gumbo

gumbo is an addiction of mine, but unfortunately i've only been able to get gumbo worth eating at baby kay's in phoenix... it is k.i.l.l.e.r. and obviously i rarely get the treat anymore what with it being thousands of miles away. i often find myself daydreaming about it - the spicy broth, the, the chunks of meat, the trinity, and the french bread. my goodness, the french bread...heavenly days, it makes my mouth water. for quite some time i've been on a search for something close to baby kay's recipe and i think i've finally found something in the ball park. it will take some tweeking, but it's delish on it's own and i suggest you try it. just make sure you serve it with lots of heavily buttered, toasted french bread to soak up all the liquid. because really, that's the best part.

traditionally, gumbo begins with a browned roux, but this one omits that fat and browns the flour in the oven. of course you could always make the roux, but i thought it was fun to bake flour.

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups sliced okra pods (i used frozen okra)
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper (i used orange because i think green peppers are evil)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped celery leaves
2 to 3 tablespoons all that jazz seasoning (recipe below) or store bought cajun seasoning
2 teaspoons salt
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes, undrained
3 cups of any of the following or a mixture: cooked crawfish tail meat, shredded chicken, andoullie sausage, shrimp, lump crab meat (i used chicken andoullie sausage from tj's)
1 tsp hot sauce (optional - you won't need it if you used andoullie or if you don't want it too spicy)
6 cups hot cooked white rice

preheat oven to 350 degrees.
measure flour and pour onto a pie plate or sheet pan and bake until lightly browned, stirring frequently. (i spread mine out pretty thin and it only took about 5 minutes) cool on a wire rack.
heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. add onion, saute 4 minutes. stir in browned flour, cook 1 minutes, stirring constantly. gradually stir in water and next 8 ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer i hour. stir in meat and hot sauce. bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes. sprinkle with parsley, serve with rice and warm toasted french bread.

all that jazz seasoning: (i halved this)
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup onion powder
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon ground red pepper
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons celery seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

recipe from cooking light

Black Bean Hummus

Last month on the food network, they featured a restaurant that served black bean hummus. It looked so tasty, I thought I would come up with my own version. I made it last night and --YUM. We had it with rice, cilantro and corn salad and chips and tortillas.

Black Bean Hummus

2 cans black beans, one drained and one with liquid

1-2 cloves or garlic, minced

1/2 cup cilantro, rough chopped

1 jalepeno pepper, rough chopped

1 TBS olive oil

Juice from one lime

salt to taste

Puree all in the food processor. Adjust seasonings--eat.

alida's chicken & parsnip fries

this recipe comes from my employer and protector aldia who mothered me and saved me countless times while i struggled to make a living in san diego. she is probably the most cultured, well traveled, and sophisticated woman i have ever known. this recipe reminds me her - bold flavors, simple ingredients, unpretentious.


2 large chicken breasts (i cut mine in half to cut down on cooking time)
1 cup cherry or plum tomatoes
1/2 cup kalamata olives (pitted)
2 tablespoons capers
olive oil
thyme
balsamic vinegar


use the ingredients to your liking - more or less of whatever you like or dislike. don't be wary of the capers, they add a salty, vinegary flavor. a little goes a long way with them. alida never seared her chicken, but i do just because it looks better. if you want to sear it, heat a heavy pan over low heat for 10 minutes, then turn heat to high a couple of minutes before putting the chicken in. rub the chicken on all sides with the oil and add to the pan. don't try to move the chicken before it's cooked for about 4 minutes or it will just stick. once there is a nice brown crust on it, turn it over and repeat. when it's seared, put chicken in a casserole and add tomatoes, capers, olives and thyme. drizzle with a little more olive oil and splash on some balsamic. cook in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes, depending on the size of the cuts.

i served mine with steamed artichokes and parsnip fries. the fries were a new experiment and turned out sooo tasty. i just heated up some oil in a deep pan and fried them in batches. season them with seasoned salt and eat them while they're hot!

boeuf bourguignon with garlic toasts

this is one of my favorite dishes of all time. it's comfort food at it's best, especially on a cold winter night when your significant other is out of town and you just want to wrap up in a blanket and eat something warm and yummy while you watch a good movie. that's not to say you can't make this any other time, cuz it's delish any time! and another plus: it's even better second day. this is a (slight) adaptation of ina garten's recipe.

