Category: Inspiration

Cajun Jambalaya

Nothing says Autumn like hearty soups and stews… and here in SoCal, the temperature is often still in triple digits at the end of October (not very Fall-like).  The solution?  A spicy, hearty stew that’s tasty all the time: Cajun Jambalaya!  The observant chef will notice that this dish bears a striking resemblance to paella, but somewhat simpler and with different ingredients.

Note:  This dish also works well served over pasta.  While not traditional, it’s quite delicious.  Simply leave out the rice and cook the pasta of your choice according to package directions.

Time: 60 minutes
Level: Easy/Intermediate
Cost: About $4-6 per plate
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

  1. 1 TBSP olive oil
  2. 2 TBSP butter, divided
  3. 1 TBSP Creole Seasoning (I just use Emeril Lagasse’s version, found here
  4. 2-3 chicken breasts, cubed
  5. 12oz – 1lb Andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
  6. 1/2 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (optional)
  7. 1 large Spanish (or yellow) onion, diced (see How to Chop an Onion to streamline this process)
  8. 1 large green bell pepper, diced
  9. Roughly 1.5 – 2 cups celery, chopped
  10. 4-5 cloves garlic, finely minced
  11. 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  12. 1 tsp hot sauce (any kind will do depending on your flavor preference and heat tolerance)
  13. 1 14oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained
  14. 4 cups chicken stock
  15. 2 cups white rice

Instructions

Mix about 1/2 TBSP creole seasoning with chicken in one bowl, and in another bowl mix the remaining 1/2 TBSP with the shrimp.  Mix well.  Cover, and reserve in refrigerator.

Heat a medium saute pan or large skillet over medium high heat.  Add 1 TBSP butter and 1 TBSP olive oil to the pan.  When butter is melted, add sausage and brown nicely on all sides, 5-7 minutes.  Remove with slotted spoon and reserve.

In the same pan, add chicken.  Brown nicely all around.  Remove with slotted spoon and reserve.

Reduce heat to medium and add remaining 1 TBSP butter.  Once butter is melted, add onion bell pepper and celery.  Sauté, stirring constantly, until very fragrant and onions are mostly translucent, about 3 minutes.  Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1-2 more minutes.   Add hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and canned tomatoes.  Cook all these ingredients together for about another 7 minutes stirring constantly to ensure nothing burns or gets stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Add rice and continue to stir into mixture for about 1 minute.  Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, scraping up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Add chicken, sausage and any drippings back into the pan and give everything a good stir.  This is the last time you’ll stir it.

Cover, and reduce heat to a low simmer, about 30 minutes until the rice has filled the pan and is no longer crunchy.  (You can test the doneness of the rice by removing a grain or two with a spoon – if it’s crunchy but all the liquid has absorbed, add about 2 TBSP of water, give everything a good shake, recover the pan and wait another 5 minutes or so.  Repeat this process until rice is cooked, if neccessary).

Once the rice is cooked and has reached the desired consistency, tuck the shrimp into the mixture and cook, covered for about 5 – 7 minutes, until they are a nice orange color and no longer translucent.

Serve in bowls with crusty bread.  Enjoy!

 

Coq Au Riesling (Coq Au Vin Blanc)

A one-pot wonder ready in less than an hour, this dish is a riff on the classic French dish Coq Au Vin.  It is also a somewhat lighter dish, with a slightly tangy but still rich flavor profile, due in part to the use of Riesling, a white wine, rather than a French red.  Classic Coq Au Vin takes several hours to prepare (or if you follow Julia Child’s Recipe it will take you all day… still worth trying though!), but this dish should take you considerably less time.

Time: Around 60 minutes
Level:  Advanced
Cost: About $8 per plate
Serves: 4- 6

Ingredients:

  1. 8-10oz bacon, diced into lardons
  2. 4 chicken breasts, halved crosswise (or 8 chicken thighs, or 2 halved breasts and 4 thighs)
  3. 2 TBSP olive oil, divided
  4. 1-2 TBSP butter (or clarified butter, also known as ghee)
  5. 6 TBSP flour
  6. Salt and Pepper
  7. 2 TSP paprika
  8. 3 shallots, diced (see how to chop an onion, this trick works for shallots too!)
  9. 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
  10. 8oz Cremini or Bella brown mushrooms, halved or quartered, depending on their size
  11. Optional: 1/4 cup brandy, for flambé
  12. 2 cups dry or off-dry Riesling white wine (in a pinch, any dry white will do, and cheap is fine as long as you’d drink it).
  13. 1 cup decent, low sodium chicken broth
  14. 1 cup heavy cream
  15. 1 bunch chopped parsley

Instructions

Mix flour, salt and pepper, and paprika in a medium bowl and whisk together.  You’ll be using this to dredge the chicken in a minute.

