Spicy Jambalaya with Andouille, Shrimp and Bacon

 Spicy Jambalaya

I did a little research on this dish, and found my version, is a hybrid between, Creole and Cajun Jambalaya. The use of a roux, and shrimp, is a Cajun influence... The use of tomatoes, is strictly Creole.
The name of the dish, comes from the French word jambalaia, a word used for pilaf of rice, which is, in turn, derived from, Spanish paella.
To make my husband (The chili-head) happy, I use jalapeno, in place of green bell pepper, and add a little hot sauce to the mix, further corrupting this dish. But the end result, is a dish, my family is absolutely crazy about.

Ingredients:
3 strips of bacon-chopped
2Tbl. flour
2Tbl. dry white wine - I use Pinot Grigio
2 ribs of celery- chopped
4 jalapenos- chopped
1 onion-diced
2tsp. minced garlic
29oz. can of petite diced tomatoes
2cups chicken broth
1Tbl. tomato paste
1Tbl. sriracha  or any hot sauce
1/2tsp. oregano
1/2tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf
1lb. Andouille sausage-sliced
1lb. raw peeled shrimp-whole or chopped
3-4cups cooked rice

Fry the bacon, in a 4-quart pot, until crisp.
Stir the flour into the bacon drippings, and cook until the roux, becomes golden brown.
De-glaze the pan with a little white wine. Cook about 1-minute, scraping the pan.
Add the celery, jalapeno, onion, and garlic, to the roux, and cook a few minutes, until the onion softens, a bit.
Add all other ingredients, except the rice, to the pot, and cook on high heat, until it reduces to a semi-thick sauce. About 30-minutes. I don't usually cook shrimp, this long, but it lends a great flavor, to the broth.
Turn the burner off, and add the rice. Serve. I think this is even better, the next day.

Cook the roux, to a deep golden brown, then saute the vegetables in it.

Add everything, except the rice, and cook until it becomes a semi-thick sauce. Add the rice and serve.

Louisiana Fried Pickles- Why not?

 

               Louisiana fried pickles with Shrimp Creole Gumbo and Beignets

Those folks down Bayou way, aren't afraid to fry anything!
Curiosity got the best of me, I had to try these with Gumbo.
I just couldn't help giggling while I was preparing these. I just knew they were going to be awful.
Boy was I ever wrong, these are great! ya gotta try 'em. 


Ingredients:
one 16 oz. jar of dill pickle slices
1/4 cup buttermilk with 1/2 tsp hot sauce added to it
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 tsp. Old bay seasoning
1/4 tsp. cayenne

You will also need:
gallon storage bag
oil for frying
  
Preparation:
Drain the pickles and add them to the buttermilk.
Add The flour, cornmeal, and seasonings to the bag and shake to combine.
Add the pickles a few at a time and shake to coat. set aside.
Heat the oil and deep fry them until golden and crispy.
Serve warm with ranch dressing.

Beignets

                                                          Beignets
                           These were absolutely heavenly, great recipe!
 
I am always looking for regional side dishes to serve with Gumbo. It's really is a meal in it's self, but I like  to serve a variety of contrasting flavors to round out a meal.
Beignets are a Louisiana tradition, These sweet little puffs would go well with just about anything.
 I have always wanted to make these myself, but the immense size of the recipes I've found were enough make me shy away. Finally I have decided to halve Paula Deen's recipe. Boy I'm glad I did they are much better homemade, and could not be easier. Thanks Paula!
This made 29 Beignets, next time I think I'll cut them larger

Ingredients:
3/4 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 egg- beaten
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3-1/2 cups flour- I used all purpose
1/8 cup shortening
oil for frying
1-1/2 cups confectioners sugar

Preparation:
Mix water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.
In another bowl, beat the egg, salt and evaporated milk together.
Mix egg mixture to the yeast mixture.

In a separate bowl,add 1-1/2 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine.
Add the shortening and continue to stir while adding the remaining flour.
Remove dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Put dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel.
Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oil in a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.
Add the confectioners' sugar to a paper or plastic bag and set aside.

Roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 1-inch squares. Deep-fry, flipping constantly, until they become a golden color.
After beignets are fried, drain them for a few seconds on paper towels, and then toss them into the bag of confectioners' sugar. Hold bag closed and shake to coat evenly.

 While I was waiting on the yeast mixture I gathered together the 1-1/2 cups flour, egg mixture and remaining 2 cups flour. It went together very quickly.

                        Stir together the egg mixture and the yeast mixture.

                     Pour it into the 1-1/2 cups flour and stir well to combine.

Add the 2 remaining cups of flour, kneading it into the dough. I just did all the kneading right in the bowl until smooth. Spray a little cooking spray in another bowl. Turn the dough in it twice,cover and let rise 2 hours.

Roll the dough 1/4 thick, and cut into 1inch squares. I sprayed a pizza cutter with cooking spray, it worked perfectly. I had to stretch each piece before putting them in the oil. I'll have to practice getting them more uniform. I had a few that looked like eggrolls.

Test run: The dough puffs immediately and rises to the surface, I fried  4 or 5 at a time, flipping each every few seconds with tongs. I takes less than a minute to brown both sides. It took 8 minutes to fry the entire batch. Toss them in confectioners sugar. They are best served warm.

