My friend Ricardo suggested I post this. I don't really have much of a story to go with it, other than I plan on preparing it at my next party. Also, apologies to my vegan friends. I've got a recipe for gumbo z'herbes I am wanting to try, but I may pass it on to my brother, as he has more roommates.
I do tend to add more chipotle than cayenne to mine.
Jambalaya
"The main difference between Cajun and Creole Jambalaya is the addition of tomato sauce and fresh tomatoes. Since tomatoes are American in origin, they did not play a role in international cuisine until the discovery of this country. It was the innovative Creoles who elected to give this paella-like dish a touch of class with the addition of vine-ripe Creole tomatoes."
So the principle difference between the Cajun version of this recipe and the Creole version of this recipe is . . . tomatoes.
Ingredients:
1-2 large onion, chopped or 4 cups
1-2 green bell pepper, chopped or 1 cup
1-2 red bell pepper, chopped or 1 cup
[feel free to substitute any color bell pepper - purple, even]
1 stalk of celery, chopped or 2 cups
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch green onion/scallion, chopped
1 tsp oregano or a few leaves
1 tsp thyme or a few leaves
2-3 bay leaves, dry or fresh
4 tsp of creole/cajun/Louisiana seasoning mix
4-5 cups chicken stock
4 cups long grain rice
4 slices of thick fatty bacon
2 cups of diced ham [optional]
1 andouille sausage [roughly 1/3 pound]
1 Italian sausage [roughly 1/3 pound]
1 chorizo sausage [roughly 1/3 pound] [or just a pound of one of the spicy ones]
1 kielbasa [roughly a pound]
all sausage sliced
1 lb chicken breast, bite-size
2 tbs olive oil
few shots of worcestershire or soy sauce for color and flavor
1 dark beer [Turbodog? (use more chicken stock if beer not available)]
parsley, black pepper, and sea salt to taste
Turn on the crock pot on high setting. Fry the bacon until crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside. Brown chicken, feel free to season. Brown sausage as the chicken nears completion. Remove meat from pan, set aside. Add onions [not scallions], celery, bell peppers, and garlic, cook, stirring, 7-10 minutes. Move vegetables, meat [including ham, if used], and fat to pre-warming crock pot. Add in chicken stock, beer, herbs [including the scallions], rice, oil and seasonings. Cook until the rice is cooked thoroughly.
To make Creole jambalaya: Add 2-6 tomatoes, probably romas or heirlooms, crushed, to the vegetable mixture. Add 1 16 oz can of tomato sauce in final step.
For all versions: Increase or decrease the amount of seasonings, add hot sauce, curry powder, cinnamon, ginger, chipotle!!, cilantro!!, stir-fry vegetables, mushrooms, more ham, okra, chili peppers, pulled pork, beef, bison, duck, turkey, or seafood. Cheese is awesome after the jambalaya is cooked.
OH! If you use fresh herbs in the crock pot - don't chop them up first, except the scallions. If you do this in a regular stew pot, go ahead and chop.
Seasoning: Equal parts salt, white pepper, black pepper, red pepper flake or cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. As always, adjust to taste.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday, August 3, 2009
WESCIPES 2: Lasagna masala musings, part I
I've heard of Mexican lasagna. Indian lasagna? I'm in the logistics stages . . . I think it could work, especially if you add rice in a layer . . . I'm not too sure what I think about cheese or cheeses yet.
WESCIPES 1: Chicken tikka chimichurri, part I
The inaugural edition of the misadventures of hungry bachelor.
Last night after a sojourn to the Harpeth River, we arrived back at the apartment, and my roommate Lainie posed the question: do you guys have plans for dinner? I had been pondering possibly going to Wendy's, but out of the blue, I was hit by inspiration;
"How do you kids feel about Argentinian food?"
I then proceeded to find a basic recipe online for Chimichurri sauce, a green sauce that is based on Italian and Spanish influences. It sounded pretty simple, but I forgot that it was me and Chester doing the cooking, and naturally, it became a comedy of errors shortly thereafter. Somehow, I forgot that the only knives we had on hand were steak knives.
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
3-4 average sized red potatoes
1 bunch scallions
1 bunch Italian parsley
1 bunch cilantro
roughly 2-4 leaves each of basil and oregano, to taste
1 lime, juiced
2/3-1 cup olive oil
less than 1/3 cup of red wine vinegar
4-8 cloves of garlic [we only used two, which was not a bad choice, but it wouldn't have hurt to add more]
2 tablespoons curry powder [substituted for cumin]
1.5 tablespoons cayenne powder [substituted for dried red pepper flake]
sea salt and black pepper to taste
As is blatantly evident now, this recipe would have been much easier with a food processor. I am now asking anyone with a spare if you would please give it to me free of charge. Outside of that, anyone who has a suggestion for a good one, bring it on.
When Chester and I returned from the store, we set about concocting a division of labor. Chester was in charge of preparing the chicken and potato tikka. Chicken tikka basically means small cutlets of chicken, slightly larger than bite-sized. It's derived from a Punjabi word which means bits and pieces. The chicken is typically marinated and then slow-cooked in a tandoor oven. Another common form of tikka is chicken tikka masala, which is an Anglo-Indian hybrid - the story, which, as always, may be apocryphal, is that a customer in an Indian restaurant asked for a heavier sauce on his chicken tikka, and the chef whipped up a tomato cream curry. Some consider this to be Britain's national dish.
Originally, I had planned on preparing the chicken chimichurri in the typical way, where the sauce is used as, well, a sauce, put on after the cooking is done. As I realized how hard it was to get the leaves chopped as finely as I wanted, I started musing using the chimichurri as a marinade. I threw it out there to Chester as sauteed and then seared the chicken, using some of the olive oil/red wine vinegar mix. "Sure," says he. "Sounds pretty good."
