Chicken Gumbo

On Sunday night we decided to fix a large pot of gumbo. It was a last minute decision, so I was afraid it wouldn't work out (i've heard gumbo takes a while to cook), but it turned out really well! Nothing like some authentic gumbo, but it was still good. We used the recipe out of this month's Southern Living called "Easy Chicken Gumbo" or something. It was funny because there was some type of okra that was supposed to be added...well it was actually referencing another recipe that called for okra, rice, and some other stuff. Needless to say, we messed that up. We just bought frozen okra, but it turned out really good still. The problem was we forgot rice, so we tried to make up for it with grits...well, the grits were years old and tasted like the box. So, we ate it as soup. The next night we tried again. I went to the grocery  and I picked up some rice...so I thought. It was actually Rice a Roni's Chicken Rice with vermicelli. Oops, again! So, that tasted like pasta, and didn't work either. So, that night we ate it as soup, again, and the rice/noodle stuff by itself.
By the third night I had grown tired of it  so Matt and Larry finished it off. Luckily, I had made spinach dip for a baby shower at work, so I ate the rest of that--like half the bowl; plus a mini grilled cheese. This was the night Matt worked until about 8pm, and I had this crazy amount of energy and cleaned the whole house---cleaned out closets, took the trash out, did dishes, clothes, the whole works, AND I had Matt's dinner hot and set out when he got home. His comment was, "is there something you need to tell me?" ha! I think he was dreading that dinner conversation, but really I just had all this energy. Work had been stressful, and I needed to get it all out, so I took it out on the house--in a good way, I guess! Okay, so back to the recipe:
The moral of the story is, buy some rice. Plain ole brown rice. If you don't, then it's really just as good as soup, but the rice would have made it a little more gumbo-ey.

Here's the recipe!
EASY CHICKEN GUMBO
1/2 c oil (we used vegetable)
1/2 c all purpose flour
1 chopped sweet onion
1 chopped green pepper (we didn't use this)
1 cup chopped celery (we didn't use this)
cajun seasoning, to taste
2 tsp minced garlic (never enough of this!)
3 (14oz)cans chicken broth
1/2 lb andouille sausage, sliced
Okra Pilau (oops, it was a recipe, a bag of okra worked fine for us)
4 cups chopped cooked chicken (we used can - shortcut, but better w/ the real deal)

1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven (or big pot), then gradually add in four, whisking constantly until it is chocolate colored (about 5 minutes)
2. Reduce heat to medium, and stir in onion and next 4 ingredients, stirring constantly (about 3 more minutes). Gradually stir in chicken broth and sausage, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile prepare okra pilau (since we didn't do this, we just cooked the okra). Stir chicken into gumbo and add cooked okra.

Very good! I will suggest, though, that you use real chicken, reduced sodium chicken broth, and get the rice! Very cajun-ey yumminess.

All three of us, patiently waiting on it to be ready.

Yuuummmmm...

Cleaned my bowl.

This was the next night. Eating the rice/pasta by itself. with chopsticks, of course (my favorite utensil).  I had been sick all day, and Matt thought this would be a nice photo op. awesome.

It was a leftovers and go out to eat week

We really haven't cooked much this week. Monday we had leftovers from Sunday (BBQ that my dad had fixed), then Tuesday we went to this Vietnamese restaurant called "Saigon Le"...it's soooo yum. You can get so much food for such a small price. We, like disgusting gluttons, had 2 beers a piece, an appetizer, soup, and an entree (but these entree's are pretty huge!). The appetizer was called 'crunchy shrimp on a skewer' or something, and it was crispy fried noodles wrapped around shrimp on a skewer, and you dipped it in this yummy sauce. They were so interesting and very good. I got hot and sour soup, too, which was very tasty. For Matt's entree it was a pretty traditional meat with sauce veggies and rice type dish.  It was huge, though...I think it was called Chicken Szechwan. I ordered this dish that came with rice paper, a bowl of water, lots of greens (lettuce, cilantro, and mint), cucumber, and 'meatballs' (which was really sliced pork). Anyway, you have to wet the rice paper to get it soft, then fill it with all of the good stuff, then wrap it up into what looks like a spring roll. It was awesome, and really fun to do.
Anyway, I'll try to find a picture of it on the internet.
Tonight I had my standby: pesto pasta. Matt had a rotisserie chicken...okay okay! I had some of the chicken, too....like almost half...and some hummus (gosh, maybe all of this food tracking will help me calm down on the intake!).
I totally ate more than Matt, but I blamed it on the fact that I didn't make his lunch today, so he went to McDonald's and had a Big Mac meal, while I had a turkey wrap. there!
:)

So, I couldn't find a picture of the food, but here's the restaurant. Doesn't look like much, but it's great! For anyone familiar with Memphis, this is on Cleveland, near the Methodist University (north of it).