1 tbs olive oil
16 ounces bacon, diced
2 1/2 pounds beef chuck cut into 1-inch cubes
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 lb carrots, sliced diagonally into 1-inch chunks
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 tsp chopped garlic
1/2 cup cognac or brandy
3/4 bottle good dry red wine
2 to 2 1/2 cups canned beef broth
1 tbs tomato paste
1 tsp fresh thyme
4 tbs unsalted butter, at room temp, divided
3 tbs flour
1 lb shallots, bulbs separated
1 lb mushrooms, stems discarded, caps thickly sliced

preheat oven to 250 degrees.

heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven. add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is crisp. remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate.

dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. in batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown all sides. remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. set aside.

toss the carrots, onions, shallots, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 2 teaspoon s of pepper into the fat in the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. ad the cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol. put the meat and bacon back into the pot with any juices that have accumulated on the plate. add the wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. add the tomato paste and thyme. bring to a boil, cover the pot and place it in the over for about 1 1/4 hours, or until the meat and vegetables are very tender. remove from the oven and place on the stove.

combine 2 tablespoons of the butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew. in a medium pan, saute the mushrooms in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned, and add to the stew. bring the stew to a boil, then lower heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. season to taste. serve with toasted bread rubbed with garlic:

1 baguette, sliced diagonally
olive oil
1 clove of garlic

lightly brush one side of sliced bread with olive oil and broil until golden brown. cut the garlic clove in half and rub onto toasted side of bread. so yummy, so yummy!

Soft Pretzels

These are fun to make with the kids. They love to roll and shape them!

1 pkg dry active yeast
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 Tbs butter, melted (or 2 Tbs vegetable oil)
4 cups plus 1 Tbs flour
2 add'l Tbs butter
Course Salt or Parmesan Cheese



In a large bowl, soften yeast in water for 10 minutes. Add salt, sugar and butter. Mix in flour until a dough forms. Knead the dough for 5 mins and set aside for 45 mins-1 hour. (I used my kitchenaid to knead)


Preheat oven to 45o degrees. With a knife, cut dough into small pieces. Roll each piece into pencil-thin ropes and shape into pretzels. Or roll a bit thicker and cut 1 inch pieces for pretzel bites. Spray a cookie sheet w/ Pam and place pretzels. Brush melted butter and sprinkle w/ salt or cheese. Bake for 12 minutes.


The Parm ones are yummy dipped in marinara sauce!

swedish meatballs

these are a favorite at our house and we have them about once a month. they are super easy and sooooo yummy served with buttered egg noodles and peas.

sweedish meatballs
2 slices rye bread

1 lb chicken breasts (or ground chicken)
3/4 tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp pepper
1 large egg white
1 Tbl canola oil
1 cup chicken broth
1 Tbl flour
1 8-oz carton sour cream
2 Tbl chopped parsley

place bread in a food processor, pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1 cup. set aside.

if you don't have rye bread but want the rye flavor, use white or wheat bread and add 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds.

cut chicken into 4 pieces each and place in food processor and pulse until ground. add chicken, 1/2 tsp salt, nutmeg, pepper and egg white to the breadcrumbs in a bowl. stir until combined. shape into 16 (1 1/2inch) meatballs.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. add meat balls and cook, turning to brown all sides. remove from pan. add broth, remaining salt and flour to the pan stirring with a whisk until combined. boil and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. stir in sour cream and return meatballs to the pan. reduce heat to medium-low, cook for 10 minutes or until meatballs are done and sauce is thick. sprinkle with parsley. serve with egg noodles and peas.

Tomato, White Bean and Potato Salad

A new twist on an old favorite. I was thinking about sides for Easter dinner (which for us is usually ham--tradition) and found this in my new french cook book. It definitely is a fresh spring salad and is pretty too (I added two chopped hard boiled eggs since I used it as our main course).

1 pound white or red skinned new potatoes

1 pound tomatoes (peeled--just throw them in boiling water and then peel)

2 cans of cannelli beans (I used 1 and it was fine but 2 would have been fine too)

1/2 bunch chopped parley

4 scallions, whites and greens, chopped

1 lemon, juice and zest

1/4 cup olive oil

1 hot red pepper, chopped (I used jalapeno because it is what I had and it was good)

Salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes, cool and then chop into wedges. Then add everything else. Serve at room temperature. Also yummy left overs.