In a large, heavy bottomed skillet, heat 1 TBSP olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the bacon lardons and sauté until lightly browned but not crispy, and some of the fat has rendered.

Add shallots and sauté until mostly translucent.  Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1-2 more minutes.

Don’t burn the shallots and the garlic!  If you’re not sure if the pan is too hot, before dumping all the shallots into the pan you can test for temperature by tossing in one little piece of shallot.  If it doesn’t react much, it’s probably a good temperature.  However, if it crackles loudly, or if hot fat spatters everywhere, or if it jumps out of the pan, it’s too hot.  Reduce the temperature before adding in the rest of the shallots and garlic.

Sauté shallots, garlic and lardons until shallots are somewhat translucent and garlic is very fragrant, about 3-5 minutes.

Remove lardons, shallots and garlic with a slotted spoon and reserve in a medium bowl, leaving the fat behind in the pan.

Dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture.  Shake off the excess and place each piece into the hot pan with the bacon fat.  Brown chicken on all sides, remove and reserve.

You may need to work in batches; that’s okay – overcrowding the pan will reduce the overall temperature of the pan and make it harder to brown the chicken.  You may need to add about 1 TBSP of fat – either butter or olive oil – between batches; that’s okay too.  Also, note that the chicken doesn’t need to be cooked through at this point – it will finish cooking in the sauce at the end.

Once the chicken has been browned, removed from the pan and reserved, you should still have at least 1 TBSP of fat in the pan.  If you don’t, add 1 TBSP of butter and melt over medium heat.

Add mushrooms and continue to sauté over medium-high heat until they have absorbed most of the fat and begin to caramelize just a bit.

Optional Step*:  Add brandy (or whatever liquor you’re using) and flambe.

You can use a match or grill lighter to do this.  Simply add the liquor and then ignite your flame and hold it OVER the pan.  The vapors will ignite generating an impressive flame.  Don’t freak out!  Simply remove the pan from the heat and shake vigorously back and forth until the flames subside.  For safety reasons, I’d recommend keeping a lid nearby to extinguish any flames, should they become out of control, although this is unlikely to happen.  If this step causes you any trouble and you don’t get flames, don’t worry… just cook everything down for a minute or two until the raw alcohol has evaporated.

Add the Riesling wine and chicken stock to deglaze the pan.  Continue to stir with a wooden spoon and scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan (this stuff is called fond and it’s delicious).  Bring to a boil and return chicken and any drippings to the pan. 

 

Add reserved shallots, bacon and garlic back to the pan.

Partially cover, lower heat to a simmer, and allow to cook for about 45 minutes, keeping an eye on the liquid level of the pan – you don’t want it to reduce too much.

After about 45 minutes, the chicken will be cooked through and very tender, and the liquid will have reduced somewhat.  Remove chicken (again) from the pan and stir in the heavy cream.  Reduce by 25-30%, stirring often, until sauce is desired level of thickness.  Return chicken to pan (again) and cook for 2 minutes more.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Serve over mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or with a loaf rustic french bread.  Anything to soak up that sauce!

_________

*My original post omitted this step.  It still will work great without it.  However, this step adds a depth of flavor that is quite enjoyable.  In either case, don’t worry about it too much!

Argentine Steak with Chimichurri on Crostinis

This classic gaucho-style steak is a sure crowd-pleaser and is a unique way to serve grilled steak on a warm summer evening.  Because it uses an inexpensive cut of meat, it’s also easy on the wallet.

Time: 60 – 90 Minutes
Level: Easy
Cost: $6-8/plate
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

For the Chimichurri Sauce:

  • 1 bunch flat leaf Italian parsley, leafless part of stems removed
  • 4-6 cloves fresh garlic, pressed or minced into a chunky paste
  • 1 heaping tablespoon powdered dry oregano (I actually prefer the powdered version better for this recipe as it mixes into the sauce more easily)
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or less, if you want to tone it down)
  • juice of 2 lemons
  • 2-3 TBSP red wine vinegar
  • 1 small shallot, minced
  • 2-3 grinds each salt and freshly ground pepper
  • About 1/2 cup olive oil

For the Bread:

