Jerry, John, and Jordan left on Thursday to go to South Carolina to get some fresh pork. The refrigerator was so packed and I was so full, I decided to take a break and not cook for a few days. Thursday we ate left overs. Friday, Jacob, Jillian and I went to the mall and to the movies. On Saturday, Jerry cooked pork ribs for PaPa's birthday. I was able to make those Chocolate Molten Souffles. Bless PaPa for having great taste in chocolate desserts!!!
From the cookbooks, we made Creole Roasted Ratatouille. This was delicious. Oven roasted zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, and garlic. Incredible. I did keep wishing for a mushroom. Next time, we may add a few.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Soup and Salad, Day Two
On January 5th and 6th we had soup and salad. I am amazed that soup and salad meals can be so very different. The first meal was the red bean soup and the second was a lovely Crab and Corn Bisque with the Shrimp Salad #1.
The Crab and Corn Bisque got different reactions from Jerry and I. Initially, I thought it sounded great (I like corn in a soup). Jerry was a bit doubtful especially when then recipe only called for the corn to be cooked for a brief moment. As it turns out, the bisque was incredible. The soup itself was creamy. The crab was salty and yummy! I had to cut the kernels off of the cob and then make the stock by boiling the cobs. That was weird, but it was so great. The corn kernels were added at the very end of the cooking and then it was on the table. The corn added texture and crunch. It was fresh it was a soup we will make again.
The Shrimp Salad #1 was delicious. The REALLY big deal about this salad is the Remoulade Sauce. It was tangy. It was orange. It was great on the lettuce and on the shrimp. A couple of days later, I fried a jar and a half of pickles and we used the Remoulade sauce for dipping...heaven, absolutely heaven.
The Crab and Corn Bisque got different reactions from Jerry and I. Initially, I thought it sounded great (I like corn in a soup). Jerry was a bit doubtful especially when then recipe only called for the corn to be cooked for a brief moment. As it turns out, the bisque was incredible. The soup itself was creamy. The crab was salty and yummy! I had to cut the kernels off of the cob and then make the stock by boiling the cobs. That was weird, but it was so great. The corn kernels were added at the very end of the cooking and then it was on the table. The corn added texture and crunch. It was fresh it was a soup we will make again.
The Shrimp Salad #1 was delicious. The REALLY big deal about this salad is the Remoulade Sauce. It was tangy. It was orange. It was great on the lettuce and on the shrimp. A couple of days later, I fried a jar and a half of pickles and we used the Remoulade sauce for dipping...heaven, absolutely heaven.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
All things in moderation
First, let me announce that Lucille is going to be fine. We are all so thankful and are looking forward to having her at the dinner table again. (Seriously, sneaking food into the hospital is probably not something we can continue to do forever!) Thanks to everyone who called, brought flowers, and sent well wishes!
Tonight was a late night at work for me. Jerry ended up making dinner and had it ready and on the table when I walked through the door. It was a welcomed sight! We had a ham bone left over from our New Year's Day meal that I had thrown, with a lot of meat on it, into the freezer. He used this to make "Red Bean Soup" and served it with an incredible salad called "Commander's Salad." After all the rich food we have been eating, it was a great change of pace.
This morning when I was blogging about last night's meal, I realized that we have been eating too much new food. We needed a break and the meal tonight really provided that respite.
The Red Bean Soup was made with pinto beans (our favorite) and were perfectly seasoned. The recipe called for a pound of either smoked ham or andouille sausage. Because the ham bone had so much meat left on it, Jerry decided to just use that and the andouille sausage awaits another meal.
The Commander's Salad is a homemade dressing, but it is more than that. The recipe specifies mixed salad greens, crumbled crisp bacon, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and croutons. The dressing was good. It was pink. That was strange and cool at the same time. It wasn't nearly as tangy as the bleu cheese dressing from last night, but is was great all the same. In many ways, I actually preferred tonight's dressing. Maybe it is all the talk of clogged arteries, cardiac diets, and such that have me thinking healthy, but it made me feel a bit better to eat something that didn't just scream, "I am going to absolutely make your circulatory shut down." Sort of gave me a warm fuzzy, ya know? The fact that we had absolutely no dessert was a testament to the fact that (1) I wasn't home to help cook, and (2) we are going to have to change our ways.
