Seafood Boudin & Macque Choux -- Cajun Memorial Day

Seafood Boudin  -- Boudin Blanc
Boudin is a Cajun sausage that can be made two ways -- rouge et blanc -- red and white.  Rouge or red boudin contains pork and or beef.  Blanc or white boudin contains seafood (usually crawfish, shrimp and 'white' fish like catfish, snapper, bass, or whatever is handy).

1 lb Shrimp and/or Crawfish
1 lb Fish
1/4 cup Sweet White Onion
1 lg clove Garlic
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
1/8 cup Brandy (optional, but nice)
1 Tbsp Cajun Spice Blend, or 1 tsp Salt, 1/4 tsp Cayenne & 1/8 tsp White Pepper
2 cups cooked medium-grain Rice
1 Tbsp minced Parsley

Put everything except the rice in your food processor, and puree it.  If you have a sausage stuffer, that's great -- do your thing and make 1" or larger links 3-6" long.

If you don't have a sausage stuffer, use clingfilm like I did.  Lay out a long strip of clingfilm on the counter.  Spoon the meat puree near one edge in a long strip, and carefully roll it up into a long "sausage" about 1" to 1-1/2" in diameter.  Twist and tie the ends.

The recipe above made two rolls about 18" long.

Poach your sausage, covered,  in a large skillet with about 1/2" of lemon water, for about 10 minutes.  Cool the sausage before going forward.   Remove clingfilm if using.

If you used clingfilm, you can carefully slice the sausage into rounds and then pan fry or bake them until GBB.

 If you used sausage casings, you can pan fry them whole.  Another option is to dredge balls or rounds of the boudin in egg and panko or Italian bread crumbs before deep or pan frying, or even baking them.

Serve with a nice hand-made remoulade!

I fried some plain slices, and also did some panko-breaded, and served them for lunch with Mum today.  Plenty of leftover for lunches in the week.


Macque Choux
No one really knows the origin of the name, but this Louisiana dish is great -- think kicked up creamed corn.  If you add some kind of bean, it becomes a variation of the Native American succotash (corn and beans simmered together).  Here's how I learned to make it:

1 (15 oz bag frozen Corn Kernals
1 red Bell Pepper, diced
1 green Bell Pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 sweet White Onion, diced
3/4-1 cup Whipping Cream, Half & Half, or Whole Milk
Cajun Seasoning to taste

Simmer it all together until the dairy starts to thicken.

Yuuuuummmmmm!

This was my side dish for yesterday's lunch.  Sally & Mum had leftovers for lunch today.

You can make Macque Choux a main dish by adding diced ham (especially Tasso H

am, the Cajun variety) or shrimp or crawfish; even cubed cooked chicken.  This is a very versatile dish!

Romesco, Pesto, Crispy Shrimp, Veggie Chips

Crispy Shrimp Cakes

Eating more vegetables and less meat, I find myself craving crispy and crunchy -  hard to do with veg.  We both love shrimp, and I owed Sally a special dinner, so I decided on this for the main, 

and Veggie Chips with the Romesco and Pesto dips described below.

1 lb peeled raw Shrimp -- I used Rock Shrimp, but even "salad shrimp" will do

1/3 cup Mayo

2/3 cup Panko

1 Tbsp Prepared Horseradish

1 large Egg -- I used a duck egg, because I could

1 Tbsp minced Shallot

1/4 tsp each Salt & Pepper

Smoked Paprika to taste -- spice the surface of the patties as you lay them in the skillet

Chop the shrimp fine, combine everything in a bowl.  Form into 8 patties (about 1/3 cup each) and chill at least 30 minutes before cooking.

Heat enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of a medium hot skillet (350F in my electric skillet) and fry the patties in batches, 4-5 minutes per side, until Golden, Brown and Delicious.

Drain on paper towels before plating.

