Something New: Ham & Sausage Jambalaya

Salutations!

Wow, it's been far too long since I've been on here. What with the holidays and all, everything kinda just got away from me. But, such is life. The point is: I'm back!

OK, so the goal of today's post is that I'm trying Something New. I'm going to start getting outside of my comfort zone to really try to expand my culinary horizons, as it were. This means I need to try cooking new and exciting things, things I've never before attempted. I don't know how well it will work, but we're going to start today.

So, a friend of mine recently went to New Orleans, and was kind enough to bring me back an old beat-up copy of a Cajun-Creole cookbook. Now, I've never tried cooking this type of cuisine before. Which is weird, being from the south as I am, I admit. As such, I had a choice: I could either let the book sit about and go unused, or I could stomp down my nerves and just give it a go. I opted for the latter, and I am about to share with you the delicious results!

I flipped through the book, looking for something new yet classic. I passed over several things with ingredients lists as long as my arm, along with a few that came with exotic ingredients I didn't think I'd find outside a bayou (or the internet). In the end, I opted for something I'd never made before but still recognized: jambalaya.

Ok, I bet you're thinking, "What's so special or different about that?" And I admit, once I read through the method, I realized I could prepare this without any major issues. And the method reminds me a little of risotto, what with how the rice is cooked and all. So I'm really not that far outside my comfort zone, sure. Baby steps, though. The goal is to work my way gradually into new and uncharted waters, not dive in to the deep end with nary a glance down.

Or who knows? Maybe soon I'll do just that.

For now though, the jambalaya. It turned out fairly well, for a first time out. But the seasonings it called for were very simple, and I think that more was needed to really bring the whole dish home. So I'll need to do some research, and see what I can learn. In the meantime, I'll at least share what I've got so far.

WHAT I USED!!!
2/3 cup bacon drippings (I got about 1/2 cup from a pound of bacon, so I augmented with a little veggie oil.)
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
6 ribs of celery, chopped
3 tsp minced garlic
1 lb. ham, cut into bite-sized chunks
1.5-2 lbs. andouille (or other smoked sausage), ditto the ham
2 cups plain white rice
3 cups beef broth (I actually used 4, but I don't think I needed to now)
4 tomatoes, seeded and chopped (and skinned, if you want to go to the trouble)
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
green onions, diced
parsley

WHAT I DID!!!
Get the bacon drippings good and hot in a large 8qt pot over medium heat. Toss in the onions, bell pepper, celery and garlic, and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in the pan you used to cook the bacon, start browning the ham and sausage. Once the veggies are ready (when the onions begin to turn transparent), toss in the meat.

Stirring regularly, give the rice about five minutes in that skillet. Once it gets just a little color, toss it in with the meat and veggies. Add the tomatoes, wait a couple minutes for them to break down a bit, then add the broth. Season and stir well.

Drop the heat, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid is all absorbed, about 15-30 minutes (the recipe calls for 45, but I didn't need that long). Give it a stir every five minutes or so. Once it's done, stir in the green onions and the parsley. Wait about five minutes for the onions to wilt, and you're ready to go. Serve with French bread and good beer.

Like I said, it turned out pretty tasty, but it was missing... something. I really need to do some research into those seasonings, because I feel like there should have been more to it than just cayenne pepper. Still, it had a decent amount of heat to it, and everything turned out savory and delicious. And that's something else I plan to work on: my food descriptions. I'm always kinda stumped at this point. I really ought to take more notes....

Anywho, I hope you enjoyed reading about my latest adventure. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please let me know so I can give it a try.

Until next time, go forth and eat well!

Take Two: Fish Pouches

Hello friends!

This past week I decided to try my hand at the fish pouches again. As you may recall from my last attempt, the results were of a mixed success. I am happy to report that I got much better results this time. Unfortunately, I don't think it quite qualifies as a F.E.A.S.T. anymore, but I'll let you be the judge.