I am pretty proud of the fact that I had a tiny salad and some tuna fish for lunch and then a bowl of bean soup and a salad for dinner. Jerry even recounted that he didn't use any butter or cream in the making of this meal. We haven't been able to say that in a while. Oh, and the red wine we sipped with our dinner helped flush out whatever may have been lurking. This may be sort of gross, but when my father-in-law tried to convince me that they had found a glob of either butter or garlic in Lucille's heart, I knew, deep down, that things needed to change. It has been fun, but we are going to have to cook a bit healthier.
This is going to be a challenge and I am certainly up for that. (Just don't expect me to ever give up that Chocolate Molten Souffle...it was the BEST!!!!)
Tonight was a late night at work for me. Jerry ended up making dinner and had it ready and on the table when I walked through the door. It was a welcomed sight! We had a ham bone left over from our New Year's Day meal that I had thrown, with a lot of meat on it, into the freezer. He used this to make "Red Bean Soup" and served it with an incredible salad called "Commander's Salad." After all the rich food we have been eating, it was a great change of pace.
This morning when I was blogging about last night's meal, I realized that we have been eating too much new food. We needed a break and the meal tonight really provided that respite.
The Red Bean Soup was made with pinto beans (our favorite) and were perfectly seasoned. The recipe called for a pound of either smoked ham or andouille sausage. Because the ham bone had so much meat left on it, Jerry decided to just use that and the andouille sausage awaits another meal.
The Commander's Salad is a homemade dressing, but it is more than that. The recipe specifies mixed salad greens, crumbled crisp bacon, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and croutons. The dressing was good. It was pink. That was strange and cool at the same time. It wasn't nearly as tangy as the bleu cheese dressing from last night, but is was great all the same. In many ways, I actually preferred tonight's dressing. Maybe it is all the talk of clogged arteries, cardiac diets, and such that have me thinking healthy, but it made me feel a bit better to eat something that didn't just scream, "I am going to absolutely make your circulatory shut down." Sort of gave me a warm fuzzy, ya know? The fact that we had absolutely no dessert was a testament to the fact that (1) I wasn't home to help cook, and (2) we are going to have to change our ways.
I am pretty proud of the fact that I had a tiny salad and some tuna fish for lunch and then a bowl of bean soup and a salad for dinner. Jerry even recounted that he didn't use any butter or cream in the making of this meal. We haven't been able to say that in a while. Oh, and the red wine we sipped with our dinner helped flush out whatever may have been lurking. This may be sort of gross, but when my father-in-law tried to convince me that they had found a glob of either butter or garlic in Lucille's heart, I knew, deep down, that things needed to change. It has been fun, but we are going to have to cook a bit healthier.
This is going to be a challenge and I am certainly up for that. (Just don't expect me to ever give up that Chocolate Molten Souffle...it was the BEST!!!!)
Smuggling in Souffles
I am back in school. The break is over and I am back in the classroom. I thought that I might have a breakdown at noon. I dismissed my students and I eagerly anticipated what culinary delights were waiting for me. As I locked my classroom door, I remembered that I was at work and that I was heading down to the school cafeteria for my meal. The vegetable soup wasn't bad, but the afternoon was spent in deep contemplation on what I would prepare when I got home.
Jerry was home in between his work and visiting his mom, Lucille, who is still in the hospital. He had time to select the menu and get the ingredients ready and away we went. He had already made a bleu cheese salad dressing. It was tangy and not as thick, creamy as store-bought dressings. It was fresh and it had a lot of bleu cheese in it. We love bleu cheese and I wonder if Jerry added a bit more to the jar than the recipe called for. (*Just asked him, and he says that he used exactly what the recipe called for. Evidently, there was a vinegar option and he used red wine vinegar.) Loved it. The dressing was great on a spinach salad with red onion!
Jerry also had a small pot on the burner when I got home. It was fragrant and at a rolling boil. He was reducing something and it smelled like heaven. He was in the process of making "Saute of Fresh Louisiana Crawfish" This recipe was for a crawfish rice and then a sauce to put over it. The sauce needed more thickening. It was, gasp, maybe too buttery and not really saucy enough. Great flavor and really pretty with the crawfish tails. We used frozen tail meat from Spain. Crawfish are best when you can purchase them live and sort all of the dead ones out before you cook them. Sometimes the people who are processing them don't really care and you end up with some that are mushy or just rancid. This product, purchased at Whole Food Market, was frozen. Wonderful!!!
