp with baked potato for hubby & mash potato for me. But shrimp wasn't alone on the menu, oh no! I made a southern style appetizer & dessert!

Here is my menu:

The Princess & the Frog Dinner Menu

Appetizer- Mini Pimento Cheese Grilled Sandwiches

Main Dish - BBQ Shrimp

Dessert - Beignets




It was a great night of cooking, eating and quality time. Can't wait for the next movie night!!!!!

Buen Provecho!! 

Peel and devein shrimp, reserved shells. Season with Creole seasoning.

Use your hands. Make sure every shrimp is covered.

Begin with sauce base, add oil, saute onions and garlic

Saute until shells turn pink.

Add Worcestershire sauce,

Remaining Creole seasoning,

cloves,

bay leaves,

lemon juice,

and the lemon. Why not?! Extra flavor! My added touch.

Bring to boil then simmer, reduce until half. Strain.

Press down to get all the sauce.

I got 1 cup. You can get up to 1 1/2 cups of sauce.

Shrimp time! Add shrimp, sauce base,

BUTTER,

and heavy cream. Bring sauce to a boil, simmer for about 5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink.

All done! Beautifully cooked. Be careful not to over cook.

My dish. Mash potato on bottom topped with shrimp & sauce. LOVE THIS!!!

Hubby's plate.

Simply good eats!

 New Orleans BBQ Shrimp - 4 appetizer or 2 entree servings

For the Sauce Base

1-2 tbsp olive oil
Shrimp shells from the 2lbs of shrimp
2 tbsp Creole seasoning
1/4 of a chopped onion
1-2 garlic cloves, grated, minced
1/2 cup Worcestershire
1/2 tsp whole cloves
2  bay leaves
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp black pepper
2 cups of water

For Shrimp

2 pounds of large shrimp, peeled and deveined (reserve shrimp shells for sauce base)
1 tbsp Creole seasoning
1 cup of sauce base
1 stick of butter
1 cup heavy cream

Roadmap:

1. Peel the shrimp, leaving only their tails attached. Reserve the shells and set aside. Sprinkle the shrimp with 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning and coat shrimp. Refrigerate the shrimp while you make the sauce base.

2. For the sauce base, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over high heat, add chopped onions and garlic and saute for about a minute. Add the reserved shrimp heads/shells and saute for about a minute, allowing the shells to turn pink. 

3.  Add the Worcestershire, black pepper, Creole seasoning, cloves, bay leaves, and lemon juice,  along with 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Once the liquid is boiling, reduce heat to moderate and simmer until it has reduced by half. Strain and reserve. There should be about  1 - 1 1/2cups.

3. Put the shrimp and the sauce base, cream, and butter in a large skillet over high heat. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook for 5 minutes or until shrimp is pink.

4. Remove the shrimp from the skillet and arrange on a platter or in individual bowls. Reduce the sauce by half. Pour the sauce over the shrimp. Enjoy!!!

Grilled Sloppy Pimento Joes

Sloppy Joes are an easy quick fix weekday meal. It's so tasty, so simple and so quintessentially American. We love our Sloppy Joes, I always have the ingredients on hand. Tonight, I wanted to do something a little different. I not only wanted a grilled sandwich but I wanted it to be a grilled cheese sandwich. Sharp Cheddar, Sharp White Cheddar, Blue Cheese all good choices. But I decided to go a more Southern route, Pimento Cheese.

At the moment I'm a little obsessed with pimento cheese. I can't believe how ridiculously good it taste! I know it's not the best for you, but everything in moderation. So for this deliciousness, I took my favorite bread, the undisputed King of Breads (at least in my house), Sourdough! Being a San Franciscan, sourdough is in my veins. I love it over any kind of bread. It's amazing!! I took these marvelous bread slices spread a generous amount of pimento cheese, add some sloppy joe, closed it up and grilled to buttery toasted nirvana! It is crazy good. You get the saltiness and ooey gooey of the cheese and the sweet/tangy/ messy part of the joe, and oh my goodness!!!! I was so happy!

I hope you do the happy dance after trying this grilled cheese!

Buen Provecho!


Grilled Sloppy Pimento Joes - 4 servings

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef
1/4 of a large onion, diced
1 garlic clove, grated
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1-2 Tbsp McCormick Steak Seasoning (or your favorite steak seasoning)
1-2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 cup Pimento Cheese, use my recipe!
8 slices of Sourdough bread
1- 2 Tbsp melted butter for grilling
Salt n Pepper

Saute on medium heat onions and garlic until soft, 4-5 minutes

Crumble, add steak seasoning and salt. Cook until it looks like.....

