Seafoods Galore and More...

I have always loved seafood, from oysters, clams and fish, mollusks, prawns and shrimps, from the most common to the rarest kind, even seaweed, I don't mind. Seafood is all there is for me... anything and everything from the sea. I love all of them, eating and preparing them, for myself, and for my loved ones.

When I was younger, we lived near the sea. I mean, it was a fishing village and of course, all the sea's bounty abound. It's cheaper to prepare seafood recipes and freshness is a guarantee. And the good thing is, sometimes the neighbor who has the best catch gives us some of his freshest for free. Is not that great? Well, that's the beauty of having the ingredients of a seafood recipe right at your fingertips, you get to save time, and money and the ingredients are fresh. And with a good cook like me, you are in for a dive...lol...

Anyway, while dropping ECs today, I came upon a site which reminded me of this sweet seafood memory. I browsed http://www.greatamericanseafoodcookoff.com and in it I found (5) amazing recipes, and a picture of each. Ugh...made me salivate the whole time. They were all so yummy. But my favorite among the five is the one you see below. It's Louisiana's Chef Brian Landry's Shrimp and Andouille Cassoulet which is made up of Louisiana Shrimp and Andouille Sausage smothered in a white bean casserole. I chose that among the five because by the looks alone I find myself drooling, lol...just kidding. Simply imagining it makes my mouth water. The recipe is simple yet tricky. The ingredients are uniquely combined, with a guarantee that they will excite the tastebuds and further move it to explore the said dish. Among the five, it is the only one that caught my fancy.

Now, I think am hungry, lol. But before I go and get myself something to eat, let me tell you what I have discovered. It's actually a recipe contest site, and the five I mentioned are the top contenders. When the five finalists of the 2008 Great American Seafood Cook-Off were announced, each was further challenged in creating their dish for the final round of the competition. First, the dishes they are to prepare had to contain one of two mystery ingredients, either Southwest Airline Peanuts or select brews from Michelob Brewing Co. My mind is racing now as I am thinking the possibilities of the recipe, as if I am the chef joining the contest, lol... And, to keep it healthy and simple, the dish’s ingredients had to represent all five food groups and be a dish that can be prepared with less effort and in less time that home chefs could still enjoy pampering themselves afterward. Whew... yeah, as chefs and homemakers that is what we should be conscious of, after all it is the people who will be partaking our creation that we should think about, and ourselves too, right?

Further on, as a person who love to cook and create recipes by altering other recipes, I came up with the idea of changing the said recipe above to that which could be available to readily serve the Filipino palates, in half the time. It's similar to "Shrimp Menudo" but with a twist. First you will need garlic, onions and bell peppers (green and yellow), quick melt cheese, tomato sauce, shrimps and prawns, smoke sausage, soy sauce, a little water, and more onions and cheese, lol. All you need to do is caramelize the onions, add garlic and the bell peppers, add the shrimps and prawns, add smoked sausage, add soy sauce, when the shrimps and prawns are blazing red, add a little water, tomato sauce and simmer. Add cheese and more onions. Of course, serve in a nice serving platter when done. Oohlala...now am totally hungry...Well, got to go...need to feed myself. Talking about food makes me go gaga over them...LOL...


By the way, the recipe I shared should work for me, but for those of you who wish to see for yourself the five contenders visit the site here. Perhaps you can make your own alterations or follow each recipe by heart. And while you are there, why not cast your vote as well. Visit the site and choose/vote for your favorite recipe and get a chance to win a trip to New Orleans prize package...