A tasty tie to the Big Easy

Morris McCain with shrimp remoulade at his South End home. (Wiqan ang for the boston globe)

Here and there in the Hub, pockets of Mardi Gras spirit flourish. One such outpost is the South End home of New Orleans native Morris McCain and his husband, Charlie Byron, who each year hold a party to celebrate Fat Tuesday (this year it falls on Feb. 5).

The gathering includes a number of Big Easy expats. "New Orleans natives tend to snag each other," says McCain, who is 64 and works for the Social Security Administration. The pot luck wouldn't be complete without McCain's shrimp remoulade. Basically, it's shrimp in a tangy dressing - a sort of emulsified vinaigrette with a mayonnaise-like consistency - served over shredded lettuce. McCain's version is based on a recipe from famed Galatoire's Restaurant in his hometown.

On a recent Saturday morning, McCain, with Byron's assistance, prepared the famous sauce in their light-filled brownstone and reminisced about the Crescent City. In high school, says McCain, on Friday afternoons "they'd bring out a big pot of crawfish and a big pot of shrimp" - a traditional way to end the week. "What you did on a Sunday was take the streetcar around on a big loop."

Like so much else in New Orleans, those streetcars halted after Hurricane Katrina. McCain has been back twice since then. "The first time, it was a mess." His childhood home was flooded to the windowsills. It wasn't long after Katrina, he says, and "people were on their last nerve." But by his second visit - a gathering of some high school friends, last February - "it wasn't so bad. We went back to my old house; someone was putting up drywall." An even more hopeful sign? "They had reopened the streetcar. Oh, how I felt about that!"

Something of the Big Easy has never left McCain. He deftly peels shrimp and announces, "If you grow up in New Orleans, you can peel shrimp in your sleep." Byron prefers to devein the shrimp, too, which McCain considers a concession to Northern sensibilities; he says he doesn't think it's necessary.

He has added a packet of Rex Crab Boil seasoning and a good amount of salt to a big pot of water. The crab boil is an essential ingredient; the couple have been known to buy 24 boxes at a time. McCain lets the seasonings float into the water. "It's ready, he says, "when it looks like a frothy, dark-brown mess." Timing is key. Add the shrimp to the boiling broth, let it return to a boil, then cook the shrimp exactly 2 minutes. "More than that, and they'd be rubber."

The remoulade sauce can be prepared days in advance - a godsend, notes McCain, for a party that must be held on a Tuesday. With three greens (celery, parsley, and scallions) and a variety of seasonings including hot sauce and Creole mustard, the dressing comes together quickly in the food processor. Add the oil slowly, he advises, so the mixture emulsifies properly. It's a bit thin right after it's mixed, but after some time in the refrigerator, it should have the texture of mayonnaise.

Classically, the shrimp and sauce are served on iceberg lettuce and accompanied by a spongy French bread that "should be light and tasteless - like the lettuce. A lot of my friends here won't tolerate iceberg," says McCain, "so I'm often forced to yield to the preference for other lettuce."

He'll concede that, but the sauce will never change. "Alter the remoulade?" he asks. "I wouldn't dare."