THE INGREDIENTS!!!
4 flounder fillets  (from a $4.50 frozen bag)
1 cup uncooked white rice  (don't ask the price; I'm pulling this from a huge bag)
1 cup golden yellow grape tomatoes  (from a $3.50 package)
1 red bell pepper  ($1.00)
1 medium sweet yellow onion  ($1.00)
2 14.5oz cans veggie broth  ($2.00)
2 small lemons  ($0.50)
chopped garlic, about 8 cloves worth  (staple)
Italian seasoning  (staple)

salt and pepper  (they better be staples!)


Total price: about $12.50, unless you need to restock your staples.

THE METHOD!!!
Preheat your oven to 425. Tear off four large sheets of parchment. Line a cookie sheet or other containment vessel with foil (for ease of cleanup and whatnot).

Slice your tomatoes in half, and remove the seeds. This can most easily be accomplished through gentle squeezing, which is oddly satisfying. Chop your onion and red pepper, and divide each into four even piles. Have your garlic chopped if it doesn't already come that way.

Assemble your pouches. On each sheet of parchment, place 1/4 cup of rice in a rectangular pile, then place a piece of frozen fish over top. Trust me on this, okay? Next, add one of the onion/pepper piles over top of that. Then add your chopped garlic, about two cloves' worth. Squeeze half a lemon over top and sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.

Now seal your pouches. Fold the parchment up like a hot dog going longways with the fish. Then, crease the edges together and fold downward. Now staple them shut. Yes, with actual staples. Twist one of the ends up to close it, angling the fold upwards. Have the other end ready to twist, but do not seal it yet.

Pour about six ounces (about half a can) of your veggie broth into each pouch, then twist the end shut. Place each pouch side-by-side on your sheet pan, and set the whole thing in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, then gently rotate the pouches by moving the outer two in and the middle two out. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes longer. When the timer beeps at you, pull the pouches out of the oven, and allow them to sit another 15 minutes so that the rice can finish absorbing all the liquids. When that's done, tear into them and gobble them up!

I had much better results this go around. The fish was wonderfully cooked, the rice was a perfect al dente, and the veggies were all tender without being mushy. The seasonings were more spot on then last time, but I think I still need to work on them just a bit. But to really guage the success, we need to compare to our acronym:

Fast: Much better than last time, but still over my goal of 1 hour from start to finish. It was more like 1 hour 15 minutes, but a goal is a goal, right? To be fair, I think this is the only shortcoming here.

Easy: Yep. Just chop and assemble. Even the clean up is a breeze, since the cooking vessels get tossed in the garbage.

Affordable: At around $12 to $15, this is exactly where I want the budget to land, so I call this a win, especially compared to last time.

Super Tasty: The flavors were much better this time, although I still think there's some room for improvement. But that having been said, I am still quite pleased with the results.

So there you have it. A great success, but one that still leaves me with some room to tinker around. After all, cooking is, at its heart, as much an art as a science, and finding that balance takes a great deal of work. As I said though, I am pleased with how this turned out, and I'm looking forward to tinkering with it some more in the future. I love the whole pouch cooking concept, and I am excited to see where I can take it next.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Please post any thoughts you have on the subject at your leisure. Go forth and eat well!

Elixer Soup

Hey all!

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving weekend. I know I did. I spent the time with family and good friends, and I always consider that a great time. Naturally, since this weekend is host to one of the biggest meals of the year, it also means I spent a good deal of time in the kitchen.

Now, I know what you might be expecting: some recipe or another about turkey or stuffing or homemade cranberry sauce. Well, I decided to forgo that idea. Everyone has their own take on Thanksgiving, so trying to impress my own opinions on the subject seemed like it might prove difficult. Instead, I'm going to share a recipe I decided to try for lunch over the weekend: Elixer Soup!

