Sticky Chicken

Maybe the easiest recipe we've done yet, it may win the award for the dish you'd be most likely to make if you just got home and want something easy and good.  It's got a pretty rustic flavor and could use a bit more spice.

Sticky Chicken

To be honest, I never knew this had a name, until I saw one of Chef Paul's shows and he cooked up some. "Sticky Chicken" is so easy to fix yet so full of flavor. My pop would always make it in a covered casserole. I'll do that sometimes, but most of the time I'll use the ole trusty iron skillet.

 

ingredients:

one cut up fryer (or your favorite parts. no more than one skillet layer of chicken)

1/4 cup of each: chopped small, yellow onion, bell pepper, celery, green onion, parsley

1/2 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 stick of butter (slice into chips)

one lemon

olive oil

flour

seasonings:

salt, lemon pepper, Creole seasoning (your favorite), oregano flakes, Worcestershire

 

   Season each chicken piece with your seasonings. Don't hold back...really season'em up! Pat flour on each chicken piece to coat and set in the ice box for the time being.

   Heat up a large iron skillet and add just enough olive oil to cover. Sauté' the chopped vegetables, parsley and garlic until wilted.

   With your spatula (wooden one I hope), spoon-out the vegetables into a bowl. Add a little more oil to the skillet and begin to brown the chicken. You're just browning, not frying, so it's ok to fill the skillet as long as the heat is consistent. Cook for about 5 minutes and use tongs to flip each piece over and cook for 5 more minutes. Sprinkle on a little more Creole seasoning.

   Ok, this next step will appear like I'm defeating the purpose, but trust me. With your spatula, scrap the bottom of the pan to loosen up those great "brown things". Add about 1/4 cup of water (or white wine) then add the chicken back to the skillet. Cover the chicken with the vegetables, butter chips and just a drizzle more of olive oil. Cover with a lid or foil and bake at 300 degrees for one hour.

   Remove the skillet to remove the lid. Flip the chicken over. Give another little dash of oregano and a squeeze of juice from the lemon. Place back into the oven with no lid. Cook for 30 minutes longer.

  

   That's it! A nice slow cooking dish that gives you time to cook a couple of side dishes to go with your chicken. Makes a great excuse to cook some homemade cornbread or oyster dressing and gravy to keep toned-up  for the holidays.

Crawfish Stuffed Bell Peppers

My parents were in town not to long ago for a week-long vacation.  As we have done in the past we took the opportunity to cook something together for this blog.  And we felt obligated to use a famous cajun ingredient that is currently in season: crawfish!  Not only that, my parents bought the already boiled but unpeeled crawfish to heighten our experience.  As I had been told by others, there is a surprisingly small amount of meat inside that exoskeleton.  I perfected the "toothpaste method", where you take off the head and then squeeze from the bottom of the tail to force the meat out.  To my delight that was fairly successful, but still takes awhile for even just a cup and a half of crawfish meat.
We all liked this dish very much.  The crawfish add a spicey-salty-slightly seafoody taste.  The stuffing would be great for Thanksgiving, a cajun-style one that is.

Stuffing
3 Tbs. salt butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 Tbs. chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped green onion
2 Tbs. finely minced parsley
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne
1/8 tsp. dried thyme
1/8 tsp. allspice
1 1/2 cup crawfish meat
1/2 cup soaked crumbled bread

6 or 8 large green peppers

In a large heavy skillet melt butter over low heat.  Add the vegetables and the parsley and saute until the vegetables are soft and just beginning to brown, then add the seasonings and blend thoroughly.  Add the crawfish meat and bread and toss lightly.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 8 to 10 minutes.  Remove pan from heat.
Cut off the tops of the green peppers and remove seeds.  Place peppers standing open side up in a heavy saucepan with an inch of salted water, bring to a boil, cover pan, lower heat, and cook for 6 minutes.  Remove peppers from pan and drain.  Stuff with crawfish stuffing and set in a shallow baking dish, side by side but not touching.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Chicken Pontalba

This was a recipe that I had my eye on from the start of this blog.  Nothing in particular about it; it just looked goooood!  I tried this dish months ago when we went out to Jacques-Imo's, a well known creole cuisine restaurant not far from where we live.  And it was fantastic there, although the chicken itself was not fried like it is in this recipe.  I had never fried anything in my life and this didn't work out to well for me.  The chicken was mushy because the coating never crisped up.  But the rest of the dish was great (and rich).  We agreed this one was a recipe to repeat; however, it would be just as good if you just sauteed the chicken.