Jerry had me on the hook for making "Oysters a la Mariniere." I should have taken French. I don't know what I am cooking half of the time. Oysters I get. The rest, not so much. The recipe called for me to put the oysters in a saucepan with some of the liquor and some white wine. Bring to a boil and add the green onions and parsley. Then you make this paste of butter and flour called beurre manie, and stir it in. It created this clear, thickish sauce out of the wine. It was wild. I was thrilled. The dish tasted like, well, oysters and it tasted very fresh.
I also made, drum roll please, Chocolate Molten Souffle. There is nothing better than taking chocolate, sugar, eggs and flour and creating heaven in your food processor. Just so you all know, if any major disaster happens in my life (birthdays, whatever) please make this for me. It will make everything better. The proof is that after sneaking one to Lucille in the hospital last night, she called this morning to say she was in a real room and out of the Critical Care Unit. Chocolate Molten Souffle did that.
Jerry was home in between his work and visiting his mom, Lucille, who is still in the hospital. He had time to select the menu and get the ingredients ready and away we went. He had already made a bleu cheese salad dressing. It was tangy and not as thick, creamy as store-bought dressings. It was fresh and it had a lot of bleu cheese in it. We love bleu cheese and I wonder if Jerry added a bit more to the jar than the recipe called for. (*Just asked him, and he says that he used exactly what the recipe called for. Evidently, there was a vinegar option and he used red wine vinegar.) Loved it. The dressing was great on a spinach salad with red onion!
Jerry also had a small pot on the burner when I got home. It was fragrant and at a rolling boil. He was reducing something and it smelled like heaven. He was in the process of making "Saute of Fresh Louisiana Crawfish" This recipe was for a crawfish rice and then a sauce to put over it. The sauce needed more thickening. It was, gasp, maybe too buttery and not really saucy enough. Great flavor and really pretty with the crawfish tails. We used frozen tail meat from Spain. Crawfish are best when you can purchase them live and sort all of the dead ones out before you cook them. Sometimes the people who are processing them don't really care and you end up with some that are mushy or just rancid. This product, purchased at Whole Food Market, was frozen. Wonderful!!!
Jerry had me on the hook for making "Oysters a la Mariniere." I should have taken French. I don't know what I am cooking half of the time. Oysters I get. The rest, not so much. The recipe called for me to put the oysters in a saucepan with some of the liquor and some white wine. Bring to a boil and add the green onions and parsley. Then you make this paste of butter and flour called beurre manie, and stir it in. It created this clear, thickish sauce out of the wine. It was wild. I was thrilled. The dish tasted like, well, oysters and it tasted very fresh.
I also made, drum roll please, Chocolate Molten Souffle. There is nothing better than taking chocolate, sugar, eggs and flour and creating heaven in your food processor. Just so you all know, if any major disaster happens in my life (birthdays, whatever) please make this for me. It will make everything better. The proof is that after sneaking one to Lucille in the hospital last night, she called this morning to say she was in a real room and out of the Critical Care Unit. Chocolate Molten Souffle did that.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
I Think My Cooking May Be Dangerous
Although the title of this blog is “Friends in Our Kitchen,” I am wondering if it should be “A Fiend in the Kitchen.” I was raised in Texas and, growing up, thought I was being raised in the South. After living in Georgia for a while, I now know the difference between Texas and the Deep South. In both places, however, ladies are not supposed to be ugly or mean. Killing people with kindness is the way to get things done.
I haven’t really ever thought of cooking as a weapon. This morning, my father-in-law called and woke us up. He and my mother-in-law were in an ambulance on the way to the emergency room. My dear mother-in-law was having a cardiac episode (what kind is still to be determined) and my first thought was that I had killed her with cream, butter, and eggs. My next thought was how I was going to continue this blog while cooking a cardiac healthy diet. I shouldn’t have worried…Lucille assured me while in the ER, that she was certain it was not the food, and if it was, “What a way to go!” I am feeling a little bit better.
