Oh what an excellent meal! What originally was a quest for a recipe using heavy cream so that we could use up the rest of the quart before it spoiled turned into a day-long cooking adventure. The recipe I found included a step that went something like this:
"Ignite the brandy with a long kitchen match and let burn until the flame subsides."And....so yea. CRAZIES. But it looked really good. Soooo...against better judgment - especially since a YouTube search for the terms "Flambé" or "How to Flambé" return videos titled "Flambe disaster!" "flambe gone wrong" and feature microwaves being lit on fire by accident and cabinet destructions.
Luckily, Trenton's kitchen is equipped with a fire extinguisher that we made sure we knew how to use and we came up with a plan of action before proceeding to try to minimize the possibility of mishap.
In the end, the problem we ran into wasn't even from the flambé step. "Add 4 cups of heavy cream." Ok! /Anna proceeds to pour.
Oh no. We only have 3 cups. >.> So we had a not so creamy shrimp bisque, but it was still really delicious. (Also, even though it sounds strange that you're supposed to cut the veggies in BIG chunks, listen! BIG CHUNKS is the way to go! I made the mistake of cutting them smaller into bite size pieces. And they ended up, like, melting into the soup. But not all the way so i just ended up wasting them.)
Here's the recipe: ( I got it from FoodNetwork.com)
Shrimp Bisque
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
- Prep Time:
- 10 min
- Inactive Prep Time:
- hr min
- Cook Time:
- 45 min
- Level:
- Easy
- Serves:
- 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds shrimp, shelled and deveined, shells reserved
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 2 1eeks, trimmed, halved lengthwise, and rinsed well
- 3 stalks celery, cut into big chunks
- 2 carrots, cut into big chunks
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 strips orange zest
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 cup brandy
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups heavy cream
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Finely grated orange zest, for garnish
- Finely chopped fresh chives, for garnish
Directions
Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and melt the butter into it. Then add the shrimp shells, the leeks, celery, carrots, 3 sprigs thyme, the bay leaf, orange zest, and tomato paste. Cook, stirring every now and then, until the shells are red and the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.
Take the pot off the heat and carefully pour in the brandy. Ignite the brandy with a long kitchen match and let burn until the flame subsides. Return the pot to the heat, sprinkle in the flour, give it a stir, and cook for another 2 minutes. Now add water to cover and deglaze, scraping up all the browned bits on the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Add the cream and bring to a boil. Immediately turn the heat down to low and gently simmer until the soup is reduced and thickened, 30 to 45 minutes. Strain into a clean pot and season with salt and pepper.
Chop the shrimp. Return the bisque to a simmer, add the shrimp and cook 2 to 3 minutes just to cook the shrimp through. Give the bisque a final taste for seasoning, pour it into warmed soup bowls and serve garnished with the orange zest and chives.
Brandied Mushrooms and Fresh Thyme
Ingredients
Put the saute pan over medium-high heat and add 1/4 cup olive oil. When the oil is smoking, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, about 10 minutes, until golden brown. Then add the thyme and garlic, and season well with salt and pepper. Toss a few more times to cook the garlic, then dump the mushrooms out onto a platter. Take the pan off the heat, add the brandy, and cook until almost evaporated. Add the cream and cook that down 2 to 3 minutes until reduced by about one-half and thickened. Return the mushrooms to the pan with whatever juices have collected on the platter and simmer the whole thing another 2 minutes until thickened again. Season with salt and pepper.
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 pounds wild mushrooms, trimmed, brushed clean with a towel and stemmed, caps left whole
- Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup brandy
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Tee hee. We love food.
