Recipe: Jambalaya

See the video: http://youtu.be/fVW9ftP4oR0

1/2 stick butter
1 yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
4 to 5 stalks celery, sliced
5 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb okra
28 oz diced tomatoes
1 lb chicken breast, cut into small pieces
1 lb shrimp (large, 25-30 count), peeled and deveined
1/2 lb smoked andouille sausage
2.5 tbsp cajun or creole seasoning, divided
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp cayanne pepper
4 bay leaves.
6 cups chicken stock (half held in reserve)
1 1/2 cups white long grain rice.

Combine chicken and shrimp with 2 tbsp creole seasoning, set aside.

In a very large pan, melt the butter. Add onion, celery, and green pepper. After a moment add garlic. When onion starts to look translucent, add okra. When celery and okra are soft and onion is translucent add tomatoes and seasonings. Allow to cook a moment and add rice. Stir to combine and add 3 cups chicken stock and bay leaves. Turn up the heat and allow to come to a gentle boil, stiring contantly. Reduce heat to medium and continue to stir until rice is almost done (10 to 15 minutes usually), adding additional stock if necessary. Add meat and cook until chicken and shrimp are done. Serve immediately.

Recipe: Ceviche

See the video at: http://youtu.be/Treumm327GU

1 lb bay scallops
1 lb tilapia or similar firm flesh white fish, cubed
2 cups lime juice (fresh squeezed)
2 tomatoes, diced
1 green bell pepper
1 red onion
1 jalapeno
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
4 tbsp cilantro

Combine seafood and lime juice in a plastic bag. Squeeze outs air and refridgerate over night, at least 10 hours, preferably 16. The tilapia is white all the way through you're ready to move on.

Transfer to a large bowl, discarding half of the lime juice. Add remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Allow to rest in the refridgerator for an hour or more. Serve chilled.

Recipe: Gazpacho

See the video at: http://youtu.be/Treumm327GU

1.5 lbs Plum Tomatos, opeeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 jalapeno, diced
1 red onion, diced
1/2 tbsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
2+ cups tomato juice

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except tomato juice and mix togather. Transfer 1 to 1.5 cups (depending on how thick you want the soup to be) to a blender and puree. Add pureed vegetables back to the bowl and add tomato juice. Mix well and chill for at least 2 hours, preferably 4 to 6. Serve cold

Recipe: Pretzels

Video available at: http://youtu.be/KTGjIvGEU08

 

Ingredients
2 tbsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp softened butter
1 heaping tbsp salt
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 cups warm water
5 1/2 cups AP flour (divided roughly in half)

For soaking:
5 cups water
1/4 cup food grade lye.

Add all ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer except for the flour. Allow 15 minutes for the yeast to bloom. Add half of the flour and mix in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. (you can do this by hand too, but probably don't want to.) As the dough comes togater, slowly add the remaining flour. Once dough has come togather and has a smooth surface, allow to rise for 30 minutes (cover with a damp towel).

After the dough has risen, punch it down and transfer to a work surface. Using a pizza cutter, dough scraper, or other tool of your choosing, cut a strip of dough off and roll out until you have a two foot long strand. (If you have too little dough to get it that long, just make a smaller pretzel) Hold the dough at both ends so it forms a U shape. Make one full twist a little more than half way up and fole over to make a pretzel shap. Repeat until all dough has been used. (Hint: cover the ball of dough with a damp towel to prevent it from drying out) Allow to rise for 15 minutes on the counter and then move to the refridgerator for at least an hour. A longer time in the refridgerator will helf the yeast flavors more fully develop, but try not to wait more than 24 hours to proceed to the next step.

Done protective gloves and goggles. CAREFULLY add lye to the 5 cups of water in a non-reactive vessel and stir until completely disolved. Before baking, submerge pretzels one at a time for 30 seconds each. Apply salt or other seasoning and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. The lye will break down in the oven, yeilding safe to eat pretzels.

Yeilds 8 to 12 pretzels.

Recipe: Chicken Soup

1 whole fryer chicken (3.5 to 4.5 lbs)4 carrots, sliced
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 onion, diced
3 bay leaves
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp thyme leaves
1 tbsp salt
8 cups water.
4 cups uncooked egg noodles

Add all ingredients except the noodles to a crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. Remove chicken and add noodles. Set crock pot to high and cook an additional 30 minutes. Shread the chicken meat and return to crock pot. Allow meat to warm back up and serve. Gosh, that was easy, wasn't it?

Allthough egg noddles are the most familiar, you can use any form of noodle including gluten free vairents. If using rice, add two cups of uncooked long grain rice in lieu of noodles.

Recipe: Tzatziki Sauce

16 oz plain greek yogurt
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced fine
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, chopped
1 tbsp fresh dill weed
Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tbsp)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.

Wrap diced cucumber in a paper towel or kitchen towel and gently press to drain excess liquid. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and fold togather. Allow to sit refridgerated for at least 2 hours before servering.

Know what you're serving it with? Try going all dill for fish, or all mint and substitute red wine vinegar for lemon juice with red meat. Also great on its own as a dip!

Recipe: Fish and Chips

For the chips:
4 potatoes

For the batter:
2 cups AP flour (gluten free: 2 cups rice flour)
1 tbsp baking powder (gluten free: also add .5 tbsp baking soda)
1 tsp salt
1 12 oz bottle of beer (gluten free: 1.5 cups club soda)

1.5 lbs firm flesh white fish (cod, tilapia, etc)

1 gallon of oil for frying (canola, peanut, corn, etc)

Make the batter by combining all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix to the consistency of pancake batter and refridgerate at least 15 minutes, but no more than an hour.

