The Elmwood Plantation's Peanut Butter Shrimp

At Season and Stir we love men that cook and we LOVE recipes with a great history and a secret ingredient!  Peter has kept this recipe alive - and the family still enjoys it immensely. 

While awaiting some recipes from some fabulous cooks to feature on our blog - today we are going to feature a recipe that was given to Peter's father Domenic by a chef named Nick Mosca - from the Elmwood Plantation Restaurant in New Orleans. On the original menu it was called Shrimp Mosca (with a secret ingredient)

Mosca helped his family start the restaurant Mosca's, a local and still-running institution. He came to the Elmwood Planation in 1962, where he created a style that married the flavors of Italy with the elegance of New Orleans' finest Creole cooking. In 1978, another fire ravaged the Elmwood Planation and finally closed the restaurant.  However the family still owns a restaurant nearby called Mosca's that still serves this fabulous dish.  (There is peanut butter in this so sadly those with allergies - stay far away from)

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of shrimp in shell (we prefer wild caught) 
• 6 whole cloves of garlic peeled
• 1 teaspoon of Rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 stick of salted butter
• 1/4 cup of lemon juice
• 1/4 cup dry white wine - pinot grigio works well
• 1 large tablespoon of peanut butter
• 2 to 3 bay leaves

Directions: 

Start by washing and draining your shrimp well with shells still intact.  Sauté the shrimp in a beautiful stovetop to oven pan (like the ones we feature on season and stir) in the olive oil, garlic, black pepper, cayenne pepper, salt, rosemary and bay leaves. 

When shells on shrimp turn a nice pink color - shut the heat and set aside.  

In a separate small pan - like our Season and stir petite French butter copper pan (perfect heat conductor for cooking sauces) melt the stick of butter with the lemon juice, white wine and the peanut butter until melted.

If the flavor of the wine is too strong we add a little more lemon juice.  Once melted - stir to combine and then shut heat and pour the sauce over the shrimp in your oven proof baking skillet.  Stir to make sure shrimp is coated in the sauce. 

Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until heated through.  Serve with a warm crust of bread!  You will love this recipe and you can't distinguish the peanut butter - but know there is something special that gives the shrimp its flavor.