Of course, living near the Gulf Coast  with easy access to fresh seafood will spoil you for more than one reason. Being able to buy fresh shrimp, crawfish and  fresh catch fish is a luxury I adore. If  your landlocked and not as fortunate, most seafood markets will ship fresh or frozen seafood overnight. Trust me it is totally worth it.

Surprisingly, I have never cooked shrimp and grits. Yet I thought that it would be easy based on my love and familiarity  with the ingredients. What could go wrong with shrimp, butter, seasonings, shrimp stock, garlic and grits? Plus my grits were specially sourced from my Rural Alabama Trip To Inspire.

How to cook Spicy Gulf Shrimp Gravy, Andouille Sausage and Grits

As a rule, growing up Southern you  learn about grits early.  Since I am always trying to cut carbs I rarely cook grits. It is important for me to save carbohydrate allowance for my obsession, potato chips, Doritos, chili cheese fritos, ZAPS etc.   Thankfully, the grits package  will provide instructions. You will only need to read and follow directions.

All in all gravy requires more skill but you will manage it well. Spicy Gulf Shrimp Gravy, Andouille Sausage and Grits Recipe is easy to cook. At the same time, the hardest part of this recipe is peeling shrimp and making  stock. Great idea to recruit your man for peeling shrimp while you chop vegetables. Bribe him with a glass of wine or two if  you must. Trust me it is totally worth it.

Finally, shout out to Skate Mountain Records for Jimmy Lumpkin and The Revival  My Name is Love. I have only recently discovered this band but I love the soulful sound. Visit web site for tour dates and tunes. Trust me it is totally worth it.

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I fell in love with the Dijon Mustard on my first visit to Paris.  The spicy  pungent bite lured me in every time. Crispy french bread, cheese that will make your mouth water,  very fine house wine and other delights to your senses. Can you hear me sigh?

France on the brain and French mustard in my mouth

My senses could use a French delight or two. Since France is not an option, a dose of Dijon smeared on Creole Sausage Crescent City Savory Appetizer will have to do. France has been on my brain recently since I finished reading my favorite expat’s new book.  I read David Lebovitz’s new book L’appart over a few days. L’appart delivers an entertaining ride through  David’s “Delights and Disasters” of making Paris his home.

With  a book that starts with “Pee in this cup,” David offers humor along with the highs and lows of making his home in Paris. I admire David for having the gumption to pick up, move a world away and start anew in a foreign country. Starting all over is exciting and nerve-racking all at the same time.

As a person still struggling to parlez vous in French, kudos to David. My ear hears the French language but my brain truly moves into slow motion when engaged with the rare opportunity to speak in French. My French Canadian friends have said that I have a sexy accent when I attempt to speak French-Southern . As much as that makes me smile, I believe that they just want to make sure that I feed them again.

David’s  newest book will transport you to Paris. L’appart provides an inside look at acquiring a home in Paris. A must read if this is on your list. France has an interesting take on the home acquisition process. David learns what it truly means when you hear ‘pas de probleme’ from your contractor too many times. David is a gifted writer and weaves in the Paris that I love in between the renovations.

L’appart offers lagniappe along with the coaster ride in Paris

A great story on its own but David provides a bit of lagniappe with recipes in between the story lines. I am looking forward to trying David’s recipe for Thai Curry with Lamb and Haricots Verts since Grill Man and I love Thai food. Chocolate Souffle will be another recipe that I add to my next soiree.

If you’re not familiar with David check out  his web site at www.Davidlebovitz.com. Upon arrival you will discover mouth-watering photos which provides any traveler a longing for a visit to city of lights. David’s site is a great resource of information on Paris sights and sounds. Who better to suggest amazing food?

New Orleans is the closest city that I know that weaves French  throughout the fabric of the city. While your pouring your next glass of Viognier shout out to Alexa for Lucinda William’s  song “Crescent City” and make  Creole Sausage Crescent City Savory Appetizer.

If you need another appetizer to continue the French theme, check out my pate. It is delicious and also freezes well.

Au revoir  mon ami!

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If you do a taste test you will see a definite taste difference in making a dish with pecans freshly picked versus buying in the grocery store.  Pecans that are fresh have a full flavor that reminds you of Mother Earth. If you don’t have pecan trees in your yard, I would urge you to contact a pecan store that farms and processes pecans.

Cook with fresh pecans when making Homemade Candied Pecans

In our area we have several sources to buy  fresh pecans locally  B and B Pecans and Holmes Pecan Company. In the South, they are available most anywhere. Our little slice of heaven boasts pecans trees on the property and usually at least one tree will produce.

Picking up pecans off the ground is a good exercise. The entire process should make  you appreciate why pecans are expensive. Annually,  I am reminded of this every time I pick pecans, take to farm for cracking, retrieve pecans, separate pecans and shells.

New exercise to add to your work out routine

If you happened to drive by while I was sitting on the orange five gallon bucket, you have seen me picking pecans. After picking pecans for about an hour, I was really tired. Pecans were still all over the ground so I didn’t want to stop. Eventually, I figured out I could sit on the bucket, reach around pick up pecans and toss in bucket. What should I name my new exercise,  pecan-yoga?

Pecan-yoga consisted of a ton of stretching and squatting. By the time I wore myself out with my new exercise program, I had  plenty of pecans. Thankfully, Grill Man was not here with his camera to capture  pecan- yoga in action. Pecan-yoga must be good for you because my muscles were screaming at me the next day.  Despite sore muscles,  my pecans would be used in sweet and savory dishes and pecan-yoga would be  a faint memory.

One year Grill Man’s Aunt Theria  gave us a beautiful tin of deliciously coated homemade Candied Pecans one year as a gift. Our family loved them so much that Theria shared the recipe with me. The hardest part about this recipe is keeping your family from eating them before you  have an opportunity to give as gifts. If you suspect this will be an issue, cook on a day when your home alone and then hide the evidence before the poachers arrive.

