Crawfish Monica

If you've ever been to Jazzfest in New Orleans, then you've definitely had Crawfish Monica. And if you've ever had Crawfish Monica, well then you know what heaven is gonna be like. I'm talkin cream, pasta, garlic, butter....yep, like I said, heaven.

You can change this up as much as you like. If you don't have fettucini, use whatever pasta you have around. They usually serve it with rotini at Jazzfest, so if you want to be traditional, go that route. Also, you can always substitute shrimp for crawfish, which is what I did. Believe me, if I could find crawfish, I would have used it. I love New York and all, but they really don't know what they are missing out on by not having crawfish up here.




Ingredients:
1 pound fettuccine
3 tbsp butter
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup minced onion
Creole/Cajun Seasoning to taste
1 cup peeled, seeded plum tomatoes
1 pound crawfish tails
1 tbsp chopped garlic
2 cups heavy cream
2 ounces grated Parmigiana Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions, (green part only)


So like I said, I went with shrimp instead of crawfish. I ended up buying frozen because I didn't like the look of the fresh. Plus, I mean, hello? If someone wants to devein shrimp for me, I am NOT going to stop them. A quick way to thaw shrimp? Run cold water over them in a colander, and you have unfrozen shrimp in about 6 minutes.

While the water is running, get your ingredients chopped. Shown below is garlic, chopped roma tomatoes, and onion.

By the time you are done chopping, the shrimp should be thawed. However, you want to dry these little boogers or else they will hold water and be gross. So I just lay them out on paper towel.

And then put another piece on top, patting them dry.

Now boil some water with some salt, and then add your pasta. Cook according to the instructions on the pasta package. I know, real exciting stuff here.

In a large saute pan, melt 1 T. of butter

Then add the onion and sprinkle with cajun seasoning. I used Tony's...and I have a very heavy pour. Come have a drink with me; I'll prove it.

Saute for 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes and more Tony's. Saute for 2 minutes.

Now sprinkle even more Tony's on the shrimp.

Add the shrimp to the pan and saute 1 minute.

Then add the garlic and season with another healthy shake of Tony's.

Add the cream and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Stir in the cheese. Mix well.

In the meantime, drain the pasta. Toss the pasta with 2 tablespoons butter. Season with salt and pepper.

Ok, I admit it. This is when my friend showed up, and I totally forgot to continue to take pictures. I blame that heavy pour I referenced earlier. =) But I promise, you don't need pics of the next steps. Turn the sauce into a large mixing bowl. Add the pasta and green onions (I didn't have these at home so skipped). Mix well. Mound the pasta in the center of each plate and serve.

Here is a shot of what it should look like. Thank you, Google. This is much prettier than anything I would have taken.

Grilled Skirt Steak

If you know me at all, you know I like spicy. Spicy this, spicy that, you name it, I want it. And if isn't spicy, I'll probably pull some hot sauce out of my bag and make it that way. Yes, I have hot sauce in my purse. And 3 bottles in my drawer at work. I can't get enough.

Most skirt steak recipes are with served with chimicurri sauce or either cooked for fajitas. I didn't want either of those, but I had this beautiful piece of meat that was calling my name. Skirt steak is one of my favorite cuts - the flavor is so much better than a lot of others and because I prefer my meat cooked rare, it's a perfect cut for me.

This recipe is super simple, easy and has a lot of flavor.

Once again, I forgot to take the recipe shot but it's all simple ingredients:
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 lbs beef skirt steak, cut in 6-inch pieces
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper kosher salt to taste

First step is making the marinade. In a large mixing bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients and whisk together thoroughly.



Now take the skirt steak and cut into 6" pieces. Mmmmm....beef. This is obviously not cut yet.



Add the skirt steak, and toss in the marinade until all the pieces are coated evenly. I only had a little over a pound of beef, but I didn't change the marinade...which is probably why it had a decent kick. Cover the bowl and let sit, at room temperature for 20 minutes.



Remove skirt steak from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Season with freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt. Cook about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare on a very hot, preheated outdoor grill, or on a grill pan indoors. It's still freezing in NY, so grill pan wins. I like my meat rare, so I think I would do more like 2 minutes on each side.



Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Remember my lesson in resting? Well, read it again if you don't. The next step is the most important with a tough cut like skirt steak: Be sure to slice against the grain for the tenderest results. Pretty, right? Blurry too. Oh, shaky hands. How I love thee.

