The South meets the Pacific Northwest in this rustic dish

By Shane Warbus / Food & Beverage Director, Quil Ceda Creek Casino

Throughout July, we are pleased to feature our Coastal Shrimp Bake on the menu at The Landing at the new Quil Ceda Creek Casino. It is easily adaptable for at-home preparation, and is great for an out-of-the-ordinary summer meal. Skip the need to dress up — this meal is as rustic as they come!

You can serve it with Southern flair and present it in a bowl on a tablecloth-lined dinner table with portions spooned out individually. Or simply roll up your sleeves, dive in and use your hands. You will, eventually, since the shrimp is cooked unshelled. Shelling the shrimp? It may not sound fun, but it is part of this dish’s charms.

From a culinary perspective, cooking the shrimp shells-on adds to the flavor. As an example, excellent homemade chicken broth uses the bones with the cartilage, joints and otherwise. Shellfish is the same — cook in the shells when you can since they impart their flavor to the dish. Embrace peeling the shells and savoring the flavors!

For our readers, here we have used a boil method for tasty at-home preparation. At The Landing and other dining options at the new “Q,” our ovens use the latest green technology. These ovens use wind speed and temperature to cook with intensified heat. Along with many sustainability benefits, this method concentrates the flavors as we bake.

Coastal Shrimp Bake

Serves two.

For seasoned butter:

¾ cup unsalted butter

4 ounces garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning

1 teaspoon Paul Prudomme Redfish Magic, Emeril’s Essence or a comparable Creole seasoning

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper. This has a moderate heat. If you want less, adjust to taste

Melt butter on medium low heat, use a rubber spatula and keep the butter moving to prevent the butter from separating

Add garlic and all seasonings to the mix and cook on medium low heat for 7-8 minutes, stirring frequently. You should start to smell the garlic and the aromas of the spices should be blooming/fragrant.

Remove from heat and hold at room temperature for the following recipe

(If you make the butter in advance, just keep in refrigerator and warm butter on stove top at medium low heat to melt again)

For salt, pepper and garlic seasoning:

3 tablespoons salt, iodized

2 tablespoons pepper, ground/coarse

1 tablespoon garlic powder

Add all ingredients in a jar with an air-tight lid and shake “that bad boy” up to mix!

For shrimp bake:

1 pound shrimp, shell-on and head off

1 pound baby red potatoes

1 ear fresh corn cob, cut into 3 pieces (feel free to add another ear of corn if you like!)

4 ounces Andouille sausage, sliced about ½ inch thick. (Slice diagonally to give the final presentation a special touch!)

1 batch your prepared Seasoned Butter (above), melted. This is where the magic begins!

1 whole lemon, cut in half

1 loaf ciabatta or baguette; warm the loaf and then slice it afterwards, or slice it first and then grill it – either way works.

¼ teaspoon “SPG,” your prepared Salt, pepper and garlic seasoning (above)

2 tablespoon olive oil

2 ounces unsalted cold butter, cut into chips

1 tablespoon dried parsley (purchase organic and look at the color — it should be a vibrant green)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Quarter the baby red potatoes and cut corn into 3 pieces; coat all with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, toss it in a bowl, then season with “SPG”

Cook potatoes and corn for 10 minutes in the oven

After the potatoes and corn cooked combine the shell-on shrimp, andouille sausage, corn and potatoes in a stainless-steel bowl

Pour seasoned butter over the shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes and toss to coat. The corn and potatoes will start to “cook” the shrimp, so move quickly, flipping the contents of the bowl gently like a chef or toss with a large spoon

Empty the contents of bowl onto a full-size sheet pan. Spread the contents into one even layer, leaving some space between — don’t crowd the pan!

Cook the mixture in oven for 15-17 minutes

Use the same stainless-steel bowl (cleaned) or a different bowl, put the cold butter chips in the bowl and carefully put the cooked shrimp, sausage, potatoes and corn in the bowl; squeeze half the lemon juice over the ingredients and butter and mix together with a clean spoon

Garnish with parsley and squeeze the other half of the lemon over the top of the shrimp bake; serve with ciabatta or baguette

You can present the finished product in different ways. One option is skipping the final bowl toss: just squeeze the lemon on top the shrimp bake; guests can dip the shrimp into a bowl of the melted butter. And may I suggest a nice sauvignon blanc to accompany this memorable meal?

We all have fond memories of the meals prepared, shared, and enjoyed with others. Every family boasts that recipe no one can make like that special person in our family. While that holds true it is often the stories and the conversations, or simply feeling better after a rough day that really makes the meal. When we break bread together, we not only share food but the lives of those joining us at the table. That is the heart of what we try to do in The Landing, as our name’s sake honors the Coast Salish Tribes and the annual Canoe Journey. We travel on open waters to visit hosting tribes, sharing songs and stories, while dining on the bounty of nature provided for us.

At home or at The Landing, this is a meal worth sharing with friends and family.

Shane Warbus is the Food & Beverage Director at the new Quil Ceda Creek Casino. He has worked for Tulalip for 12 years, and 31 years in the industry in Seattle, Bellevue, Baton Rouge and Spokane. He is a Tulalip tribal member and tribal culture, family and community are important to him.