Crab and Shrimp Bisque

Sorry for not posting in so long!

Here is a good recipe for Crab and Shrimp Bisque.

1 poblano pepper chopped

3 leeks chopped (use the white parts toward the bottom, not the green at the top)

3 sticks of celery chopped

1 large shallot chopped

2 heads of roasted garlic

1 bunch of scallions chopped

1/2 stick of butter

1/2 can of tomato paste

1 cup of sherry

1.5 cups of heavy cream or half and half

1.5 tsp old bay seasoning

1 lb lump crab meat

1 lb shrimp (peeled, deveined and cut into pieces roughly the same size as the hunks of crab meat)

Either shrimp stock or some kind of seafood bullion (see below)

1. Start by roasting two heads of garlic. If you've never roasted garlic, just cut about 1/4 inch off the top of the pointy end to expose each of the individual cloves. I usually wrap the garlic in some foil with an opening at the top, sprinkle on some salt and olive oil, and throw them in the oven on 375. You'll know they are done when the cloves start popping out of the husk. Be careful they will be like hot garlic super glue when they come out of the oven.

2. Chop the remaining veggies. It doesn't really matter how course or fine you chop the ingredients because we are going to throw everything in the blender or food processor later on, but you do want them all about the same size so they cook evenly. Then, saute all the ingredients in 1/4 stick of butter. The celery and leeks are going to take a little longer than everything else so you can throw them in the pan a few minutes early if you'd like. Don't brown the vegetables. A little carmelization is ok, but you're really just looking to soften everything.

3. Next, we're going to obliterate our veggies in a blender or food processor. Either works fine. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves into the blender/fp, add sauteed veggies, tomato paste and some stock. You can make homemade shrimp stock from the shells, which is excellent, but you can also use prepared stock. I really like Better than Bouillon lobster base (http://www.superiortouch.com/retail/products/better-than-bouillon). If you decide to use the prepared bouillon, just add filtered water to the blender/fp to cover the veggie mixture (we'll season it later). Blend it very well until smooth.

4. Add the blended mixture to your soup pot along with remaining butter, cream, sherry and old bay seasoning.

5. I suggest letting it simmer lightly for an hour or so to let the flavors meld, then season it with the lobster bouillon to get the flavor profile you prefer. Also, I like to keep it healthy, but if you prefer a richer soup, you can add extra butter and cream at this point.

6. About 5 minutes before you're ready to serve, turn up the heat and add the shrimp and crab. You definitely don't want to put the seafood in too early or it will turn to mush. No one likes overcooked seafood.

7. Garnish with chopped parsley if you're fancy. Otherwise, just enjoy!