Two Vegetable or Chip Dips
These recipes originated in Parade Magazine, but of course I've tweaked them quite a bit!  Great recipes for a veggie tray or finger-food accompaniment.  These recipes are a bit healthier than the originals, which called for varying amounts of EVOO to be drizzled in during the blending.  Yes, EVOO is "good" for you, but not adding oil at all is even better!

Romesco Sauce
Romesco is a nut and red-pepper sauce that originated in Tarragona, Catalonia, in northeastern Spain.  Created by local fishermen to serve with a variety of fish, it's also excellent on eggs, or with vegetables or chips.

3/4 cu Sliced Almonds
2 Roasted Red Peppers from a jar, drained
1 Tbsp Malt Vinegar
1 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1-2 Tbsp minced oil-packed Sundried Tomatoes
1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp fresh cracked Black Pepper
6-8 largish Basil Leaves
1-2 peeled Garlic cloves

Throw it all in your blender and take it for a whirrrr for 1 minute or more until smooth.  Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Transfer to a serving bowl and chill.

Spring Pea Pesto
Originally called Pesto alla Genovese, this Italian dish from Ligurian region of Italy combines a million variations on basil, salt, garlic and "other things".  This version uses peas, basil and mint, garlic and more.  The peas are frozen not fresh picked in the spring (if you've got 'em use 'em) but this is really, really good.

10 oz thawed Frozen Peas
1/3 cup chopped Basil
1/3 cup chopped Mint leaves
1 peeled Garlic clove
Juice of a Lemon
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground Black Pepper

Put it all in your food processor and pulse for about a minute until the peas are broken down but still chunky.  Scrape down the sides and pulse again 10-15 seconds.  Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.  Transfer to a serving bowl and chill.

Veggie Chips
I tried these awhile back with zucchini.  This time I'm going for firmer veggies and lower/slower temps.

Preheat the oven to 300F.

Jicama
Daikon
Sweet Potato
Herbs & spices to taste

I mandolin sliced the veggies a bit less than 1/8" thin, tossed them with some EVOO and laid them out on my baking trays before dusting with an Italian blend of spices and Cavender'stm Greek spice blend.

First process check on the baking, after 30 minutes.  Then every 10 minutes.  These took just a bit too long at 65 minutes.

One of these days I'll get a batch of chips that a just brown enough, but not blackening...  They taste pretty darn good though; that's for sure!    I may also get a couple of large racks so that the chips are cooking on both sides simultaneous, not with one side down on parchment.

Sally's Salmon, Orange Chocolate Cake, Green Beans & Gandules, and more

Sally's Orange-Mustard Salmon
This one is all her own invention.  So simple and so tasty!   She's my "closet gourmet".  Try it -- you'll like it!  We keep a re-closeable can of frozen OJ concentrate in the freezer for this dish, my carrot ribbons, and other times you want a burst of orange in a recipe.

Pre-heat the oven to 400F.

2 Salmon Filets
2-3 Tbsp Frozen OJ Concentrate
2-3 Tbsp Whole Grain Mustard
6-8 whole leaves Fresh Basil

In a ramekin, stir together the OJ and the mustard until the OJ is thawed enough to spread on the salmon.  Brush the sauce on top the salmon.  Top with the basil leaves.  Bake 10-14 minutes until the salmon is flaky and the basil is beginning to char.  

Plate with a vegetable, and serve.

Filled Cake for Mother's Day
We found this set of four tins for making filled cakes at Goodwill a couple weeks back, and this was the perfect chance to try it out -- dessert for my Mother's Day Lunch.  What's great about the set is that you make a cake that is just right for 3 or 4 people without fattening leftovers.

You make up a batch of cake batter -- I used Devil's Food cake mix -- and pour it into the tins.  A regular size cake mix gives you four 4" diameter cakes, plus enough batter for a couple cupcakes.

Bake the  cakes for 18-20 minutes and let them cool.  

