Wild American Shrimp Etouffee

My grandma and your grandma we're sitting by the fire...  So, lately, I've been wanting to do some southern-style cooking and the other day something reminded me of a commercial that was running on TV right after hurricane Katrina.  Jen and I always loved it because the one we had seen locally actually used the words, "All up in your etouffeé."  The video I found online is a bit shorter and says, "Right there in your etoufeé" instead but the point is that it inspired me to do some Cajun cookin and I decided on shrimp etouffeé.  I used a pearled barley in place of the rice, as Jen and I prefer it, but you could use anything you want since etouffeé is just a French word that means "smothered".  Smother whatever you wish!

Since the dish was inspired by wild American shrimpers, I figured it would only be apropos to accompany the dish with some Dead Kennedy's "Holiday in Cambodia".  Why, you might ask?  Because of some connective process by which one has to be aware that the biggest competition for wild American shrimpers is Southeast Asian shrimpers.  And Holiday in Cambodia seemed fitting.  If you read the next recipe post, I'll show you how to get from The Dead Kennedy's to Kevin Bacon in under three moves.  -  justin

Shrimp Etouffee

• 3 cups water
• 3 tbsp salt
• 2 cups pearled barley
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp dried sweet basil leaves
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup chopped celery
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh pepper (Bell, Anaheim, Poblano) - I used poblano
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 cups seafood stock 
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
• 2 lbs peeled, de-veined shrimp
• 1 cup finely chopped scallions

Bring the water and 3 tbsp of salt to a boil over high heat in a saucepan and add the pearled barley.  When it returns to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and let cook for 30 minutes.  No lifting the lid!  After 30 minutes, set aside to cool.  This can be made far in advance if desired.

Thoroughly mix the salt, cayenne, white and black peppers, sweet basil and thyme and set aside.  In a separate bowl combine the onion, celery, and fresh peppers. 

In a large skillet (preferably cast iron), heat the oil over high heat until it just stars to smoke, around 4 minutes or so.  Mix in the flour gradually, stirring with a whisk until the mixture is smooth and continue cooking over high heat, whisking constantly, until the roux is a dark reddish-brown color, about 3-5 minutes.

Remove from heat as soon as you are at the desired color and immediately add the chopped vegetables and 1 tbsp of the seasoning mix.  Stir in with a wooden spoon and continue stirring until the roux has cooled, approximately 5 minutes or so.  The idea is to stop it from cooking or the residual heat will carry it far beyond where you intend, even burning your roux after it's been removed from the heat.

In a 3 quart saucepan bring 2 cups of the seafood stock to a boil over high heat.  Add the roux in increments, making sure to completely dissolve it before adding the next bit.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 minutes while continuing to whisk.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large saucepan or stockpot, melt 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup), over medium heat.  Stir in the shrimp and green onions.  Sauté for a minute or two, stirring constantly.  Add the remaining stick of butter, the last cup of seafood stock, and the stock/roux mixture.  Cook until the butter melts into the sauce, about 5 minutes, constantly shaking the pan in a circular motion over the heat, rather than stirring*.  Add at least 1 tbsp of the remaining seasoning mix and stir it in.  There should be 3 tbsp left and I used 2 for some spicy zip!

Serve over rice, or barley, and enjoy with a tall glass of iced tea or a cold, dark beer.

*A note on shaking the pot as opposed to stirring.  There are scientific reasons as to why this is a better way to combine butter in a sauce over medium heat instead of stirring but I don't know them.  What I do know is that it helps the oils released from the melting butter to better incorporate in the sauce than stirring does.  It works.  It just does.  If your sauce comes out looking oily or separated, add 2 more tbsp of stock or water and shake the pot for a couple minutes and the sauce will blend.

Roasted Sage Chicken with Mushroom Sage Stuffing

This came out to be such a tasty, home cookin' kinda meal!  We'd just had the whole chicken in the freezer for a while, not sure what we were going to do with it.  Justin had mentioned brining it.  But I left work early today and decided I was cooking up a meal.  We had a lot of the stuff on hand - that's often inspiration enough for us... trying to see what we can use up in the fridge and still create something fantastic.  We had the garlic sourdough bread, the leftover corn bread, we had onions and lemon... so I really just picked up a few odds and ends to complete it.