For those who haven't noticed, if you look on the right side of this page, you can see a link to another blog entitled "The Geeky Chef." I love this blog. The creator like to take the food that appears in video games, nerdy tv shows/movies, and geeky literature and turn it into real-life food. And I have to say The Geeky Chef does a damn fine job too. If you like all things nerdy, you should go check it out!

But I digress. I decided to try making The Geeky Chef's version of Elixer Soup from The Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker. In the game, after healing Link's grandmother with a faerie, she makes him his favorite soup as a way to tell him what a good grandson he is. And it is the best healing item ever created in a Zelda game. It restores all of Link's health and gives him a power boost. And you get two servings in one bottle! Trust me, it's awesome.

This version of the soup uses a ton of healthy vitamin C rich veggies in a base of savory chicken broth, and it sure to give you a boost! My take on the soup changes things up just a bit, but you can follow along with the original here. Let's take a look, shall we?

THE INGREDIENTS!!!
6 tbs butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped (or about 3 good tsp)
1 lb yellow squash, chopped
1 acorn squash
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 cup cauliflower, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
Juice of 1 lemon
Hot sauce (Tobasco, Frank's, etc.)
Salt & pepper to season
Shredded Parmesan cheese

THE METHOD!!!
Cut the acorn squash in half and remove all the seeds. Place the squash cut side down in a microwave-safe dish with about a half-inch to an inch of water. Place the gourd in said hotbox and heat for five minutes. The goal here is to soften the squash enough to remove all the good stuff from the skin. Scoop out the meat with a spoon, or else cut into strips and peel with a paring knife. Chop the squash as you did the other veggies.

Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Drop in your onion and garlic with a little salt & pepper, and saute until softened, or about ten minutes. Once this is done, add the remaining veggies and stir it all up to distribute everything evenly. Add your chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once you hit a boil, drop the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until all the veggies have softened.

Here comes the tricky part. You need to puree everything down to a soup consistency. This can be accomplished one of two ways. If you have an immersion or stick blender, you're golden; use it. If yours, like mine, is broken, fear not! Pull out your trusty blender! The soup is hot, so work in batches. I did mine in three. Ladle about 1/3 of the soup into your blender.

Don't seal it tight though; the heat and steam will cause difficulties. Most blender lids have a piece in the middle that can be removed for adding ingredients during the blending process. Remove that and cover with a towel. This way, you don't have an airtight seal, but you're still protected from flying soup. Blend each batch down to a soupy consistency, then transfer to another dish to hold. Repeat this process with the remaining soup, and return it all to the pot.

Now, stir in your lemon juice, add hot sauce if you like (just enough for a little kick!), and more salt & pepper if you feel it's needed. Serve with a little Parmesan sprinkled on top and a good loaf of sourdough bread on the side!

This soup is delicious. It has a nice smooth consistency, but with enough body and texture to still have that hearty feel. The veggies and the savory chicken broth give it that warm comfort-food taste, and the butter and onions and garlic make everything just smell heavenly, but the acidity in the lemon juice brings a brightness and a lightness that you wouldn't otherwise expect in a pure vegetable soup. It's absolutely wonderful. If you get a chance, I would highly recommend trying this out the next time you feel like making a nice bowl of soup.

I had a lot of fun with this recipe, and I hope y'all do as well. As always, thanks for reading. Comments and thoughts are always appreciated. Go forth and eat well!

F.E.A.S.T.: Fish Pouches

Hey everyone!

So this week's culinary shenanigan is my attempt at another F.E.A.S.T.. Unfortunately, this one was not quite as successful as my last, but hey, experimentation is a part of this whole wacky process, right?

This week, I wanted to try something I haven't done in a while: pouch cooking. What's that, you ask? Excellent question. Essentially, it's exactly what it sounds like: cooking in a pouch. You basically wrap all your food up in a pouch of folded parchment paper or aluminum foil, throw the package in the oven (or into a bed of hot coals, though I've never tried this), and steam/bake the whole thing.

