Becca's Jambalaya

Recently I spent an afternoon helping my friend Becca cook up a large batch ofjambalaya. Becca is from Biloxi, Mississippi and has been making jambalaya for years.

Becca's Jambalaya Recipe

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INGREDIENTS

The ingredients are listed in amounts appropriate for a jambalaya batch for serving 12 people. You can easily double or triple the recipe.

• Andouille and smoked sausage, sliced 1/4 inch thick - 2 cups
• Tony Chachere's Creole Jambalaya Dinner Mix - 1 8-oz box
• Water - 2 1/4 cups
• Uncle Ben's converted original long grain rice - 1 cup
• Chicken broth (homemade is best) 2 1/4 cups
• Onion - a mix of yellow, red, and green onions (tops included), all chopped - 2 cups total
• Bell peppers - a mix of yellow, red, and green, all chopped - 2 cups total
• Celery, chopped - 1 cup
• Garlic, minced - 1 heaping Tablespoon
• Bay leaves - 2 (Make sure they are fresh and strong, if not, add more)
• Whole cooked tomatoes - 1/3 of a 32-oz can, break up the tomatoes with your fingers as they go in, reserve the tomato juice to add if necessary
• Diced tomatoes - 1/3 of a 14-oz can
• Tomato sauce - 1/3 of an 8-oz can
• Sugar - 1 pinch
• Dried thyme - 1 teaspoon
• Tabasco sauce - several sprinkles
• Oregano - 1 teaspoon
• Cayenne pepper - 1/2 teaspoon
• Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning - to taste
• Fresh Shrimp, in shell, but cut to make it easy to remove from shell - 1 1/2 to 2 lbs (Remove shells and store shrimp in ice water while shelling.)
• Lemon juice - juice of half a lemon for each lb of shrimp

METHOD

1 Prepare the vegetables and shrimp. It pays to get as much of the prep work done ahead of time, especially if you are making a large batch. Note that Becca gets her shrimp fresh, not frozen, in the shell, and butterfly cut to make it easy to de-shell. After chopping up all the vegetables, de-shelling the shrimp takes a bunch of time because you want to make sure to get all of the shell pieces out. As you de-shell the shrimp, place the shrimp in a bowl of cold water. When you are done de-shelling, strain the water from the shrimp and put the shrimp in the refrigerator to stay cold. You will not add the shrimp to the jambalaya until the last 2 minutes of making this dish.

2 In a large skillet, fry the sausage slices on medium heat, in batches, until cooked through, about 15 minutes for each batch. As you finish each batch, pour out the sausage and whatever fat has been released into a large stockpot. The size of the stockpot depends on how much jambalaya you are making. For a this batch, I would use an 8-Qt stockpot.

3 Add Tony Chachere's Creole Jambalaya Dinner mix, and 2 1/4 cups of water for every box used. Add Uncle Ben's long grain rice and 2 1/4 cups of chicken broth for every cup of rice used. Add onions, bell peppers, and celery. Slowly bring mixture to a simmer, on MEDIUM heat. This is slow cooking. You want it on medium to prevent the jambalaya from burning. While the jambalaya is cooking, stir it every once in a while to make sure that nothing is sticking to the bottom. 

4 Add bay leaves, garlic, whole tomatoes (reserve juice), diced tomatoes, tomato sauce. Add thyme, tabasco, oregano, cayenne pepper. Slow cook on medium heat adding tomato juice and stock as needed, as the rice absorbs the liquid in the pot. You do not want it to get dried out, nor do you want it to be too liquidy. At this point, stir often to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. Have the temperature be just a notch below a simmer. If it begins to boil, lower the heat, or add water. Cook slowly for an hour as the rice absorbs the liquid.

 
Click on images for larger view.

Becca with the Creole seasoning5 While the jambalaya is cooking, taste frequently and adjust seasonings. Becca likes her jambalaya pretty hot; she says, "If you're not sweat'n, it's not hot enough!" She adds Tony Chacher's Creole seasoning to bring up the heat. Add to taste.

Click image for larger view.6 When the rice has absorbed as much moisture as it will, slowly fold in the shrimp. Add lemon juice (1/2 a lemon for each lb of shrimp). Cover and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and you're done.

Kale with Sausage and White Beans

"You've converted me into a kale lover," a friend declared after eating a hearty bowl of this kale with sausage and white beans. Yay! I love it when I hear things like this. At our house a green vegetable is always served with dinner, and half the time it's some sort of green like chard, kale, spinach, mustard greens, or collards. It's my not-so-secret mission in my heart of hearts to convert everyone to loving their greens. Of course, it's hard to go wrong when you mix kale with Italian sausage and white beans. But, baby steps people. Baby steps.