Oddly, we weren't really listening to much music while cooking this tonight.  So as I posted this, I had this random stream of thoughts that made their way to Rage Against the Machine's "Bulls On Parade" in a ridiculously long, out-of-the-way though process.  Punk?  Well, not really, though I can think of a handful of arguments on how you could call Rage punk.  But I get to break my own rules whenever I want.  And if I want to post some Rage, I'm gonna post some Rage! :)  -jen

ROASTED SAGE CHICKEN

• 1 whole chicken (about 5 pounds)
• 1 cup sage butter (recipe below)
• 1/2 a lemon, quartered (use other 1/2 in butter below, zest whole lemon first)
• 1 large carrot stick
• 1/2 a medium onion, quartered
• 1-2 celery sticks
• a handful of fresh parsley
• a handful of fresh basil
• salt and pepper
• butcher's twine

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Make sure all innards are removed from chicken cavity.  Generous salt and pepper the chicken cavity.  Stuff lemon, carrot, onion, celery, parsley and basil into cavity.


Tie legs tightly together with butcher's twine.  Then gently lift the skin from the chicken and using your hand, rub a generous amount of sage butter under the chicken skin.  Rub remaining sage butter over entire outside of chicken.  Place chicken in a roasting pan and cook for about 90 minutes, or until the breast reaches 160 degrees F and juices run clear.

SAGE BUTTER

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temp
• 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons fresh sage
• 2 teaspoons parsley, chopped
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• several cranks of fresh cracked pepper

MUSHROOM SAGE STUFFING

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1.5 medium-sized yellow onions, chopped
• 3 cups roughly chopped crimini mushrooms
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 5 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• several cranks of fresh cracked pepper
• 6 cups stale bread, cubed (I like 4 cups sourdough, 2 cups cornbread)
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Melt butter over medium-high heat and add onions, mushrooms, and celery.  Saute until tender, 8-10 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in sage, parsley, salt and pepper.  Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine bread, chicken broth, and beaten eggs.  Mix in sauted vegetables.

Pour into a buttered 9x13 baking dish.  Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 425 degrees F.  Remove foil and continue baking for an additional 30 minutes.

Pickle Wheels

In my family, there are two "appetizers" (and I use that term loosely) that we must have at every major holiday.  One is a salsa-tortilla roll-up thing that I may or may not post later... and the other high-class hors d'oeuvres are Pickle Wheels.  They're something that came into our family about twenty-five years ago, when my Aunt Yvonne showed up to a family holiday dinner with these scrumptious little morsels instead of deviled eggs or green bean casserole!  Pickle wheels - dill pickles smothered in cream cheese and then wrapped with the cheapest lunch meat you can find, Buddig's.  Everyone I've ever made these for has whole heartedly balked at the ludicrous idea... until they try them.  Once tried, it's very likely that it will become your favourite little snacky thingie EVER!  My mother would make gorgeous, delicious, decadent holiday dinners... lobster stuffed filet mignon, creamy holiday mashed potatoes with chives and cream and cheese, spinach-stuffed mushrooms... and she'd tell us that Pickle Wheels didn't go with her meal.  We'd whine and beg and plead until she allowed us to make them!  They are a must have at all our holidays... or, like tonight, just when my bro and I and our spouses get together for a game night.  -jen

I know this is ska and not punk, but what else could I use for this recipe except some Skankin' Pickle?!

PICKLE WHEELS

• one jar Claussen whole dill pickles
• 2 packs (8oz each) Philadelphia cream cheese, room temp
• 4 packs Buddig's beef lunch meat slices

First, you need to dry your pickles by patting with a paper towel.  Then slice a few of the pieces of Buddig's beef evenly in half and set aside.

Using a butter knife, place a dollop of cream cheese on the end of a pickle.

Pat the cream cheese with the flat side of the knife to spread it evenly over the end of the pickle.  I find it easier to just pat it to spread it out than to try spreading it like you would butter on toast.  You want to cover it about an 1/8" thick.  Enough that pickle isn't showing through, but not too thick!