Okay, I found this picture. It doesn't look exact, but you can see the rice paper in the bottom left being dipped in the water to get soft. Then, you stuff it with meat/veggies, and wrap it up, and it looks like the thing on the plate all lonely to the bottom right. Mine were much larger and looked different, but that's the general idea.

Pesto Pasta

Tonight, after the squash soup incident, I couldn't make myself eat the leftovers, so I decided to go with my ole standby: pasta.
I had all the ingredients I needed, so it seemed good. After a nasty day at work, I got home late, and requested that Matt get the pasta boiling (which he forgot, but upon me entering the house, he was sweet and remembered, so he got it out for me). Anyway, I went with angel hair pasta with pesto.

PESTO PASTA
About 1/4 of the angel hair pasta package
olive oil
pesto
garlic
salt and pepper
parmesan
 So I boiled the pasta, drained it, then put it back in the pot with some olive oil. Then I added about 2 big teaspoons of pesto, and 1 teaspoon of minced garlic. Then, I put salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese on it. It was YUMMY! I have to give my friend, Lyndsie, some credit because she made some awesome mac and cheese last night and said parmesan was her best ingredient in there. That lead me to remembering to add parmesan. I only had the sprinkle kind, so you can only imagine how some fresh parmesan would have made this EVEN better.
Anyway, it was perfect, and I loved it. Pasta is my fave (okay, and guacomole). Oh, and don't forget the chop sticks. I really believe they
make any pasta dish better. Makes me feel special. I even eat my
ramen noodles with them.

You can see Larry wanting the pasta, too...then, in the picture
below, we're having a stand off over the pasta.

You win some, you lose some (squash soup)

Last night, I tried "Creamy Butternut Squash Soup," and it was pretty bad. I don't think it's the recipe's fault, rather the cook's. I had been at my parents' house and was going through their "Best of the Best" cookbook, and jotted down a few recipes, and this was one of them. The problem is, I didn't do that great of a job of writing down the steps to cooking the recipe, just the ingredients. Herein lies the issue with the nasty squash soup. So, maybe I'm being overly critical..it was edible. I mean, you put chives and sour cream in anything, and it becomes edible....but I just knew it wasn't at its potential:)
Here goes----



CREAMY BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
2 lbs. squash (peeled and cubed)

2 tbsp of butter
1 1/4 c sour cream
4 cups chicken broth
chives
cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
mushrooms, optional

Weellllll....so I did all of this...and put it all in the pot at the same time....and I think that was my mistake. I looked up recipes online and I think you're supposed to put the squash in first and get it soft, then remove and cream it..the add everything else, but the mushrooms, sour cream and chives. Then have it simmering while cooking the mushrooms in a skillet. Then, the sour cream and chives go on top. Well, I put the sour cream in to boil...ew..it separated. AND, I put the mushrooms in at the same time as the rest, so all of the mushroom and squash liquids made an awesome flavor (not really). Anyway, now that I've criticized it, it did have an okay flavor, and I did eat a whole bowl, but tonight I couldn't bring myself to leftovers.
Oh well!
Don't be discouraged from trying....just look up a better set of instructions on the internet. I'll include Paula Deen's...her's looked better, but a few more ingredients.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/creamy-squash-soup-recipe/index.html

Bruschetta (sorta)

Well, tonight I was in the mood for some sort of bruschetta something. Matt already had dinner (leftovers from a super bowl get together last night), so I went and bought some French bread, a tomato and onion, and mozzarella cheese (they didn't have fresh, just the block kind). We had to go to our local smaller grocery store because today was a snow day, and we really didn't want to drive more than we had to...so this is where the 'sorta' came in.
Here are the ingredients:
about 1/3 of the mozzarella block, sliced
slice about 1/2 inch thick French bread pieces (i did about 15)
1 tomato, diced
1 onion, thinly sliced and chopped
balsamic vinegar (small amount)
olive oil
Kosher salt
pepper
garlic powder
pepperocini (sliced)---optional

I mixed the onion, tomato, peppericini's, vinegar and olive oil in a bowl. I put my bread slices on a pan and brushed with olive oil. I put 1 slice of cheese on each bread, then covered them in the tomato mix. Then I sprinkled a little Kosher salt and pepper on top. From there I put them in the onion on the bottom rack (broil--high broiler), and let the onions start to crackle, then I turned the oven off, but moved them to the top rack to finish cooking through the tomatoes and cheese. It only took 5 minutes or so to cook.
If you want it crispier, leave the broiler on longer. Once they were out,


I put a small amount of garlic powder on them. I thought they were very good! Nothing like bruschetta with fresh mozzarella, but it filled the craving.

