Voodoo In The Kitchen

Anyone who has ever been to New Orleans knows that the heart of the city is comprised of two key elements; food and music and both are exceptional. A new television program on HBO “Treme” is tugging my taste buds to visit New Orleans again. Kevin made a delicious Shrimp Creole last night – he spiced it up a little more than usual with Victoria Gourmet New Orleans seasoning. This stuff is like crack! I can’t get enough of it. I put that seasoning on fish, shrimp and even mix it with salt and put it on baked French fries. Mmmmm.

For a moment I was transported to the smells and tastes of New Orleans. I haven’t been there since the flood and I know the city will be forever changed because of it but there is no amount of water that is going to wash away the deep roots of New Orleans.

Besides visiting as many Zydeco bars as I can fit in, there are certain foods I must eat, and only eat in New Orleans. The first dish on my list is Barbecue Shrimp at Pascal’s Manale. The image conjured by the name of the dish leaves one to think that this is shrimp cooked on a barbecue grill. In fact, BBQ Shrimp New Orleans style is served shells on floating in a bowl of “spicy, tangy sauce”. A basket of fresh hot French pistolet bread is plentiful for dunking in the sauce. Pascal’s Manale does not have a website and try as I may; I have not been able to find their recipe anywhere. A Google search will result in thousands of variations of this recipe but none of them are the original from Pasqual’s. The closest I have ever come to replicating it is from a menu in a little homemade cookbook called "Voodoo in the Kitchen'. The book is out of print and has only a few recipes but the recipes are authentic.

The second dish on my list is Creole Gumbo from Antoine’s Restaurant. I make a mean gumbo in my own right but let’s face it, Antoine’s has been making the stuff for decades. I have eaten gumbo in hundreds of restaurants but none of them compares to Antoine’s. Antoine’s has a cookbook in which they share all of their recipes.

Creole Gumbo by Antoine's Restaurant
The Bouillabaisse of Louisiana appears in many forms. Ours is the classic Creole seafood gumbo.

Ingredients:
- 3/4 stick butter
- 2 cups chopped green onions
- 2 cups sliced okra
- 1 cup chopped white onions
- 2 cups raw peeled shrimp
- 2 cups raw oysters
1 cup chopped tomato pulp
- 2 cups tomato juice
- 1 1/2 quarts Fish Stock
- 3 crabs (top shell discard, cut into 4 pieces)
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon File (sassafras)
- 3 cups cooked rice
- salt, pepper, and cayenne

Directions: Melt the butter and sauté the green onions, okra, white onions and crabs. In a separate pot put the shrimp, oysters, tomatoes and tomato juice with 1 1/2 quarts of Fish Stock and bring to a boil. Let boil for a minute, then add to the first pot. In a small skillet cook the butter and flour together until brown. Blend this brown roux with the File and some of the gumbo liquid and add to the gumbo. Add salt and pepper and cayenne to taste. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. To serve, pour 1 1/2 cups of gumbo into each bowl over 1/2 cup rice. Serves 6.


Third on my list is a Mufaletta sandwich at the Central Grocery. Central Grocery or CG as I like to call it, is located on Decatur Street. I recommend calling ahead if you want to have lunch there. The place is always booked.

What is a Mufaletta?

Muffuletta (Muf' a lotta) and a lotta it is!
Super-large, round, fat sandwich filled with salami-type meats, mozzarella cheese, pickles, and olive salad

I have never seen a store like Central Grocery anywhere in this world. There are literally cans and jars and boxes of great food, spices, herbs, relishes….stacked to the ceiling. Why Central Grocery? It’s the home of the Mufaletta. Other restaurants serve these wonderful sandwiches but I am perfectly happy with the one from CG.

There are so many great restaurants in New Orleans and I encourage you to try as many as possible. Get off the beaten path to find some real gems but be careful. Voo Doo does lie around some of those dark corners. I prefer to do my Voo Doo in the kitchen!

In The Soup

This May day was cold, rainy and windy. I closed my office door all day to keep out the air conditioning...it's always so cold in that building. All I could think of was getting home to make soup. I looked up soup recipes on some of my favorite food blogs but nothing jumped out and said "make me". Once I was home I studied the contents of my refrigerator and freezer.

First, I pulled turkey broth from the freezer that I had made a couple of weeks ago and added two large chopped chicken breasts, a tablespoon of kosher salt, a teaspoon of cracked black pepper, two stocks of diced celery and 1 tsp. of Victoria's Gourmet dried shallots and boil.

