Cooking Journey: New Orleans-Style BBQ Shrimp with Rice Pilaf and Sautéed Garlic Green Beans
TODAY I AM BRINGING YOU THE MOST INTENSE DISH I'VE EVER MADE. (Intense in the sense that this meal called for more than TWO pots/pans.) This was a true test of my cooking abilities thus far. I decided to try three, yes THREE difference recipes from my Dairy-Free/Gluten-Free cookbook. This cookbook has been a godsend. As I've mentioned previously, I typically substitute all the "gluten-free" recommendations with just... regular items. For example, this recipe called for gluten-free Worcestershire sauce but, I just used a regular Worcestershire sauce. This recipe also called for "dairy-free buttery spread", I used actual butter (which I would recommend for this recipe!)
Now, when I cook, I am aiming to please both my parents. I'm pretty easy going when it comes to food and dishes but, my parents are tougher critics. Whenever I try a recipe, I keep them in the back of my mind. (Note: the BACK of my mind. My dad doesn't love shrimp or rice and those were two of the main components of this dish--live a little, dad.) Generally I do try to make something that I feel the whole family will enjoy.
So, because I'm a "really good chef" and an even "better blogger", I forgot to take pictures of the final dish all assembled. So, you'll just have to imagine what the final product looked like. I did, for the most part, take pictures along the way. I am switching up "photography styles" a little bit and taking more of a casual approach. I opted not to take a photo of every single step of the way, more so tried to capture "important cooking moments" (read: I still took pictures of every step of the way).
Without further ado! (Do I say that every time? I'm too lazy to check. Consistency is key)... Here is how I made my New Orleans-Style BBQ Shrimp with a side of Rice Pilaf and Sautéed Garlic Green Beans:
Because this was the most intricate dish I've ever put together, I tried to map out cooking times as best I could. The shrimp takes about 20 minutes in total, as does the rice, whereas the green beans only take about 5 (plus water boiling time, maybe 15 minutes in total). Everything shared very similar cooking times but I'm not skilled enough to start everything at once and multitask so I tired to make my cooking process make sense. "Make it make sense" the kids say, right? I started with the rice pilaf first. I figured, if I was going to serve one item slightly less warm than the rest, I could probably get away with that item being rice.
The first thing I did was heated some olive oil in a large pot. This recipe says to use a "large skillet" but I have no idea what that means, and I cook rice in a pot typically, so I went with what I knew. I heated some olive oil in a large pot and added the onions and cooked them until they were translucent. I also added some garlic because you can never have too much garlic, right??
After the onion was cooked, I added the dry, uncooked rice to the pot. You want to mix the rice with the onion and toast it a little bit. This gives the rice a little more depth.
Once your rice is nice and toasty, go ahead and add your chicken stock.
Once I added the chicken stock (and some salt and pepper) I was able to move on to the next portion of the dish. The reason for this is because once you add the chicken stock, you want to bring the rice to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover and continue to cook for 10 minutes. I stuck a lid on the rice and moved on to starting my shrimp!
The first step to making the New Orleans-Style BBQ Shrimp is to melt some butter! This recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, melted. As I mentioned above, this recipe actually calls for "dairy free buttery spread" but I found actual butter really enhanced this dish. If you choose to make this dairy and gluten free, feel free to use dairy/gluten free products! Substitute them where you see fit.
Once the butter was all nice and melted, I added the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic and about a dozen (okay, eight) other spices (onion powder, oregano, thyme, basil, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper). After adding the spices and such, I mixed everything together and let it simmer in the skillet for about 5 or so minutes.
Once everything was all nice and mixed and simmered, I added the shrimp and turned the heat up to medium! This recipe says to add the shrimp and let it cook until it just starts to turn pink, stirring occasionally (about 4-5 minutes). At this time, I filled another pot with water to begin boiling so I could get started on the green beans (see pot on the left).
The final thing I began working on were the green beans. I opted to make them last because they take the least amount of time and I also couldn't imagine anything worse than cooked, cold green beans.
Once the water began boiling, I added some salt and the green beans. Additionally, once the sauce in my shrimp started to boil, I covered the skillet and continued to cook for 15 minutes, stirring every 5.
After adding the green beans to the boiling water, I let the beans cook for about 4 minutes (without turning down the heat) before draining them.
I put the beans on a plate while I completed the next step. After draining the green beans, I added some olive oil to the skillet, turned the element to medium-high heat and threw in some garlic and cooked until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Once I could smell the garlic, I tossed in the green beans and cooked for about 4 more minutes. While I was cooking the green beans, I continued to stir the shrimp and ensured my rice wasn't clumping together. The "Easy Rice Pilaf" recipe I "followed" (if you will) called for frozen peas and carrots but, as I mentioned previously, I am aiming to please my parents and my mom doesn't love added random veggies to rice so, I opted not to add them. This recipe does call for them but I found NOT adding them didn't compromise the flavour of the rice.
I stirred the green beans periodically so they didn't get stuck to the bottom of the skillet. (I also realized I mentioned previously I didn't know what a skillet was, and here I am, using the word like I'm a seasoned chef. Keep in mind: I never have any idea what I'm doing or saying, I just know how to read, which means I know how to cook--I just follow instruction really well).
I decided to put the shrimp back on some heat for maybe, 2 minutes? Just to heat them up a little bit before serving them.
Here's a picture of each piece of tonights dish completed. Like I said, I failed to take a picture of this dish plated so, you're going to have to imagine it.
Here's pictures of the recipes I followed:
This was extremely delicious and ultimately incredibly easy. Despite me beginning this blog with how "complex" this was, it was very easy to put together. Both of my parents were blown away at the flavours in this dish. Shrimp is not shrimp-y whatsoever. The flavours and spices of the sauce are absolutely delicious and they pair well with the rice pilaf and sautéed garlic green beans. If you're looking for something super easy but crowd-pleasing, this is the dish you've been looking for! I challenge you to try it!
Whats the most complex dish you've ever made? Did you succeed? Was it delicious? What's your go-to meal to make when you're trying to please family/friends or a crowd? Let me know!
If you're looking for something to satisfy your sweet tooth and dive into the savoury side, check out what I made last week HERE!!
xo
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