Life Began as a Roux

A Roux. Music to my ears. How can something so simple make what you are cooking so good? Technically a Roux is equal parts fat and flour. The fat can be butter, oil, animal fat or whatever. The classically trained will use butter and flour to thicken and flavor dishes. For today's purposes we are talking about a Cajun roux.

I was in the mood for some Gumbo and you have to start with a hearty roux. This was 1 cup of vegetable oil and 1 cup of all purpose flour. I stirred them over medium high heat for about 25 minutes until it turned the color of a dirty copper penny. Here's an interesting factoid, the darker the roux the less thickening power it has. In this case I am not looking for thickening, but want a deep, rich flavor for the background of the gumbo.

Now gumbo is probably the best example for embellishing. There are no rules, you just put in whatever you like. There are many different versions of gumbo, some using rabbit, squirrel, chicken, various seafoods and anything else you can think of. In this version I used some chicken thighs, about 6 dove breasts and some spicy andouille sausage.

Gumbo Ya-Ya

1 medium onion chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
1 large can diced tomatoes (I used 1 quart of tomatoes I canned last summer)
2 – 3 cups okra sliced in ½ inch rounds
2 chicken thighs, skin removed
1 chicken breast, skin removed (I left the bones in while this cooked then removed them before serving)
½ pound Andouille sausage sliced about ¼ inch thick
2 quarts of water
Crushed red pepper
2 Bay leaves
Salt and Pepper

Make a roux. In a large stockpot over medium high heat, mix 1 cup vegetable oil and 1 cup of flour. Using a whisk continue to stir until it is the color of a dirty copper penny, about 25 minutes. Be sure to stir constantly or it will burn, you may need to adjust the heat down a bit if it is bubbling too much.

When the roux is ready, add the onion, garlic and celery and cook until just soft, about 2 -3 minutes. Next add the tomatoes and the water. Bring this to a boil and add the meats. Season with salt and pepper and a good pinch of crushed red pepper. Add the bay leaves. Lower the heat so there is just a slight bubble to the mixture and let this cook for about 1 hour. After about an hour add the okra to the mixture and continue cooking until the meat falls off the bone and the gumbo has thickened. Remove the bones from the chicken and shred it into pieces. It will probably just fall apart on it’s own.

Serve with steamed white rice and File powder. Garnish with green onions. Make sure you have a good crusty bread for soppin’.

Embellishasyouwish
You can embellish your heart out here. This could be made with no meat, I would use a good vegetable stock instead of water. You can use shrimp and andouille sausage. If you use shrimp, add it in the last 20 minutes or so of cooking and I would also use half chicken or vegetable stock with the water. You can use any type of wild game. I threw in some dove breasts and they tasted just fine. The okra will thicken the gumbo, it can be omitted if it isn’t your favorite. Green peppers are a good addition too. The sky is the limit, just make sure you have a good roux as a base.

This is my version of Gumbo, there are a zillion different combinations, just use what makes you happy and enjoy.

Mussels

We are still having really HOT weather here in Kentucky. What's that got to do with food? Nothing really except I like to keep the heat out of the kitchen. One of my all time favorites are steamed mussels and a cold glass (or 3) of crisp Pinot Grigio.

You can find Blue Mussels at most larger groceries. I usually buy them at Whole Foods because they are very good about checking each one of them. This is an important note. When you are cleaning the mussels, run them under cold water and they should close, if you don't see any movement throw it away. After steaming, if any of them don't open throw it out. That is another good reason to buy seafood from someone who knows what they are doing.

Perfect Every Time Steamed Mussels

Serves 2 as a main dish, 4-6 as an appetizer

2 pounds Blue Mussels, beards removed and cleaned
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 12 oz. beer
12 oz. water
1 lemon quartered
Black Pepper

I use a my large pasta pan with the steamer insert, it makes this much easier. If you don’t have a steamer insert use a large stockpot. Place the cleaned mussels and onions in the steamer basket of your pan. Sprinkle these liberally with black pepper and set aside.

