Spicy Catfish ToTry

Posted on by May 25, 2018

Inspired by the Black Iron Blog.

Ingredients
6 x 6-8oz. catfish fillets
peanut oil for frying
marinade for catfish – 1 cup buttermilk + Louisiana hot sauce to taste
marinate catfish for at least 2 hours prior to frying.

2 cups seasoned corn flour (masa harina, 1 TBsp cayenne, 1 tsp. paprika, salt&pepper to taste, and a pinch of garlic and onion powders)

Method:
In a large black iron skillet pour peanut oil to a depth that will cover fish by 1/2 inch. Preheat oil to 365°F.

Remove fish from marinade and dredge in seasoned corn flour, shaking off excess. Fry until fish pieces are golden brown. Do not overcook. Remove from skillet and drain on a cooling rack.

Creole Jambalaya w/ Pork Chops ToTry

Posted on by October 12, 2018

Inspired by Chef Folse here.

Comment: The original jambalaya of New Orleans was tomato based and flavored with a combination of sausages, ham and chicken. Often, the dish was “thrown together” at a moment’s notice when unexpected friends dropped by and a quick entrée was needed. In such a case, sometimes heavy-smoked sausage and tomatoes were the only ingredients needed for a great spur-of-the-moment meal.
Ingredients:

6 thin-cut, bone-in pork chops
2 pounds smoked sausage, sliced
salt and cracked black pepper to taste
granulated garlic to taste
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup diced onions
1 cup diced celery
½ cup diced red bell peppers
¼ cup minced garlic
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup petite diced tomatoes
4½ cups chicken stock
3 cups long grain rice
½ cup sliced green onions
¼ cup chopped parsley

Method:

  1. Season pork chops to taste using salt, pepper and granulated garlic.
  2. In a 7-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown pork chops on both sides then remove and set aside.
  3. In the same Dutch oven with pan drippings, sauté onions, celery, bell peppers and minced garlic 3–5 minutes or until vegetables are wilted, stirring often.
  4. Mix in smoked sausage and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Blend in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a rolling boil then stir in rice. Return mixture to a rolling boil then reduce heat to low. Season to taste with salt, pepper and granulated garlic.
  6. Add green onions and parsley, stirring to incorporate. Carefully place pork chops on top of mixture and gently press into liquid.
  7. Cover and cook 45 minutes. Do not stir or remove lid.
  8. Remove from heat and allow to sit 15 minutes before serving.

Andouille Sausage by Chef Folse ToTry

Posted on by May 25, 2018

Comment paragraphs below and inspiration for the recipe is from Chef John Folse here.

Andouille Sausage
PREP TIME: 6 Hours
SERVES: 5 (12-inch) links

COMMENT:
Andouille is the nationally famous Cajun smoked sausage of Louisiana. Made with pork butt, shank and a small amount of pork fat, this sausage is seasoned with salt, cracked black pepper and garlic. The andouille is then slowly smoked over pecan wood and sugar cane. Andouille is stuffed into the beef middle casing, which makes the sausage approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter. When smoked, it becomes very dark, almost black in color. It was not uncommon for the Cajuns to smoke andouille for seven to eight hours at approximately 175 degrees F.

Traditionally, the andouilles from France were made from the large intestines and stomach of the pig, seasoned heavily and smoked. In parts of Germany, where some say andouille originated, the sausage was made with all remaining intestines and casings pulled through a larger casing. The sausage was seasoned and smoked, and it was served thinly sliced as an hors d’oeuvre.

It is interesting to note that the finest andouille in France comes from the Brittany and Normandy areas. It is believed that over half of the Acadian exiles who came to Louisiana in 1755 were originally from these coastal regions.