Chicken Pontalba

(serves 4)

One of the grandest chicken dishes we know.  A layer of ham and vegetables sauteed in butter, then covered with a layer of crisp lightly fried pieces of deboned chicken then topped with simmering bernaise sauce.

1/2 cup of butter

1 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 cup sliced green onion

1 Tbs. finely minced garlic

1 1/4 cup diced potatoes

1 cup diced ham

1 1/4 cup thinly sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 Tbs. parsley

1 cup flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/8 tsp. cayenne

2 lb. deboned chicken breast, leg, and thigh (about 2 small fryers)

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cup Bernaise Sauce

In a heavy 10 inch skillet, melt the butter over low heat.  Add onion, garlic, green onion, and potatoes and cook over low heat until the vegetables are browned (about 15 minutes) stirring frequently.  Add the diced ham, mushrooms, wine, and parsley and cook for 8 minutes more.  Turn off the heat.  Remove the vegetables and ham with a slotted spoon and place in a large dish, allowing excess butter to drain back into the pan.  Put the dish in a 200 degree preheated oven.

In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, salt, black pepper, and cayenne.  Cut up the larger pieces of the chicken so that none are thicker than 1/2 inch or longer than 1 1/2 inches.  Dredge the pieces of chicken in the seasoned flower.  Add the vegetable oil to the to the butter in the pan then heat the oil and butter mixture until it sizzles lightly.  Fry the chicken until they are cooked through and golden brown on all sides (about 8 to 10 minutes) turning frequently with tongs.  Remove the chicken, drain for a minute on paper towels, then arrange the pieces evenly over the vegetables in the gratin dish.  Put the dish back in the oven while you prepare the bernaise sauce, then spoon the sauce evenly over the entire dish and serve.

Bernaise Sauce

1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon leaves

2 shallots, minced

1/4 cup champagne vinegar

1/4 cup dry white wine

3 egg yolks

1 stick butter, melted

Salt and pepper

Make the bearnaise reduction first. In a small saucepan, combine the tarragon, shallots, vinegar and wine over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Blend yolks and bearnaise reduction together. With the blender running, add 1/3 of the butter in a slow steady stream. Once it emulsifies, turn the blender speed up to high and add the remaining butter. Season with salt and pepper and set aside in a warm spot to hold the sauce.

Irish Channel Corned Beef and Cabbage

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  One of the surprises in moving down here and learning about the history of New Orleans is the large number of ethnicities that played significant roles in making this city what it is today.  Since New Orleans was such a huge port town, it saw a lot of similar immigration patterns as New York City did, but at a smaller scale.  Everyone knows about the French Quarter and the LA Purchase from the French.  But   don't forget about the Spanish who owned New Orleans from 1763 - 1801.  Italians were another large group that lived in the French Quarter.  And there was also the Irish immigrant community, who took on blue collar jobs of digging canals in New Orleans.  And over time, the section of the city just below the Garden District and along the Mississippi River was known as "The Irish Channel" because of the number of Irish who lived there.  Every year you can find large St. Patrick's day parties and parades in this part of New Orleans.

This traditional Irish dish has a New Orleans twist on it with the crab boil.  My mom used this technique correctly; however, I mistakenly bought the powder mix of boil, which when mixed in water in a concentrated fashion, simply tastes like hot sauce.  Oops!  So we ended up with quite the spicy corned beef and vegetables.

Overall we both liked this recipe, and even if you don't have crab boil I think it is a good method to create this dish.

3 – 3 ½ # corned beef brisket                           3 lg russet potatoes, peeled/halved

3 qts cold water                                                1# lg carrots, peeled, trimmed, halved

1 bag crab boil                                                             crosswise

¼ c white vinegar                                              3 sm onions, halved bottom to top

1 lg to med cabbage, 3 ½ - 4 #             1 med head garlic, cloves peeled

            Cut into 6 equal wedges                        salt/pepper for seasoning

2 ½ T salt

Remove corned beef from package, discard liquid, place meat in a bowl in the sink and rinse thoroughly under cold water.

Combine cold water, salt, crab boil and vinegar in a large pot over high heat.  Add the beef and bring to a boil.  Boil about 15 minutes, then reduce heat and simmer for 3 – 3 ½ hours or until meat is fork-tender.  Remove the meat from the cooking liquid and set aside.  (Meat should be very tender.)

Place a large roasting pan with a lid and a rack over 2 burners of the stove.  Put the cabbage wedges on the rack in the center of the pan, place the potatoes around the cabbage, and rest the carrots between the potatoes and the cabbage.  Place the onions on top of the cabbage wedges, and sprinkle the garlic over everything.