In the stockpot, put the beer, water, squeeze the juice from the lemon quarters (put the rinds in the basket with the mussels). Heat the liquid in the pan until boiling. When it comes to a boil put in the steamer basket with mussels and cover with a lid. Let the mussels steam until they open, about 5 to 8 minutes. It is best to shake the pan a couple of times while they are steaming to even out the cooking. The ones on the bottom cook faster. When they are finished, remove the steamer basket carefully, let it drain slightly then pour all the contents into a large serving bowl or platter. You want all the good pepper and onions to go with the mussels.

Now if you aren’t using a steamer basket, bring the liquids to a boil and then gently add the mussels to the mixture, cover with a lid and steam as above. When they are finished you can just pour them out into a mesh strainer to drain off the liquid.

Serve immediately with some melted butter and lemon wedges. ( I always like to put a little spicy creole mix in the butter.) Make sure you scoop up some onions with the mussels they are oh so sweet.

This makes a great summer time meal. Sit on the deck with a nice glass of wine, a loaf a crusty bread, your sweetheart and some great mussels.

Into the Wild

I grew up thinking all the meat we ate just magically appeared in the grocery. Then I married the "Galley Slave" and soon learned to whistle a different tune. He grew up on a farm and spent his time hunting and fishing. Hmmm, will this work?

I quickly learned how to cook the game he brought home. Now our deal has always been that when the meat comes to me it looks just like it might have come from a store. In other words, it needs to be clean and neat. My initial endeavors were questionable, but were eaten with a smile. I eventually learned how to not overcook dishes and how to season with lots of tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic.

As with most of us, work and family took away from hunting time. Now it is more of a 2 or 3 times a year. But we always look forward to Dove hunting at the first of September. This seems to be the first indication of Fall. We usually are able to freeze enough of those delectable Dove Breasts to enjoy through the winter.

Here is the first offering of the season. There are many ways to cook these delicious items. I like to bury them in wild rice with white wine and mushrooms and let them bake. But tonight the Galley Slave requested plain and simple, so here you have it.

I sprinkled a bit of salt and spicy pepper mix (see previous post) on each breast, wrapped it in a third of a slice of bacon and put them on skewers. I used 2 skewers as this gives you stability for turning on the grill. Actually this little secret came from the Galley Slave and it really works, try it with vegetable kabobs and you will be a convert. Then I grilled these skewers for about 20 minutes on medium low heat, turning a couple of times. You know they are done when the bacon is golden. The bacon really is necessary here as it helps keep the moisture in the meat, not to mention it tastes good too. I served these Dove Breasts with some baby squash sauteed in butter and olive oil along with onions, garlic and some cremini mushrooms. We also had roasted red potatoes and rosemary bread. A great meal to mark the beginning of Fall.

A Slow Week

I think this speaks for itself. The short week got away from me and I can't remember what I cooked. So here's a little chuckle for you from the Galley Slave who likes to play with his food. We'll be back next week.

Odd Measurements

A couple of years ago I responded to an offer for free recipes that included a gift. When I received the gift I was a little perplexed. It was a set of measuring spoons labled. Dash, Pinch, Smidgen. Now what would I do with these? Doesn't everyone know how much is a dash? So off into a drawer with not another thought.

Fast forward. I had decided to take up "serious" bread baking and while reading my personal favorite bread book, "The Bread Bible", I learned the use for these measuring spoons. Rose Levy Beranbaum's book tackles bread from a scientific outlook where measurements are sacred. This is quite the opposite of my approach to baking where you look at a cup a flour and say, that looks like the right amount. I was surprised she referenced the use of these small measuring spoons. Of course I assumed I was smart enough to figure out how much is a dash, I've done it many times and I'm sure I am always right. Maybe not.

Okay, maybe I'll need to buy some of these soon. Then I had a flash and remembered the "free gift" I had received. This validates my theory that one should never throw out cooking gizmos.

So now armed with the proper tools I am able to bake. I won't kid you to say this made me an expert or even close to one. It is interesting how much more consistent my measurements have become. While this may not be the answer to world peace or why I can't find any lids that match storage containers, it is comforting to know I am accurate in my cooking.

