Mer's Zarzuela de Camarones, or is it Shrimp Creole? ;)

Mer's Zarzuela de Camarones, or is it Shrimp Creole? ;)

3 pounds of peeled shrimp - tails on (Costco!)

Finely dice:
1 bunch of celery
1 sweet white onion (mine was from Yerington, Nevada)
2 large shallots
4-6 bay leaves (I used some from the bay laurel tree in my living room)
1 small bunch parsley
black pepper - freshly ground
2 tsp kosher salt
Saute in a very large paella pan with about 6 tbsp olive oil.

Dice:
2-4 sweet red bell peppers (green ones are funky and could therefore become associated with unpleasant memories!)
1 pound roma tomatoes
Add to saute pan and cook until beginning to soften.
(Indeed - *technically*, creole doesn't traditionally have tomatoes in it, so I'm using the term liberally/literally, meaning 'mixed'. Also, especially if you don't use wine, the acidity of the tomatoes helps the shrimp cook faster without turning into little hockey pucks!)

This is a good point to pause, so that shrimp may be added within minutes of serving to avoid overcooking them.

Add shrimp, then add
1/2 bottle of chardonnay and simmer until shrimp is *just* done.
(I used Frei Brothers Reserve Russian River Valley 2007 Chardonnay (Northern Sonoma), which had really nice vanilla/caramel/spice notes - not super-fruity, more malo-lactic).
If you can't use wine, use a mixture of 1/4 each unsweetened apple juice, orange juice, pear juice, and water - 375 ml total.
Drop in some slices of very clean oranges with peels on at the last second if desired.

Test seasonings and add more salt *only* if necessary.
This is good with rice, or even better with crusty sourdough bread (a blended influence of my Bay Area Mama and my New Orleans Papa!). For din-din, try with Mer's No-Snockered-Guests Sangria!