Remove the bag of crab boil from the cooking liquid and discard.  Pour the liquid over the vegetables, place the meat on top, and turn both burners to high.  Bring to a boil.  Boil about 8 minutes, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until all the vegetables are tender—about 45 minutes.

Remove the meat and trim away all excess fat.  With sharp carving knife, thinly slice the meat against the grain on the bias.  Place the cabbage, potatoes, carrots, onion and a few cloves of garlic on a serving platter.  Place the sliced corned beef on top, and pour a little liquid over everything.  Adjust seasonings.

Serve with prepared horseradish and/or Creole mustard.     

Grillades and Grits

This was probably one of the easier recipes to do and very tasty.  The meat rub is very peppery but not necessarily spicy.  It is a dish that you see often on menus down here but come to think of it I have never ordered it to see how authentic this recipe was.  Anyway, mom and I agreed this was a repeater.

Serves 4.

The old time New Orleans version of smothered steak - veal or beef round pounded out thin, browned in hot fat, then slowly cooked with onions and fresh tomatoes.  Grillades are always served with grits to soak up the rich natural gravy.  They make a hearty inexpensive supper or a grand old fashioned Sunday breakfast.

1 1/4 to 1 3/4 lb. round of veal or beef

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1/8 tsp. cayenne

1 Tbs. minced garlic

2 Tbs. flour

1 1/2 Tbs. lard

1 cup onion, chopped

1 large tomato, coarsely chopped

1 cup water

2 1/2 to 3 cups grits

Trim fat from meat.  Cut into pieces about 2 inches square and pound out with a mallet to about 4 inches square.  Rub the salt, black pepper, cayenne, and garlic into the pieces of meat on both sides.  Then rub in the flour.

In a large heavy skillet or saute pan, melt the lard over medium heat and brown the grillades well on both sides.  Lower the heat and add the onion, tomato and water.  Bring to a simmer, cover loosely, and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, uncovering to turn the meat over every 10 minutes.  A rich brown gravy will form during cooking; if it appears too thick, add water a little bit at a time.

When the meat is cooked remove it to a heated platter and place in a preheated oven at 200 degrees to keep warm.  Prepare the grits.  Just before serving reheat the gravy in the skillet and pour it over both the meat and the grits.

Cauliflower and Brie Soup

Lets face it: you probably haven't had cauliflower in more than 3 different styles: raw on a veggie platter, steamed, and (if you're lucky) deep fried.  I like healthy food, and cauliflower is one of those things, but it isn't exactly a kitchen staple of mine.  So why not consume it with brie cheese and heavy cream?  Again, a nice thing to have in the winter.  Very warm, but you have to blend it well to get it smooth.  This wasn't my mom's favorite as it was still pretty grainy after all of the blending.  I see what she is saying.  Maybe it isn't the greatest texture, but we really liked the flavor.  Definitely make it with some soft French bread for dipping and you'll be set.

2 heads cauliflower (3 ½#), trimmed and cleaned

10 Tablespoons butter

2 medium onions, peeled and diced

1 head garlic, cloves peeled

1 medium bunch celery, diced

Kosher salt and pepper

1 ½ qts chicken stock

2 Tablespoons flour

8 oz Brie cheese with rind, cut up in med dice

¼ c heavy cream

Clean cauliflower by removing leaves, coring, and cutting into florets—set aside

Melt 8 T butter in large soup pot.  Do not let the butter brown.  Add onion, garlic, and celery, cover the vegetables and cook over med heat to “sweat” them, stirring occasionally, until they are tender, about 5 min.  Season lightly with salt and pepper.  Stir in the cauliflower, cover, and cook for 5 – 7 minutes.

Combine the cauliflower and stock, and puree (mixer, blender or food processor).  Mix until creamy white and smooth.  Return to the pot and bring to a boil.

Now make a small amount of light roux to add to the soup.  Melt the remaining 2 T butter in a small saucepan over med heat, stirring constantly, and add the flour.  Cook until the roux smells nutty and is the consistency of wet sand.  Do not brown it.  Whisk into the soup and bring to a simmer.

Add the Brie, a few pieces at a time, and blend until the cheese is melted into the soup.  Add cream and adjust seasoning to taste.