   (Insert dirty comment here)

Then place one half of the beef slice on the end, pressing it gently into the cream cheese.  This will give you a little of a less-messy hand hold on the pickle.  Repeat with the opposite end of the pickle.

Then smear the cream cheese on the exposed middle of the pickle, wrapping a slice of beef around as you go. I usually end up using two slices of beef to go around the middle of the pickle, in addition to the two halves at the ends.

Store pickles, whole, in the fridge for an hour or more to allow the cream cheese to firm back up.  You can make these a day ahead of time.

Then slice up into wheels and serve!

Garlic Cheese and Bacon Biscuits

I have no intro to this recipe, really.  I love cheese and garlic biscuits.  I wanted some.  Been on a bacon kick.  Decided to add bacon.  Made them.  They rocked!

(As much as I love bacon, I don't think I'm ready to make this monster yet, though.  Look, two recipes for the price of one!)

We both reeeeeeeeally liked these biscuits; they didn't last long at all.

Don't remember what I was listening to when making these - it was a while ago; I've been slacking with the posting.  But as I wrote it up tonight, I was listening to a little Lars Frederiksen and The Bastards (and some Rancid, and some Choking Victim, and some Minor Threat...)  But here's a little Lars and a little biscuits.  -jen

GARLIC CHEESE AND BACON BISCUITS

• 10 strips bacon
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons dill, dried (optional)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• few grinds of fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup monterey jack cheeese, shredded

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Chop uncooked bacon into small pieces.  Cook over medium high heat until crispy.  Drain and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, dill, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper.  Mix well.  Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and add milk, butter, bacon and cheese.  Mix by hand just until dry ingredients are combined (mix as little as possible!)  Using a 1/4 cup measurement, drop biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet about an inch apart.

Bake until golden brown, 20-22 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.  I recommend removing them from the pan immediately (or at least flip them and let them rest on their tops).  Otherwise the bottom of the biscuits continue to cook and can get too dark.

Makes about 8 biscuits.

Check out that fancy paper plating!  Hey, I've got the rustic veggie thing going on behind it!

Bacon Maple Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I decided to jump onto the Bacon Bandwagon.  Since there's no donut shop in my nearby area that carries a bacon maple donut, I had to improvise.  Pork and pineapple go together.  Pineapple and maple go together.  Maple and pork go together.  It's rich, but it's sweet and salty and delicious!  Loved it!  And how many cakes do you know of that include a pound of bacon?!  It's awesome.

It makes me think fondly of the Prodigal Son that used to be in Chicago.  Irish pub in the front, angry, dirty punk music in the back, and bottomless free baskets of deep fried bacon on Wednesday nights.  I think I actually saw more blood spilled in that venue than any other venue.  That's just what happens when you get crazy and mix bacon and punk rock!  Chaos and anarchy!

The last show I saw there was my friend Germ's band, The Rotten Fruits, shown in the video here!  You can find Germ with his new band, Modern Day Rippers!  If you're in the Chicago area, check 'em out!  It's always a good show! 

BACON MAPLE PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

• 1 pound bacon
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened and divided
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 2 cups + 1/3 cup 100% pure maple syrup (Grade B if possible)
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 egg
• 1 & 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons bacon fat (rendered from bacon)
• 1 can pineapple slices
• Maraschino cherries
• non-stick cooking spray

Chop bacon into bits and cook until crisped over medium-high heat.  Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon from pan and drain on papertowels.  Save 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat and set aside.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Spray 9x13 cake pan with non-stick spray and then coat with flour.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, allspice, baking powder, and salt.  Stir until mixed.  In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 stick of butter and shortening and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Add 2 cups of maple syrup and beat until smooth, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl.  Add egg yolks and egg, one at a time, blending thoroughly after each addition.  Alternately add flour mixture and milk, 1/3 of each at a time.  Set aside

Melt 1 stick of butter and 2 tablespoons bacon fat over low heat.  Once melted, remove from heat and stir in 1/3 cup maple syrup.  In floured pan, sprinkle 1 cup brown sugar evenly over bottom of pan.  Pour butter and maple mixture over brown sugar.  Place pineapple rings on top and cherries in the middle of the rings.  Sprinkle bacon in even layer over everything.  Then carefully pour in cake batter.  Bake at 325F until a knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (40-45 minutes).


