I try not to futz around with recipes the first time around. I also try to make it a point to not take too much of other peoples' reviews & suggestions too close to heart. I figure the person that submitted it, submitted it that way for a reason. I should have paid attention on this one. The batter needs either twice the flour, or half the water. It was a drippy, useless mess. Finally, on the last 10 shrimp I just dumped the coconut itself into the batter. I probably used about twice the amount of coconut called for before mixing it with the batter. The sauce: yuck. Way way too much mustard, kills the whole idea of coconut shrimp. I get the concept of wanting a little spice - but mustard just didn't work. I'm kinda glad I planned on a second sauce, since I'm not a mustard person to begin with. I chopped up a can of Dole's Mixed Tropical Fruit - it was scoffed up. And so were the shrimp, by the way. So despite me nearly wailing this one across the room, to be fair, they were very good. But for inaccuracy, disproportion & personal aggravation I only gave this one 3 stars.

Reviewed On: Feb. 22, 2009

These were excellent!! So simple, yet decadent. Very good. Loved the fact that they are so good & easy, plus made so many. They really help to fill out my Christmas cookie trays that I give each year. I'll absolutely be hanging on to this one.

Reviewed On: Feb. 19, 2009

I’ve never attempted a gumbo before or worked with okra (slimy stuff, that); or tried to find andouille sausage; or made a roux.I really did not want to use a Hillshire Farms kielbasa. I had read if you couldn’t get the andouille, to use kielbasa, like locals in New Orleans. I had to get frozen okra. The only thing I couldn’t find was file powder. Instead of stew meat, I used catfish & scallops with shrimp, crab & andouille. I threw all of it in at the end, since it was all seafood. It was very good. People really liked it. With our only Cajun/Creole place going TexMex and possibly closing down, it will be comforting to be able to make our own gumbo. Thanks for sharing. PS -“The down sides”: I think it is the sausage that is a little on the stinky side, much in the way kielbasa is; it kinda takes over in the fridge. Also (and this is a weird one), as it sat on my stovetop with no heat going after it was done, it ‘simmered’ on its own. It bubbled & kind of ‘grew’. I brought some to a friend. When I got home, the portion I stored myself in a Glad container began to leak. So I put it all back in the pot & in the fridge until the party - forgetting all the while about my friend - she was going home right away to have some. She called me two days later. Hers exploded all over her refrigerator! I have no idea what could have made any of it happen. Obviously it gave off a bit of gas. Using 2lbs of sausage was too much? Was it the okra? But it was really good…and also kinda funny

Reviewed On: Feb. 5, 2008