  • 1 long french sourdough baguette, sliced into 1/4 inch thick pieces
  • 2 garlic cloves, halved
  • Drizzle of olive oil
  • Freshly ground course salt (or in a pinch Kosher salt)

For the Steak:

  • 1-2 London Broil steaks, depending number of people and their appetites.
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Dash of cayenne pepper
  • Drizzle of olive oil

 

Directions

For the Chimichurri Sauce:

Combine all ingredients EXCEPT olive oil into a food processor or blender.  Hit ‘pulse 5 or 6 times to give everything a few good chops.  Add about 1/3 of the olive oil and hit pulse 5 or 6 more times.  Then, with the motor running, slowly drizzle the remaining olive oil into the mixture until desired consistency is achieved.  Pour into a serving bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  Can be made up to two days in advance.

For the Bread:

Slice bread into 1/4 inch thick slices.  Brush both sides with olive oil.  Toast bread on both sides on grill until golden brown, or alternatively, place on a baking sheet and broil on high for 1-2 minutes each side (if you choose the broiling method, watch it like a hawk – I’ve incinerated my fair share of crostini’s this way).  While bread is still warm, salt with freshly ground coarse sea salt or Kosher salt and rub both sides of crostinis generously with cut side of garlic halves.

For the Steak:

Preheat grill to high heat on one side (1 to 2 burners lit).  Pat steaks dry on both sides with paper towels. Again, on both sides, brush steaks lightly with olive oil and season generously with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Add a light dusting of cayenne pepper if desired.  Grill steaks over direct, high heat, about 6 minutes per side for a 1 inch thick London Broil, or until internal temp reaches 115F- 120F.

Note: Trust me on the temperature thing here, this piece of meat is best served on the rare end, and its density picks up a lot of heat resulting in a surprising amount of carry-over cooking for such a small piece of meat.  I’ve turned a lot of them into shoe leather because I took my eye off of them for a mere second.  With this cut, over 125F = ruined. 

Let rest for 10 minutes and slice thinly across the grain.

Final Assembly:

Place 1-2 strips of steak onto each crostini and top with chimichurri sauce (or allow guests to do this for themselves).  Serve with Arugula Salad and a strong red wine, such as Malbec, Shiraz or Cabernet

 

 

Penne with Chicken, Sausage and Sprouts

Looking for quick, easy and delicious one pot meal that will fill your stomach on a weeknight? Here you go!

Time: 60 – 90 Minutes
Level: Easy
Cost: $6-8/plate
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chunked into roughly 1 – 1.5 inch cubes
  • 12 oz – 1 lb smoked sausage (try Cajun Andouille for a little kick), sliced into 1/4 inch thick ‘coins’
  • 1lb Brussels sprouts, lose leaves removed, and halved.
  • 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (plus more for serving, if desired… who am I kidding, it’s desired).
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced, divided (i.e., two piles of minced garlic of roughly 3 cloves each)
  • 1 small shallot, minced
  • 2 TBSP powdered, dried oregano
  • 1 TBSP sweet paprika
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • Olive Oil

Prep

  1. Bring 4-5 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, for pasta.  Leave it simmering with a lid on so it’s ready to go when you are.
  2. Preheat oven to 400F
  3. Dice chicken into cubes.  In a large bowl, using your hands, mix cubed chicken well with drizzle of olive oil, oregano, paprika and salt and pepper.  Set aside.
  4. Slice sausage and set aside in a separate bowl.
  5. Toss sprouts in dash of olive oil,  1/2 of minced garlic and Parmesan cheese.  Arrange in a single layer on a lined baking sheet.
  6. Combine white wine and chicken broth in a convenient container, set aside.

Cook

  1. On a lined baking sheet, roast sprouts in a single layer in 400F oven for 20 minutes total, stirring them around at the half-way point to ensure even cooking and browning.
  2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet or dutch oven, brown sausage over medium-high heat in 1 TBSP olive oil.  Once most of the (delicious) fat is rendered, remove sausage with a slotted spoon and reserve.
  3. Brown the chicken on all sides in the same pan.
  4. Add sausage back into the pan, along with white wine, chicken broth, minced shallot and remaining garlic.   Bring to a boil, and then simmer, allowing the liquid to reduce by about half.
  5. While mixture is reducing, cook penne pasta according to package directions, about 12 minutes.
  6. In the last two minutes, add sprouts to the chicken-sausage mixture and stir well.
  7. Serve over penne pasta.