So, how do you do it, you ask? Another excellent question. Boy, you're really on top of things today, aren't you? First you pick a protein. I feel that since other meats like beef or pork really benefit from browning, and there's none of that here, fish is an excellent choice. I had some tilapia left over from my Fish and Chips meal a few weeks ago, so I went with that. Second, you pick a starch, such as rice or pasta. I went with gold potatoes, because I thought they'd be tasty. Third, you pick a few veggies to accompany your meat. I went with tomatoes, bell peppers, and mushrooms. You also select a couple of aromatics, in my case, an onion and some garlic. Finally, you choose your seasonings (salt and lemon in my case) and a flavored liquid (white wine here).

I'll have more to say afterwards, but I figure let's get down to the actual cooking first.

THE INGREDIENTS!!!
4 tilapia fillets  (from a $4 frozen bag)
6 gold potatoes  (about $2)
4 roma tomatoes  (about $1)
1 red bell pepper  (about $2)
1 yellow bell pepper  (about $2)
8 baby 'bella mushrooms  (from a $4 package)
1 medium yellow onion  (about $1)
4 cloves of garlic  (about $0.50)
salt
2 lemons  ($0.25 each)
A few good splashes white wine  (from a $3 bottle, but you can use fancier)

Final price: about $20, give or take.

THE METHOD!!!
Make sure your fish is well thawed in the fridge first. Once it's thawed, season it with a little salt. Set your oven for 425 degrees.

Now start chopping. Dice your potatoes. You'll want them small so that they can cook thoroughly. Seed and chop your tomatoes. Seed and chop your peppers. Clean and slice your mushrooms. Peel and slice your onion. Peel and smash your garlic cloves.

Make sure you have four large sheets of parchment paper ready to go. You want them big enough that they'll be able to fold over the food with enough left over to be folded shut.

Begin your assembly. You'll divide everything four ways, naturally. Place your potatoes down first. Lay a piece of fish on top. Squeeze half a lemon over the fish. Pile on your tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, onions, and garlic. Last, give the whole thing a good splash (maybe 1/4 cup?) of wine. Fold the parchment over, and crease your edges together to seal the whole thing shut. (Watch out that you don't let your liquids leak away!)

Place on a cookie sheet (for ease of movement) and bake for at least 30 minutes (it took me closer to 50, actually) or until everything is done as you desire.

Ok, like I said, I wasn't terribly pleased with my results this time. Oh, everything was cooked through, so the process worked, don't get me wrong. But I had a few points of contention.

For one thing, I used too much food in each pouch. This increased the cooking time by nearly double and made the pouches difficult to seal. I actually had to double layer one of them because the first layer was too small. For another, I need to improve on my seasonings, as the whole thing tasted a bit bland. Plus, the flavors of my veggies and aromatics didn't mesh as well as I would have liked, but that could also be because the seasonings were off.

Let's review the acronym:

Fast: Sadly, no. The whole process took about 2 hours from start to eat, which is double my target time. Next time, I want to use fewer veggies (four instead of six potatoes, only one pepper, etc.) to decrease both my prep time and my cook time.

Easy: The process itself if actually pretty straightforward: chop everything up and throw together in a pouch. Cook. Done. So here, I'd say we have success.

Affordable: Here I pushed things a bit. My goal here is not to go above $20 for four people to eat, as $5/person seems pretty cheap to me. But again, next time I plan to use less food, which will also reduce the cost.

Super Tasty: Unfortunately, the best word to describe the taste here is "meh." It wasn't bad by any stretch, but it was hardly Super Tasty. It needed more seasoning, and it needed more contrasting flavors. Definitely something to work on.

So in the end, the meal itself was less than successful.

But fear not! I have not given up hope!

I plan to try this again after some careful consideration. In fact, while writing this, I came up with a fairly wacky idea that I plan to try at the earliest opportunity. But as I said, I will revisit this method, in the hopes that I can improve on the whole thing and turn it into a proper F.E.A.S.T.! So keep your eyes open for my next few posts!

