Real Cajun: Recipes by Donald Link

Recently we made three dishes from the cookbook Real Cajun by Chef Donald Link.  My husband and I visited his restaurant Couchon in New Orleans a few years ago and were very impressed (the alligator appetizer was especially good!). This cookbook is a must for any cajun, creole, gumbo or just good food lover! We made Smothered Pork Roast over Rice, Vietnamese Marinated Shrimp, and Cheesy Spoonbread.

First up, the pork. Pork is seasoned generously with salt and pepper, then left to rest for up to an hour. Onions, garlic, thyme, and rosemary are combined.

Sear the meat on all sides.....

Let meat rest.....meanwhile sift some flour to make the roux. 

Make the roux, cook until a dark peanut butter color. Then add the veggies. 

Add chicken stock (homemade is best!) and the pork. Let roast for about three hours, turning and basting every 30 minutes or so. 

All done!

Now on to the Vietnamese marinated shrimp.  To make the marinade, combine salt, Donnie's spice mix which is a combination of cayenne pepper, paprika, ground white pepper, ground black pepper, chili powder, and garlic powder, bay leaves, and lemon halves and boil for 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook. Remove, add ice to stop the shrimp from over cooking, and let this hang out for a good 20 minutes. Drain.  For the sauce, combine garlic chili sauce, mint, salt, olive oil, and lime juice.  Add shrimp to the sauce to coat. Chill and serve. 

Shrimp are ready to eat! (keep chilled until ready to serve, good for appetizer or main dish). 

Last but not least, the Cheesy Spoonbread.  As a Southerner, I'm not sure how I've missed out on spoonbread.  Maybe it's more of a gulf coast/Louisiana thing? Nevertheless, I know about it now and that is what matters.  I'm already thinking of making this again very soon (maybe tomorrow!). It's just amazing.  It's part cornbread, part souffle, part just cheesy goodness, with the right amount of heat.  

Start by whisking cornmeal into boiling milk with butter and stir until smooth.  Whisk in the egg yolks (temper first), then cheese, scallions, salt, pepper, and cayenne until well combined. Remove from the heat.  Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Plop onto the cornmeal mixture. 

Fold in to combine. Spread into a 8x12 pan (or similar size) and cook for about 40 minutes uncovered. 

Finished Cheesy Spoonbread!

Cajun meal courtesy of Donald Link's recipes in his book "Real Cajun". Oh, somewhere in there, make some white rice, serve the smothered pork over the rice.  Probably can't hurt to add some kind of green vegetable for a well rounded meal. :)

 

Foodie Adventures in Napa Valley

I've recently been thinking about a trip my husband and I made a little over 2 years ago now to Napa Valley.  Writing about that trip was what got me started writing this blog.  Napa Valley, and the drive to/from San Francisco is absolutely beautiful, and something I want to experience again one day.  After that trip I wrote about our fine dining experience throughout the trip, but thought I'd fill in some gaps while we were in Napa Valley - our foodie adventures.  So here we go....

May 5-6, 2010 - Destination Napa Valley, California.  We arrived in Napa Valley on the afternoon of the 5th, in time to check into our cottage (The Cottages of Napa, would highly recommend), rest, and head off to Bouchon in Yountville for dinner (see previous post on Bouchon).  Not much sightseeing that day, except for walking around Yountville.  The next day, we enjoyed our basket full of goodies from Bouchon Bakery, left on the doorstep of our cabin (a perk of staying at the Cottages), see photo below. Nothing beats complimentary room service!

We then made the drive to the northern end of the Valley from the city of Napa up to Calistoga. Here's a typical view from the highway, never got old!

Outside Calistoga we stopped at Dutch Henry Winery, where they make both wine and olive oil.  Dutch Henry was a fun place to stop, we both had the wine tasting and also tasted a few olive oils. The dogs liked us too!

After Dutch Henry we made our way south through the Valley to St. Helena, CA. St. Helena had a ton to do for the food lover. Our first stop was the Culinary Institue of America. Only a small part is open to the general public, but it was still worth the stop with great views of the wineries across the street, a great kitchen/food gift shop, and rooms full of old cooking gadgety.

CIA in St. Helena, CA

Next stop - lunch at Taylor's Automatic Refresher!  The back story - Taylor's Refresher was a walk-up diner built in 1949. Bought by Gott's Roadside recently, but the new owners kept the original sign. Recently featured in Food and Wine Magazine. I got the fish tacos (delicious!) and Zac got a loaded hot dog. We split the black and white milkshake.

Other stops in St. Helena included the St. Helena Olive Oil Company, which had more varieties of olive oil that I’ve ever seen!! My favorites included the various fruit infused olive oils, and the blue cheese olive oil.

Close by the St. Helene Olive Oil Company is Woodhouse Chocolate. Couldn’t pass by stopping here and trying a few chocolates!