My "bad" was that I thought the non-stick coating would work, so I didn't coat the insides with a butter/flour layer of 'mould release'.   I also badly misjudged how much the batter would rise, and ended up with overhanging mushroom caps.  When I tried to get the cakes out, things went 'pear-shaped' as they say.  But I did manage to salvage one good top, and one good bottom.

Once cooled, you fill each cavity with something -- I used thick orange marmalade that I made from Cara Cara oranges -- a uniquely tasty orange variety relatively new to Florida.   

Then you stack the two layers, filling to filling.

I used a thin skewer to hold the layers together while I made the ganache frosting that Sally had requested.  The orange liqueur was my own addition...

Ganache
9 oz semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
8 oz Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Tbsp Orange extract (optional)

Puts the chips in a bowl.  Bring the cream just to a boil and pout it over the chips.  Add the extract if using.  Whisk like mad until the chocolate is melted and smoothly combined with the cream.  Allow to cool (on the counter or in the fridge) until you get the stiffness of frosting you want, then slather it all over your cake. 

I topped the frosted cake with a dollop of my handmade marmalade "because I could"!

If you can't find a set of these tins, you can still make a filled cake using three layers of cake -- one for the base, one for the top, and a middle layer with circle cut from the center which holds your filling.  For fillings you can use custard, instant pudding, small whole fruits set in frosting, etc.


Green Beans & Gandules
Although Sally has gone vegetarian and her Mum mostly so, they agreed we needed to use up a 'spare' turkey breast that I have had frozen since Thanksgiving.  I cooked the breast in my usual "Red Cooking" style but instead of using soy sauce and water, I used a bottle of Naranja Agria -- Sour Orange Marinade --  a Caribbean favorite for poultry.  This marinade doesn't have the overpowering amount of garlic that regular Mojo sauce does.  

For the vegetable side, I made another Caribbean style dish with fresh green beans and a can of Gandules -- Pigeon Peas in English.  Pigeon Peas have 3/4 the amount of protein of white beans, and a bit less calories and fiber, but they offer a unique flavor that no other legume can match.

I used about a pound of green beans, a can of Gandules from the Ethnic aisle, a shallot sliced thin, about half a red bell pepper diced, and a handful of pine nuts:

German Guacamole Redux
Last week I gave you the recipe for the sauerkraut-avocado-feta salad spread dish, but I neglected to get a good picture.  The dish was so good that Sally requested more this week, so I got a better picture for you:

This was Sally's lite dinner after our big Mother's Day Lunch.

Potato & Lentil Salad, Riced Broccoli Pilaf, Eggplant-Tomato Strata, Avocado Trick

Potato and Lentil Salad 

This is my take on a recipe that originated with the Publix Apronstm  program.  Serves 2 for dinner with leftovers for a lunch.

1 cup cooked Lentils, firm, not mushy

4 New Red Potatoes, cut into small wedges (eighths)

1-2 tsp Everglades Seasoning

1 Lemon, zested and juiced

1/4 lb Asparagus spears, the thinner the better, cut into 1" lengths

1/2 Shallot sliced thin

1/3 cup julienne cut, reconstituted Sun-dried Tomatoes

8-10 Cherry tomatoes, halved

1 Avocado, sliced

1/2 cup Feta Cheese crumbles

1/2 cup Walnut pieces

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Toss the potatoes with a splash of EVOO, dust with the Everglades seasoning, and toss again to distribute.  Spread on a foil covered baking sheet, and roast them for 12-14 minutes. 

Toss the asparagus with a bit of EVOO as well, and add them to the baking sheet.  Roast for an additional 12-14 minutes until the potatoes are tender.  Cool.

In a large bowl, combine the lentils, shallot, 1 Tbsp lemon zest, the lemon juice, and the sundried and fresh tomatoes.    Fold in the potatoes and asparagus.  Top with the feta, avocado, and walnuts.

Avocado Trick
Avocado not ripe enough?  I ran into that with the dish above where I was already committed to making the salad but discovered my avocados were not quite rock hard....

