I adore that I’m sitting on my back porch right now in this lovely weather on a Friday night writing a blog with a cold one listening to Janet Jackson’s Escapade. Kind of my dream night.

We (well, really Dave) have been working so hard on getting our backyard into shape to be our own little oasis. I can’t wait to share our backyard makeover with you, but for now, here’s a sneak peak of my current view:

Still a lot to do, but feeling proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish with the help of friends and neighbors, especially considering this is our first house and I have no idea what I’m doing (RIP to all the plants I’ve killed).

We even broke the new patio in with a small surprise party for Sir Dave with all of our wonderful neighbors. I think I might live on the best block in Chicago y’all.

Alright enough about backyards (for now).

To celebrate the warm weather I asked Dave to stand above a pot of super hot oil and fry me some shrimp. 😀 I got me a good dude. We basically just paired together a few recipes to create the sammich below, and I’ve got to say it was pretty dang good. Made me want to hit up NOLA sooner than later. I hope you give it a try!

Cook time: 6-8 minutes
Servings: 2

Fried Shrimp Ingredients
Recipe adapted from Kitchen Dreaming
Approx 26 large raw shrimp, peeled + deveined
1 1/2 cups milk (we used half + half that we had on hand)
1 cup hot sauce
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbs baking powder
2 tbs ground black pepper
1 tbs salt
1 tbs cajun seasoning
vegetable oil for frying, about 48 ounces

Remoulade Ingredients:
Recipe from Simply Recipes
1 1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup mustard (creole if you can find it – I couldn’t so used spicy brown)
1 tbs sweet paprika
1-2 tsp cajun or creole seasoning (we had this pre-made)
2 tsp prepared horseradish
1 tsp pickle juice (dill or sweet)
1 tsp hot sauce
1 large garlic clove, minced

Sandwich Fixin’s
crust french bread, cut about 6 inches long
4 large pieces romaine or similar lettuce
4 pieces sliced tomato

To make the remoulade, simply toss all those ingredients together and mix together well. Taste and feel free to add additions to taste. Set aside.

Add the oil to a large dutch oven set up with a frying thermometer, or set up your fryer. Start to heat the oil so that it reaches 375 degrees. While the oil is heating, get two shallow baking dishes or bowls set up. In one whisk together the milk and hot sauce. In the other whisk the flour, baking powder, black pepper, salt and cajun seasoning.

Dredge the shrimp into the dry mixture, then the wet, then the dry again, shaking off any excess flour. Fry the shrimp in small batches as to not crowd the fryer, about 6-8 at a time. Cook for 2 minutes or until golden in color. Remove and place on a plate lined with paper towel. Repeat this until all the shrimpies are cooked.

Cut the french bread so that one side is still connected and fold open. Slather with the remoulade and top with the lettuce, tomato and a heap of fried shrimp. Close ‘er up and EAT.