Chicken and Kielbasa Gumbo

Gumbo. So warm, rich, filling, and most importantly, delicious. I was inspired by this recipe from Emeril, but went on my own path. This recipe is time consuming at a grand total of 4 hours of cooking time, but you don't have to do much while you're making it. There's very little chopping, and most of the "work" is stirring the pot so the roux doesn't stick or clump up. This would be a great recipe to make if you have to hang out with someone you don't know that well: you have to get up every 5 to 10 minutes to stir the pot, which will always give you an excuse to escape if the conversation runs dry. Although, if you're talking about this gumbo, that probably won't happen.

Ingredients:
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 medium onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
1 lb. kielbasa sausage (or Andouille, or chorizo, or veggie sausage)
6 cups chicken broth
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken (breasts or thighs)
2 tsp paprika
1-1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground oregano
2 tsp file powder (it tastes kind of like black tea and is found in most grocery stores)
1/2 cup chopped parsley
3 green onions, chopped

Method:

1. Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the oil. Once it's warmed up a little, add the flour. Stir every 2 to 3 minutes until the roux has become a dark almond color. Your stirring motion will be to scrap the bottom of the bottom, making sure that the flour is cooking evenly. This will take about 30 to 45 minutes.

The roux will start as a light tan color.

After a few minutes, it will start to bubble.

After about 20 minutes, it will turn a dark tan color...

...and then an almond color.

2. Once your roux is almond color, add the onion and bell pepper. STIR CONSTANTLY. The roux will darken and it combines with the vegetables. Continue stirring very often for 3 to 4 minutes, until the vegetables wilt.



3. Add the kielbasa to the pot, and continue stirring very often until it is completely combined.


4. Once everything has been completely combined, add the chicken broth 2 cups at a time to the pot. Stir constantly after each pour, fully combining the pour before adding another one. After all 6 cups are in, add the paprika. It will look like this.


5. Cook this, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes, scrapping the bottom each time, for 1 hour. After an hour, add the chicken. Cook for another 2 hours.


6. About a half hour before the 2 hours is up, start cooking some rice to eat with the gumbo.
7. After the 2 hours are up, add the spices, parsley, and green onions. Turn off the heat, and stir to combine. At this point, it's molten lava hot, so wait a few minutes before diving it.



8. After you've waited, serve the gumbo on top of white rice. EAT.

Homemade spinach pasta and ragu bolognese

Last night, Jamie and I made homemade pasta. It was surprisingly easy. We've had a pasta roller for some time now, but only broke it out for real last night.

Jamie focused on the pasta while I did the ragu. I followed this video for the bolognese. You can find a similar recipe from Mario on www.foodnetwork.com, but the video instructions are somewhat different. The video instructions tell you to cook everything longer than the written instructions, which worked out fine for a Sunday dinner.

I'll post pictures when I re-heat the food later.

Sliders

Serves 4


A jar of homemade pickles


Why wait until summer to eat hamburgers? The ingredients, pictured above from left to right, are: a bag of lettuce/salad greens, fingerling potatoes, 2 red onions, and large rolls or really really small hamburger buns.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs. fingerling potatoes
1 lb. ground beef
2 t salt
2 t pepper
2 red onions
1/3 lb. delicious cheese, like Muenster
1 head of lettuce or 1 bag of salad greens
Pickles of your choice
Mayonnaise

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Put the fingerling potatoes in a baking pan. Once the oven comes up to temperature, roast the potatoes for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown and delicious.


3. Combine the ground beef with the salt, pepper, and egg. Do mix it too much, or the burgers won't be as delicious.

4. Preheat a large skillet or grill pan over medium high heat. Gently form the meat into patties that are slightly larger than the buns you're using. Press a small indent into the center, so that each patty looks like a hockey puck. This will keep the burgers flat while they cook. Put 1 T of vegetable oil in the pan, and cook the burgers for about 3 minutes per side, flipping once. Don't press down on the patties with a spatula while they're cooking: it makes a nice sizzling sound, but that's just the juice running out of the patties. And if the juice is in the pan, it's not in the patties.

5. As you flip the burger, put a piece of the cheese on each patty.

3. Meanwhile, slice the red onions. Saute them in a medium skillet over medium high heat for about 4 minutes.


4. Once the patties are done, toast the buns. The patties should rest for 2 to 3 minutes before you assemble the burgers, so it's a perfect time for bun warming.

5. Assemble the burgers as follows: Bottom bun, lettuce, burger patty, a small bit of red onion, a pickle slice, mayonnaice, top bun. EAT.

New Years' Ham Baby

Another recipe that I didn't invent, but was delicious nonetheless.

The ham baby, from Costco, 10.5 lbs. It came pre-sliced, which I would highly recommend. There's nothing worse than trying to slice thin pieces of ham when you're 3 (or 8) drinks in.

The ham baby, removed from packaging but before cooking. You can see a hint of the cornbread muffins I made in the background.

The ham baby, after cooking for 2-1/4 hours. There were plenty of leftovers, which I am still eating. It created a lot of juice in the pan, even before I added the glaze. I was worried at first, thinking, "Should I have used a roasting pan?!?!?" But the ham, especially the part that cooked in the liquid, was delicious.

Cuisinart Stick Blender

For Christmas, I got a super cool stick blender with a bunch of attachments. In the below picture, from left to right:

1. Motor/handle/on-off button and stick blender attachment
2. Mini food processor
3. Whisk attachment
4. Blending cup
   

So far, I've used it to make blueberry shots on New Year's, a cherry brandy sauce, and pico de gallo.

Blueberry shots:
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
2 T and 2/3 cup vodka, separated
2 T sugar

1. In a blender or with a stick blender, combine the blueberries, 2 T vodka, and sugar.
2. In a martini shaker, add 1 cup of ice and pour 2/3 cup vodka over the top.
   
3. Using a small mesh strainer, pour the blueberry mixture into the shaker, using a spoon to stir the blueberries until only the pulp remains.
   
4. Shake it up, and pour into shot glasses.
   

Makes 4 large shots

2010 Cooking Resolutions

2009 was the beginning of my culinary adventure. I hope 2010 takes it to another level.

This year, I resolve to:
1. Pickle an armful of asparagus
2. Make something with nopales
3. Memorize at least 5 baking ratios (like what proportions of bread, salt, water, and yeast make sourdough bread)
4. Make fudge from scratch
5. Buy a candy thermometer
6. Use my mandolin more
7. Focus on food plating at least 50% of the time I cook
8. Organize my kitchen tools so that I can find everything when I need it
9. Sharpen my knives more regularly (anything more than "never" will be an improvement)
10. Buy more aprons, especially ones with embroidery potential

Raspberry Cheesecake

I can't say that I invented this recipe, but I did make it for Christmas. And it was delicious! I followed the recipe exactly (except for using frozen raspberries instead of fresh) because I've never made a cheesecake before, let alone one with a topping. It was daunting, and requires a springform pan, but I made it through.

The results are a more cake-like cheesecake that's not too sweet. I cake itself is light and fluffy, with only a hint of sweetness. I had my grandmother's version of cheesecake the next day, and hers is more dense and smooth, with a sour cream topping (for comparison). The topping is not very sweet, but that was good because I don't really like sugary desserts like I used to. Even my dad, who won't eat sweet things except for his mother's apple pie, liked it.

I forgot to take pictures of the process, or maybe they're on another camera, but here are a few of the final product.