Potato Salad, Lisa Style

Potato salad in New York is gross. It's just so....white. I grew up on the yellow stuff, and that's what I like. This potato salad recipe is for the mustard-based potato salad lovers ONLY! Everytime I make this, I always get asked for the recipe. It's the closest thing to traditional southern potato salad served at meat & 3's down home.

Ingredients:
5 lbs. potatoes, peeled & cubed
2 cups mayonnaise (don't touch that diet crap here..or really ever for that matter)
1/2 cup yellow mustard
1 cup chopped onions
2 T. prepared horseradish
sea salt to taste
8 hard cooked eggs, chopped
3 dill pickles, chopped
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the potatoes in a large pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and place in a serving bowl. Stir the onion, salt and pepper into the potatoes while they are still hot to soak in the flavor. Allow to cool for 20 minutes.

Add the mayonnaise, mustard and horseradish to the potatoes and mix well. Gently stir in the eggs and pickles. Finish off with a generous grinding of black pepper on top and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

This recipe makes enough for a large bbq party....I usually half it and still have too much.

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!

Scalloped Potato Grain

I saw this recipe online the other day and want to cook it for Christmas Eve. However, I believe in the rule of never trying a new recipe out at dinner parties. I learned this from experience of course. This dish is very simple, easy to make, and turned out to be delicious! It's definitely going on the menu next week. Ok, ingredients, you're up.
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Butter
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for broiling (serves 4-6)

First, preheat the oven to 375.

Then, chop up those 2 cloves of garlic.
Next, peel the potatoes. I have a serious crush on my peeler. It has great memories and always puts a smile on my face when I see it. I know what you're thinking; Lisa has officially lost it. She's in love with her peeler? Well, the lovely Mr. Joseph Ades sold me this peeler. If you've been to visit me in New York, you probably need no introduction to "Peeler Guy." But for everyone else, you've never seen such a sales pitch. Unfortunately, he passed away this February, but thanks to the internet, you can see him in action still. Take the time to view his obituary article, as well as this video. It's a fascinating story.
Kodak made me spend a lot of money with them this year "or else" they were going to delete my pictures....so guess what I purchased? A Peeler Guy Beer Mug - I can't think of a more appropriate time for a cold one! CHEERS!!!!!
Ok, back to cooking. So now you need to slice the potatoes....if you don't have one already, invest in a mandolin now. I just have the simple hand held one by OXO. Doesn't take up too much space and works great. Slice, slice, slice away!
In a saucepan, heat up the cream with a sprig of thyme, chopped garlic and nutmeg.
While that is heating up, butter a casserole dish. I was taking this dish to a friend's apartment, so I went with a disposable one. Then layer the potatoes in an overlapping pattern.
Add some salt and pepper on top. Can you tell I LOVE pepper???
Then add some of the cream mix.
Then top with a handful of Parmesan.
Make 2 more layers. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Sprinkle some more Parmesan and broil until cheese browns, about 5 minutes.

Served along with a filet and broccoli, compliments of the Gomez's. Yummy!