White the batter is chilling, make the chips. Cut potatoes into your favorite shape and soak in water to remove excess starch. Dry well and fry for 4 to 5 minutes in 325 degree oil. Work in small batches. After all fries have been cooked, crank the oil to 375 and refry to potatoes for 4 to 5 minutes. Drain on paper towles (or a brown paper bag) and hold in a warm over.

Cut fish into workable peices and coat in batter. Fry for 3 to 5 minutes in 350 degree oil, until crust is golden brown and fish has been cooked throuogh (will depend on what kind of fish and how much you fry at once)

Strawberry filling for pierogis

Dessert Pierogis
1 lb strawberries, diced
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp flour
2 tbsp melted butter

Combine in bowl and set aside for at least 1 hour to allow sugar to dissolve. Stuff pierogies as with the previous recipe, being careful not to allow sugar syrup to touch edges.

Boil and then fry the pierogis until golden brown. Serve with ice cream or other accompaniments.

A note on frying:

Boil the pierogis before frying them. Make sure they've been drained and thoroughly dried before adding them to hot oil. Never fry food with excess water or ice crystals.

Potato and Cheese Pierogis

Filling:

4 medium potatoes, peeled and boiled.

1/2 stick butter

1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup cheddar cheese

Saute the onions in the butter. In a mixing bowl, combine potatoes and sauteed onion and butter mixture. Add cheese and blend together. Allow to cool before proceeding. You may refrigerate this over night.  (Note on salt: I boil my potatoes in VERY salty water. You may want to add a a teaspoon or two to your mixture)

Dough:

2 eggs
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

¼ cup water

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

Add wet ingredients to a mixing bowl. mix together and add dry ingredients. Bring dough together, if dough is too dry add a tablespoon of water. If too wet and sticky add a tablespoon of flour. Knead for 10 to 15 minutes.

To stuff:

Working with small portions, roll dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Using a three inch biscuit cutter or appropriate substitute, cut rounds as efficiently at possible. Use about one tablespoon of stuffing per three inch round. Pinch to close. If dough has dried out (like I said, use small batches), dab your finger in water and wet the edge to help seal. Dough left after cutting can be kneaded to gather to get more rounds.

To cook:

Boil pierogis until they float, about 3 to 5 minutes. After boiling you may serve with your favorite sauce. Sour cream is traditional as well. I like to saute onions in a pan and toss pierogis allowing them to brown slightly.

Recipe: Crab Cakes

¼ cup mayo

1 egg

½ lemon, juiced. Half lemon to show

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp ground mustard

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup cracker crumbs

1 tbsp old bay.

Quarter bell pepper, diced

2 green onions, sliced

1 lb crab meat

oil to fry with (recommend: peanut oil, canola oil, or corn oil)

Drain crab meat and set aside. In a large bowl add mayo, egg, lemon juice, seasonings, and cracker crumbs. Mix to combine, it should have the consistency of pancake batter. Add crab meat, bell pepper, and green onion. Gently fold together. Set aside for at least half an hour, you can make this earlier in the day and refrigerate it if you like.

Divide the crab mixture into 4 hamburger-sized patties. Preheat a large pan and add just enough oil to cover the bottom. Over medium heat, cook the crab cakes 2 at a time, 5 minutes per side. Do not overcrowd the pan. 

Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Dip

Our first episode has been edited and almost ready for upload! Here is the first recipe: Buffalo Chicken Dip.

5 Cups cook chicken, shredded
1 bottle (12 oz) hot sauce.
1.5 Cups Diced Celery (about 4 stalks)
16 oz cream cheese (1 large tub or two blocks)
1 8oz bottle Ranch dressing
Shredded mexican cheese blend

In a pan, toss chicken and hot sauce. Add celery and mix. Add cream cheese and allow it to melt. Add ranch dressing and stir until well combined. Transfer to a 9x13 glass baking pan. Back at 350 degrees for at least 30 minutes. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes before serving.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Recipe: Hummus

8 cloves garlic
2 cans chick peas. Drained and rinsed, fluid reserved
Juice of 2 lemons (6 tbsp)
1/2 cup reserved chick pea juice
3 tbsp tahini (check in the internation section of the super market with indian or middle eastern food. Or by the olives)
2 tbsp+ extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt

In a food processor, combine garlic, chick peas, tahini, salt, 2 tbsp olive oil and half of your liquid ingredients. Process and taste. Add more lemon juice if it tasts too bland, reserved chick pea juice if too sour, or olive oil if the mouth feel is too gritty. When taste and consistency are right, transfer to bowl and drizzle olive oil on top.

Sever with pita, fresh vegetables, etc.

Recipe: Crab Dip recipe

16 oz cream cheese
6 to 8 dashes hot sauce
3 to 4 tbsp worcestershire sauce
3 to 4 tbsp old bay seasoning
1 can crab meat
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
1 cup shredded italian cheese blend, plus more for topping.

Begin melting cream cheese in pan of medium-low heat. Add the next three ingredients. Visually, it should appear as if you've applied enough worchestershire sauce and old bay to cover the cream cheese in a thin coat. Add crab meat and stire. Add cheese and stir until smooth.

Transfer to broiler safe serving dish. Cover with reserved cheese and broil with rack in first or second position until cheese has melted and has started to turn brown, 5 to 8 minutes.

Serve with Pita bread, pita chips, crackers, etc.

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