Thanks again for reading everyone! Go forth and eat well!

Q.E.C.T.: Chicken and Veggies with Egg Noodles

Ok, so the acronym may need some work, I admit.

It stands for Quick and Easy, Cheap and Tasty. That's the point of this recipe. I wanted to show that good food can be made on the cheap in a relatively short amount of time for a relatively small amount of money. So let's just jump right to it, shall we?

THE INGREDIENTS!! (and prices)
3 boneless chicken breasts, cubed (from a $6.99 3lb frozen bag)
1 16oz bag of egg noodles ($1.29)
1 package crimini mushrooms, chopped ($1.49)
1 cup frozen peas (from a $0.99 bag)
2 cups (handfuls) baby spinach, chopped (from a $2.99 bag)
2 cans condensed cream of mushroom and/or chicken soup ($0.79 x2)

I bought everything at Aldi and Wal-mart, because I know I can get it all for fairly cheap. Final price? $15.33, assuming you have to buy all of it, and half of that is the meat. Keep in mind: this leaves you with plenty of frozen chicken, some frozen peas, and a good amount of spinach left over to use in other dishes.

THE METHOD!!
Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Saute over medium-high heat in a little vegetable oil (I normally use olive oil, but I was out) until done all the way through.

Once the chicken is done, wipe out the skillet and repeat with the mushrooms. Saute until the 'shrooms are browned all over. Work in two batches; it actually helps the mushrooms to cook faster if you don't crowd the pan.

Warm up the peas as per package instructions, probably in the microwave. For me, it was a cup of peas with two tablespoons water, covered, for six minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the egg noodles to al dente, again as per package instructions. If you don't care for egg noodles, any sort of pasta will do: bowties, penne, you name it.

After you drain the pasta, toss it all back in the pot and add one of the soups. Use a splash of hot water (I just save some boil water) to help thin the soup slightly.

Put the chicken and mushrooms back in your skillet, add the peas and spinach, then add the other soup. Again, a little hot water helps to see everything evenly coated. Mix it all together, and season with more salt and pepper to taste. I also added some crushed red pepper and Italian seasoning, because I happen to be a fan of both.

When this is done, add the meat/veggie mixture to the noodles. Stir thoroughly to combine, serve and enjoy. Add a bit more pepper or another sprinkle of Italian seasoning if you like. I put a little Frank's RedHot Sauce on mine, because apparently you really can put that sh!t on almost everything.

Ok, so let's go over our acronym checklist then.

Quick: from start to finish, the whole thing took me 40 unhurried minutes. And I mean start to finish. From the time I started to pull my thawed chicken breast out of the fridge to the time I sat down to eat was a mere 40 minutes. Not as fast as a sandwich, I admit, but still pretty quick for a hot filling meal.

Easy: well, I'd say it's pretty straightforward. Nothing complicated or fancy. Boiling pasta and chopping some veggies is all fairly easy I'd say. Cooking the chicken shouldn't provide any major difficulties either, unless I miss my guess. Again, not as easy as a sandwich, but we're still talking about a hot meal here.

Cheap: if you don't count the chicken, the whole meal costs around $7 to make. For me, frozen chicken is a staple, so I'm not inclined to include it in the price of the meal, since I almost always have it on hand anyway.

Tasty: yes, quite. Just try making it, see what you think. I bet you'll decide you like it too. The tastes are pretty simple, but that means it's open to all kinds of customization: different veggies, different meat, and different soup flavors are all very real possibilities here. Next time, if I want to up the budget a smidgen, I may throw in some shredded cheese for a little extra indulgence!

In the end, I think this is a very successful first attempt at a Q.E.C.T. (yeah, I really need to work on that acronym...) meal. It's not anything fancy, but then, fancy wasn't the point in the first place. The point was to be able to cook a good, hot meal when you come home from a long day at work without having to worry that it'll take forever or else break your bank. And in that, I believe I have done well.