At this point, I had resorted to just tearing the leaves into small pieces. I finally put the cilantro, parsley, basil and oregano mix into the olive oil/red wine vinegar mix. Chester had now chopped the potatoes and dropped the heat on the skillet to a low simmer, to allow the potatoes to first stew in the chicken juices, and to protect the sauce once we added it. I sliced a lime into pieces of eight to better juice it. As Chester turned to chop the scallions, I moved to the last bit of my knife work, the garlic. I chose to go with larger chunks rather than attempting to mince, partly because of laziness, but also because I really enjoy hunks of garlic when used in Italian food, and chimichurri is partially based on Italian cuisine. Finally, I stirred in the powder seasonings, using a grinder for both the black pepper and sea salt. Knowing Chester, he probably sneaked some curry powder into the stew while I wasn't looking. Chester Garam Masala Wilson.
Finally, we added the sauce. The smell was already incredible. Citrus, curry, cilantro. Too good. Being the patient old men we are, we kept the heat on a low simmer for quite some time, as red potatoes are waxier and take a while to stew properly. Finally, the time had come for serving. Tentative bites, then . . . The three of us were lost in flavor heaven, while Buddy dog sat in the corner, doing his own stewing.
Post-game thoughts: I definitely feel the last second switch to simmer sauce was a good choice. I have more experience with simmering sauces, and I feel like the flavors were imparted with no ill effect. Next time, I will probably use this sauce as a marinade prior to grilling. There is also the distinct possibility that I will add to the recipe as a simmer sauce for next time. Chester suggests adding carrots. I would like to try some fennel and maybe even some fenugreek. Rice of some sort will most likely be involved next time as well, or maybe even pasta.
Last night after a sojourn to the Harpeth River, we arrived back at the apartment, and my roommate Lainie posed the question: do you guys have plans for dinner? I had been pondering possibly going to Wendy's, but out of the blue, I was hit by inspiration;
"How do you kids feel about Argentinian food?"
I then proceeded to find a basic recipe online for Chimichurri sauce, a green sauce that is based on Italian and Spanish influences. It sounded pretty simple, but I forgot that it was me and Chester doing the cooking, and naturally, it became a comedy of errors shortly thereafter. Somehow, I forgot that the only knives we had on hand were steak knives.
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
3-4 average sized red potatoes
1 bunch scallions
1 bunch Italian parsley
1 bunch cilantro
roughly 2-4 leaves each of basil and oregano, to taste
1 lime, juiced
2/3-1 cup olive oil
less than 1/3 cup of red wine vinegar
4-8 cloves of garlic [we only used two, which was not a bad choice, but it wouldn't have hurt to add more]
2 tablespoons curry powder [substituted for cumin]
1.5 tablespoons cayenne powder [substituted for dried red pepper flake]
sea salt and black pepper to taste
As is blatantly evident now, this recipe would have been much easier with a food processor. I am now asking anyone with a spare if you would please give it to me free of charge. Outside of that, anyone who has a suggestion for a good one, bring it on.
When Chester and I returned from the store, we set about concocting a division of labor. Chester was in charge of preparing the chicken and potato tikka. Chicken tikka basically means small cutlets of chicken, slightly larger than bite-sized. It's derived from a Punjabi word which means bits and pieces. The chicken is typically marinated and then slow-cooked in a tandoor oven. Another common form of tikka is chicken tikka masala, which is an Anglo-Indian hybrid - the story, which, as always, may be apocryphal, is that a customer in an Indian restaurant asked for a heavier sauce on his chicken tikka, and the chef whipped up a tomato cream curry. Some consider this to be Britain's national dish.
Originally, I had planned on preparing the chicken chimichurri in the typical way, where the sauce is used as, well, a sauce, put on after the cooking is done. As I realized how hard it was to get the leaves chopped as finely as I wanted, I started musing using the chimichurri as a marinade. I threw it out there to Chester as sauteed and then seared the chicken, using some of the olive oil/red wine vinegar mix. "Sure," says he. "Sounds pretty good."
At this point, I had resorted to just tearing the leaves into small pieces. I finally put the cilantro, parsley, basil and oregano mix into the olive oil/red wine vinegar mix. Chester had now chopped the potatoes and dropped the heat on the skillet to a low simmer, to allow the potatoes to first stew in the chicken juices, and to protect the sauce once we added it. I sliced a lime into pieces of eight to better juice it. As Chester turned to chop the scallions, I moved to the last bit of my knife work, the garlic. I chose to go with larger chunks rather than attempting to mince, partly because of laziness, but also because I really enjoy hunks of garlic when used in Italian food, and chimichurri is partially based on Italian cuisine. Finally, I stirred in the powder seasonings, using a grinder for both the black pepper and sea salt. Knowing Chester, he probably sneaked some curry powder into the stew while I wasn't looking. Chester Garam Masala Wilson.
Finally, we added the sauce. The smell was already incredible. Citrus, curry, cilantro. Too good. Being the patient old men we are, we kept the heat on a low simmer for quite some time, as red potatoes are waxier and take a while to stew properly. Finally, the time had come for serving. Tentative bites, then . . . The three of us were lost in flavor heaven, while Buddy dog sat in the corner, doing his own stewing.
Post-game thoughts: I definitely feel the last second switch to simmer sauce was a good choice. I have more experience with simmering sauces, and I feel like the flavors were imparted with no ill effect. Next time, I will probably use this sauce as a marinade prior to grilling. There is also the distinct possibility that I will add to the recipe as a simmer sauce for next time. Chester suggests adding carrots. I would like to try some fennel and maybe even some fenugreek. Rice of some sort will most likely be involved next time as well, or maybe even pasta.
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