Microwave to the rescue!!   Poke a few holes in the avocado's shell, then nuke it for 30 seconds.  Test for softness.  Repeat a second time. Still not soft, go for 15 seconds.  Less than 2 minutes to ripen an avocado!


German-Greek Guacamole?!
Found this on the Blue Zones site as "Cameron Diaz' favorite longevity recipe".  Say What??!!

1 Avocado
1/2 cup squeezed Sauerkraut
2 Tbsp Feta Cheese

Mash the avocado.  After squeezing the sauerkraut as dry as you can, chop it so you have small pieces.  Fold the avocado and cabbage together, then carefully fold in the feta cheese.

Suprisingly it does not taste strongly of any one of the ingredients.  Pretty good though, as a dip or cracker spread.  Sally had it for a lite Sunday supper with a selection of crackers and cheese and a fruit bowl.

Riced Broccoli Pilaf
Cauliflower as a rice substitute came first.  At least it's white like rice...  Now we have Broccoli-Rice.  In both cases the named vegetable is run through a food processor grater blade or otherwise chopped finely to produce tiny nuggets of goodness.

We've been buying our cauliflower rice in a large bag from Costco -- it's pretty inexpensive for a huge bag... hardly worth the effort of making it at home.  But then, we ended up with three large bunches of broccoli and a friend who had just posted a broccoli-rice recipe...  "Sally sez..."

So I got out the Saladmastertm slicer and prepared to make little pieces out of big pieces. 

If you're going to make riced-broccoli, you need to handle the stems differently.  Peel them before chopping/shredding/ricing.  Otherwise you end up with really tough stringy bit.  The problem isn't there with homemade cauliflower-rice.  The Saladmaster did a good job with the tops of the broccoli.  Lots of tiny bits,  But the small stem-lets and bigger stem pieces came out more fine shreds than rice-like.  Next time I'll try the food-processor; or use the Saladmaster again but chop the results a bit finer after.

Pilaf

One thing I've picked up while learning to cook these rice substitutes is that you have to sort of work backwards when making a pilaf or a risotto.  With real rice you cook the rice slowly with a fair amount of liquid, and add the vegetables as the dish nears completion.    With cauliflower-rice or riced-broccoli you saute the diced and chopped vegetables until nearly done, then add the cauliflower-rice or broccoli-rice and finish the cooking.  Serves 4-6

3/4 cup Carrot sticks

3/4 cup Jicama cubes 

1/2 Celery crescents

1/2 cup diced Red bell pepper

1/2 cup diced Sweet Onion

1/2 cup toasted raw cashews (not roasted, salted cashews)

1 mild Anaheim Chile, seeded, veined and cut into rings

8 Cherry Tomatoes, halved

3 cups riced Broccoli

Everglades seasoning

Rice Wine Vinegar

Worcestershire sauce

I actually could have used 4 cups or more of riced-broccoli...

Eggplant Onion Tomato Strata

I'm always looking for good things to do with eggplant, onions and fresh tomatoes!  This is super simple and gives you an opportunity to work on your knife skills.

1 medium Eggplant - sliced into 1/4" thick rounds

Cavendar'stm Greek Seasoning to taste

1 large Beefsteak Tomato - sliced into 1/4" thick rounds

1 large Sweet White Onion - sliced into 1/4" thick rounds

1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar

1 cup Panko 

1/2 cup Romano or Parmesan Cheese

Arrange the eggplant slices on a baking sheet.  Give them a drizzle of EVOO and a dusting of Greek Seasoning.  Broil the eggplant 2-3 minutes each side until they just start to turn color.  Turn the oven to Bake @ 350F.

In a 10" round baking dish, alternate layers of eggplant, tomato, onion and just smidge of cheese, stacked one on top of the next.  Repeat at least 2 twice more so each stack has a couple rounds of eggplant, a couple rounds of onion and a couple rounds of tomato, with cheese between.  

Pour the balsamic overall, then top with the breadcrumbs and a good dusting of cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes or so.