Peel the shrimp, leaving only the last segment of their tails attached. Reserve the shells. Season the shrimp with 1 tablespoon of the Essence and half teaspoon of the black pepper. Toss to combine. Refrigerate the shrimp while you make the sauce base and biscuits. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large pot over high heat. Add the onions and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the reserved shrimp shells, the remaining Essence, the bay leaves, lemons, water, Worcestershire, wine, salt, and the remaining black pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to cool for about 15 minutes, and strain into a small saucepan. There should be about 1 1/2 cups. Place over high heat, bring to a boil, and cook until thick, syrupy, and dark brown, for about 15 minutes. Makes about 4 to 5 tablespoons of the sauce base. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the seasoned shrimp and cook, occasionally shaking the skillet, for 2 minutes. Add the cream and all of the sauce base. Stir and simmer for 3 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a warm platter with tongs and whisk the butter into the sauce. Remove from the heat. Makes about 2 cups. Mound the shrimp in the center of a platter. Spoon the sauce over the shrimp and around the plate. Arrange the biscuits around the shrimp. Garnish with chopped chives.

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch

Published by William Morrow, 1993.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender or a fork, or rub between your fingers, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the rosemary. Stir in the 1/2 cup buttermilk a few tablespoons at a time. Knead the dough in the bowl just until it holds together, adding additional buttermilk, a tablespoon at a time, if the dough is too dry. Take care not to overwork the dough, or the biscuits will be tough rather than light and airy.

On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough into a circle about 7 inches in diameter and 1/2-inch thick. Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 12 biscuits. You can gather up the scraps to roll out more biscuits, but these won't be quite as light.

Place the biscuits on a large baking sheet. Bake until golden on top and lightly browned on the bottom, about 12 minutes.

Yield: 12 biscuits