Goin' Down to Grand Isle

"Goin' down to Grand Isle" is something many people from the New Orleans area do for vacations and/or weekend get-aways.

I went to Grand Isle almost every summer as a kid. We ran crab lines while we played in the Gulf and on the beach. We fished in the surf and off the old bridge. My favorite thing to do there was to go out at night with a lantern and gig flounder. Besides the fact that I like to eat flounder, being out in the Gulf or the bay at night was pretty cool for a kid. The lantern would attract some interesting things...like little minnows that would nibble at my legs. And jabbing flounders with a stick was fun too.

Grand Isle, a long, skinny barrier island on the LA coast, has an interesting history. The pirate Jean Lafitte had "dealings" there after he quit smuggling in the French Quarter. Pirate Louis Chighizola, also known as Nez Coupe, or "cut nose" (his nose was cut off in a sword fight) worked for Lafitte and made Grand Isle his home. 

The Boy w/ Pirate Jean Lafitte on Grand Isle

Today some make their permanent homes on the island, while others own or rent camps they use on weekends. Just about every building is raised on pilings considering Grand Isle has had its share of hurricanes. Most people don't go down to Grand Isle for the beach. It's all about fishing, crabbing, shrimping, and gigging flounder.

We just got back from Grand Isle and after watching the shrimp boats trawl the Gulf during the day with white strings of gulls following behind them and seeing them out on the water all lit up and working late at night, I felt for doing something with shrimp today.

Shrimping is costly and hard work. This recipe is not. I combined flavors I like and grew up eating--meuniere sauce flavors of lemon, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce, with shrimp and tossed it all with pasta...because my son loves pasta. The result was a quick and easy whole-family pleasing meal.



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Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta
from Ms. enPlace

1 lb peeled shrimp
2 T butter
1 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or smashed (Use smashed garlic if you don’t like pieces of garlic in your food)
3 T lemon juice
¼ to ½ t salt (to taste)
black pepper, to taste
Hot sauce, to taste
1 T Worcestershire sauce
about 2 T chopped parsley
4 servings of pasta

Boil water for pasta. While water comes to a boil, chop and measure ingredients for shrimp.

Heat butter and olive oil in a skillet. Cook garlic on medium low until tender. Cook pasta so that it is ready when the shrimp are. If using smashed garlic, discard before making the sauce.

Add all ingredients to skillet, except for shrimp and parsley, bring to a simmer, and cook for a few minutes, stirring. Add shrimp to skillet along with about 3/4 of the parsley and simmer for about 8 minutes, or until cooked through. Don’t over cook! Stir while cooking to coat with sauce. Toss cooked pasta, shrimp, and remaining parsley together. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Mise en place for Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta
Start bringing water to a boil for the pasta. While the water heats, chop the garlic and parsley, squeeze the lemon, and melt butter with olive oil in a skillet. Sounds like a lot going on but you can handle it.

Toss the garlic into the butter and saute a few minutes. Two routes you can take here. The garlic can be chopped and left in the sauce. If you don't like pieces of garlic and just want the flavor, smash the cloves, saute them on low in the butter and olive oil, then remove.

Start thinking about adding your pasta to the boiling water. You'll want it to be ready when the shrimp are cooked.

Next, add the Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and hot sauce to the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes. Stir while the sauce heats.

Add the shrimp and parsley and cook for about 8 minutes, or until shrimp are cooked, but not overcooked.
Toss in the cooked pasta.

Serve and eat right away.