Candied Pecans have been a staple in our home ever since Theria shared her recipe. Of course,  I adapted Theria’s recipe with a slight twist and I am happy to share it with you. When I cook a family recipe it always makes me smile.  Impossible to cook their  recipe without thinking about the person that lovingly shared recipe.

Homemade Candied Pecans make a great treat to eat and share as gifts for your loved one. Super easy gift to make at home and transport on your holiday travels.  Shout out to Alexa for Joe Bonamassa.

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Waste Not Want Not Series:
potatoes, corn, carrots, garlic and  mushrooms

“Waste not want not” is a hats off tribute to my Irish Grandmother Theda Faye who was the Queen of Thrifty. In our childhood home, my Dad was not a fan of eating leftovers which certainly went against the grain of Theda’s Faye’s entire philosophy.

I recall hearing my Mother state that my Dad “refused to eat leftovers”. This would always horrify my Grandmother and would elicit comments  about how she would handle my Dad. Granny had her work cut out for her.

I am pretty sure that my Mom never took Granny’s suggestions.  Granny was a strong woman and not shy about sharing her opinion. Although, I am speculating entirely based on the premise that my parents are still married after all of these years.

As an adult, I realized that “leftovers” were only food ingredients that required repackaging in the kitchen and presented in a different recipe. This is easy to do whether you use the ingredients the next day or throw in a storage bag, and freeze for later. Always label your freezer ingredients for easy identification and date. I have learned this the hard way playing the freezer game of “what is that?”

The crawfish and shrimp boil over the weekend yielded an excess of shrimp, corn, potatoes, carrots, garlic and mushrooms. I peeled the leftover shrimp and threw in my freezer. This would be used later for Shrimp Dip. This shrimp recipe is my favorite childhood food memory and is hauntingly delicious. Warning: It is addictive.

The remaining ingredients from the shrimp boil would make a great addition to my shrimp chowder. I also wanted a one pot dish for dinner so that I could move to the “couch for a spell”. One pot was all the energy that I could muster. The fun-filled weekend had “worn me out”. Using the leftovers was great and a soup was what I needed, then my couch.

Of course, the recipe made from fresh ingredients in lieu of shrimp boil leftovers will be great too. If using fresh vegetables, add the  seafood stock to separate pot and boil until tender. Then prepare white roux and combine ingredients. Adjust the seasonings, since the boil process adds seasoning to vegetables.

Shout Out to Alexa for U2 for a bit of Bono.

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Fresh Gulf shrimp make amazing shrimp recipes. Shrimp is a great start to a delicious appetizer recipe or meal. I am fortunate to live near the Gulf Coast and fresh seafood is a special treat.  The shrimp, crabs, craw-fish, oysters and the wide range of  fish is a bonus when cooking and developing recipes.

It is a luxury that many may afford whether they buy or catch their own seafood. On the coast, we have multiple markets that offer the Gulf’s finest fish and shrimp for your dining pleasure. You may still enjoy our fresh seafood even if you live far away from the coast.

Most markets will ship seafood out-of-state fresh or frozen directly to your door.  No one should have to long for fresh quality shrimp or seafood, ever. Alabama Gulf Seafood  has a great web site that details how to find, catch, cook and see Alabama seafood.

On occasion, I have had the pleasure of fishing in Gulf waters off shore  and loved it. Being a guest on a charter boat is  always  exciting. There is nothing like a fresh catch whipped into a great recipe on board. A fish  that was recently swimming turned into a ceviche recipe before your eyes is “as good as it gets”. Add this to your list, it will get no fresher than that.

There is nothing like dragging in a big ‘ole fish. I am not a fan of the entire bait process but it is hard to fish without bait. The next time you’re in the area, charter a boat and  experience the joy. You not be disappointed, unless you’re a “lilly-livered-land-lubber”.

If your lucky enough to own a boat then you know what it is like to wander on the Gulf waters, as you please. Perhaps it helps to have “coördinates of fishing honey holes” or a great charter captain so that you always find and catch fish.

The Gulf is a great big place and fish know where to hide. Finding and catching fish is part of the challenge.  Sometimes it is hard to find a “mess of fish”. Find a local market and place your order. Fish and shrimp are plentiful and easy to manage for transport or preserving to cook your favorite fish and shrimp recipes.

Forrest Gump on Shrimp Recipes

Who could say it better than Gump? Forrest Gump said, ” Shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sauté it. Dey’s uh shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep-fried, stir fried, There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. ”

Shout out to Alexa for Light Jazz, it has been a long day and I need to start my shrimp recipe in a rich sauce.

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Fall events are happening everywhere. Many events are taking advantage of the nice weather outdoors. For an indoor outing, Fairhope has the Film Festival. It is about to start ramping up. Fairhope Film Festival starts November 10 and ends November 13.

From a huge collection of movies that include comedy, documentary, narrative, drama, thriller and  more will be at your disposal. Tossed in you will also find Panel Discussions and a cocktail event or two. Panel discussions have been my favorite every year. I love learning about behind the scenes of writing, creating, filming, shopping locations etc.

Support the arts. Check it out at www.fairhopefilmfestival.org. Great local event that is family friendly for teenagers and adults.  Check subject matter before making a movie choice decision and taking your child. Buying a ticket is a great way to support arts and Fairhope Community.

During Fall when the weather is turning cooler, soup is the answer. A quick review of the items on hand, called for a Corn and Crawfish Chowder.  Soup that you will want to cook again.

Shout out to Alexa for Ray LaMontagne. I love his music and great to cook with. And in a libation and voila, I’m smiling.

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