INGREDIENTS:

5 pounds pork butt
1/2 pound pork fat
1/2 cup garlic, chopped
1/4 cup cracked black peppercorns
2 tbsps cayenne pepper
1 tbsp dry thyme
2 tbsps salt
6 feet beef middle casing (see butcher or specialty shop)

METHOD:

  1. Cube pork butt into 1 1/2-inch cubes. Using a meat grinder with four, 1/4-inch holes in the grinding plate, grind pork and pork fat. If you do not have a grinding plate this size, I suggest hand cutting the pork butt into 1/4-inch square pieces.
  2. Place ground pork in a large mixing bowl and blend in all remaining ingredients.
  3. Once well blended, stuff meat into casings in 1-foot links, using the sausage attachment on your meat grinder. Tie both ends of the sausage securely using heavy gauge twine.
  4. In your home style smoker, smoke andouille at 175-200 degrees F for approximately 4-5 hours.
  5. The andouille may then be frozen and used for seasoning gumbos, white or red beans, pastas or grilling as an hors d’oeuvre.

Pork Spare Ribs Smoked with 5POGS

Posted on by May 29, 2018

5/22/2018 – This cook produced the best flavored ribs I have made. The seasoning with 5POGS 24 hours before then before the foil and finishing in the oven is the best yet. The ACV-diluted Stubbs BBQ Sauce gave it the sauce flavor profile without the sticky sauce. The bark is very good and the meat is moist and tender. Will season more cooks this way and see if it is consistently good.

Continue reading →

BBQ Shrimp like Pascal Manale’ ToTry

Posted on by November 22, 2019

Pascal’s Manale’s most important ingredient is the head-on shrimp. As co-owner and chef Mark DeFelice says, “The head on the shrimp is important because it contains the fat and the protein, and that’s where a lot of the flavor is from in the barbecue shrimp.”

To read DeFelice’s hack to use headless shrimp go here or here.

It may be hard to find head-on shrimp in cities away from the coast, so DeFelice came up with a shortcut. He uses more spices to make up for the flavor of the missing heads.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound or 21-25 headless shrimp (wild caught is vastly superior to farmed shrimp)
  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1/2 cup Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
  • big pat of butter

The “Manale spice” mix:

  • 4 teaspoons black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon thyme
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon basil

Directions

Wash and pat dry shrimp. Add the Manale spice mix, garlic, Lea & Perrins and Tabasco. Then pour the olive oil over the shrimp, adding the white wine. Stir together. (Though it’s not in Mark’s recipe, I saw him put a big pat of butter in the pan.)

Cook over high heat until shrimp are done, approximately 10 minutes. Do not overcook shrimp.

The Plate

Serve the shrimp in a wide soup bowl, and have hard-crust French bread on hand for dipping in the buttery, peppery sauce. Peel the shrimp and eat.

The dish is best accompanied by a bottle of ice-cold Abita Amber Beer and a Louis Prima song.

From NOLA.com whose researchers found the published recipe printed in 1995.

Chef Mark’s Barbecued Shrimp

1 pound headless shrimp, 21 to 25 count

5 teaspoons Manale’s spice*

1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/2 teaspoon Lea & Perrin’s Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon Tabasco

1 cup margarine, melted

1/2 cup white wine, such as Chablis

Rinse shrimp and pat dry. Place shrimp in a medium saucepan. Add spice, garlic, Worcestershire, and Tabasco and stir to coat shrimp. Pour melted margarine over shrimp and then white wine. Stir together. Cook over high heat until shrimp are cooked, stirring occasionally. Do not overcook shrimp.

Serve with French bread for dipping. 

For a great sounding version that uses time to incorporate the flavor go to Drick’s Rambling Cafe. Note how he cooks the shrimp then pours on the seasoning then lets it rest in the warm oven to incorporate the flavors. That sounds like a restaurant way to have a dish essentially cooked and ready to serve over an extended time period.

Chipotle Smashed Potatoes ToTry

Posted on by May 20, 2018

Recipe By: Arci at AllRecipes.com

Ingredients
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons softened butter
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded white Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
Place the potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and allow to steam dry for a minute or two.