Inside Woodhouse Chocolate

Woodhouse Chocolate 

On our way back to our cottage in Napa, we passed by the Francis Ford Coppola winery, producing Coppola wines.  The main visitors center was not free of charge (also a quasi-museum for the film maker), so we stayed outside but were able to enjoy the views of the winery. 

Zac at the Coppola vineyard

Grilled Chicken Banh Mi

Let me start off by saying that I hate pickles.  I'm repulsed by them - don't like the smell, or for the pickle juice to be anywhere near my food. Due to my distaste for pickles, I have not ventured into "pickling" anything, assuming I would not like it.  Boy was I wrong!  My husband suggested we make Banh Mi.  I was ignorant on what it was, but am always open to trying new things.  When I realized it involved pickling carrots and radishes, I wasn't excited at all.  After eating them however, you know what I don't like about pickles? The dill!  No dill = very good eats.  My grandmother has been making "marinated cucumbers" for my whole life, little did I know they were actually picked cucumbers (yes, which is a pickle, I know).  However there was no dill, just some Japanese ingredients, and I love them.

Back to the Banh Mi.  We actually made this last summer.  I have been craving it lately so was inspired to post our photos from last summer.  We used a recipe we found in our Food and Wine 2009 Annual Cookbook.  The recipe describes the dish as "a popular Vietnamese sandwich combining sweet, sour, crunchy, and soft in one delicious, and portable package."  Delicious is right!

The recipe consists of 4 main steps - 1) Marinade the chicken  2) Pickle the vegetables 3)Grill the chicken 4)Assemble the sandwich.  Can't forget the 5th step, Eat!

**The onion rings are Beer Battered Onion Rings, recipe by Hubert Keller, found in his cookbook Burger Bar Cookbook. Also found online here - http://www.hubertkeller.com/recipes/pdf/Hubert-Keller-Chef-Recipes-219-B.pdf

Grilled Chicken Banh Mi
Recipe, from Food and Wine Magazine

Ingredients:

MARINADE

1. 1 cup Asian fish sauce
2. 1 cup fresh lime juice
3. 1/2 cup sugar
4. 8 garlic cloves, minced
5. 4 red Thai chiles, thinly sliced
6. 1 tablespoon kosher salt
7. 8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (3 1/2 pounds)

PICKLED VEGETABLES

1. 1/2 cup water
2. 1/4 cup rice vinegar
3. 1/4 cup sugar
4. 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
5. Pinch of crushed red pepper
6. 3 large carrots, julienned
7. 1/4 pound daikon radish, julienned

BANH MI

1. Four 8-inch baguettes, split and grilled
2. 1/4 cup mayonnaise
3. 1 cucumber, thinly sliced lengthwise
4. 10 large cilantro sprigs
5. 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
6. 
   
7. Directions:
8. 1. In a bowl, whisk the fish sauce with the lime juice, sugar, garlic, Thai chiles and salt. Put the chicken in a resealable plastic bag with all but 1/4 cup of the marinade. Reserve the remaining marinade for the Vietnamese Chicken Salad. Seal the bag and refrigerate the chicken for 3 hours.
   2. In a small saucepan, bring the water, vinegar, sugar, salt and crushed red pepper to a boil. Transfer the brine to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature. Add the carrots and daikon and cover to keep them submerged. Refrigerate the vegetables for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.
   3. Light a grill. Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry. Grill the chicken over moderate heat, turning once, until just cooked through, about 14 minutes. Transfer to a work surface and let rest for 5 minutes.
   4. Drain 1 cup of the pickled vegetables. Slice 6 of the chicken breasts. Reserve the remaining pickled vegetables and 2 breasts for the Vietnamese Chicken Salad.
   5. Spread the cut sides of the baguettes with mayonnaise. Arrange the cucumber slices on the bottom halves. Top with the chicken and the pickled carrots and daikon. Garnish with the cilantro sprigs and jalapeño. Close the sandwiches and serve.

Cold Rice Noodles with Peanut-Lime Chicken

This past Friday I made "Cold Rice Noodles with Peanut-Lime Chicken", a recipe from the blog Smitten Kitchen that I found via Pinterest. This was my first experience cooking with rice noodles.  It's so easy! The recipe itself isn't very hard either, and all of it can be done ahead of time and refrigerated.  The leftovers the next day were just as good, if not better since everything was cold (chicken was still hot when we ate it on Friday night).  I used chicken breasts versus thighs, because that is what I had on hand.  I grilled the chicken on the outdoor grill, and served the dish with oven baked spring rolls.  Great dish for a hot summer day!