Eggs Benedict

Oh wow. Ohhhh wow. These were so yummy. Matt and I were talking before we got off work, trying to plan our dinner, as usual, and I reminded him we had a whole pack of a dozen eggs at home, so we decided that we should do something egg related. I really wasn't feeling the traditional fried eggs, scrambled eggs, or omlet, but I'd fixed a poached egg a few nights ago and thought that it'd be good again. There's a back story to the poached egg for me. It means a lot to me, and had a big role in my life. I remember many nights from age 8 through whenever (probably even college age) that I would be "hungry" before bed. My dad, when I was a kid, would usually suggest a milkshake. Once I got a little older, he started making me a poached egg. I'll never forget going to our old "country" restaurant in Somerville and being asked 'how would you like your eggs?'....I'd love to have a video of the waitress's face when the ten year old responded "poached, please." I got a weird look, but I got that poached egg....pale comparison to my dad's midnight eggs, but I didn't complain.
Anyway, I've always loved them...they have that 'true egg' taste without the fried after taste. To me, they're as clean and real as you can get for a cooked egg.
So, while pondering what to make for dinner, and after deciding the theme was eggs, I recommended eggs benedict. I sent Matt the ingredients we'd need, and we were set.
It was actually a lot of fun. I was totally shocked at how hollandaise sauce is really like a vat of butter, but Matt made me feel better by explaining that after 'purifying' it, you get rid of a lot of the fat. Whatever, I still know how much butter I put in that, and I even cut back....by like HALF. I do love some butter, but when it calls for 1 and 1/3 cups, and I realize how many sticks that is, it gets tough to melt it down...knowing it's split between two.
On that note, let me tell you that Matt and I ate 3 eggs each. Yes, he told me I probably shouldn't mention that, so I joked that I'd say we had some friends over, but I have to be honest, we totally ate 3 eggs benedict's each, and they were AWESOME.
I got the recipe from the Food Network. Here it is! I'm going to warn you....it's VERY  long, and I got frustrated with the hollandaise part, but it truly doesn't take long, and you can't mess it up too much!

EGGS BENEDICT

Ingredients

• Water
• 1/2 cup distilled vinegar, divided
• 12 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 12 slices Canadian bacon
• 6 plain English muffins, split
• HOLLANDAISE SAUCE, recipe follows
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives or finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves                                                                                                      Whisking the yolk and butter,
•                                                                                                                                            thanks Matt!

Directions

Pour enough water into 2 large skillets to reach a depth of about 3 inches, and divide the vinegar between them. Bring both skillets to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Crack an egg into a cup and carefully slide it into the hot poaching liquid. Quickly repeat with all the eggs. Poach the eggs, turning them occasionally with a spoon, until the whites are firm, or to the desired degree of doneness, about 3 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the eggs and transfer to a kitchen towel. Lightly dab the eggs with the towel to    remove any excess water.                                                                                                      Yum Canadian bacon.

While the eggs are poaching, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the Canadian bacon and cook until heated through, about a minute on each side.

To serve, toast the English muffin halves and divide them among 6 warmed plates. Top each half with a slice of Canadian bacon, and set an egg on top. Spoon the hollandaise sauce over the eggs and garnish with the chives. Serve immediately.                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                

                                                                                                         The hollandaise in the hot water bath.

• Hollandaise Sauce
• 1 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 1 tablespoon strained freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more as needed
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground white pepper or a pinch of cayenne pepper

                                                                                                                                   POACHING......

In a medium pan, completely melt the butter over medium-low heat. Remove from the heat and set it aside for 5 minutes. Skim and discard the white foam that rises to the surface of the butter. Carefully ladle or pour the clear golden butter into a container with a pouring spout. Take care not to add the milky solids and watery liquid at the bottom of the saucepan. Set the butter aside in a warm spot.

Pour enough water into a medium saucepan to reach a depth of about 2 inches. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.

                                                                                                                                         TOASTING....

In a medium heatproof bowl, combine the egg yolks and the cold water. Whisk until the yolks are light and frothy. Place the bowl over the saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly and vigorously until the yolks are thickened and light, about 3 to 4 minutes. (If the eggs begin to scramble, or the mixture is cooking very quickly or gets too hot, remove the bowl from the heat and whisk to cool). Remove the eggs from the heat and whisk for 30 seconds to cool slightly.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and set the bowl over the hot water. Slowly drizzle the butter into the eggs while whisking constantly. Whisk in the lemon juice, salt, and pepper, to taste. (If the sauce is very thick, add a few drops of warm water to adjust the consistency so it is creamy and light.) Serve immediately or keep the hollandaise sauce in a small bowl set over warm, but not hot water, for about 30 minutes or in a warmed thermos for about an hour.