Anyway, as always, thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing from everyone!

Stir Fry

I've been working on a stir fry technique for some time now, and I'm sad to say it still needs some work. Oh, it's tasty enough, but there's always something... missing. I made it last night for dinner and, though it was good, it still seemed to be lacking something. Maybe someone out there reading this can suggest an idea or three?

My basic ingredients:

- 1 block extra firm tofu
- two bags frozen stirfry veggie mix
- sauce (this time I used a teriyaki sauce, though I've made a peanut sauce from scratch before)
- a pot of rice

Simple, right? Well, that was the idea: simple and delicious. And cheap. And healthy. Seriously, you can get away with this meal for under $10 easy. And, if you skip the rice or use brown instead of white, it's actually pretty good for you on top of everything else.

So first the tofu. Yes, tofu. Come on, it's not that bad. And it's pure protein, so just go with me, OK? If the tofu comes in a liquid, the first thing you do is prep the tofu by wringing it out. This is accomplished through the cunnning use of cutting boards and weight:

Slice the tofu into two or four pieces of equal size. Wrap the tofu in paper towels and set it between two cutting boards. Place something of moderate weight (you don't want to squish the curd, after all) to provide pressure. After 15-20 minutes, all the excess moisture will be gone.

Once that's done, you can marinate the tofu as shown below. I used a premade teriyaki sauce this time, but soy sauce with some spices works equally well. The best thing to do is to marinate the tofu overnight; that gives it plenty of time to absorb the flavors (I did mine for about an hour, and I've decided that is not enough time by any stretch). Turn it over now and then if it isn't completely submerged so you get full coverage.

When it comes time to cook, I like to use an electric griddle over medium heat, but you can chop it up in a wok or a skillet just as easily. The trick is to treat it like meat. No, really, it works, so don't look at me like that. Cook it until it's Golden, Brown & Delicious on all sides, and you're done.

Once that's ready, the rest is pretty straightforward. I thaw my veggies a bit and throw them in a hot wok with a little oil and heat them though. Sometimes I drain the melted water that tends to accumulate near the bottom. Once it's all hot, I chop the tofu and toss it in. Then I add my sauce, which in this case was teriyaki, as I've said. Then I serve it over rice:

Eaten with chop-sabers from ThinkGeek; 'cause why not?

Looks good, yes? I did have a couple of issues though: for starters, I'm not sure I like this teriyaki sauce I've been using. It's not the cheap stuff, so it tastes pretty good, but it's still fairly... liquidy. As such, nothing can coat the veggies the way I'd really prefer. When I make my peanut sauce, I start with peanut butter, so that's not really an issue. Maybe I should try making a teriyaki sauce from scratch....

Second, the tofu turned out bland. And don't say, "Well, it is tofu after all." Had I marinated the curd overnight like I'm supposed to do, it would have absorbed much more flavor and been far from bland. Trust me; I have witnesses.

On the plus side, I think I've gotten my rice technique down (no more burnt crunchy bits!). For anyone who's interested to know:

Put one cup rice in a pot, add 2 1/4 cups liquid (I did 2 cups water, 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce). Add any spices (ginger, ground red pepper, garlic, etc.) you prefer and a tablespoon of butter. Heat over medium high until boiling, stirring occasionally, then drop the heat to low. Simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes or until all the liquid is gone. Now and then, give it a quick stir and then reapply the lid to conserve heat. I find that this works for me, but part of my success may relate to how I watch the rice cook.

From here, I guess I just need to keep practicing. Next time, I'm going to make my own sauce, either teriyaki or peanut, and use that. I'll also marinate the tofu overnight to achieve maximum flavor infusion. So I will pose a question: does anybody have any suggestions? I'd really like it if part of this blog was about sharing ideas and knowledge. I want to document my own experiences as a means to improve my cooking skills, but if I could help others achieve the same, I'd feel pretty good about that.

So! Thoughts, ideas, experiences! Let's have at 'em!