Next add one package of three cheese tortellini, a bag of fresh baby spinach and two green onions diced. Cook until tortellini is done. Ladle into bowls top with Parmesan Reggiano and eat it up.

My nieces had two bowls a piece with fresh hot Italian bread. The entire 8 quart pan of soup was devoured.

Strawberries Devonshire

One Sexy Dessert!
(click link to print recipe)

Strawberries Devonshire

Henry's Off Broadway sat perched on an incline just off of Broadway in Seattle, Washington. A throw back from a time when dining elegance was appreciated. Jackets were required and no jeans allowed. Frank Sinatra loved this restaurant; I heard that dined there often when he visited the Emerald City...who really knows? If he didn't, it was the kind of restaurant he and the rest of the rat pack would have loved.

Parking was strictly valeted and anyone who was anyone could be seen at Henry's. It was one of my favorites in the city for several reasons; the piano bar, the best Manhattan's I've ever had, deep fried artichoke hearts with freshly grated parmesan, and Strawberries Devonshire.

Strawberries Devonshire is one of the sexiest desserts I have ever eaten and to this day, it is one of my favorites. I have no idea how Henry's made theirs but I know that it contained Grand Marnier, Brown Sugar, Fresh sliced Strawberries and rich Devonshire cream.

Here is my recipe. Do not squander it on a dinner party of friends who could care less if you were serving Ms. Smith's frozen apple pie. This dessert is for the special people in your life or those you wish to impress. There are plenty of uses for that left over Devonshire cream (wink!) - just ask Darcie, she won her husband with this dessert!

Serves 4

I like to serve mine in red wine glasses the way Henry's used to.

4 large bowl red wine glasses

1.5 cups fresh sliced strawberries

4 tablespoons Grand Marnier (or for something very decadent, use Godiva chocolate liqueur)

4 teaspoons of Grand Marnier (used to top cream)

4 teaspoons brown sugar or brown sugar cubes

Cream (Joy of Baking):

Prepare cream just before serving.

Recipe:

4 ounces mascarpone

1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon pure madagascar bourbon vanilla extract

1 or 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar

Zest of lemon or lime (optional)

Preparation:

Place a 1 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar in the bottom of each glass

Cover with one half jigger of Liquor

Fill glass with sliced strawberries leaving enough room at the top to add cream

Cover glasses with plastic wrap and let stand for four (4) hours

Just before serving make Devonshire cream and top each glass heavily with cream

Drizzle one teaspoon of Grand Marnier over cream and top with a fresh strawberry and serve.

Sage Stuffed Pork Chops a Dinner for Any Season

I heard someone say recently that pork chops are a winter food. Really? I never really thought about it. I suppose one could classify them as winter comfort food but I have to tell you that if a sage stuffed pork chop was put on my plate in June, I am not about to send it back to the kitchen.

One of my favorite ways to prepare pork chops is to stuff them with a fresh sage, shallots, salt and pepper mixture. Chops have to be about an inch thick to pull this off. Once they are stuffed, dust them lightly with Panteago breader (yes you can buy this exclusively at Culina) mixed with finely chopped pecans. Bake in a clay roasting pan (we at Culina prefer Emile Henry) at 350 degrees until tender, remove the lid and quickly broil to crisp the pecans. Chops can also be grilled - just forgo the breader. For sides, try fresh grilled artichoke hearts (you do have to steam them first - steam them in foil on the grill or in a steamer) and individual gratin dish servings of potatoes Lyonnaise.

Here is a menu that I served to some friends visiting from Paris. It was a smash success!

Starter: goat cheese french toast (a fresh French baguette cut into three inch slices - cut a pocket into one side and fill with goat cheese, dip in an egg wash and cook in skillet, just like any other French toast. Melt truffle butter and drizzle lightly over each piece and serve. NOTE: Truffle butter is one of those wonderful little flavors that can quickly over power a dish. An eighth of a teaspoon is sufficient. I have also sauteed mushrooms and shallots in a 1:3 ratio of truffle oil to olive oil, added a tablespoon of butter and drizzled it over the French toast. The mushrooms are really yummy spooned on the side.

Salad(must have greens): Simple baby spinach and mache with fresh pomegranate seeds, flakes of freshly grated Parmesan , topped with a walnut oil vinaigrette.

Finish with my favorite dessert: Strawberries Devonshire. This is a simply elegant dessert which I love to serve in red wine glasses. Fresh strawberries, brown sugar and liqueur topped with Devonshire cream. If you are really feeling cheeky - use Godiva chocolate liqueur instead of Grand Marnier.

There you have it! Everything in this menu can be purchased at the Farmer's market or local farms.