Kale with Sausage and White Beans Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 20 minutes

We used curly kale for this recipe, but you could use any kale, as well as chard, turnip greens, beet greens, or collards. A splash of vinegar (sherry, red wine, cider) is a nice touch right at the end of cooking.

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage, or other sausage (use gluten-free sausage if cooking gluten-free)
• 1 onion, sliced thin (about 1 1/2 cup's worth of sliced onions)
• 2 large garlic cloves, sliced thin
• 1 pound kale (1 large bunch), center thick rib removed, leaves roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 15-ounce can of white beans, rinsed and drained
• Salt and pepper

METHOD

1 Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the bulk sausage; if you can't find bulk sausage, remove the casings on the links. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then add the onion slices and turn the heat to high. Cook until the edges of the onions brown, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

2 Add the kale, sprinkle salt over everything, then add the chicken stock. Cover the pan, lower the heat to medium and cook for 2 minutes.

3 Uncover, mix everything well (the kale will have cooked down by now) and add the beans. Cover the pot again and lower the heat to low. Cook another 5 minutes, then turn off the heat. Let stand 5 minutes, then serve.

Yield: Serves 4-6 as a side dish.

Green Gumbo

Another hearty stew from Hank Shaw. Enjoy! ~Elise

Green gumbo, or gumbo z'herbes, is a Lenten tradition in Louisiana. Ironically, it is not always vegetarian, as this hearty stew is often served on Holy Thursday to fortify the faithful for the Good Friday fast. Our version includes a ham hock and smoked andouille sausages, but you can leave them out to make a vegetarian gumbo.

The tradition for gumbo z'herbes is to include many different kinds of greens in the gumbo—and to always include an odd number. Why? Apparently for every different green you add, you will find a new friend in the coming year. Why and odd number? Not really sure, although I bet it has to do with old West African or French folklore. Gumbo zav, which is how its pronounced in Louisiana, appears to be related to the French potage aux herbes, or the West Indian callaloo, which in turn has its origins in West African cooking.

Which greens? Any you'd like. I used collards, turnip greens, lacinato kale, curly kale and dandelion greens. Other good options would be chard, spinach, parsley, mustard greens, arugula, the tops of radishes or carrots... you get the idea.

A word on the roux: Try to use peanut oil if you can find it, as it lends a particularly excellent Cajun flavor to the gumbo. Lard, while not vegetarian, would be my second choice. But regular vegetable oil will work, too.

The recipe below includes a Cajun spice blend that makes more than you need for this gumbo. You can save it for later, or serve it at the table with the file powder. If you've never heard of file (fee-lay) powder, it is the dried, ground leaves of sassafras. It adds a sweet flavor to the gumbo and will thicken it a bit, too. Only add the file at the end of cooking, though, or it will turn into nasty, goopy strings.

Green Gumbo Recipe

• Prep time: 30 minutes
• Cook time: 2 hours

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup peanut oil, lard or other vegetable oil
• 1 cup flour
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning (see below)
• 1 ham hock (optional)
• 10 cups water
• 3 pounds assorted greens (i.e. kale, collards, mustard greens, turnip greens, spinach, chard, parsley, dandelion greens, beet greens), chopped (about 14 cups)
• Salt
• 1 pound smoked andouille sausage (optional)
• File powder to taste (optional)

Cajun Spice Blend

• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 2 Tbsp sweet paprika

METHOD

1 Start the gumbo by making a roux, which will add a lot of flavor and thicken the gumbo. Heat the cup of peanut oil or lard (both are traditional roux ingredients) over medium heat for a minute or two and then stir in the flour. Mix so there are no lumps. Cook the roux over medium-low heat until it is the color of chocolate. It is your choice how dark you let your roux go: The darker it is, the better, but once the roux gets dark it can burn easily, so you must stir constantly and keep and eye on it.

2 While the roux is cooking, bring the 10 cups of water to a simmer. When the roux is dark enough, mix in the chopped onions, celery and green pepper and turn the heat to medium. Let this cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften. Add the garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes.

3 Add the bay leaves, the Cajun spice and slowly stir in the hot water. The roux will seize up at first, but keep stirring and it will all come together in a silky broth. Add the ham hock and all the greens. Taste for salt, but remember the ham hock will be salty, so let the broth be a little undersalted for now. If you want to add more Cajun spice, do so now. Cover the pot and simmer gently for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

4 Check the ham hock. If the meat is falling off the bone, remove it, discard the bones, chop the meat and return it to the pot. If the hock is not ready, keep simmering the gumbo; ham hocks don't always cook at the same rate. Once the hock is ready, add the andouille sausage and cook for another 15 minutes. Serve with file powder at the table.

