End of the Year Soirèes – Papilles en éveil

We recently enjoyed our last lunch group “meeting” of  Papilles en éveil  (roughly translated as “awakening tastebuds”) for the year.  We all gathered at Sueli’s apartment with Brigitte, our super hostess and maîtresse, in charge .  (Sueli, a Brazilian, Gillian, who is English, and I were the “foreigners” in the group this time.)  At our luncheons, one person is responsible for the entrée or first course, another the plat or main dish, and another the dessert; and each dish is supposed to be representative of our countries of origin. 

The happy group.  (That's Sueli front and center.  Brigitte took the picture.)

Brigitte had asked me to take on the entrée so I arrived with recipe and ingredients for Shrimp Remoulade from Galatoire’s on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.  (Recipe below)  Sueli had chosen Bobo des Crevettes, a traditional Brazilian dish, and we finished off with a French dessert of Assiette Gourmande.

In the kitchen preparing our repast.

As always, we had a great time preparing and eating our lunch.  We always enjoy meeting and chatting and sampling dishes from all over the world.  Our get-togethers usually start around 10 AM and often finish around 3 or 4 in the afternoon.

The entrée

 

 

The plat.

 

The dessert.

So what do we talk about? First of all, the language used is French since that's the language we all share - more or less.  (We do have occasional detours into "Franglish.")  We chat about the food we are preparing, any history behind it, any unique ingredients, etc.  (For instance, Sueli's recipe called for manioc, a starch made from a root, and used widely in Brazil.)  And, we talk about the usual things friends talk about:  our families, plans for the summer, recent travels, funny things that have happened, etc.

Needless to say, we are all looking forward to the next round of monthly gatherings.

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SHRIMP REMOULADE  (8 servings) This recipe is from Galatoire’s on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.  The restaurant was founded by Jean Galatoire in 1905 and is still in the family.

Ingredients
Sauce:
¾ cup parsley, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
½ cup Creole mustard
½ cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbs paprika
1 Tbs prepared white horseradish
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup vegetable oil

 4 cups lettuce, shredded

2 lbs cooked, peeled shrimp
2 lemons, cut into wedges

 Directions:

Sauce:
•             Combine chopped parsley, celery, and garlic in large mixing bowl.
•             Add mustard, vinegar, paprika, horseradish, hot pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
•             Gradually whisk in oil.
•             Season to taste with salt and pepper.
•             Cover and refrigerate overnight.  (Can be prepared 3 days ahead.  Keep refrigerated.)

•             Divide lettuce among 8 salad plates

•             Top with shrimp
•             Re whisk sauce and spoon over shrimp
•             Garnish with lemon wedges and serve.