Fortunately for my conscience, last night she wasn’t feeling up to coming over and so I was spared the guilt of having served her a very rich meal. Jerry and I selected Veal Tenders with Goat Cheese-Thyme Grits and Mushrooms and Royale of Leeks and Mushroom. I made the veal dish and Jerry made the Leeks and Mushrooms.
Both were wonderful, I thought. The morel mushrooms in the veal stock made an incredible sauce over the sautéed leeks, mushrooms, and onions. The grits were sort of scary. I thought they were going to be too soupy, but they seemed to become more firm as they cooled in the pan. I wish that the veal had been a bit more browned, and next time, I will make sure that it is. It just seemed to be more appetizing. The dish was constructed by making a small mound of the grits. Make a small well and place in the well the sautéed vegetables. Place two small medallions of veal on the grits and then drizzle with the sauce. This was a really pretty dish.
The Royal of Leeks and Mushrooms were really good. They were baked in a ramekin and then inverted and plated. They tasted, to me, like an omelet in a ramekin. I liked them very much. Next time, if we make both of these dishes together, I will make certain that I liberally top both dishes with the sauce. It was tasty!
Because Lucille is still in the hospital, we didn’t make big plans for dinner tonight. In fact, we went shopping without a menu and this is a very bad way to go about doing business. I bought leeks and potatoes. I thought for tonight, I could make Julia Child’s leek and potato soup. I read the menu again when I got home and realized that the soup needs to be chilled. No freaking way! It is 30 degrees outside. The wind is howling. I do not want chilled soup. Luckily, Jerry picked up some steaks (and whipping cream, because we don't seem to be able to get through a meal without it) and so tonight we ended up with Pan Seared Crusted Sirloin Steak with Cayenne Butter and Lyonnaise Potatoes. First, let me say that the recipe for the cayenne butter called for two TABLESPOONS of cayenne pepper and 20 cloves of garlic. If you don’t like spicy and garlic, this is not the recipe for you. The steak was delicious. I overcooked it. (Evidently, the recipe wanted thicker cuts of meat.) The flavor was delicious. The potatoes where thrice cooked potatoes. I was supposed to dump four cups of oil into a deep skillet to fry the already baked and cooled potatoes. Instead, I cleaned my deep fryer. The clean oil made sure that the potatoes didn’t have a weird taste to them. After baking and frying the potatoes, the only step left was to sauté them with the already sautéed onions. It was a great dish…lots of interesting texture, and the cayenne butter went extremely well with this dish too.
I am going into butter and garlic shock. I guess I should go to bed and hope that there is enough toothpaste and mouthwash tomorrow morning!
Cook something great soon!
I haven’t really ever thought of cooking as a weapon. This morning, my father-in-law called and woke us up. He and my mother-in-law were in an ambulance on the way to the emergency room. My dear mother-in-law was having a cardiac episode (what kind is still to be determined) and my first thought was that I had killed her with cream, butter, and eggs. My next thought was how I was going to continue this blog while cooking a cardiac healthy diet. I shouldn’t have worried…Lucille assured me while in the ER, that she was certain it was not the food, and if it was, “What a way to go!” I am feeling a little bit better.
Fortunately for my conscience, last night she wasn’t feeling up to coming over and so I was spared the guilt of having served her a very rich meal. Jerry and I selected Veal Tenders with Goat Cheese-Thyme Grits and Mushrooms and Royale of Leeks and Mushroom. I made the veal dish and Jerry made the Leeks and Mushrooms.
Both were wonderful, I thought. The morel mushrooms in the veal stock made an incredible sauce over the sautéed leeks, mushrooms, and onions. The grits were sort of scary. I thought they were going to be too soupy, but they seemed to become more firm as they cooled in the pan. I wish that the veal had been a bit more browned, and next time, I will make sure that it is. It just seemed to be more appetizing. The dish was constructed by making a small mound of the grits. Make a small well and place in the well the sautéed vegetables. Place two small medallions of veal on the grits and then drizzle with the sauce. This was a really pretty dish.
The Royal of Leeks and Mushrooms were really good. They were baked in a ramekin and then inverted and plated. They tasted, to me, like an omelet in a ramekin. I liked them very much. Next time, if we make both of these dishes together, I will make certain that I liberally top both dishes with the sauce. It was tasty!
