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Sunday, March 2, 2014

Spicy Shrimp Etouffee If Youre Texting the Recipe Just Enter A2FEY

For whatever reason, Ive recently been on a Cajun/Creole cooking kick. Heres the finished shrimp etouffee video recipe I promised last week, and man, was it good! Etouffee is one of New Orleans most famous dishes - its spicy (or can be), aromatic, brightly flavored, and very comforting, all at the same time.

Etouffee comes from the French word for "smothered," and I would describe the dish as a rich, shrimp gravy served with rice. In general, Creole cooking is not that common for the average home cook. I think, from a distance, it may look like Creole cooking is fairly complicated. While some recipes do have lots of steps, most of the classics, like this shrimp etouffee, are quite simple to make.

Speaking of famous New Orleans recipes, folks in my age group may remember with some amusement, the blackened redfish craze from the early eighties. Chef Paul Prudhomme, of K-Pauls Louisiana Kitchen, introduced America to that old Cajun favorite, blackened fish. It was later discovered it wasnt even a Cajun recipe, but thats a chef for you - we never let the facts get in the way of a great story.

This was a smoke alarms dream recipe. Blackened redfish is basically a fillet covered in spicy dry rub, and seared on a red-hot cast iron pan. This is a great recipe when made under a massive restaurant exhaust fan. At home, it produced copious amount of smoke, which forced many a chef outdoors. Anyway, enjoy the video and be sure to give this easy, and smoke-free, recipe a try!

Click here for ingredients and transcript

Monday, February 17, 2014

Chicken Riggies – What if You Never Saw This

Way back when, the only way you would’ve found out about a regional recipe like Chicken Riggies, would have been to eat it while traveling through Central New York.

You would’ve loved it (because there’s nothing not to love) and maybe even tried to recreate it when you got home, but more likely it would have ended up fading into nothing more than a pleasant memory; referred to as “that rigatoni we had in Utica.”

I’m sure you’ll plan a trip through the lovely Utica/Rome area of New York State eventually, but in the meantime, I offer up my take on this thoroughly enjoyable plate of pasta. I think it’s fairly authentic, with two notable exceptions. I use Marsala instead of the standard white wine, and use roughly chopped thigh meat, instead of the more popular chicken breasts.

This results in a sauce that seems much richer than it actually is, and I think you’ll love the subtle sweetness the wine imparts, which works wonderfully with the heat from the peppers. Of course, as I joke about in the video, forget how tasty the recipe is…it’s worth making just for the name alone. What’s for dinner? Chicken Riggies! Riggies? Yes, Riggies!

Anyway, if you’re from Central New York, I hope I did your venerable recipe proud. If you’re not, I hope you give this gorgeous rigatoni recipe a try, and experience what only a few decades ago, you may not have ever heard of. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

1 tbsp olive oil

4 oz hot Italian sausage, crumbled

1 onion, sliced or diced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, roughly chopped or cubed

1/2 cup Marsala wine

1 (28-oz) can whole, peeled San Marzano tomatoes, crushed

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup water, or as needed

1 1/2 cups chopped hot and/or sweet peppers (any jarred or fresh peppers will work, but cherry peppers are a good choice)

*if using mild peppers, use chili flakes or chili paste to increase the spiciness.

1/2 cup pitted, halved Greek olives
3 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

1 pound rigatoni

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano cheese

View the complete recipe

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Lamb Merguez Patties – If the Sausage is Moroccan Your Burger Will Be Rockin

After using Merguez sausage in this beautiful stuffed acorn squash recipe last year, I got a bunch of emails saying, “I can’t find that anywhere! Can you show us how to make it?!” I generally ignore those, since it’s usually just people not looking hard enough (I’m looking at you, Mr. “I can’t find Panko”).

However, in this case, I realized that Merguez is not commonly stocked at the grocery store, so I decided to come up with an easy home version. I didn’t bother with the casing, as these were originally going to be breakfast patties, but as I mention in the video, I was seduced by a brioche roll, and ended up going full burger. Happily, it made for a very memorable lunch.

If you do happen to give this Merguez recipe a try, I hope you make a double batch and not only experience the amazing burger it produces, but also use it in/on a number of things. It is wonderful in beans, frittatas, pastas, soups, and especially crumbled on pizza or flatbread. I really hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for Four (4 oz) Patties:

1 pound ground lamb (rec., 85% lean, 15% fat)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp fennel seed
1/4 tsp turmeric

3 cloves garlic

2 tbsp Harissa (a spice red pepper paste), we did a version here. I didn’t add cayenne since my Harissa was very spicy, but feel free.

1 tbsp tomato paste

*Note: To check seasoning, fry a small piece and check for salt and heat.

View the complete recipe