Recipe below, copied from Smitten Kitchen, which was adapted from a recipe from David Tanis, via The New York Times

Serves 4 generously, 6 moderately
Dipping sauce
6 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
6 tablespoons brown sugar
12 tablespoons lime juice
2 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
Small Thai or Serrano chiles, thinly sliced, to taste
Peanut dressing
3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
9 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 one-and-a-half inch chunk ginger, peeled and sliced
6 tablespoons natural unsalted peanut butter
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Pinch of cayenne
Chicken and noodle salad
1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 6)  - I used chicken breasts
8 ounces dried rice vermicelli or other rice noodles 
2 small cucumbers, cut in 1/4-inch half moons
2 medium carrots, cut in thin julienne
Additional vegetables, as suggested above
Small handful basil or mint or cilantro sprigs, or your favorite of the three (torn or roughly chopped)
4 or more scallions, slivered
1/4 cup crushed or chopped roasted peanuts
Lime wedges (to serve)


Make the dipping sauce: Whisk ingredients in a small serving bowl, making sure to dissolve the sugar. Leave to ripen for 15 minutes. Refrigerate any extra and use within a few days.


Make the peanut dressing: In a blender or small food processor, puree all ingredients to a smooth sauce, about the thickness of heavy cream. Pour into a serving bowl.


Marinate the chicken: Stir together 1/2 the dipping sauce and 1/3 the peanut dressing (you can eyeball this) in the bottom of a low-sided bowl or dish. Add the chicken to the mixture and toss to coat. Let marinate at least 15 minutes.


Cook the noodles: Bring a large pot of water to the boil, then turn off the heat. Add the rice vermicelli and soak for 7 to 8 minutes. (Package directions may vary; check for doneness by tasting.) Drain when noodles are al dente, and cool under running water. Fluff and leave in strainer to drain well.


Cook the chicken: Grill the chicken on an outdoor grill, a stove-top grill pan, or run under the broiler until nicely browned, about 3 to 4 minutes a side. Let cool slightly, then chop roughly into 3/4-inch pieces.


To serve: At this point, you can place everything on a large serving platter, with piles or small bowls for noodles, vegetables, chicken, the dressing and marinade and toppings (peanuts, herbs) and let your family and friends put it together in their own bowls as they wish. Or, you can assemble it for everyone as suggested:
Toss vegetables with 1 tablespoon dipping sauce in a small bowl. Divide the cooked noodles among 4 to 6 bowls. Top each bowl equally with vegetable mixture and chopped chicken. Toss each bowl with 2 teaspoons of each the dipping sauce and dressing, or more to taste (we wanted more). Add the herbs, peanuts and scallions to each bowl and serve with additional dressing and dipping sauce on the side.

Sauteed Salmon with Leeks from Bouchon Cookbook by Thomas Keller

I received Thomas Keller's Bouchon cookbook as a gift (what a great gift!), and this is the first recipe we've made from it.  Tonight my husband and I made this dish, and with it our first beurre blanc sauce.  Oh the sauce! And the leeks! I've had leeks before but they were not as memorable as these.  Below is our progression of cooking one of the most refined dishes we've ever made. Oh, and I highly recommend putting Bouchon cookbook on your wish list! Must have cookbook for sure. Looking forward to making more of the recipes.

Boiling the leeks

Start of the beurre blanc sauce, simmering shallots, bay leaf, thyme, parsley, peppercorns in white wine vinegar and  white wine

salmon

Incorporating butter to sauce, cream has already been added

Seasoned salmon, skin side

Sauteing salmon

Finished beurre blanc with fresh herbs added

Plating

Finished salmon with crispy skin but rare on top

Crispy skin

Ready to eat!

All done, close up

Chophouse at the Vintage Year - March 16, 2012

Last night we went to The Chophouse at the Vintage Year in Montgomery, AL for dinner with family for a birthday celebration.  We were very impressed, this was our second visit since the restaurant changed to The Chophouse (from The Vintage Year) a couple years ago.  We all ordered appetizers, which included:  Tuna spring roll with a wasabi and kalbi sauce, Fried Oysters with Caper Aioli, Poached Farm Egg, and Tobiko, Lobster cake with a remoulade sauce, and a take on fried chicken a waffles using a fried quail breast and a rice and pecan waffle.  We all had a taste of each (except I skipped the oyster), and all were delicious! Next time I will probably order the Lobster cake, although the quail and waffle dish was fun to eat!


For our entrees we ordered: Bone-in Ribeye, Pittsburgh style with a side of white-truffle cheddar mac and cheese and garlic mashed potatoes, two of us ordered the seared sea scallops on a bed of risotto (excellent!!), with sides of the mac and cheese, sweet potato bacon hash, and asparagus with balsamic and Hollandaise sauce. The last entree was the fish of the day, Grouper, Parmesan crusted on a bed of orecchiette pasta with nicoise olives and artichoke hearts. Everyone enjoyed their entrees and would order again. My favorites were the sea scallops, they were very large, cooked perfectly, and melt in your mouth tender.  The Parmesan crusted Grouper fillet was a large portion, again cooked to perfection!  