Bourbon Street Spice Rub

                                         Bourbon Street Spice Rub
You can literally smell the French and Caribbean influences in the mixture. Fantastic! Use it on baked chicken too.

Ingredients:
1tsp. finely crushed bay leaves
1tsp nutmeg
1tsp. allspice
2tsp. thyme
1Tbl. brown sugar
1Tbl. garlic powder
1Tbl cayenne
1Tbl. black pepper
1Tbl. salt
2Tbl. onion powder

Preparation:
Mix well and store it in a sandwich bag or jar. Rub onto meats at least 2 hours before grilling.
For a stronger flavor add a little more to the meats just prior to grilling.

Bourbon Street Chicken (2 Variations)

There are two variations of this recipe that I've tried, both are outstanding.
The first involves using a seasoning rub, and grilling with a teriyaki-type sauce.
(I think this is the authentic version,could be wrong)

The other involves using actual bourbon in a teriyaki -type marinade. I can't decide which version I like the most. I am not a big fan of dark meat, but there a few dishes that just aren't the same with white meat. This is true for both of these.

                     Bourbon street chicken recipe#1 and Frozen Margaritas 
Recipe #1 
Ingredients:
 4 chicken leg quarters -separate the legs from the thighs (they don't get along) sorry, bad joke:(

 I recipe- Bourbon street spice rub

 Basting Sauce:
 1/4 cup soy sauce
 1/4 cup brown sugar
 1tsp. garlic powder
 1/2 teaspoon  pureed ginger
 1/2tsp. minced onion
 1/2cup water
 1tsp cornstarch

 Preparation:
 Several hours before cooking, rub enough seasonings into the chicken to coat well, refrigerate.
 In a bowl whisk together the brown sugar and cornstarch, then add all other sauce ingredients.

While you are heating the grill. Simmer the basting sauce for a few minutes to thicken just a bit.
 Start basting at the end of grilling, like you would using BBQ sauce. Serve.

 Rub the seasoning into both sides of the chicken, several hours before grilling for maximum flavor.

                         Thicken the basting sauce to a syrupy consistency.

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Recipe#2

              Recipe#2 with Tabbouleh with feta cheese and Refresco Regio

Ingredients:
4 chicken leg quarter-cut into strips or chunks

 For the marinade:
 1/4 cup soy sauce
 1/4 cup brown sugar
 1tsp. garlic powder
 1/2 tsp.  pureed ginger
 2 Tbl. minced onion
 1/2 cup Kentucky bourbon

You will also need:
 a few Tbl. white wine

  Preparation:
  Whisk together the marinade ingredients in a bowl.
 Marinate the cut up chicken overnight.
 Spread the chicken out in a thin layer on a metal baking pan. pour in any remaining marinade.(I use a round pizza pan.)
 Bake at 375* for about an hour, or until all the marinade has evaporated and just begins to glaze the bottom of the pan. The time will vary depending on your oven.
 Remove the pan from the oven, and heat it on the stove-top.
 Add just enough wine to de-glaze the bottom of the pan.
 Toss the chicken a few times and serve immediately.

                                                 Marinate overnight.

 Bake until the liquid has evaporated. Here I wanted to show the chicken is done, but the marinade needs to reduce a bit more.

 The chicken has browned and the sauce has become a glaze at the bottom of the pan. move to the stovetop and add just enough white wine to deglaze the pan.

Blackened Salmon with onions tomatoes and mushrooms

Blackened Salmon with onions tomatoes and mushrooms

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xe9u0m_how-to-make-blackened-salmon-with-o_lifestyle
This video is not complete but I have included instructions 

Ingredients:
2 Salmon fillets cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 tomatoes-diced
1 green bell pepper-diced
1onion-halved and sliced thin
1 cup fresh mushrooms -sliced
1tbl garlic- minced
1tsp salt
1/8 tsp.cayenne pepper
Prepared Cajun seasoning - or use  Cajun Seasoning

Instructions:
Sprinkle the Cajun seasoning fairly heavily on the salmon.
Heat skillet on high. Add 1tbl.olive oil, allow the oil to become hot enough to smoke a bit. Add salmon.
Fry the salmon on both sides until it looks slightly browned,crispy, cooked through, and no longer opaque.
Remove the salmon, and lower the flame.
Add onions, 1tbl.olive oil, mushrooms, tomatoes,garlic,salt,cayenne.raise flame and saute for 2 minutes.
Add green pepper and continue to saute until the mix begins to thickens.
Place salmon on serving plates And spoon sauce over salmon.

Hot Wings By Chef Ann Mottern

                                   Hot Wings By Chef Ann Mottern
I have tried quite a number of hot wing recipes. I always come back to this one.
4lbs. Cut up chicken wings
Oil for frying
1-bottle sweet mild BBQ sauce
2Tbl. Hot sauce
1/4 cup juice from pickled jalapenos

In a 3qt. pan mix BBQ, hot sauce and jalapeno juice, until well blended.
Fry chicken wings about 5 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked through.
Drain on paper towel then add them to the warm sauce.
I have found it tastes better if you heat the sauce and allow the wings to stand for about 10-15 minutes. Or even better- make them a day ahead and reheat in the oven or a chaffing dish. Serve alone or with blue cheese or ranch dressing.

                     Whisk together sauce ingredients and heat until very warm.

Fry the wing section 6 or so at a time. Drain on a paper towel and add them to the sauce.