Because Lucille is still in the hospital, we didn’t make big plans for dinner tonight. In fact, we went shopping without a menu and this is a very bad way to go about doing business. I bought leeks and potatoes. I thought for tonight, I could make Julia Child’s leek and potato soup. I read the menu again when I got home and realized that the soup needs to be chilled. No freaking way! It is 30 degrees outside. The wind is howling. I do not want chilled soup. Luckily, Jerry picked up some steaks (and whipping cream, because we don't seem to be able to get through a meal without it) and so tonight we ended up with Pan Seared Crusted Sirloin Steak with Cayenne Butter and Lyonnaise Potatoes. First, let me say that the recipe for the cayenne butter called for two TABLESPOONS of cayenne pepper and 20 cloves of garlic. If you don’t like spicy and garlic, this is not the recipe for you. The steak was delicious. I overcooked it. (Evidently, the recipe wanted thicker cuts of meat.) The flavor was delicious. The potatoes where thrice cooked potatoes. I was supposed to dump four cups of oil into a deep skillet to fry the already baked and cooled potatoes. Instead, I cleaned my deep fryer. The clean oil made sure that the potatoes didn’t have a weird taste to them. After baking and frying the potatoes, the only step left was to sauté them with the already sautéed onions. It was a great dish…lots of interesting texture, and the cayenne butter went extremely well with this dish too.
I am going into butter and garlic shock. I guess I should go to bed and hope that there is enough toothpaste and mouthwash tomorrow morning!
Cook something great soon!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
New Year's Day
If New Year’s Eve was Dick Clark and Times Square on television, then New Year’s Day was characterized by 1. The Rose Bowl Parade, 2. Football, 3. Taking down the Christmas tree, and 4. Eating black-eyed peas for good luck.
This year, I missed the parade (I was scoping out recipes!) I didn’t get the tree down. I watched some football. I also ate black-eyed peas. Three out of four New Year’s Day traditions maintained. Not too bad!
The actual news flash is this: for the first time ever, I actually enjoyed the peas. Seriously, I have managed (just barely) to swallow and keep those nasty, dirt tasting things down year after year. My grandmother was not thrilled when a few years ago I absolutely refused to eat another one. “What about for good luck?” she asked. Seriously, what is lucky about being forced to eat something revolting every year? Nope, I was done with the black-eyed pea tradition. (*Remember that traditions are old because they are good and not necessarily good because they are old.)
I got a bit of a queasy feeling yesterday morning when Jerry suggested the traditional New Year’s Day meal from the Commander’s Kitchen cookbook. (That may have been the reason why I was making Brandy Flips in the middle of the afternoon. But really, how could a concoction of brandy and raw eggs ever make the peas better, I ask you?) The ham sounded great. I love cabbage, so that was no problem either. Ah, but the peas? Seriously, there must be a conspiracy to make me eat them. Is there a United Black-eyed Pea Growers Union? Will they begin dumping tons of them on my lawn if I publicly voice my dislike, no HATE, for the peas? Let them. I double-dog dare them.
You see, my wonderful husband did what no other person on the planet had been able to do. He made the peas edible. Better than edible. I had three servings. I ate, willingly, more peas last night than I have ever eaten in my life. I will be the luckiest girl all year long!!!
The meal was simple. Carl said it was a “very southern meal” and that “meals don’t get any more southern than this.” I guess he knows about southern meals, but there is a Yankee or two (distant, but there) in his family tree so I wonder if he is a trustworthy “authority” on Southern Cuisine (*love you, Carl!). Honey Mustard Ham with Black-Eyed Peas and Cabbage was really incredible. You sauté the dried peas and cook them in the same pan with the ham, onions, celery, garlic, and bell peppers. This will knock your socks off.
Dessert was Bread Pudding Souffle with Whiskey Sauce. We bought new ramekins for the occasion. I loved it because it was very tasty, very pretty, and very easy. Gotta make this one too, friends. Jerry served the Irish Coffee with it. I preferred the coffee with the Crepes Souffle Praline. I think that the bread pudding was a bit sweeter than the crepes and so the coffee needed more sugar to balance it. Still, very, very good.
Happy New Year, indeed!
This year, I missed the parade (I was scoping out recipes!) I didn’t get the tree down. I watched some football. I also ate black-eyed peas. Three out of four New Year’s Day traditions maintained. Not too bad!