Yield: Serves 10-12.

Rosemary Chicken Skewers with Berry Sauce

Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord, who grilled these chicken skewers with me the other day to rave reviews from the 'rents. ~Elise

I've always been a fan of combining sweet fruits with savory spices, it sets up a certain flavor balance that just works so well. Mango with chili pepper, peaches and thyme, rhubarb and rosemary. They're all delicious, so can there be any question that blackberries and rosemary would just be a match made in heaven?

Elise and I found the inspiration for this recipe in a tattered old cookbook; it needed a quite a bit of tweaking but we finally nailed it. The sweet sauce really makes the rosemary pop on these summer time chicken skewers. Believe me, we were sopping up this marinade with bits of watermelon, lettuce, strawberries, anything we could get our hands on.

Rosemary Chicken Skewers with Berry Sauce Recipe

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INGREDIENTS

For the chicken:

• 4-6 boneless chicken thighs or breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds), skin on or off
• 2 tablespoons of chopped, fresh rosemary
• 1/4 cup of dry white wine or vermouth
• 1 teaspoon of pepper
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

For the sauce:

• 1 3/4 cup of fresh or frozen blackberries or boysenberries
• 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of red currant jelly (or berry jam or jelly)
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

METHOD

1 Cut the chicken into 1 1/2 inch pieces and place in a bowl. Mix with the wine, oil, rosemary, and pepper. Cover and set aside to marinate in the refrigerator for one hour.

2 Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Thread the chicken onto skewers and season generously with salt.

3a Grilling Preheat the grill for direct high heat. Brush the grill grates with olive oil. Place chicken skewers on grill and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Place on a platter and cover with foil to allow the chicken to rest.

3b Broiling Preheat the broiler. Place skewers on an oiled broiling pan, 5 to 6 inches away from the burner. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Place on a platter and cover with foil to allow the chicken to rest.

4To make the sauce, place the marinade and the berries in a sauce pan and simmer gently until the berries are soft. Press through a strainer and discard the pulp.

5 Return the juice and marinade mixture to the pan. Add the vinegar, jelly, and nutmeg and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered until it has reduced by about 1/3 to a light syrup-like consistency.

Plate the skewers and spoon the sauce over the chicken. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Stir Fry Ginger Beef

The trick to a good stir-fry is working with a very hot, relatively stick-free pan. I say relatively stick-free because you don't want one of those stick-free pans with the coating that peels off, but say more like a well-seasoned wok or a cast iron frying pan. Hard anodized aluminum will work too, as its surface is bonded into the pan and can take high temperature cooking. Cooking on high heat allows you to get a good sear on the meat and vegetables without overcooking them.

What can I say about this recipe? Not much other than I really like it. The beef strips marinate in a soy, vinegar, honey, ginger marinade, and then fry up quickly with garlic, chile, and more ginger. Top with cilantro and serve over rice. Quick, easy, good.

Stir Fry Ginger Beef Recipe

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INGREDIENTS

Marinade

• 2 Tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
• 5 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp peeled, grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon chile pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

Beef and stir-fry

• 1 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb top sirloin steak
• 1 Tbsp corn starch
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil (preferably peanut)
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil (optional)
• 3-4 green onions, cut on a diagonal, 1/2-inch apart, including the greens
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2-3 hot chiles, preferably red serranos, seeded, sliced
• 1-inch nob of ginger, peeled, cut lengthwise into matchstick shapes
• 1/2 cup loosely packed, chopped cilantro

METHOD

1 Chill the steak in the freezer for 30 minutes before you slice it, this will make it easier to cut in thin slices. Slice the steak first crosswise in 1/2-inch thick slices. The cut each slice lengthwise into strips.

2 In a medium bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients; the soy sauce, vinegar, grated ginger, honey, red chile flakes, and cumin. Mix the beef in with the marinade to coat and let it sit for at least 30 minutes, and up to 4 hours, in the fridge.

3 In a small bowl, mix the corn starch with 2 tablespoons of cold water to make a slurry.

4 Heat the oil in a wok, or a large sauté pan, over high heat until it is nearly smoking. As the oil is heating up, pat the beef dry and separate it into small batches no larger than what can fit into the palm of your hand. Working in batches, sauté beef until just brown outside but rare inside, no more than 1 minute. Transfer beef to a bowl.

5 When all of the beef is cooked, put the chiles and garlic into the pan and stir-fry 30-45 seconds. Add the julienned ginger and cook for 30-45 seconds more. Add the beef back to the pan. Add the cornstarch slurry. Add the scallions and mix everything together. Cook for 1 minute.

Turn the heat off and mix in the cilantro. Serve at once with steamed white rice.

Yield: Serves 4-6.