Adventures in Cooking: A Taste of New Orleans

Since Patrick and I both love food, you can only imagine that our DVR is full of foodie shows. From Top Chef to Chopped to Unique Eats to No Reservations to Man vs. Food, we love it all! This past weekend we were watching a particularly great episode of Bourdain's No Reservations where he visited a post-Katrina New Orleans in 2007 to learn about how the storm impacted the restaurant industry. While he was sitting eating a Po' Boy (a traditional submarine sandwich from Louisiana), I said "Mmmmm Shrimp Po' Boy!" I didn't realize I was planting a "what to have for dinner" seed in Patrick's head.

Patrick's aunt lives in New Orleans (Hi Aunt Kath!), and I was lucky enough to accompany him there twice last year. The city is incredible, the culture is rich and the food is some of the best I've ever had! Here's a picture of us in Jackson Square from our first trip to New Orleans together:

I grew very fond of Po' Boys while we were there (And Crawfish Monica. And King Cake. And Muffalettas. And Drive-Thru Daiquiris. And Beignets.) and last night I was really craving some good fried shrimp smothered in cole slaw on crunchy bread. Yum!

That was when inspiration hit. Yesterday, Patrick suggested we make homemade Shrimp Po' Boys for dinner. He's not only handsome folks, he's smart too! I was pumped.

We hit our favorite grocery store, Trader Joe's, because they have great frozen seafood. We ended up hitting the jackpot when we found their Reduced Fat Battered Shrimp.

The nutrition facts showed that when eaten in a moderate portion, they were hardly that bad at all. Then we picked up some broccoli slaw and a big loaf of focaccia and returned home with our treasures.

This is where I'd usually take all the credit for something, but since I spent most of the day yesterday writing, Patrick made dinner for us. He defrosted the shrimp in the oven as instructed, whipped up the slaw (just mayo for me; mayo, Old Bay & pineapple chunks for him) and toasted the bread in the oven. The result? Sheer perfection. The bread was crunchy (he drizzled olive oil on it), the shrimp were absolutely delicious, not at all soggy as I worried they might become and the slaw was a refreshing addition. Patrick also put ketchup on his because he loves lots of different ingredients in everything. Check it out:

This was (or at least, seemed) so easy to make! And it completely satisfied our craving. A little taste of New Orleans, right in our apartment in New York City.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Let the good times roll!

Have you ever seen food on TV and instantly started craving it? Did you then attempt to make it? Did it satisfy your craving?

Let's Eat!
-The Fabulous Foodie