The actual news flash is this: for the first time ever, I actually enjoyed the peas. Seriously, I have managed (just barely) to swallow and keep those nasty, dirt tasting things down year after year. My grandmother was not thrilled when a few years ago I absolutely refused to eat another one. “What about for good luck?” she asked. Seriously, what is lucky about being forced to eat something revolting every year? Nope, I was done with the black-eyed pea tradition. (*Remember that traditions are old because they are good and not necessarily good because they are old.)
I got a bit of a queasy feeling yesterday morning when Jerry suggested the traditional New Year’s Day meal from the Commander’s Kitchen cookbook. (That may have been the reason why I was making Brandy Flips in the middle of the afternoon. But really, how could a concoction of brandy and raw eggs ever make the peas better, I ask you?) The ham sounded great. I love cabbage, so that was no problem either. Ah, but the peas? Seriously, there must be a conspiracy to make me eat them. Is there a United Black-eyed Pea Growers Union? Will they begin dumping tons of them on my lawn if I publicly voice my dislike, no HATE, for the peas? Let them. I double-dog dare them.
You see, my wonderful husband did what no other person on the planet had been able to do. He made the peas edible. Better than edible. I had three servings. I ate, willingly, more peas last night than I have ever eaten in my life. I will be the luckiest girl all year long!!!
The meal was simple. Carl said it was a “very southern meal” and that “meals don’t get any more southern than this.” I guess he knows about southern meals, but there is a Yankee or two (distant, but there) in his family tree so I wonder if he is a trustworthy “authority” on Southern Cuisine (*love you, Carl!). Honey Mustard Ham with Black-Eyed Peas and Cabbage was really incredible. You sauté the dried peas and cook them in the same pan with the ham, onions, celery, garlic, and bell peppers. This will knock your socks off.
Dessert was Bread Pudding Souffle with Whiskey Sauce. We bought new ramekins for the occasion. I loved it because it was very tasty, very pretty, and very easy. Gotta make this one too, friends. Jerry served the Irish Coffee with it. I preferred the coffee with the Crepes Souffle Praline. I think that the bread pudding was a bit sweeter than the crepes and so the coffee needed more sugar to balance it. Still, very, very good.
Happy New Year, indeed!
Friday, January 1, 2010
New Year's Eve
I haven't really been much of a New Year's Eve party kind of girl. I can't remember ever "going out" for the night. I do remember staying at home and watching Dick Clark and fighting to stay awake for the Times Square ball to drop.
Last year, we hosted a murder mystery dinner and that was fun. We wanted to do it again, but it was just too much to get organized. I think that was a blessing because instead, we got together and visited. Joe B. told me that last year was fun, but that he enjoyed being able to catch up with everyone. I completely agree with him.
Visiting is only enhanced when nibbling on something yummy. Last night, we made five new recipes, but I feel like I was sort of cheating as one dish was actually three recipes.
Oysters en Brochette was...let's say, interesting. I found this recipe and thought "okay, how hard can this be? Oysters, wrapped in bacon, and then fried. Simple." Wrong. That part was easy, but the recipe called for me to prepare Creole meuniere sauce first. Again, not a big deal. Turn to page 190. Creole menuiere called for one cup of brown sauce. Turn to page 193. This was the problem. Brown sauce called for beef stock (page 192), but I used store bought. I was already on the hook for simmering two fresh beef marrow bones for 1 hour and fifteen minutes. I made this sauce. It called for a roux. Jerry made it while I tried to strain the onions and such out of the bone marrow soup. Made the "Brown Sauce" and was okay with it. Couldn't make the Creole menuiere sauce because it could only be "held" for 45 minutes. Began to wrap the oysters in bacon. This was like pinning a wave on the sand. Slimy oysters wrapped in greasy bacon and held together with a toothpick are a hit or miss proposition. I worried that they would fall apart, but none of them did (even the ones that were badly done!). Dredged in flour and fried. They were incredible. The sauce, Jerry made while I was frying the oysters, was interesting and it was good, but it was decidedly not worth the time, energy, or effort. Not enough bang for our buck. We will be trying other sauces with this dish, but we will certainly be making it again.
