Recipe: Shrimp Etoufee
For most people there is no difference between Cajun and Creole food. But there is a difference. Though it is subtle in taste it is quite evident in the kitchen. Cajun food is simple food – whatever is available all in one big pot (gumbos and jambalayas). Creole takes the same ingredients and adds them to the traditional techniques of French cooking (etoufees and bisques). While Cajun food is usually hot, Creole food isn’t nearly as spicy.
This recipe is rustic enough for a Mardi Gras picnic or tailgate party yet fancy enough to make for your Valentine. Enjoy!
| Shrimp Etoufee |
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 bell peppers, finely diced
- 3 stalks celery, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 cups shrimp stock or chicken stock
- 2 pounds fresh shrimp
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 Bay leaf
- salt and white pepper to taste
- Combine butter and flour in a hot deep skillet over medium-high heat and stir frequently until you have a smooth peanut butter-colored roux, about 7-10 minutes.
- Add the onions, bell pepper and celery to the roux and cook roughly 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook another 5 minutes.
- Slowly pour in the stock bring the liquid to a bowl and add the bay leaf. Lower to a simmer.
- Stir frequently and reduce to a thick consistency.
- Add the shrimp and season to taste with cayenne, salt and white pepper. Cook enough to cook the shrimp, about 5 minutes.
- Serve over hot rice.
Remember to remove the Bay leaf.
Substitute crawfish tails for shrimp to make crawfish etoufee.
I like to serve mine with a little cracklin’ cornbread but a loaf of crusty French bread is always welcome.
Rather than dicing the vegetables I sometimes like to pulverize them in the food processor.
Have a Super Bowl. . . of Chowder!
With the pending game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots it only seems fair to have a little battle of the chowders as well. So the folks at Food.com were nice enough to hook me up a time-tested recipe for each. Enjoy!
| New England Clam Chowder |
- 2 ounces bacon fat
- 2 ounces butter
- 1 large onion , diced
- 6 stalks celery , diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic , minced
- ½ shredded carrot (optional)
- ½ cup flour
- ½ cup instant mashed potatoes
- 4 chef potatoes , peeled and chopped
- 1 quart clam juice
- 3 cups chopped clams
- 1 ½ cups half-and-half
- ¼ cup fresh parsley , chopped
- 1 drop Tabasco sauce
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley (garnish)
- Melt butter and bacon fat in large pot.
- Sautee onion, celery garlic (and 1/2 cup shredded carrots, if using) until tender.
- Add seasonings (parsley, Tabasco, celery salt, thyme & bay).
- Add flour and instant mash potatoes.
- Turn off flame and stir until flour is no longer visible.
- Add the clam juice and stir.
- Turn flame back on to high and continue stirring (constantly) to avoid sticking.
- Bring to a boil.
- Add potatoes and stir.
- Cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
- Add clams.
- Stir.
- Add cream.
- Stir.
- Simmer for 1/2 hour.
- Add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve garnished with fresh parsley and enjoy!
| Tom’s Manhattan Clam Chowder |
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves , cut finely
- ¼ cup fresh parsley , cut and chopped
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 onion , chopped
- 2 (6 ½ ounce) cans minced clams (reserve juice)
- 2 (6 ½ ounce) cans chopped clams (, reserve juice)
- 1 (8 ounce) bottle clam juice
- 2 (28 ounce) cans cooked tomatoes
- 7 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
- salt and pepper
- 4 potatoes , peeled and cut into chunks
- In a large dutch oven over medium heat, add olive oil, garlic, parsley, basil, oregano and onion.
- Cook until garlic is light brown.
- Add minced and chopped clams with juice from cans and bottle of clam juice.
- Add tomatoes, water, bay leaves, Old Bay Seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Turn heat to low and continue cooking for 35 minutes.
- Add potatoes and continue to cook for 30 minutes.
- Serve hot.
Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Salad
I have a confession to make – I don’t like chicken salad. In fact, I hate most chicken salad. It’s odd, too, because I like all other compound salads like egg salad (my dear mother made the best ever. EVER!), tabbouleh, tuna salad and potato salad in all it’s many incarnations. But chicken salad is at best tolerable and usually unpalatable. I especially detest those sweet chicken salads with fruit and nuts and sugar – that crap is more dessert than salad.
So I decided that since generations of cooks hadn’t done it I would just have to fix chicken salad. Here’s a chicken salad that is perfect for your next tailgate or March Madness party.
| Buffalo Chicken Salad |
- 4 cups diced boiled chicken
- 1 stalk celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 1 carrot, shredded
- 2/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup Ranch or Bleu Cheese dressing
- 2 TBL Frank’s Red Hot or other cayenne-based hot sauce
- Mix all ingredients thoroughly.
- Refrigerate at least two hours before serving.
The leaves from your celery would make a great garnish for this chicken salad as would a few bleu cheese crumbles.
Serve as a wrap, on a leaf of lettuce or in a toasty baguette. Or just throw it in a bowl with a sleeve of saltines next to it.
ICA: Symon vs. Morimoto – Tailgate Showdown
Iron Chefs Morimoto and Symon travel to Hawaii for the first ever Iron Chef America tailgating showdown. Because of the two-hour season (please make it the series) finale of RvG: Celebrity Showdown this special ICA will air on Saturday night.
Like the Super Bowl, this will also serve as a rematch of the 2005 Battle: Asparagus between Morimoto and a not-yet Iron Chef Micheal Symon as well as the 2011 Christmas special Battle: Alton Brown’s Fruit Cake. Both of the first two battles were won by Morimoto which is impressive considering Symon has only lost six of his 30 battles in Kitchen Stadium.
Iron Chef Symon hails from Cleveland, OH and is one big time Browns fan. For those not in the know the Browns are like the Cubs of the NFL. They were a power franchise. . . sixty years ago. However, they’ve never even sniffed a Super Bowl save for one AFC championship game that they ultimately lost thanks one of the 47 last minute comebacks that put Denver QB John Elway into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Iron Chef Morimoto is from Japan. This should be fun. The judges for Battle: Wild Boar were Simon Majumdar, Sunny Anderson and Brandie Cazimero. Be sure to hop over to Sunny’s blog for a behind the scenes look of tonight’s episode.
Check below for the outcome.
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Symon Morimoto
Taste: 26 Taste: 25
Plating: 11 Plating: 13
Originality: 13 Originality: 12
Total: 52 Total: 48