Crumble, Crisp, Cobbler, Good

We are not dessert eaters in this household, but every now and then you just can't say no. I have no resistance when it comes to fresh fruit and the idea of adding ice cream just makes me quiver.

Enter the lowly Crumble. You see these wonderful fruit desserts which are given different names. The Crumble (which is also sometimes called a Crisp) is a topping made with flour, brown sugar, oats (or some other cereal grain) and sometimes nuts. It has a granola type texture and covers the entire top of the dish. A Cobbler has the fruit covered with a complete dough topping, resembling a pie without the bottom crust. A Slump is the fruit topped with biscuits and cooked on top of the stove usually in an iron skillet. They are all tasty, but I am partial to the ease and goodness of the Crumble. I also have convinced myself that a Crumble is healthy because you are using oats (just don't think about the butter or sugar).

I have had the best luck using blueberries for this dessert. I have also combined some peaches in here too. It's always good and it's always gone. This is a perfect dish to be served up with really good vanilla ice cream while you are sitting on the deck enjoying the end of summer. I think we might just do that this evening.

Blueberry Crumble
½ cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt
5 cups fresh blueberries rinsed and drained (this is about 2 pints)
2/3 cup all purpose flour
½ cup old fashioned oats (not the quick cooking kind)
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
6 tablespoons unsalted butter really cold and cut into 6 pieces

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the granulated sugar, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl. Add the berries to the bowl and toss gently to coat. I have found using a rubber spatula gets the job done without being too harsh on the fruit. Transfer this to a 8”X8” square baking pan that has been coated with cooking spray (trust me, you’ll be glad you did this).

Place the oats, brown sugar and cinnamon in a food processor and pulse 2 or 3 times to blend. Add the butter and pulse until you have clumps about the size of dimes. Alternately you could put the first ingredients in a bowl then cut the butter in with a pastry cutter. Whichever is easier for you. I usually use the pastry cutter method because I’m too lazy to clean the food processor. Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top of the blueberries.

Bake until the filling is bubbling around the edges and the top is golden brown in color, approximately 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Embellishasyouwish

You can add fresh peaches to this mixture. Substitute 2 peeled and sliced peaches for about 2 cups of the blueberries. In fact I used 1 pint of blueberries and 2 peaches and it was scrumptious. Or you could use all peaches and throw in a few raisins. I also added a pinch of nutmeg to the crumble topping. Another great addition would be nuts. Toasted almond slivers or pecans would add some more crunch.

Any firm fruit would make a good crumble, you would just need to adjust the sugar content based on which fruit you choose.

A Good Pepper

Spicy Pepper Mix. Years ago I bought a spicy pepper mix in the grocery store and started to use it in most everything I cooked. Then I looked at the label and saw the salt content. It was about 60%! I decided an alternative was needed.

Now all the "celebrity chefs" have their signature seasonings and I've tried most of them. What I've come up with is really more of a pepper supstitute/mix. My version is not "herby" and is really just designed to give your every day cooking a little boost. If you use pepper and spices you never even realize you have cut your salt intake. Everyone wins.

I will confess that it is a bit easier if you start with a bottle of McCormick GrillMates Montreal Steak Seasoning This will be the salt and pepper part of the mixture. There are other steak seasonings available so feel free to use any that you like.

I use this mixture in everything I cook. I found a large (29 oz) bottle of the Montreal Steak at Costco and made a BIG batch to have on hand.

Spicy Pepper Mix

1 bottle of McCormick GrillMates Montreal Steak seasoning (available at most groceries in the spice aisle) This is approx ½ cup.
¼ cup black pepper
¼ cup garlic powder
2 TBLSP Paprika
1 TBLSP Smoky Paprika
1 TBLSP Cayenne Pepper
2 TBLSP Crushed Red Pepper flakes

Mix all the spices together and store in an airtight container. I usually put part of the mixture back in the steak seasoning shaker for convenience. Use as you would pepper and remember there is some salt in here so don’t add more to whatever you’re cooking until you taste it.