CATFISH GUMBO

Catfish Gumbo

1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 c. chopped parsley
1 c. chopped green pepper
1 c. chopped onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
4 c. beef broth
1 can (16oz.) tomatoes
1 pkg. (10oz.) frozen sliced okra
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
4 catfish fillets, cut into 1-inch cubes

Heat oil in stockpot.
Sauté celery, green pepper, onion and garlic. Add beef broth, tomatoes, okra, thyme, bay leaf, cayenne pepper, oregano and salt. Cover and simmer 30 minutes.Add catfish and continue simmering 15 minutes or until catfish flakes easily. Remove bay leaf. Serve over cooked rice, if desired.
Makes 10 servings.
　

CHOCOLATE ESPRESSO PIE

Chocolate Espresso Pie

For Chocolate Pastry:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, cut up

5 tablespoons cold water

For Chocolate Filling:

2 cups whipping cream

6 ounces 60% to 70% dark chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup granulated sugar

6 egg yolks, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons brewed espresso or strong brewed coffee

1 teaspoon vanilla

Sweetened whipped cream

Chocolate curls and/or shavings (optional)

1. For Chocolate Pastry: In a food processor, combine flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar and salt. Cover; process until just combined. Add butter. Cover; process with on/off turns until butter pieces are pea-size. With processor running, quickly add water through feed tube until dough just comes together.

Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl; gather flour mixture into a ball, kneading gently until it holds together. Gently pat dough into a disk.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough from center to edges into a 12-inch circle. Wrap pastry circle around rolling pin; unroll into a 9-inch glass pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate without stretching it. Trim pastry to 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold under extra pastry even with edge of plate. Crimp edge as desired. Using a fork, prick the bottom and side of the pastry shell, being sure to prick where bottom and sides meet. Line pastry with a double thickness of foil.

Bake in a 450 degrees F oven for 8 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes more or until pastry is set and looks dry. Cool on a wire rack. Set baked pie pastry shell aside.

For filling: In a medium heavy saucepan, combine the whipping cream, chocolate and granulated sugar. Cook and stir over medium heat about 10 minutes or until mixture comes to boiling and thickens. (If chocolate flecks remain, use a wire whisk to beat mixture until blended.)

Gradually stir about half of the hot mixture into egg yolks. Return egg yolk mixture to saucepan. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in espresso and vanilla. Cool slightly. Pour warm filling into the baked pie pastry shell. Cover and chill for 8 to 24 hours or until filling is set.

To serve, cut into wedges and top each serving with whipped cream. If you like, garnish whipped cream with chocolate curls and espresso beans.

NAPALM SAUCE

NAPALM SAUCE

2 tablespoons butter
I teaspoon of garlic
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 to 2 oz of blue cheese
Add wasabi to taste

Melt butter slowly add garlic and sauté slightly.  Add lime juice
Slowly add cream until mixed
Add blue cheese until mixed
Now add wasabi until
You get the "heat" level where you want it!
Pour over the grilled fish and enjoy!
　
　

CABBAGE GUMBO

Cabbage Gumbo (Gombo Choux)
Makes about 8 servings

1 large head cabbage (2 or 3 pounds)
1 round steak or brisket (about 1 pound, trimmed)
2 large slices lean ham (about 1 pound, trimmed)
1 tablespoon lard (or oil)
1 large onion, chopped
2 pounds Creole sausage, thinly sliced
1 pod cayenne pepper, without the seeds
1 pint (whole) milk
2 tablespoons flour
Salt, black pepper and cayenne to taste

Wash and shred the cabbage , then chop the entire head very fine, into pieces about half the size of dice.
Cut the steak or brisket and the ham into small squares, and fry in the deepest kettle you have, putting the meat into the pot when the lard (or oil) is very hot. When it begins to brown, add a chopped onion and the sausage, and then add the chopped cabbage, stirring and pouring in enough water to prevent it from burning. Throw in the red pepper pod and a dash of cayenne, and salt to taste. Add a little black pepper
.
Stir often and allow the ingredients to cook well, gradually adding, if necessary, a little water, and stirring frequently to prevent burning. (I added water to just barely cover the ingredients, then covered the pot and turned the heat to low to simmer until the cabbage and onion were well cooked.)

When thoroughly cooked, make a cream sauce as follows: Take one pint of (cold) new milk and two tablespoonfuls of flour and mix thoroughly, so as not to be lumpy. (Shake well in a container.) Stir this into the gumbo while boiling, and continue stirring for five minutes.
Serve with boiled rice.

The gumbo must not be allowed to stand on the fire after the flour has been boiled on it for five minutes.
　

MUFFULETTA PASTA SALAD

Muffuletta Pasta Salad

1/2 pound parmesan cheese, grated
1 pound tri-colored fusilli or rotini pasta, cooked al dente, drained, cooled
½ pound Black Forest ham, diced small
½ pound salami, diced small
½ pound provolone cheese, diced small
3 cups (from a 32-ounce jar) Italian olive salad

Set aside 2 tablespoons of Parmesan for garnish. Thoroughly mix the remaining Parmesan, pasta, ham, salami, provolone, and olive salad in a large bowl. Garnish with reserved Parmesan curls.

For the olive salad I used half a 16 ounce jar each of Mazzetta California Hot Mix (giardinera) and Mazzetta pickled (cocktail) onions and a small jar of cheap sliced olives. It was a darn good olive salad!