Makes 4 quarts—enough for 10

Big Easy Gumbo

Our second shot at gumbo on this blog was a more traditional style with a roux, shrimp, chicken, sausage, the whole works.  My mom wanted to do this recipe for her monthly book club party, in honor of January's book, "A Confederacy of Dunces."  For those of you who don't know, the book takes place in th 60's in New Orleans, making the connection to the gumbo.  The ladies of the book club enjoyed this gumbo and so did we.  Easy to make, very nicely balanced in flavor between the shrimp and the sausage.  I think we preferred this over the gumbo z'herbes, but both are very tasty.  Surprisingly we felt this was a bit lighter as well even though there is more meat.  All in all, a great January meal.

• 1/2  cup  peanut oil
• 1/2  cup  all-purpose flour
• 1  cup  chopped sweet onion
• 1  cup  chopped green bell pepper
• 1  cup  chopped celery
• 2  teaspoons  Creole seasoning
• 2  teaspoons  minced garlic
• 3  14-oz. cans low-sodium chicken broth
• 4  cups  shredded cooked chicken
• 1/2  pound  andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 1/2  cups  frozen black-eyed peas, thawed
• 1  pound  peeled, large raw shrimp
• Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat; gradually whisk in flour, and cook, whisking constantly, 5 to 7 minutes or until flour is chocolate colored. (Do not burn mixture.)
  Reduce heat to medium. Stir in onion and next 4 ingredients, and cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes. Gradually stir in chicken broth; add chicken and next 2 ingredients. Increase heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes. Add shrimp, and cook 5 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink.

Honey-Roasted Mashed Opelousas Sweet Potatoes

And while we were together in Manitowoc for Christmas, we needed a side plate to accompany the beef tenderloin Christmas dinner.  Very Thanksgivingish, these sweet potatoes were really easy and didn't end up too sweet in the end.  Megan said that they were like good Thanksgiving sweet potatoes without that overly sweet marshmallow topping.  We would definitely make these again.

6 sweet potatoes, about 1# each
8 T (1 stick) butter, diced
1 t ground cinnamon
¼ t freshly ground nutmeg

1 cup honey

kosher salt and freshly

ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350

Peel and quarter the sweet potatoes and place them in a roasting pan.
Place the diced butter evenly on top of the potatoes, sprinkle the cinnamon and
nutmeg on top, drizzle with the honey, and season them with salt and pepper.
Gently pour about 2 cups of water into the pan without washing anything off
the potatoes.

Cover and bake for 1 ½ hours, or until the potatoes are very tender.
Remove the cover, stir and cook for 30 minutes more.
The potatoes should have a dark drown color on top and be very tender.

Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon, place them in the large bowl of an
electric mixer, and mix until all the lumps are gone. Drizzle in as much liquid from
the pan as desired. Turn off the mixer, and scrape the bowl. Continue mixing
until the potatoes have the desired consistency. Adjust seasoning, place
potatoes in a large casserole dish and serve.

(Can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Refrigerate covered, and then reheat in oven.)

Red Beans and Rice

Again, falling way behind!  I blame the holidays.  We went with a real rustic and traditional meal: red beans and rice.  Traditionally made on Mondays so the ham bone left over from your Sunday ham could be used to flavor the beans and gravy.  I don't have a ham every Sunday (believe it or not) so I went back for another ham shank to do some of the flavoring.  Overall, my Mom and I both agreed that while this was good, it is basically the most basic way you could make this traditional dish.  I had it at a great French Quarter restaurant called the Gumbo Shop and it blew my mind with fantastic smoked sausage...which this recipe does not call for.  Anyway, next time I make this I'll be sure to include some smoked or andouille sausage and I think the flavor will be perfect.

Red Beans and Rice 

Serves 8

2 lbs. dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight in cold water

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion tops

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1 1/3 tbs finely minced garlic

2 tbs minced parsley

1 lb seasoning (baked) ham, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 lb pickled pork, cut into large chunks

1 large ham bone with some meat on it

1 tbs salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper

2 bay leaves, broken into quarters

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/8 tsp dried basil

2 quarts cold water

Boiled rice

Drain the soaked beans in a colander and put them, along with all the other ingredients, into a heavy 8 to 10 quart pot or kettle, adding just enough of the cold water to cover.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat and simmer on low heat for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or untilbeans are tender and a thick natural gravy has formed.  Add about a cup of water toward the end of cooking if the mixture appears too dry.  During cooking, stir frequently and scrape down the sides and across the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to prevent scorching.  Stir the entire mixture thoroughly just once about every half hour.  When the beans are cooked, turn off the heat.  To serve, ladle 1 1/2 cups ofbeans, with meat and gravy, over a portion (about 2/3 cup) of boiled rice.