Cool cake over cooling rack for 10 minutes.  Then invert onto serving platter and let cool another 20 minutes.

 

(Served here with a Fig Balsamic reduction)

Ordinary Mutton Stew

A couple of weeks ago, Jen and I happened to be out of town near a little butcher that I know and he almost always has some goodies stashed away that you can't find at your local markets around here.  So we picked up a mutton loin, bone in, complete with fat cap and skin still attached and hid it away in the freezer until I could decide what to do with it.  After some consideration I decided to do a stew with it as I have never had mutton before and what could be more traditional than a mutton stew?  Almost every culture across the globe, at one point or another, has developed a stew using sheep flesh so why not try my hand at that?  Plus, I like stews and soups as they are usually simple to prepare, require little to no attention after starting, store well, get better with a couple of days in the fridge, and last but not least, they reheat easily.  Folks are welcome to substitute lamb or beef for the mutton as I can't imagine many folks having access to it unless you live somewhere outside the US or happen to be, or know, a sheep farmer.

I did this in a 7 quart slow cooker and there was plenty of room for more to be added so if you've got a 3 or 4 qt slow cooker, you should be just fine.  Alternatively, if you don't have a slow cooker you can simply follow the recipe as listed and add everything to a roasting pan.  Cover tightly with foil and bake in the oven at 250F degrees for 3 hours.

As musical accompaniment to this dish, I decided to go with Face to Face's song "Ordinary" as it takes me back a good 15 yrs or so down memory lane to my teen years, just as a good homemade stew should take you back to childhood.  Besides, this recipe is fairly, well... ordinary.  A meat stew is usually savory and doesn't have a lot going on in the "Wow" department.  It's homey, hearty, warm, and perfectly reliable as a good meal, especially in the winter months.  Ordinary. - Justin

ORDINARY MUTTON STEW

• 1 3lb mutton loin, bone in (approx 8 ribs)
• 2 medium potatoes
• 1 large onion
• 2 large carrots
• 1 large rutabaga
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp dried rubbed sage
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley 
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 1 shot dry vermouth
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried ground tarragon
• 1/4 dried ground herbs de provence 
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped chives
• 1 cup wild rice or pearled barley

If you've acquired your roast at a grocer or butcher, chances are you won't have to prep it at all, so in an effort to save time describing how to butcher and skin a sheep, we'll assume you all have done the former and we'll skip right to the veggies.  If your roast has rib bones, leave them in as they will exude the best tasting marrow into your broth while they cook!  If your roast doesn't have ribs, you can either leave it whole or dice it into 2 inch cubes.

Wash the carrots, potatoes, and the rutabaga and leave the skins on them as that is where all the flavor and nutrients are. Dice them all, and the onion as well, into roughly similar sized chunks, approximately an inch to an inch and a half and add them to the bottom of the slow cooker.  Add the kosher salt, black pepper, sage, parsley, chicken and beef broths, the sherry and the dry vermouth and stir everything to combine.  You want to make sure that the liquid comes up to the top of the veggies.  If you need to, add a little more broth or some water to raise the level.  Add the roast to the top of the veggies, rib bones up if you have a bone-in roast, cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

After 6 hours pull the meat off the bones and cut it into 1"h to 1.5" chucks and add back to the slow cooker along with the sea salt, white pepper, tarragon, herbs de provence, chives and rice.  Cook for another 2 hrs on low.  Serve with some good bread for soaking up broth.

Savory Meat Rubs

So, lately, I've been really into making spice/herb blends here at home in order to find flavor combos that I really like as Jen and I frequently do something simple like steaks or baked chicken thighs with a salad or soup for dinner.  It's really nice to be able to grab a shaker and sprinkle some heaven on your meat and throw it on a grill or in the oven and be done with dinner!  Or to rub it into some steaks or chops the night before a cookout and not have to mess with wet marinades and leaky plastic bags.  Sometimes I like something herb-based for chicken or a hot chili rub for a beef roast or whatnot.  I've narrowed down a few basic ones that can often be used alone or, more commonly, be used as a base for other flavors to be built on.  The main rub I'll feature here was spread liberally over a tri-tip roast and actually has 3 other rubs as a base so I'll include recipes for those as well.

