Easy Party Appetizers - Shrimp Bisque Cups

Bisque sounds intimidating. Fancy too. That is, until you look at the ingredients and the technique and realize it is not nearly as hard as it sounds. Traditionally, bisque is a cream based soup. It can be made with tomatoes as the primary ingredient, and the result is a rather Pepto-Bismol pink. Otherwise, it is made with some sort of shellfish: crab, shrimp or crawfish.

One of the ingredients in bisque is ultra-fine flour, such as Wondra (made by Gold Medal and available in most grocery stores.) If you cannot find ultra-fine flour or "instant mix flour," the following makes a passable substitute, although it is not exactly the same. Measure out the amount of flour called for in the recipe. Place it in a blender and pulse it on high several times. Spoon the flour back into a measuring cup and check the amount carefully. Do not tap the cup when measuring as it will cause the flour to compact.

Bisque Cups
You will need:

• 12 crusty rolls with rounded tops
• ½ cup instant mix ultra-fine flour (see above)
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups half & half cream (coffee creamer may be substituted)
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 16 ounce can cream-style corn
• 2 tablespoons Creole seasoning (like Tony Chachere's or Zatarains)
• 12 ounces shelled, cleaned shrimp, crab meat, or crawfish tail meat.
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onion

How to make it:

First, cut the tops off the rolls, only about a quarter inch deep. Cut out a well in the center. This is where the soup will go. Make sure you leave the bottom intact, and do not cut all the way through.

Put the flour in a saucepan. Add the milk a little at the time until the mixture is lump free. Add the rest of the milk and cream. Heat slowly to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce to simmer. Add the butter, corn, seasoning, and shellfish. Cook for another two or three minutes, or until the seafood is cooked (remember, it does not take long).

Ladle carefully into the bread bowls. Sprinkle a bit of the green onion on top of the soup.
Place the "lid" back on top.

Serve them on individual soup plate. The bread is meant to be torn and dipped into the soup. Soup plates are a necessity though, as sometimes, things happen.

This can also be served just in bowls. When served as a soup course rather than an appetizer course, the recipe makes four to six servings rather than a dozen. More of gourmet appetizers for appetizers.