　

　

SHRIMP AND CORN STEW

Shrimp and Corn Stew

6 ears fresh white corn on the cob
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pats
1 large white onion, diced
2/3 cup fresh celery, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, mashed
1/2 cup green bell pepper, finely diced
1 can Rotel tomatoes with chilies (10.5 ounce size)
2 cans crushed tomatoes with liquid
1 quart concentrated seafood stock, as needed
Cajun all-purpose seasoning, to taste
1 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
2-3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 pounds medium-size fresh Louisiana shrimp, peeled and chopped
4 hard-boiled eggs
6 cups cooked and buttered rice
Minced flat leaf Italian parsley

Before you begin the dish, take a sharp knife and cut the kernels of corn off the cob and soak then briefly in cold water (for about 15 minutes or so).
While they are soaking, melt the butter in a heavy, high-sided, 12-inch, non-stock or anodized skillet and sauté the onions, celery, garlic, and bell pepper until they soften.
Next, stir in both the Rotels and the crushed tomatoes and combine them into the veggies.
At this point, add in the seafood stock—a little at a time—blending everything as you go.

This is also the time when you sprinkle in the Cajun seasoning along with the black pepper and fold them into the mixture as well.
Now increase the fire to medium high and bring the contents in the skillet to an easy boil. When the process is done, sprinkle in the flour, stirring as you add to keep it from getting lumpy. It should thicken the tomato gravy slightly.

Here is when you add the corn and stir it around completely to create a perfect blend.
When the mix is uniform cover the pot with a tight fitting lid. Complete this part of the recipe by reducing the fire to low and simmering the stew for about an hour and a half.

Then about 10 minutes before you’re ready to eat, drop in the shrimp, stir them briskly into the mixture, turn off the fire, remove the pot from the burner, cover it, and allow the residual heat to cook the shrimp until "just pink" and tender.
Do not overcook the shrimp or they will turn rubbery!
To serve, chop up the hard-cooked eggs to the same consistency you’d use to make tuna salad, drop them into the stew, and gently fold them in!
All that’s left is to spoon it all out over a mound of hot, steamed buttered rice and top with a touch of finely minced parsley.
For the coup d’ grace, a cold Romaine salad with olive salad dressing turns this recipe into a favorite Southern meal! Oh, yeah—a few hot buttered pistolettes only adds pizzazz to the presentation.
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Chef’s Hint: If fresh corn is not available, this recipe can be prepared with frozen corn (especially shoe peg corn). If possible, try to avoid using canned corn—too much crunchy texture is lost when using canned corn.
　

OKRA HAM AND TOMATO GUMBO

Okra, Ham and Tomato Gumbo

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 strips hickory-smoked bacon, chopped
2 packages sliced, frozen okra, 16-ounce size
2 cans chopped tomatoes, 14.5 ounce size
1 -1/2 cups store-bought chopped vegetable seasoning
1 cup frozen yellow corn
2 teaspoons seafood seasoning
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¾ cup vegetable or seafood stock
4 whole bay leaves
½ teaspoon dried thyme
2 pounds 51-60 shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup small diced ham
1 pound tiny elbow macaroni, cooked al dente
Flat leaf parsley, finely chopped for garnish
½ cup green onions, thinly sliced for garnish

Put a 5-quart heavy cast iron Dutch oven on the stove top over medium heat. Then fry down the bacon in the vegetable oil until lightly browned and crispy. Remove it from the pot and set it aside for a while.
Now drop into the pot the frozen okra and fry it down, too, until the okra begins to brown and the "rope" starts to disappear (about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally). Then, with the fire still at medium heat, drop in the chopped tomatoes, the vegetable seasoning mix, the corn, the seafood seasoning, they cayenne pepper, the bay leaves, and the dried thyme.
Next, stir everything together well, making sure it is all totally combined. Now reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and let the gumbo simmer for about 20-25 minute or until the veggies are tender.
At this point, drop in the shrimp and the ham, stir them into the mixture, cover the pot, and let the pot of gumbo simmer once more for about 10 minutes.
When you’re ready to eat, spoon out a generous helping of elbow macaroni in a large soup bowl, ladle the gumbo over the pasta, and garnish the bowl with a scattering of parsley and green onions and top off the dish with a light sprinkling of bacon.
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Editor’s Note:
Traditionally, gumbos, regardless of the kind, are served over hot, steamed, white rice. But not this one. The elbow macaroni lends a different dimension and rounds out the depth of flavor.
If you can find really tender, young okra at, say, a farmers’ market, you can substitute it for the frozen stuff. But make certain the pods are young and tender otherwise the okra will turn out tasting tough and "woody."
It is perfectly permissible to use "fresh" tomatoes (preferably Roma) when making this recipe. Just remember to peel and de-seed the tomatoes before dicing them an smothering them down in the Dutch oven.
In lieu of frozen corn on the cob, you may also prefer to use fresh corn. Simply strip off the kernels (along with the corn "milk") and blend them into the other ingredients, allowing them to smother long enough to soften and tenderize the hulls.
　

SIMPLE DIRTY RICE

Simple Dirty Rice

1/2 cup chicken livers (8 to 10 medium livers)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 pound ground pork
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2 cups chicken stock, divided
1 small onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
2 stalks celery, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
3 green onions, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 cups cooked rice

Puree chicken livers in a food processor. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat; add liver and pork, and cook, stirring, until browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper, and chili powder, and cook 2 minutes more.

Add 1/4 cup stock, and cook until evaporated, about 8 minutes, allowing mixture to brown and stick to skillet. Stir in onion and next 3 ingredients, and cook until well browned and sticking to skillet, about 8 minutes.

Add remaining 1 1/4 cups stock, and cook 2 minutes, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet. Add green onion, parsley, and rice, remove from heat, and stir thoroughly.