Honey Sesame Pork Tenderloin

My lovely cousin, Shelley Sheppard, submitted this recipe for the cookbook, and it sounded so delicious. I love every ingredient that is in this dish --- and we all know I love pork. I love it so much that I feel like the need to write a haiku about it:

Cooked, cured, smoked

I love it all so.

My dear swine.

Here are the ingredients:

1/2 cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. grated fresh ginger
1 T. sesame oil
1 - 1.5 lb. pork tenderloin
1/4 cup honey
2 T. dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup sesame seeds

First, mix the soy sauce, garlic, ginger and sesame oil in a large plastic bag. Marinate tenderloin in it for at least 2 hours, preferably all day. My ziploc bags were too small, so I went with this plastic container. I put the pork in the marinade before I went to sleep, so it was very well-marinated when i cooked it for dinner the next evening. This picture is kind of gross, but I figured I'd show it anyway. I would normally write what I think this looks like, but I am trying to get you to cook this, not throw up.
Preheat oven to 375. Combine honey and brown sugar in a shallow bowl. Speaking of "honey" and "sugar," I've been in a bad habit of calling people this at work lately. I am pretty sure it's considered inappropriate, possible even flirtatious, at the office but it's just fun to say it with a southern drawl, a la Scarlet O'Hara. Do it! See? Told you so.

Remove tenderloin from marinade and pat dry with a paper towel. Roll tenderloin in honey mixture, then roll in sesame seeds. Shelley wrote that she normally leaves off the sesame seeds, but since I had them in my cabinet, I figured I would use them.

Roast in a shallow pan for 20-30 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 160. You can also grill it, which is what Shelley does. Unfortunately, there is no grill in my apartment, so I had to take a trip to Oven-City. Let the meat rest a while after taking it out of the oven or off the grill to let the juices redistribute. This is one of the hardest things to do, but you should do ANYTIME you cook meat. I know how hard it is not to cut it right away and dig in, but seriously, don't! You'll lose all the delicious juices...and then you'll be sad. Like, cry like a baby sad.

Don't be frightened by the picture below: No pans were harmed in the making of this meal. It's just "suga" and "hunay" - an overnight soak and it came right off.

I served this wish some squash and some leftover rice from the night before. It was very flavorful, but I think the tastes of the grill might make it a bit better than the oven, so if you have that option, go with the grill. Also, I would toast the sesame seeds next time to add more flavor.

Chicken Andouille Gumbo aka Who Dat!?! Gumbo

I made this a few weeks ago when the Saints won the NFC Championship , so I figured that I should make it again for Superbowl. So now, of course, I consider this gumbo to be lucky, and have a feeling that you'll be able to find me every Sunday this fall in my kitchen stirring a roux.

I totally forgot to take the ususal pic of ingredients, so I'll just list them out here.

5 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1/2 pound andouille or other smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (I used beef smoked sausage because that is all I could find)
1 (2 1/2- to 3-pound) chicken, cut up (I am a big fan of chicken thighs - they are cheap and sooo much more flavorful than boring old chicken breasts)
1 1/2 quarts water
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 can whole tomatoes, drained and squeezed
handful of frozed diced okra
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I didn't have any, so I just skipped this)
Hot cooked rice


Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add sausage and cook until browned, about 7 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.


Add chicken pieces to pot and cook until golden brown, about 10 minutes, turning occasionally. As mentioned in ingredients, you can use chicken pieces, but I prefer just thighs. They are perfect for this gumbo.
See? All nice and brown.





Add water and bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat to simmer, and cook until chicken is tender, about 30 minutes.Remove chicken from pot and cool slightly. Remove meat from bones, discarding skin and bones; shred meat into small pieces and set aside.



Now, time for the roux. Go to the bathroom and then pour a glass of wine. You'll be here for a while.



In a skillet over medium heat, mix remaining 3 tablespoons oil with flour and cook, stirring constantly, until roux turns dark brown, about 30 minutes.



This is how it looks in the beginning:





After 15 minutes:



The final product: a nice dark brown roux:





Now don't be an idiot like me and try to turn around and watch tv while making the roux. I now have lovely second degree burns on 2 of my fingers. Of course, there was no time for a pity party, or else I might have burned the roux!



Add onion, celery, green pepper, and garlic and cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.



Add mixture to Dutch oven along with bay leaves, thyme, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. Add chicken and sausage and simmer 15 minutes longer.