We all had dessert, trying the New Orleans style white chocolate bread pudding, the vanilla creme brulee with an almond tuile and raspberries, and the chocolate roulade with Grand Marnier and whipped cream.  Glad we saved room for dessert! 


All in all we had a meal close to perfection on all counts.  We will definitely return, especially if restaurant.com continues to offer great deals on gift certificates! Thank you Chophouse for a wonderful evening of delicious and elegant fine dining. 


website: www.chophousevy.com

Squid ink pasta - March 2012

We recently bought dried squid ink pasta at EarthFare. Made it tonight with sauteed shallots, garlic, onions, and mushrooms with a butter-olive oil sauce, fresh thyme and parsley. Served with roasted asparagus and Sister Schubert rolls.

Thomas Keller's Buttermilk Fried Chicken - February 2012

We recently received Thomas Keller's cookbook Ad Hoc at Home as a gift.  Having been to his Bouchon restaurant in Yountville, CA, we were eager to try his recipes.  The cookbook has excellent explanations for even the beginner cook.  We decided to try the fried chicken, which is apparently a hot ticket item at Ad Hoc, starting with butchering whole chickens. Thanks to YouTube I felt like I did a decent job, especially by the second one! We had fun doing everything from scratch. Next time we won't brine the chicken quite so long, the chicken was just a tad on the salty side.  The crust was excellent and want to make again just to eat the crust!

Two chickens butchered into 10 pieces each

Making the brine

Chicken is in the brine, ready to refrigerate

Breading station

Double batter station

Frying station

Frying the first batch - the thighs

Zac at work on the first batch

Fried Chicken is ready! Garnish of quick
fried thyme and rosemary

Dinner Tonight - Beer-Braised Chicken

Tonight attempted my first braise of chicken, and second braise ever. Recipe called for chicken thighs, but I had chicken quarters (bought on sale!), so I used both the legs and thighs.  I used Rachael's Ray's recipe for the ingredients, but used Stella Culinary recipe for the method.  Rachael Ray's didn't cook in the oven or reduce the sauce until it was thick. Enjoyed making this, nice to be able to clean up the kitchen and rest while the chicken is in the oven. Will definitely make again; the sauce was very flavorful and rich and the chicken moist and skins crispy (well at least before I drenched with sauce! Won't do that next time).

Rachael Ray's recipe:

Ingredients

• 8 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 link andouille sausage, casing removed and chopped, or 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 rounded tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle lager beer
• 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes with chiles or stewed tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce
• Scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced, for garnish
• Warm baguette, for mopping

Directions

Pat the chicken thighs dry, and season with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the chicken and brown on both sides in 2 batches.  (Here I referred to Stella recipe for how long to brown, etc).

Remove the chicken to a plate and spoon out 1/2 the drippings, and add the andouille sausage. Brown for 2 minutes and then add the onion, celery, pepper, garlic, and thyme, and cook to soften, for about 10 minutes over medium heat.

Add the flour, stir 1 to 2 minutes, and then pour in the beer and let the foam subside. Stir in the tomatoes, stock, and hot sauce. Let the sauce thicken a bit, and then slide the chicken into the pot and simmer to cook through. (Here is where I jumped to other recipe completely. I only added chicken back to simmer, put in oven, and continued with Stella's recipe). 

Stella Culinary blog recipe:

How To Braise Chicken Thighs


Start by searing the chicken over medium-high heat, skin side down in a heavy bottom sauté pan, and then flip it over when the skin becomes a beautiful golden brown. The crispy skin is 80% of my motivation to eat chicken in the first place and is the secret to any great chicken dish.


Once the chicken skin is nice and crispy, remove it from the pan and set aside.

(skip to Rachael's recipe for cooking vegetables, etc, up to point where chicken is added back to sauce)

After the above ingredients have gotten good and acquainted, add in enough chicken stock to cover the thighs by 3/4s, leaving only the skin exposed.


Like I said before, there is nothing better than good, crispy, chicken skin, and soaking them in braising liquid for an hour ruins all the hard work that it took to get them to that beautiful state in the first place. Notice in the picture below, the chicken thighs are carefully nestled in the pan so that the whole thigh is covered except for the skin. This is the secret to perfectly braised chicken thighs!


Once you have all the chicken thighs submerged in the braising liquid, bring it to a simmer on your stove top and then place into a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the thighs.


When the thighs have braised for about an hour, pull them out of the oven and remove the chicken thighs from the pan, setting them aside on a clean plate for later.


Place the sauté pan back on your stove top and turn your burner to medium-high heat and allow the braising liquid to reduce by about 3/4s or until it becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Now it's time to eat!