Return the potatoes to the pot, and mash with the black pepper, salt, butter, chipotle peppers, and garlic until smooth. Fold in the Cheddar cheeses, mayonnaise, heavy cream, and cilantro until the cheeses have melted.

Shrimp & Ham Jambalaya (red)

Posted on by October 12, 2018

5/18/2018 – The dish turned out great with many comments by Kelley and Mary that it was really good. It was inspired by the recipe on page 44 of our copy of Kit Whol’a book New Orleans Classic Creole Recipes. Kip credits Poppy Tucker for the recipe. [Piper and Olivia still only wanted their mini-pizzas.]

To watch Poppy cook it go to http://www.finecooking.com/article/how-to-make-creole-shrimp-jambalaya. She says: “Ham, be it regular or tasso (see #6 ), always appears in jambalaya.” Note that Poppy used 2 lbs. of heads-on shrimp. Mine could have used that 1/3 lb. more.

My tweaked version they liked so much is below. Note though the quantities Kit said are to serve 6-8 but since Mary, Kelley and I had at least two servings each there was only one serving left for another day. We also had nothing to go with it like a green salad.

Ingredients:

1 lb. headless shrimp, peeled and the shells used to make seafood stock
4-1/2 cups of seafood stock

4 Tbs butter
3 stalks of celery
1 med yellow onion
1 average Green Bell pepper
1/4 pound of diced ham
3 Tbs tomato paste

Seasoning:
1 bay leaf
1/4 heaping tsp dried thyme
1/4 heaping tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp ancho chile powder
almost 1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 of 1/4 tsp ground cloves
1.5 tsp kosher salt
Kip’s Creole Seasoning added with the rice and to the raw shrimp

2 Cups of Jasmine Long Grain Rice

Chopped green onions and sweet paprika to work in with a fork in before resting 10 minutes. See note below about stirring causing mushiness. Also note that I did not add the onion or paprika for the first try of this dish as I did not read carefully enough. Should have also used our tasso rather than the ham.

Process:

  1. Shell the shrimp and bring the shells in the water to a boil for maybe a couple of minutes then turn down to simmer until needed.
  2. Melt 4T butter in the large blue porcelain lined cast iron soup pot.
  3. Add to the butter and saute:
    1. 1 med onion chopped fine
    2. 1 green bell pepper chopped into an average 1/2″ squares
    3. 4 stalks of celery about 10″ long chopped into small pieces
  4. When the edges of the pieces begin to soften add the diced ham and stir together.
  5. Add 5-6 shakes of Kit’s Creole Seasoning to have a visible dusting over the whole pot. Stir it in and heat for maybe 5 minutes.
  6. Add the rice in small batched and stir in well between each addition. Let the pot reheat and the rice begin to absorb the flavors.
  7. Strain the shrimp shells from the seafood broth and add the strained broth to the pot stirring well. [That is the last thorough stirring to avoid mushiness like we had. See notes below.]
  8. Cook with the lid on for 15 minutes or so until the rice is almost done.
  9. Add the raw shrimp and stir into the hot mixture with the fire still on low to reheat the pot and lightly cook the shrimp.
  10. After about 10 minutes serve.

Thoughts – Per Poppy’s tips on page 44 the dish should be turned only lightly and “only two or three times during cooking”. That avoids mushiness like we had. I had turned it and not stirred but did turn it at least 4 times to keep it from sticking on the bottom. Should have had the fire much lower if not off.

Giardiniera – Third Ferment

Posted on by June 9, 2018

5/16/2018 – Inspired by the recipe here. Based on the first tasting we found: the texture firm; the saltiness just right, i.e. not bold; and the degree of heat not much despite the intense heat of the batch of serranos. When the large jar was eaten 3+ weeks later it all tasted fine, firm and maintaining the individual textures but it all tasted the same. Continue reading →