Red beans and rice

One of my favorite New Orleans' dishes is red beans and rice.  I have made a few modifications to my dad's recipe (he uses 1 lb. ground beef and a ham bone, whereas I skip the ground beef and usually use tasso that we order from Cajun Grocer's (but in a pinch, I'd use a ham bone or just let the andouille provide the flavor).     I also don't press my garlic, but instead just mince it finely.  Finally, we're a Crystal hot sauce household, and I just add it to taste!  This recipe freezes wonderfully and is also fantastic made the day before and reheated.  Enjoy!

Louisiana Red Beans and Rice

2 lb. dried red kidney beans

ham bone with generous amount of meat (optional)

1 lb. ground beef (optional)

1 lb. hot smoked sausage, sliced or chopped (preferably Andouille)

2 c. chopped onion

1 c. chopped celery

1 c. chopped green pepper

4 cloves garlic, pressed

2 bay leaves

1 16 oz. can tomato sauce

1 t. Tabasco sauce (or 2 t. (or to taste) Crystal hot sauce)

1 T. salt (I'd scant this a fair amount and check the seasoning level at the end...it really will depend on the ham/tasso and sausage).

1 t. black pepper

1/2 t. dried thyme

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

water (or equal parts water and chicken stock)

Rinse and pick through beans, discarding any stones or deformed/broken beans.  Place in large pot.  Cover with water and soak overnight.  Drain and rinse a few times.  Place beans back in large pot and cover with water or water/chicken stock mixture 2 inches over the top of the beans.  Add the ham bone, bay leaves, garlic, tomato sauce, Tabasco/Crystal, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil and simmer for one hour.  Remove ham bone and pick off meat; reserve.  Continue simmering beans, adding water if necessary to keep beans just covered.  In a heavy skillet, brown ground beef and/or sausage.  Drain off fat.  Add onion, celery, and green pepper.  Cover and steam slowly until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.  Add ham meat to skillet.  Remove approximately one cup beans from pot and mash through a sieve.  Return to the pot, along with the meat and vegetables.  Simmer until beans are tender, about one more hour.  Correct seasonings.  Serve over rice with crisp french bread and a salad.

Gumbo Ya-Ya (aka what every leftover Thanksgiving turkey should become!)

Thanksgiving is, by far, my favorite holiday. It is perfect, really, because it is about amazing, traditional family food and reflecting on all the good things in life for which to be thankful. And, you know, there's no shopping involved (except for food, which is, in my world, the only kind of really fun shopping!).

As usual, I have already dropped the ball with this blog with posting all of our Thanksgiving recipes before the actual event. But, since we eat many of the same things at Christmas, I'll get them up soon. Afterall, pie is always a good idea. As is Aunt Ira's spinach casserole. But today, I'm giving you a great idea to use up that wonderful turkey carcass. If you haven't already picked the meat off of it and made a stock, that's your first step. Everyone has different stock techniques, and I didn't watch my dad closely enough this year to tell you all of his secrets, but one that I noticed that surprised me was that instead of just adding water to the pot to simmer the turkey carcass, he added good Pacifica-brand organic chicken stock, as well. Perhaps it is a bit like stone soup, but wow...I could have drunk the whole gallon of broth by the time it was done.

So...here's our recipe, reproduced faithfully from our family cookbook, since I've not ever had the honor of making gumbo ya-ya. Though after my success in pie-baking this year (which will be covered extensively in a later post), perhaps next year I'll get my turn with the turkey carcass. Also, I'll try to get Mom and Dad to add some comments, as I think that there are a few variations that they've made to this recipe in the last 20 years. Other experts, please feel free to comment, as well. That means you, Uncle Dean!

Mister B's Gumbo Ya Ya

4 c. roux (see separate post here)
1 frying chicken
1 gallon chicken stock (see below)
1 lb. sliced andouille sausage (hot smoked sausage may be used)
2 bay leaves
1 t. dried thyme
1 T. Tabasco sauce
1 T. Gumbo file
1/2 c. chopped green onions
salt and black pepper

For stock:
water to cover chicken (about 1 1/2 gallon)
1 med. onion, quartered
2 stalks celery, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 bay leaf
2 T. salt
black pepper

Place chicken whole in a large pot. Cover with water. Add quartered onion, celery pieces, bay leaf, salt and pepper for stock. Simmer for 40-50 minutes until chicken is tender. Cool. Remove chicken, reserving liquid. Strip meat from bones and set aside in refrigerator. Return bones to pot and boil gently until volume of liquid is reduced to about 1 gallon. Strain stock through sieve and cool. Remove fat from surface of stock.

Brown sausage on both sides in an 8 qt. kettle. Add roux and heat to boiling. Add chicken stock, chicken meat, bay leaves, and thyme. Simmer 25 minutes. Add Tabasco and green onions. Taste and adjust seasonings. Simmer another 10-15 minutes. Just before serving add gumbo file. Serve in soup bowls over boiled rice. Hot garlic bread goes great with gumbo.

