Stark wrote:

> Sweated onions, celery and bell pepper in oil, added a little white
> wine, cooked it down then added creole seasoning, bay leaf and a cup
> and a half of half 'n half instead of heavy cream. Slow cooked that
> for half an hour until I had a smooth consistency of pancake batter,
> then dumped in the shrimp which needed to cook for a couple of minutes.
>
>
> The sauce never boiled, but it may have stayed on the eye for a couple
> of minutes too long for that's when it broke down, sort of granulating.
>
> Didn't want to pull it off since all the shrimp hadn't turned pink yet,
> but it was probably that last couple of minutes and the wet shrimp that
> did it.
>
> I think cooking the shrimp separately is probably the answer since all
> the shrimp that I can buy has been frozen somewhere along the line.

You could cook the shrimp in the sauce BEFORE adding the cream, but then
you'd have to take them out while the sauce reduced. The problem at that
point would be how to keep the shrimp during that half-hour. If you keep
them warm, they'll probably turn rubbery, but if you chill them, then
they'll probably either shrivel or they'll release more liquid when you add
them back into the sauce. It's a little tricky.

If it's available in your area, you might try using Mexican crema instead of
half & half, although the flavor will have a tangy dimension you might not
want. Or (again, if it's available) you could try adding a bit of chickpea
flour; that's used to keep cream sauces from curdling in some cuisines.

Bob