Hot Cajun Shrimp Dip

My relationship with spicy food has not always been a positive one. Maybe it's because I didn't grow up eating foods with a high heat factor; contrary to what some think, Cuban food is generally not spicy. But, I did experience a little -- let's call it, trauma -- as a kid that I like to refer to as The Jalapeno Incident of 1990 that could certainly have had something to do with the aversion.

During a family Disney trip, my dad accidentally mistook jalapenos for pickles as he loaded up my burger with toppings at a lunch buffet. How you mistake the two, I have no idea... but if you know my dad, you know the flub is entirely feasible for him. 

Anyway, I took one bite of that "loaded" burger and I.Saw.Stars. First, a strange tingling. Then an intense burning that started at my lips and spread like wildfire through my entire mouth within seconds. Five alarm. 

Though I was old enough to communicate, I couldn't even verbalize the problem because my tongue was too busy feeling like it licked a smoldering log. So I cried. Maybe even whimpered. Needless to say, it was a while before I {purposely} ventured into the world of spicy food again. {And an even longer while before I let my dad fix my burgers for me. Parenting fail.}

I'm happy to say that since then, I've "warmed up" to spicy foods, so to speak. I eased in with "quick heat" like wasabi and horseradish, then graduated to using small amounts of cayenne and red pepper flakes in my cooking, and finally dove into the world of hot sauce. 

Now, I actually like adding some spice to my food. So there's hope for you if you, too, have been scarred from a bad jalapeno experience.

This Hot Cajun Shrimp Dip is a great place to dip your toe into the hot sauce and test the waters. {Ew, not literally.} Not only does the creamy cream cheese help to tame the heat, but you can also control your spice level by adding more or less hot sauce to the dip. {The folks at Tabanero send me a sampler pack and I went with the original recipe, but they also have Extra Hot and Sweet & Spicy.}

I can see this shrimp dip served up on SuperBowl Sunday or even for upcoming Mardi Gras celebrations... just make sure you warn your guests so there are no unwanted surprises! Unlike the infamous burger, I have a feeling they'll be going back for a second bite.

Disclosure: I was sent a complimentary pack of Tabanero Hot Sauce to try. As always, all the opinions here are my own. :)

Hot Cajun Shrimp Dip

Adapted from Southern Living 

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 scallions, thinly sliced {plus extra for garnish}

1 small green bell pepper, finely diced

3 tablespoons diced pimientos

1 glove garlic, grated or minced 

1/2 pound peeled, deveined shrimp, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

1 {8 oz. block} cream cheese*

1 to 2 teaspoons {or more if you dare!} hot sauce, such as Tabanero 

1. Heat butter and olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add scallions, bell pepper, diced pimientos and garlic and cook until tender and fragrant, about 3-5 minutes.

2. Add chopped shrimp and Cajun seasoning. Stir to combine. Cook until shrimp is opaque and cooked through. 

3. Add cream cheese and stir until the cheese is completely melted and smooth. Mix in hot sauce.

Garnish with extra chopped scallions if desired.

Serve with crackers or chips. 

*Using the whole block of cream cheese makes for a very creamy dip. If you prefer a chunkier dip with more focus on the shrimp, use only half to 3/4 of the cream cheese.

Jambalaya Flatbread

In a miraculous turn of events, I managed to get the grocery shopping AND laundry done before noon on a Friday.

Before you applaud me for getting good at this mom thing {because you know I was patting myself on the back}, I have to tell you that my 9 month old child decided to pull down a small display of animal crackers as our groceries were being rung up by a Channing Tatum-esque cashier. The clear plastic barrels filled with little animal shapes crashed to the floor with a sound loud enough to shake me from my self-congratulatory fog and remind me never to get too cocky about my parenting skills. {On another note, Channing 2.0 may never have children of his own.}

Aside from that, our day has been pretty standard. And by standard I mean filled with attempts at productivity dashed by bouts of playing/fussing/chasing/catching, etc., etc.

I did, however, scratch together enough seconds to pop into the kitchen for a moment and make this:

I'm can't tell you if it was the excessive amount of green bell peppers or the soundtrack from The Princess and the Frog playing in the background that gave me the idea, but I can tell you that a good idea it was.

This Jambalaya Flatbread is such a fun Friday food for a casual dinner in or as an appetizer for guests. The hint of spice from the andouille sausage is balanced out by a creamy tomato base, seasoned with a dash of celery salt to give the classic taste of the "trinity" {onion, bell pepper, celery} that goes into jambalaya. Soft, sauteed bell peppers and onions in contrast to the crisp flatbread crust
makes every taste bud do a little dance.

Celebrate your Friday successes {or forget about your mishaps} with Jambalaya Flatbread tonight. Here's to making it to the weekend!

Jambalaya Flatbread 

Store bought {or homemade} pizza dough
Olive oil
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
4 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temp
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
{Optional} Dash of cayenne pepper
1 to 2 smoked andouille sausage, very thinly sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. If you have a pizza stone, place it in the oven to heat it up. If not, prepare a baking sheet with a little bit of olive oil. Set aside.

2. In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Saute green bell pepper and onion until just softened and translucent. Set aside.

3. Meanwhile, with a hand mixer, beat together cream cheese, tomato paste and celery salt {and cayenne if using}. Set aside.

4. On a floured surface, cut dough into quarters. Roll out each quarter to desired thickness -- I made mine very thin for quick baking and a crisp flatbread. You should be able to get 4 flatbreads out of 1 pound of dough depending on how big you make them. Place on pizza stone or oiled baking pan. Bake for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is just set and starts to bubble.

5. Remove flatbreads from oven. Spread each evenly with cream cheese mixture. Top with sauteed bell peppers, onions and sausage.

6. Return flatbreads to oven and bake for another 5-7 minutes, or until the sausages begin to brown a bit and the crusts are crisp.

Enjoy hot!