The Jambalaya was really good. Jerry made it start to finish with me only sauteing while he continued to chop onions, celery, garlic and peppers. We learned that the new sauteure pan is PERFECT for this dish and so we think that paella will be wonderful in it as well. We also learned that we should NOT lift the lid when we are told not to. You would think that we would know this by now but evidently we don't. So, here in the public forum, Jerry and I both swear that we will never lift a lid when the recipe says not to. Honest.
Seriously, we did "check" on the rice and we think it caused the temp to drop below where it needed to be in order to completely and perfectly cook the rice. We remember a Bobby Flay episode where he lost a cook off because he did the same thing. The rice sort of cooks too much on the outside and not enough on the inside resulting in a weird combination of mushy/crunchy. Jerry salvaged it and there were no complaints. I wished for more spice, and should have sprinkled some Creole spice on it. I certainly will next time.
The last recipe was for Milk Punch. This is a New Orleans drink that is a tradition during the Mardi Gras parades. It was good...hints of vanilla. People liked it but didn't ask for seconds. Again, there were all sorts of beverages, and a milk based drink does tend to be a bit rich and heavy when eating. That could have been the issue, or it could have been because it was a mediocre beverage. Time will tell. I guess I will make a pitcher/thermos of it and take it to a Mardi Gras parade and see how things go!
Happy New Year!
Last year, we hosted a murder mystery dinner and that was fun. We wanted to do it again, but it was just too much to get organized. I think that was a blessing because instead, we got together and visited. Joe B. told me that last year was fun, but that he enjoyed being able to catch up with everyone. I completely agree with him.
Visiting is only enhanced when nibbling on something yummy. Last night, we made five new recipes, but I feel like I was sort of cheating as one dish was actually three recipes.
Oysters en Brochette was...let's say, interesting. I found this recipe and thought "okay, how hard can this be? Oysters, wrapped in bacon, and then fried. Simple." Wrong. That part was easy, but the recipe called for me to prepare Creole meuniere sauce first. Again, not a big deal. Turn to page 190. Creole menuiere called for one cup of brown sauce. Turn to page 193. This was the problem. Brown sauce called for beef stock (page 192), but I used store bought. I was already on the hook for simmering two fresh beef marrow bones for 1 hour and fifteen minutes. I made this sauce. It called for a roux. Jerry made it while I tried to strain the onions and such out of the bone marrow soup. Made the "Brown Sauce" and was okay with it. Couldn't make the Creole menuiere sauce because it could only be "held" for 45 minutes. Began to wrap the oysters in bacon. This was like pinning a wave on the sand. Slimy oysters wrapped in greasy bacon and held together with a toothpick are a hit or miss proposition. I worried that they would fall apart, but none of them did (even the ones that were badly done!). Dredged in flour and fried. They were incredible. The sauce, Jerry made while I was frying the oysters, was interesting and it was good, but it was decidedly not worth the time, energy, or effort. Not enough bang for our buck. We will be trying other sauces with this dish, but we will certainly be making it again.
The Jambalaya was really good. Jerry made it start to finish with me only sauteing while he continued to chop onions, celery, garlic and peppers. We learned that the new sauteure pan is PERFECT for this dish and so we think that paella will be wonderful in it as well. We also learned that we should NOT lift the lid when we are told not to. You would think that we would know this by now but evidently we don't. So, here in the public forum, Jerry and I both swear that we will never lift a lid when the recipe says not to. Honest.
Seriously, we did "check" on the rice and we think it caused the temp to drop below where it needed to be in order to completely and perfectly cook the rice. We remember a Bobby Flay episode where he lost a cook off because he did the same thing. The rice sort of cooks too much on the outside and not enough on the inside resulting in a weird combination of mushy/crunchy. Jerry salvaged it and there were no complaints. I wished for more spice, and should have sprinkled some Creole spice on it. I certainly will next time.
The last recipe was for Milk Punch. This is a New Orleans drink that is a tradition during the Mardi Gras parades. It was good...hints of vanilla. People liked it but didn't ask for seconds. Again, there were all sorts of beverages, and a milk based drink does tend to be a bit rich and heavy when eating. That could have been the issue, or it could have been because it was a mediocre beverage. Time will tell. I guess I will make a pitcher/thermos of it and take it to a Mardi Gras parade and see how things go!
Happy New Year!
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