When you have about 7 minutes left, throw in a handful of frozen okra. Don't put it in any earlier or it will get all slimy....ewww.







Remove from heat and stir in green onion and parsley; adjust seasoning if needed. Let gumbo stand 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, mound about 1/3 cup rice in each soup bowl, then ladle about 1 cup gumbo around rice.



Oh yeah, at some point, you should have cooked some rice. I listed some of my favorite additions to flavor gumbo below. I have a love for all things spicy, so if I am serving this to anyone besides myself...and you should - it's so good - I usually keep it pretty tame and let each person add extras as they see fit. Since I used okra, it natually thickens the gumbo, so file isn't really necessary...but if you decided to omit, you might need it.



Look how pretty? And soooo good.And like I meant, LUCKY! Congratulations New Orleans Saints, Superbowl XLIV Champs!

Spicy Sausage Pasta

Hot Italian sausage was on sale yesterday, so I picked it up and then found a recipe which of course involved going BACK to the grocery store. One day I will get organized....just not today. I found this recipe in my notebook of random recipes I want to try out. Anytime I see a recipe in the paper or a magazine, I cut it out and tape it in my notebook. It probably gets more use than other cookbook I have because I know I want to eat EVERYTHING in it. It was really easy to make, relatively inexpensive and super yummy. I ate it with a simple mixed green salad, but it is plenty filling on its own. Obviously, this is not part of the cookbook, but since it's good, I figured I might as well share it.

Ingredients, serves 6:

1 T. olive oil

1 lb. spicy Italian sausages, casings removed, meat crumbled

4 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 lb. pasta (tube-shaped) - i use penne

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 T. butter

2 T. finely chopped fresh Italian parsley (the recipe called for flat, but they only had curly at the store- who cares?)

Freshly ground black pepper

So, first I worked on chopping the garlic and removing the casing from the sausage.

EW.......casing! Yucky!

Now, bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Preheat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the oil to the hot pan, then add the sausage and garlic. Break apart the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's no longer pink.

Then add the cream and simmer over low heat.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package instructions. When the pasta is ready, so is the sausage.

Drain the pasta well in a colander and add to the sausage in the pan. Add the Parmesan, butter, and parsley. Yes, my pan is way too small. I'm in the process of moving, and my big boy pan is all packed up.

Mix well.

To serve, sprinkle with a little more of the Parmesan cheese and season with pepper. It's got a nice kick, but don't let the spicy title steer you away...you could always use regular Italian sausage....but the spicy kind is sooooo much better!

Braised Short Ribs

It's January, it's cold, I'm broke...basically, braising is calling my name! As you probably already know, braising is a cooking technique in which the main ingredient is seared, or browned in fat, and then simmered in liquid on low heat in a covered pot. Braising relies on heat, time, and moisture to successfully break down tough connective tissue and collagens in meats, making it an ideal way to cook tougher cuts.


One person that understands the cold in this family is Aunt Andrea Hairston, who left the flat mild Delta winters for the mountains of snowy Idaho years ago. She submitted this delicious-sounding Braised Short Ribs recipe for our cookbook. I decided to take a stab at cooking at her recipe today, but since I'm a loner, I decided to cut the recipe in half for little old me.



ingredients for original recipe, feeds 4-6:

3 lbs. beef short ribs
3/4 cup rice
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 t. beef flavored gravy base or 2 bouillon cubes
pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery (i loathe celery, so i left this out of mine)
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
2 1/4 cup water
2 t. salt
1 t. Worcestershire sauce


In a heavy skillet, brown ribs with added fat. Fat? How do I get my thighs in this pan? Fine, I'll use butter.


Allow 25-30 minutes for browning. Season with a little salt.


Remove to a 3 quart casserole, cover and bake in slow oven at 325 for 1 hour.


Meanwhile, in the skillet in which the meat was browned, combine rice, onions, celery and green pepper. Cook until rice is lightly browned.


After meat has baked for 1 hour, remove ribs from casserole and pour off fat. Place browned rice mixture into casserole.
Top with ribs.
Combine remaining ingredients into a small saucepan and heat to boiling. Pour over ribs and rice.

Cover and bake 1 hour more. Look how yummy!


And serve.... this was delicious. I served with some steamed spinach but any green veg would be great with it. Thanks, Aunt Andrea, for a fabulous recipe!