Making these three blends will provide you with a mildly spicy dry meat rub, a garlic herb sprinkle, and garam masala (an Indian "warming" spice blend), all of which will last far beyond this recipe and will provide you with an endless combination of flavors limited only by your tastes and imagination.  I recently purchased a small electric coffee grinder that I am using exclusively for herbs and spices as the oils from said ingredients rarely wash out completely and will flavor your coffee if it does double duty for you.  I picked one up for $15US and am very pleased so far as a mortar and pestle would take ages.  Alternately, if you don't want to put out the cash for a grinder, dried ground spices can be used.  They just won't pack the same punch in the flavor department but that won't matter if you just add a bit more of the finished rub to your meat than you normally would.

Safety Warning:  Do not touch your face once you have handled spices! All spices have oils that we will be working to release, oils that will irritate your tear ducts and sensitive membranes!  I spent a good thirty minutes tearing up in the bathroom after rubbing my eye on the way to wash up.  I would suggest washing immediately after you're done grinding spices or, even better, wearing nitrile gloves that can be removed and disposed of after use.

After rinsing my eye repeatedly with cold water, I decided it would only be appropriate for the song to go with this recipe to be NOFX's "Stickin In My Eye" - Justin

GARAM MASALA

• 2 tbsp cardamom seeds
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 2 tbsp black peppercorns
• 4 tsp cumin seeds
• 4 tsp brown mustard seeds
• 2 tbsp whole cloves (roughly 20 individual cloves)
• 1 cinnamon stick broken in half
• 1 dried chili de arbol, stemmed and seeded
• 3/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

If you are foregoing the roasting and grinding of spices, simply substitute ground versions of these spice measurements and shake to mix in a ziplock bag.

Add everything but the nutmeg to a cast iron skillet and toast over medium-high heat for about 3minutes moving the pan constantly.  Remove from heat and spread out on a tray or plate to cool for 5 minutes.  Once cool, add everything, along with the nutmeg, to the grinder and grind for 1 full minute.  Store in an airtight container and use as desired.

Garam masala is rarely used by itself as it has many sharp and pungent flavors.  It has some sweetness from the cinnamon but has much more flavor from the clove and cardamom.  By itself, it's not very spicy.  It imparts a slow burn and tingle to the tongue and back of the throat and is literally translated as "warming spice" as it adds a savory (almost a ginger flavor), mild, warming sensation to dishes.

SPICY DRY MEAT RUB

• 2 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp pasilla chili powder
• 1 tbsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbs onion powder
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp seafood seasoning (Old Bay all the way!)
• 1 tbsp ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp dry yellow mustard

Add everything to a bag and shake until well combined.  Simple as that.

This rub is good for any meats.  I also like adding a little to soups to liven them up a bit.


THUDIUM'S HERB SEASONING

• 3 tbsp dried marjoram
• 3 tbsp dried savory
• 3 tbsp dried tarragon
• 2 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp dried chives
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 2 tbsp seasoned salt
• 4 tbsp garlic powder

Add all of the dried herbs to a grinder or mortar and pestle (you'll have to work in batches that way) and grind until fine.  Add the herbs, salt, and garlic powder to a bag and shake well to mix.

This is a good blend to lightly dust over pork chops, chicken or seafood.  Also good for soups and stews.

SAVORY TRI-TIP ROAST

• 1 2-3lb Tri-tip roast
• 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
• 1/2 tsp Thudium's Herb Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp Spicy Dry Meat Rub
• 1/2 tsp ground sea salt
• 1/2 tsp light brown sugar
• 1 tsp pasilla chili powder

Cover the meat liberally on both sides and let sit in a plastic bag in your fridge overnight.  Grill the next evening over high heat for 8 minutes per side, if you like medium rare.

This is not an overly spicy rub as the pasilla chili powder is not hot but rather tastes a lot like raisins in flavor.  If you like spicier meat rubs add a little more of the Spicy Dry Meat Rub to it or substitute cayenne for the pasilla chili powder for some Cajun-style heat!