....this, brown bits!

Add Worcestershire sauce and using a wooden spoon scrap the bottom of the pan to get the flavor bits.

Add 8oz can of tomato sauce and add salt, season to taste.

Use the tomato can to measure 8 oz of beef broth.

Add 1/4 cup packed brown sugar.

Stir until well blended. Lower heat and cover. Simmer for about 10 minutes until sauce thickens.

Meanwhile, butter all the bread, flip and slather pimento cheese on all the bread.

Add sloppy joe on one side and close with another piece.

Place on a preheated griddle and cook until golden brown.

Flip cook other side.

Let it stand for a minute then cut in half.

Ready to Eat!!!

Road Map:

1. Add oil to a medium heavy bottom pan on medium heat. Dice a quarter of an onion and place in hot pan, grate garlic, add salt & pepper and stir until onions are soft, 4-5 minutes.

2. Once onions are soft crumble in ground beef, add steak seasoning and salt. With a wooden spoon crumble beef and let it caramelize to beautiful brown bits. Add Worcestershire sauce and using a wooden spoon scrap the bottom of the pan to get the flavor bits.

3. Once beef is browned, add tomato sauce, beef broth & sugar. Stir until combined, lower heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes until mixture thickens. Check for seasoning. Add more salt or sugar if needed.

4. Place a griddle on medium heat. Brush melted butter to all 8 slices of bread. Turn over and slather pimento cheese on all 8 slices. Add about 1/4 cup or less of sloppy joe, close it with another bread, put on the grill.

5. Grill until golden, 2 - 4 minutes each side. Let it rest for about a minute & cut in half. Enjoy!!

Pimento Cheese Grilled Cheese

I've been in a Southern mood lately. The cuisine is just so inviting! From Fried Green Tomatoes to beignets!! Today I'm going to enjoy another Southern delight, pimento cheese. The South knows comfort!! This cheese is ridiculously delicious!! The smokiness of the pimento is so amazing. Big flavor in such a tiny diced pepper. I love the bright deep red color of the pimento, very pleasing to the eye.

This cheese is full of full fat ingredients as to why this cheese is amazing!! Mayo, cream cheese are major players in this cheese. It's really simple to make. I made it in the food processor. I added puréed 1/2 of pimentos then add the  cream cheese and pulse until blended. Then add the cheese handful by handful and pulse until incorporated. Finally add the mayo and pulse until incorporated. Pour it out into a bowl and mix in the reserved pimentos and you're done! So easy!! 

You can totally just eat the cheese with crackers, but why not make it into a grilled cheese!! I took my favorite bread, sourdough, and did just that!! 

In order to get a crispy sandwich I spread butter to the outside, works every time. The cheese was oozing out! So exciting!! 

The outcome was so GOOD!!!!! 

This dish is definitely worth every sinful bite!! It's a must try!! 

Buen Provecho!!

8oz of shredded sharp cheddar

Place about half of the pimento into a small processor and puree.

Add 4 oz of cream cheese with pimento puree and process...

...Until it looks like this

Add cheese in batches and process until....

...it looks like this.

add mayo  & process until smooth

Yummy Pimento Cheese!

Slather bread with cheese, don't be greedy! 

Add butter to the outside for a crispy sandwich.

Griddle up or Pan up1

Until bread is brown & toasty and cheese is ooey gooey!

Such beauty!!!!

Look at that deliciousness! Gooey cheese & crispy bread! Perfection!

Pimento Cheese Grilled Cheese - yields about 1-2 cups of pimento cheese

Ingredients:

8oz Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
4oz Cream cheese, room temp
7oz pimento jar
1/4 cup Mayo
4 slices of Sourdough Bread
melted butter for grilling

Roadmap:

1. Puree 5 oz of pimentos in a small processor. Add cream cheese and process.

2. Add shredded cheese in batches and process. Add mayo and process until smooth.

3. Pour mixture into a bowl. Add remaining pimentos and mix well with a spoon.

4. Preheat griddle or non stick pan. Add a generous spoonful to all 4 slices of bread and make sandwiches. Brush melted butter to the outside bread, to ensure a crispy exterior.

5. Add buttered sandwiches to griddle and toast until golden brown.

6. Drain on a paper towel, let sit for for a couple of minutes, until its cool to touch.

7. Store remaining pimento cheese in an air tight container. Keeps good for 1 week. Enjoy!!!