Reliving Crawfish Monica from NoLa's Jazzfest

It's in no way good for you (is any recipe that comes out of New Orleans ever good for you?), but I always crave it when I get close to the Gulf.  After a little reading, I understand why this is the official dish of Jazzfest in New Orleans--it's super fast and easy (and very 80s, which is when it was invented). I can't find decent crawdad tails here in the Rockies so I use shrimp, but you can easily adjust if you're luckier than I (and use a pound of tails instead of the 1/2 pound of shrimp I call for, as they're tiny).

A shot of the real deal at New Orleans' Jazzfest

Shrimp Monica

Serves 6-8

1/2 pound small shrimp, shelled, tails off, and deveined
1 stick unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
6-8 fresh chives, chopped
1 cup plain milk (any flavor)

1 tablespoon Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning (this should be a staple in your kitchen, anyway)
1 pound rotini pasta + a little pasta water


Set salted water to boil in a large pasta pot. In a large saute pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and chives and cook 2-3 minutes, until softened. Add shrimp and saute for 2-3 minutes until cooked. Stir in milk, then add Creole seasoning to taste. Cook for 10 minutes until sauce starts to thicken. Cook pasta according to package directions, then drain (but reserve a little of the water). Stir pasta into the sauce, adding cooking water a tablespoon at a time if needed. Cook for another 5 minutes on low, stirring often, and allowing pasta to soak up the sauce.