Sunday Dinner - 10/23/2010

If you read this weekly post on a regular basis, you know my family is obsessed with tomatoes. I am always looking for new tomato based recipes. This recipe while not new is new to my family. Paul Prudhomme's version of chicken big mamou calls for a lot more butter and cayenne/hot sauce. I reduced the butter for health reasons and because my belly can't handle that much butter. If you don't have small children and/or like it spicy, double the cayenne. I decided to double the tomato sauce and seasonings and freeze it to have for a later date. I'm sure it will be tasty with any meat.

Chicken Big Mamou
Ingredients
Seasonings #1
2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp white pepper
3/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp basil

Seasonings #2
1.5 tsp salt
1.5 tsp white pepper
1.5 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp basil

Other Ingredients
2 lbs boneless chicken, cubed
1 stick of butter
1 cup onion, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
4 whole garlic cloves
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp worcestershire
1 tsp hot sauce
2 cup tomato sauce
1 tbsp of honey

Directions
Melt 1/2 the butter in a heavy bottomed pot. Sautee onions, peppers and garlic cloves for 5 minutes.

Mix seasonings #1 in a small bowl and set aside.

Add minced garlic, seasonings #1 stock and worcestershire, simmer for 8 minutes. Add tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Add hot sauce and honey.

Simmer for a min of 40 minutes.

Melt the other 1/2 of the butter. Mix seasonings #2 in a small bowl. Roll chicken cubes into seasonings #2 then add to the pan.

 Cook until done then add to the finished sauce.

Serve over rice.

The girlies still thought it was a little too spicy. But they've got to learn to build up their tolerance for hot and spicy Cajun foods.


If you have any question/comments about this recipe, pls leave me a comment or email at megmehell at yahoo dot com.

I hope you enjoy this dinner as much as I did. What did y'all have for dinner?

Sunday Dinner - 05/23/2010 (Oil Spill Edition)

Ok. This is going to be a little long but bear with me I get to the recipe after awhile.

The past few weeks, I've been watching the news about the oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico. It's such a shame. I feel kind of like I did right after Katrina (obviously, not to the same degree). Is this the end of our way of life? Will my children be able to see SE Louisiana in all her glory like I did/do? Are crawfish/shrimp/crab boils gone forever?

You have to understand, my feelings are divided on this. I love this land. I grew up crabbing on the beach on Grand Isle. And looking for alligators in the Bayou Segnette. The fertileness, the wildness, the mosquitoes and worse...I love it.

But, I cannot villainize the oil companies. You see, they feed my family (along with many others). The Big Man works for an oil field construction company. This company (as well as the one before) has been good to him and the work is interesting. What am I to do but worry over what is coming for our estuaries and the potential loss of income?

Having said all that...I decided to make a seafood gumbo. In case the worst happens, at least my girls will have eaten Louisiana crabs and shrimp one last time. Luckily, we live with in a few mins of a fresh (right off the boat) seafood market.

Seafood Gumbo
Ingredients
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup flour
1lb shrimp, peeled or 2lbs whole
1lb lump crabmeat or crab fingers
6 whole gumbo (cleaned) crabs
2 dozen shucked oysters (if you can get it I couldn't find any)
6cups shellfish stock or water
2cups onions, chopped
1cup celery, chopped
1cup bell pepper, chopped
1/4cup garlic, minced
1lb andouille sausage, thinly sliced
1cup green onions, chopped
1/4cup parsley
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
cayenne pepper, to taste
hot sauce, to taste

Directions
In a heavy bottomed pot, heat oil over med-high heat. Wisk in flour a little at a time to make roux. Stir constantly until brown roux is golden brown. 

Add onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Cook until veg are wilted.  Add andouille, blend well into vegetable mixture and  cook for 3mins.

Slowly add hot shellfish stock (or water),a little at a time, stirring constantly. Bring to a low boil, reduce to simmer and cook  for at least 30mins (more is always better).  Add green onions and parsley. Add salt, pepper, cayenne and hot sauce.  

