Our Gonzales Cousin Reunion in Orange Beach, Alabama 2 weeks ago was not only good for the heart and soul but also for our tummies! Great cooks were present along with those who supplied extra local delicacies such as boiled Peanuts. Soggy peanuts in shells??? Not my favorite. However, thanks to Monde, the cousin reunion ring leader, our clan enjoyed gallon jugs of frozen Pina Collada’s bought at a drive-through in Slidell called Daiquiris, homemade Vanilla Ice Cream out of a gigantic Styrofoam cup that was scooped on top of the pound cake from her Mobile bakery, and from which her roadside stand peaches tumbled off of! An amazing finish to any meal.
Above is the fresh okra my mom sauteed to go with our Barbecued Shrimp! She started with a couple pieces of bacon, removed the bacon, then sauteed the diced onion until soft in the bacon fat for more flavor, added the chopped okra and the diced home grown ruby red tomatoes. There was none leftover!
Next, my sister did a version of those famous NOLA Menales Shrimp! 8.5 pounds worth! We were missing some of the ingredients so we used what we had on hand. No one knew the difference! These shrimp had been caught that day and were unlike any I ever get in Dallas! Sorry Rex!
Here are 2 of about 24 beverage choices we had that night; both were new to me. Let me know if you are familiar with either of them. Also, if you would like the REAL Menales Shrimp Recipe, let me know! I would love to share!
Cousin Mike, hasn’t missed too many meals in his 58 years, loaded up his plate. It appears he lost control of the salad dressing bottle! Whoops! Oh, I am glad to have shot this photo since it reminds me to tell you that you’ll want to always serve French Bread to sop up the Menale’s Barbeque Shrimp Sauce and remind me of the corn on the cob we oven-roasted! As our Papa Gonzales would say, “What a feast!” Tomorrow night, Armand and Torrey’s shrimp creole and some other Gulf Coast delights!