Yield: about 1 1/2 cups

PLEASE try this...you will love it! I was obsessed, and Matt and I did not say a word to each other once we started eating:) yum to the tum. 

Matt decided to decorate with the hollandaise sauce. I thought it looked good!

Yay! Ready to eat! Those 'chives' made a great difference

Side note: if you'd rather have 'chivey' flavor, then cut the green onions much thinner...we had a very strong onion taste, which I loved, but I think a 'flavor' of onion would have been good if you don't like strong onion flavor, so I'd slice them really thin. Also, we didn't use lemon juice, cayenne pepper, half of the butter, or the vinegar. It still turned out great.

Have fun!

Leeks Au Gratin

Okay, I LOVE food. I really do. I try so hard to be good and not eat all of the time, but it's tough. I grew up eating any and everything. Before the age of about 12, I didn't like tomatoes, but that's the only food I've ever not enjoyed for any time in life (i love them, now). Put me on an episode of Bizarre Foods, and maybe I won't make it when we get to the lambs blood (g-ross), but for the most part, I LOVE FOOD. And, I give myself this: when I was about 4 I grabbed a tomato, took a big bite thinking it was an apple, and the shock of the gooey stuff just freaked me out, so I was scarred. Had I known I was biting into a tomato, I want to say I'd have never had food discrimination, ever.

So, I decided to keep this blog of different foods I eat, and different recipes I try. It's not really like a Julie and Julia thing (although i LOVE that movie), but I will probably jump around with different recipes and different topics. For the most part I just wanted to keep a blog of my food intake. I wish it were to monitor it to lose weight, but no, that's not it. I just enjoy writing about things I enjoy. Food, while not the top top of the list, is one of them, and to me it will be fun to track. We don't have kids, yet, and so many of our nights just consist of deciding on what to have for dinner before hibernating on the couch (especially in the winter). Just so you know, though, I do try to be healthy. I think if you truly love food, you respect it's power (that of the consequences of over-eating), so you learn how to balance it so that it's a great mix of splurging and healthy. Done with some thought, you can still enjoy every meal...the healthy ones, and the splurging ones!

Last night, Matt and I made Leeks Au Gratin. I also made spaghetti, but I was most excited about the leeks. I had never had leeks (consciously) before, so cooking them was interesting. Since I was new to the leek, I went with a super simple recipe:

        LEEKS AU GRATIN - from Best of the Best (circa 1999)

        6-8 Leeks
        1 cup heavy cream
        Salt and pepper
   Take off the leafy green leaves (dark green), then slice it right down the middle and slice off the end (with the hairy looking stuff). Then wash thoroughly (there will be dirt/grit in there). Then, place them in a casserole dish flat side down and cover with heavy cream, then salt and pepper.
        Bake at 375 for 35 minutes
Yes, I should have taken pictures, but I didn't, so I'm going to steal one from the internet if I can find the recipe I made.  So, I did steal a picture, and mine didn't really look like that, but close. WARNING: DO NOT EAT RAW!!! It will stick with you for eternity. Cooked, they have an AWESOME flavor, but raw, you're asking for an onion overload.


The other food I made that night (which we ate for 3 days) was spaghetti with olives and capers..It was SO yummy, but maybe a few less olives (I had almost doubled the olives because I love salt, but I should have stuck with the recipe).

SPANISH SPAGHETTI WITH OLIVES

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 2  cups  chopped onion
• 2  teaspoons  minced garlic
• 1  teaspoon  dried oregano
• 1/2  teaspoon  celery salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  crushed red pepper
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4  teaspoon  crushed saffron threads (optional)
• 8  ounces  extra-lean ground beef
• 1 2/3  cups  marinara sauce
• 1/2  cup  sliced pimiento-stuffed olives
• 1/4  cup  dry sherry
• 1  tablespoon  capers
• 1/4  cup  chopped fresh parsley, divided
  
  
• Preparation
• 
  
  
  
  1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Stir in oregano, celery salt, red pepper, black pepper, and saffron, if desired. Crumble beef into pan; cook 5 minutes or until beef is browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in marinara sauce, olives, sherry, capers, and 3 tablespoons parsley. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.
  3. Add spaghetti to sauce mixture. Cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley.

I just copied this from the Cooking Light site. I changed it up some, though. I didn't do the saffron stuff, parsley, or the celery salt. I also replaced oregano with Penzey's italian herbs.
Anyway, this was pretty good spaghetti...I might add some mushrooms next time just because I love them!

Anyway, this was fun. Until next time, I hope your next meal is your best meal!