And of course a bit of fat would help as well.

Define what you mean by a "bit". Is that your and Nancy's bit or mine
or Gail's (listed in decreasing order of fat content).

The bigger the bit, the better. I made Swisher an omelet,
and he thought it extra good. I don't know if he noticed
the size of the knob of butter that I used.

You made me recall the very first recipe I made from Chef Paul's
Louisiana Kitchen cookbook. It was for Etoufee, a not uncommon dish to

An estimable recipe, but looking at pictures of the guy
you should have been forewarned. Later on, the Prudhommes
started cutting back on the fat. Anyhow, Paul lived to 75
despite morbid obesity.

make -- but my first try. The recipe called for two sticks (1/2 pound)
of butter for about 1 pound of chicken plus vegetables. It also said something about being careful not to let the sauce break (which I did
not fully appreciate at the time). Let me tell you that was one very
broken sauce! And, it had way too much butter for our tastes, even back
then which was at least 30 years ago.

Others, including the fat bald guy, see below, are
more or less in his camp - as am I.

Title: Gyro with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce**

That recipe needs an antidote.

Shrimp etouffee
cat: cajun, celebrity, stews and soups, main
servings: 8 to 10

Shrimp Stock
2 Tb vegetable oil
Reserved shells from 2 lb large shrimp (see below)
1 sm onion, coarsely chopped
1 md carrot, coarsely chopped
2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
3 c chicken stock or low-sodium broth
Etouffee
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 md onion, finely chopped
1 c tomato paste
3 Tb thyme leaves, finely chopped
3 dried bay leaves
1 1/2 ts celery salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
2 lb large shrimp, shelled and deveined, shells reserved
2 Tb Crystal hot sauce, plus more for serving
6 lg scallions, thinly sliced
1 Tb fresh lemon juice
Salt
Steamed rice and lemon wedges, for serving

MAKE THE SHRIMP STOCK
In a large pot, heat the vegetable oil until shimmering.
Add the shrimp shells and cook over moderately high heat,
stirring, until pink and fragrant, about 3 min. Add the
onion, carrot and celery and cook until the vegetables
have softened, about 3 min. Pour in the chicken stock and
bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for
45 min. Remove from the heat and let steep, covered, for
30 min longer. Strain the stock into a heatproof bowl
through a fine sieve, pressing on the solids to extract
as much liquid as possible. Wipe out the pot.

The shrimp stock can be covered and refrigerated overnight.

PREPARE THE ETOUFFEE
In the same pot, melt the butter over moderately high heat
until foaming. Add the garlic and onion and cook, stirring,
until translucent, about 2 min. Add the tomato paste,
thyme, bay leaves, celery salt and 2 ts pepper and cook,
stirring constantly, until thick and slightly darkened,
about 3 min. Stir in the celery and cook for 2 min, until
slightly softened.

Add the shrimp stock in 3 batches, stirring well after
each addition. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to
moderate and simmer until slightly reduced, stirring
occasionally, about 5 min. Add the shrimp, 2 Tb hot sauce
and three-fourths of the scallions and cook just until
the shrimp are pink throughout, 3 to 5 min. Discard the
bay leaves. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt.
Transfer to a bowl, sprinkle with the remaining scallions
and serve with steamed rice, passing lemon wedges and hot
sauce at the table.

Source: Andrew Zimmern
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