 Add shrimp, crab fingers, oysters and whole crabs. Stir in gently.

 

Return to a low boil and cook until shrimp are pink. Adjust seasonings, if necessary and serve over Louisiana rice.

Of course, everyone loves this dish. How can you not if you are Cajun?! Hopefully, there will be lots of seafood gumbos to come.


If you have any question/comments about this recipe, pls leave me a comment or email at megmehell at yahoo.

Sunday Dinner - 05/02/10

This weekend I shopped at our local Sam's Club. As usual, I got a little carried away with my produce buying. While laying in bed the morning, I was trying to figure out how I would use up some of the veg I bought. Then I remembered my mom makes this tasty dish. She uses bread crumbs instead of rice. But I've been obsessed with rice lately.

This is a typical New Orleans dish. Shows the Italian influence of the area. 

Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
6 green bell peppers, tops cut away, seeds removed
2tbsp olive oil
1 onions, finely chopped
1/2cup bell pepper, use tops of bell peppers
1lbs ground meat of your choice, beef, turkey, pork, chicken,
1tbsp garlic, minced
3tsps parsley flakes
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
red pepper flakes, to taste
2cups cooked rice
1cup tomato sauce (I used canned today)

Directions
Heat the oven to 350 deg. In a large pot of boiling water, boil the peppers  for 3 minutes. Remove peppers from water and set aside to dry.

In a large pan on medium-high, heat the oil. Add the onions and bell peppers. Cook until onions are nearly clear. 

Add the ground meat, garlic, parsley, salt, black pepper, and pepper flakes. Cook until the meat is browned, stirring to break up the large clumps of beef.

Add the rice and tomato sauce and stir well.

Pour enough water into a baking dish to just cover the bottom. Stuff the bell peppers with the meat/rice mixture and place in the baking dish. Bake until the peppers are very tender and the filling is heated through, about 30 minutes.

 

Remove from the oven and let rest before serving.

Six bell peppers is a lot of food. This recipe is really for a large family. But it reheats well for tasty leftovers. I made extra filling for us to eat over rice through out the week.


If you have any question/comments about this recipe, pls leave me a comment or email at megmehell at yahoo.

Sunday Dinner - April 4th (Easter)

When the Big Man and I got married, I wanted to have a holiday at my house. (This was before I knew all the work it took. :)) But all the major holidays were taken. Except for Easter.  And since Easter falls near both our birthdays, we snatched it.

Normally, we boil crawfish for Easter. But because of the El Nino/La Nina crazy weather we've had this season and last none of the suppliers could promise us crawfish. So we decided to mix it up and do the Cajun solution to a crowd to feed. Make a big pot of something.  The following recipe is easily double and freezes well.


Shrimp Etouffee

Ingredients
2lbs shrimp
1/4lbs butter
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup tomatoes, diced
2tbsps garlic, diced<
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup flour
1 quart water
1 ounce sherry
1 cup green onions, chopped
1/2cup parsley, chopped
salt and cayenne pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste
2 cups white rice, steamed

Directions
In a large heavy bottomed pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic and bay leaves. 

 

Sauté vegetables for 3-5 minutes.

Add shrimp and tomato sauce and blend well into mixture.

Using a wire whisk, blend flour into the vegetable mixture to form a white roux. Slowly add water, a little at a time, until sauce consistency is achieved. You may need to add more water to maintain the consistency of the sauce.

Bring to a rolling boil, reduce to simmer and at least cook 30mins, stirring occasionally. (Normally, I cook for hours. The longer/slower you cook it the better the flavor.) Add sherry, green onions and parsley and cook an additional 5 minutes. Season to taste using salt and cayenne pepper.

Serve over steamed white rice using a few dashes of Louisiana Gold Pepper Sauce.

I'm beginning to realize most of my cooking looks the same. Some sort of seafood (or other meat), red sauce  and rice or pasta. Dang! I thought I was a creative cook.



If you have any question/comments about this recipe, pls leave me a comment or email at megmehell at yahoo.