Etouffee

This makes a LOT, but it's better the next day and really freezes well.

Start with a roux.

One cup flour
One stick butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
One medium onion, finely chopped
One bell pepper, finely chopped
Two to three cloves garlic, finely minced
Shrimp or chicken stock
Approx one pound uncooked shrimp, shelled
Approx one pound crawfish tails
Approx one pound cooked shredded chicken
One to two tablespoons Cajun seasoning
One tablespoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco (or to taste)

Slowly start to brown the flour in a heavy skillet or dutch oven. (I have a big enameled cast iron braiser). Watch that it does not burn. If it does, throw it out and start over.

Once it is a light nutty brown, add the butter and oil to make a paste. Continue to cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently. The vegetables can be added at this point, cook until they are softened. The roux should be a light to medium brown.

Add shrimp or chicken stock to make a thick gravy. Add Cajun seasoning and Tabasco. Add chicken and crawfish and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Add shrimp and cook for another 10 minutes, until shrimp are pink and opaque.

Serve over steamed rice. Sprinkle on additional Cajun seasoning or Tabasco as desired.

Dig in!

I used the shrimp shells to make a stock. I cooked the chicken breasts in chicken stock until the meat shredded up. These are the stocks I used to add to the roux. I also used some canned low-sodium chicken broth to add since I didn't end up with enough shrimp and chicken broth while cooking. I then used the canned broth to cook the rice for a richer flavor and so I didn't have leftover stock.

Kitchen Wish List

In no particular order…

BlendTec Blender
Indoor grill
Small outdoor gas grill (cuz all I have are charcoal grills, can’t use them at an apartment)
A cupboard full of Penzey’s spices
That really cool ice cream maker like Brad has
A NICE set of All Clad pots and pans
Le Creuset Dutch oven and a small variety of other enameled cast iron
A nice food processor (Cuisinart)
A nice mixer (Kitchen-Aid)
A mandolin
Toaster/convection oven with rotisserie
Good salt/pepper mills
Coffee bean grinder for grinding spices
A beautiful tagine (this really has to be near the bottom of the wish list. Kind of a one-trick pony, but they are just so pretty)

I am sure I will think of more as I go along. Like pretty nearly anything from Williams-Sonoma. And truth is, I have a very well-appointed kitchen. Some day I will have my lovely kitchen stuff back. I so miss my knives...

Crockpot Chicken and Sausage

This was a happy experiment. I needed to get dinner together for everyone and had no idea what to do. Had some chicken, some smoked sausage, started looking online for ideas. This is what I ended up with.

Four chicken quarters, skin and extra fat cut off
One pound smoked polish sausage, sliced lengthwise, then sliced into bite-sized pieces
One bell pepper, seeded and chopped
One large onion, chopped
One package fresh sliced mushrooms
One can low=fat cream of mushroom soup
One package low-fat cream cheese
One tablespoon Slap Ya Mama Cajun seasoning
Three to four cups cooked white or brown rice

I used a large 5-quart crock pot.

Chicken in first, then seasoning, then all other ingredients piled in on top. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. Can also be made in large pot on top of the stove or in the oven.

Cook until chicken is done. Serve over rice.

This would also be quite good with about half the chicken and a can of white beans (rinsed and drained) added instead.

Crawfish Bread

Haven't actually made this but don' dat look purdy! :)

Crawfish Bread
From Crawfish.com

Ingredients:

* 1 lb Louisiana crawfish tails
* 1 loaf French bread
* 1/2 stick butter
* 1/2 cup onions, diced
* 1/4 cup red bell peppers, diced
* 1/2 cup celery, diced
* 1 tbsp garlic, minced
* 1/2 tsp Creole or brown mustard
* 1/2 tsp paprika
* 1/2 tsp cayenne
* 1/2 cup mayonnaise
* 1/3 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
* 1/3 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

Slice French bread loaf lengthwise into halves, then scoop out the inside of the loaf. Set aside. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic for 5-7 minutes. Add the crawfish tails, and sauté for 3 more minutes. Lower the heat, then stir in mustard and mayonnaise. Add the cheeses and stir until melted. Remove from heat. Spread this mixture inside the bread then put halves back together. Butter the top of the loaf, wrap it in foil and bake on a hot grill or in a 350°F oven for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven or grill, cut into slices and serve while hot.

This was really supposed to just be recipes but I find I have other stuff to blather about.

Yesterday I discovered an interesting web site dedicated to cleaning out the fridge and pantry - Eating Down the Fridge. For one week you just eat what you have in the house, no going to the grocery store.

I will admit that I stopped at the store on the way home this morning, but just for a couple of basics. I did the “big” shopping about a week ago. And the challenge does not officially start until the end of the month, anyway. But I have boatloads of stuff around here so it is time to use some of it up. Especially if I do end up moving. I know I can take the pantry food no problem, but everything in the fridge and freezer would really be a challenge.

Today I bought some flat bread so I could make pizza for lunch. It is baking away as I type. :)

I think it will be kind of fun to figure out some new things to make for dinner and not relying on going to the store for whatever I want at the moment.

Marinated Carrots

Marinated Carrots

5 cups carrots, carrots
1 large bell pepper
1 large Onion
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon red pepper
1 teaspoon
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Salt to taste
1 can condensed tomato soup
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Boil carrots until tender drain. Place carrots, bell peppers and onion in a bowl. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl, add tomato soup, oil, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Pour mixture over carrots, onions and bell pepper.
Serves 8-10.

Guinness Beer Bread

Guinness Beer Bread

Found this on Simply Recipes and it is simply wonderful

Guinness Bread with Molasses Recipe

This is fantastic eaten fresh, and nearly as good the next day toasted with some more butter. Do not use stale beer for this recipe, you want the carbonation.

Ingredients
3 cups self-rising flour*
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup molasses
A pinch of salt (roughly 1/8 teaspoon)
12 ounces of Guinness beer
Butter for greasing the pan and painting the top, about 3 tablespoons
* If you don't have self-rising flour, you can substitute using a ratio of 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, plus 1/8 teaspoon of salt, for every cup of self-rising flour. Have made both ways though and got better results from the self-rising flour.

Method
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan well with butter.

2 Pour the flour, salt and sugar into a large bowl and whisk to combine.

3 Slowly pour the Guinness into the flour mixture. (The “pub cans” are larger than 12 ounces, but they have better carbonation, so I pour most of it out and leave a swig to drink. This has never failed me, but if you are a stickler, use a 12-ounce bottle of Guinness instead.) Start stirring the beer into the dry ingredients, and when you are about halfway done, add the molasses. Mix well, just to combine. Don’t work the heck out of the batter – because that’s what it’ll look like – but you don’t want lumps, either.

4 Pour into the loaf pan to no more than 2/3 full. Pop into the oven immediately and bake for 50 minutes. Since ovens can vary, check the bread after 40 minutes and see if a toothpick inserted into the deepest part of the loaf comes out clean. If it does, you’re done.

5 Let the loaf cool a bit, maybe 5 minutes, and then turn it out onto a rack. Paint it with lots of soft butter, which will melt as you go.