Creole Fried Shrimp Salad w/ Jalapeno Ranch Dressing + Cajun Boogie

Here's one of my favorite salads to have for lunch or when I'm in the mood for a light dinner. I love fried or grilled shrimp more than any other food and I have several excellent recipes for them, but this one is my absolute fave!  These succulent, Louisiana Gulf, fried shrimp blend perfectly with your favorite salad fixins' and when I tell you they're out of this world, then you know that I mean it, cher! And the spicy dressing adds that special touch to make this salad sinfully good! Cest bon! Enjoy!

Creole Fried Shrimp Salad

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined (24 count)

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup half and half or milk

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 tbs.'s Creole or Cajun seasoning, divided

Few shakes Tabasco

Shredded lettuce

1 tomato, chopped

1 cucumber, chopped

3 hard boiled eggs, quartered

1 small can sliced black olives, drained
Or any veggies that you like

Season shrimp with 1 tbs. Creole seasoning and set aside. Beat egg in shallow dish and add Tabasco and half and half, and beat again. Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and other tbs. of Creole seasoning in large zip loc bag. Shake to mix well. Coat shrimp in egg mixture and place in bag, and shake until all are well coated. Fry in hot oil, (in deep fryer at 350 degrees) in batches for 3 to 4 minutes, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Arrange salad in salad bowls and top with fried shrimp and serve with dressing. (recipe below) Serves 3.

I am sharing this salad over at Tasty Tuesdays, Workshop Wednesdays, and Full Plate Thursdays.

Click here  for my Creole Seasoning Blend.

Jalapeno Ranch Dressing/Dip 

1 1/4 cups, no-fat buttermilk 

3/4 cup light mayo

1 tsp. Creole mustard

2 tsp.'s white wine vinegar

2 tbs.'s  lemon juice 

1 tsp. crushed garlic

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

1 tbs. fresh parsley, minced

1 tsp. Cajun seasoning

Salt to taste

Whisk ingredients together in the order given, in a mixing bowl. Store in a sealed glass jar in refrigerator, for up to one week. Shake well before each use.

Note: For dip, reduce buttermilk to 1/2 cup

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Cajun Boogie

Here's a little clip that I took of the High Performance Band, playing at a recent Sunday afternoon dance at Angelle's Whiskey River Landing, in Henderson, Louisiana. This is one of my favorite places that is expected to flood, and I've had more fun here than any other place on the planet. They took a big hit during Hurricane Gustav,  just three years ago, but with the help of many volunteers, were up and running in just a few months. And even if the worse comes to pass, I'm sure they'll be back, bigger and better than ever. Our prayers are with the Angelle family and everyone in the flood path.

High Performance Band

Merci beaucoup for all of your kind comments on my last post and for stopping by!

Marguerite's Shrimp Salad + More Festival Fun - Day 2 !

Here's one of my favorite salads to have for lunch or whenever I'm in the mood for a light dinner. The combination of the succulent boiled shrimp and spicy dressing is out of this world and is guaranteed to please. It is equally delicious, made with any left over crawfish from your crawfish boil. So easy to make and perfect for warmer weather, too. Enjoy!

Marguerite's Shrimp Salad

1 lb. medium, cooked shrimp (I use boiled, recipe below)
1 lemon, cut in half
1 tbs. Cajun seasoning
2 large hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup each, onion and celery, diced
1 tsp. crushed garlic
1 tbs. chopped dill pickle, optional
1 tbs. chopped parsley
1/2 cup light mayo
1 tbs. Creole or Dijon mustard
1 tbs. ketchup
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Few shakes of Tabasco

In large bowl, squeeze lemon juice on shrimp and season with Cajun seasoning. Add eggs, onions, and celery, and mix well. In separate bowl, mix garlic, dill pickle, parsley, mayo, mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco and mix well. Add to shrimp mixture and toss to coat evenly. Chill until ready to serve. Serve on a bed of Romaine lettuce with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocados. And maybe a nice glass of white wine, too. Bon appetit!

For my Boiled Shrimp recipe, click here.

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More Festival Fun - Day 2!

We passed a great time at day two of Festival International and the weather was gorgeous, sunny and 80 degrees, with a light breeze and low humidity.! A little cool front blew in the night before,  making it feel more like California than Louisiana. The festival angels were with us, as they usually are at this festival. We started out at the official Opening Ceremonies at Scene International. Special thanks went out to the 1500 + volunteers that make this festival happen.

Then, one of my dear, old friends came on the stage and blew everyone's mind with his unique brand of slide guitar magic. The one and only Sonny Landreth was getting down! Geaux Sonny! The huge crowd really went wild for this show and Sonny and his talented band were rockin'! I took five videos of this show and will be posting them all on my You Tube channel, so you can catch them here next week. I am posting one of the shorter ones below. Fab!

 The Sonny Landreth Band

After this fabulous performance, I was famished and we headed over to the Norbert's Restaurant  booth, where I decided to sample the crawfish etouffee, topped with fried catfish! Oh, cest bon, cher!

Then I got a text message from friends wanting us to meet them at the New Orleans Original Daquiri's booth, for a Festival Punch, before heading to the next concert, at Scene Malibu. Yum!

And as the sun was setting over Lafayette, we arrived just in time to see Rootz Underground, a fantastic Reggae band from Jamaica, take the stage.The huge, rowdy crowd was raring to go!

It was so crowded that I could barely wiggle my way in far enough to take this clip, but I managed to take a short one,  just before my camera batteries went out! It seemed more like they blew up! LOL

Rootz Underground

Oh the life of a Cajun is oh, so fun!

Stay tuned, the best is yet to come! To be continued.....

Hope ya'll have a fun and fabulous weekend!
Merci for coming by!