Gumbo tastes best cooked the day before serving and refrigerated overnight so the flavors can "make a marriage". Just reheat slowly to boiling and add gumbo file immediately prior to serving. Serves 8-10 people (6 Cajuns). Freezes well.

Gumbo can be made using turkey or chicken that has been cooked in an electric meat smoker. Simply strip meat from carcass before making stock from the bones, and add meat back in near the end. Using smoked meat adds a lot of flavor to the gumbo.

Back to Ursula's, after years, for Thanksgiving Turkey

When we were still living in Spalding Lake, I used to go to cooking classes with Ursula, a funny German lady who has been running a cooking school on Cheshire Bridge Rd. since the 60's. She is still going strong....in fact, she catered Jimmy Carter's birthday party at the Carter center earlier this month. I plan to share some of her recipes that I think have merit. They are my interpretation of her recipe and hopefully you can follow them. Just be thankful that you didn't have to try to read my handwriting....even I had a struggle.
This is her 2009 Holiday Turkey......it was truly amazing.....very moist and nicely browned despite the cooking bag. Enjoy!.............Sue (aka Grandma Sue, aka Elle's Mom)

Thanksgiving Turkey a la Ursula 09

Preheat oven to 415 degrees (400 degrees for a convection oven).
Use a 12 -14 lb. turkey (plan to buy about 1 lb. of turkey per person)

Line a baking pan with foil. Use a Reynolds Turkey Bag (ignore any directions that come with the box). Spray the inside of the bag with PAM.

Inside the bag, make a bed of:

1 ½ - 2 cups of sliced onions
1 T. fresh garlic, minced
3 stalks of celery, sliced
½ T. fresh rosemary
½ T. herbes de provence
½ cup soup greens (dried).

Wash out turkey and dry thoroughly. In a mixing bowl, put a 14 oz. package of turkey breakfast sausage removed from the casing. Add a 12 oz. container of Stauffer’s spinach soufflé. Both should be at room temp. Mix in:

3 T. dried minced onions
1 t. dried minced garlic
½ T. fresh rosemary
1 T. Chef Merito turkey seasoning
½ T. herbes de provence.

Mix. Gently loosen the turkey skin from the breast and put the sausage-spinach mixture under the skin. Put a handful of onions and ½ T. rosemary, ½ T. herbes de provence, ½ T. turkey seasoning into the body cavity. Tie the legs together loosely and put the turkey in the bag on top of the veggie pile (don’t slide the veggies back....lift the turkey in carefully). Push back the bag so you can pour ½ cup white wine (which you have already brought to the boil) over the breast skin to seal the pores. Pull the bag back around and seal it tightly and tuck the twisted end of the bag under the turkey. Cook a 10- 12 lb. turkey for an hour (for every lb. above 12, add 5 min.) After the cooking time lower the heat to 400, open the bag (don’t steam burn yourself) with a knife, and fold it back to expose the breast. Put in a thermometer in the thigh and cook until the temperature is 165 degrees.

PAM a pot and transfer the contents of the bag and any juice in the pan to the pot and heat on the stove. Add 1 envelope of brown gravy mix (McCormick) and 6 oz. shitake mushrooms that have been peeled, degilled and sliced. Simmer for a couple minutes and add 2- 3 T. cream.

Mom's recent adventure with Shrimp and Grits

When I was little, my mom used to go to cooking classes by a lady named Ursula. I always found this a little funny/odd, because my mom is a great cook, but later in life, she took me to a class, and I suddenly understood. It was very entertaining, and a great way to have a little lunch and an outing with her buddies (under the auspices, I'm sure, of improving her "skillz"). She stopped going for a long time (perhaps because she was found out?), but just recently she was given a few classes as a present from her friend's son. Here's the result of one such class. I'm a bit trepidatious about posting it here, because I have not personally tested the recipe, but...well...it's a much less time-consuming version of the shrimp and grits recipe that I recently made (and will also post, though not today), and Mom said she's made it twice and it's great (even as leftovers).


Grits, Peppers, and Shrimp

1 cup quick grits
1 Tbl. chicken bouillon granules (not cubes)
1 cup cream
1 oz. butter
1 Tbl. olive oil
1/2 tsp. Hokan chili oil (this is a spicy oil that gives a nice little kick)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, half diced & the other half reserved**
1 yellow onion, cubed
2 Tbl. whole garlic, smashed and chopped
1 1/2 lbs. shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut in half lengthwise
2 tsp. lemon pepper
1 1/2 cup shredded cheese (they used a mixture of gruyere and havarti, but Mom thinks any non-yellow cheese will work)
Pam cooking spray

**Save half of the green pepper for a flower decoration (aka cut the pepper so that it creates pretty rings that can be used as a garnish).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (325 for a convection oven).

Stir together the grits, bouillon granules, and 3 1/4 cups cold water in a microwave safe bowl. Wet paper towel segments to cover the dish, and microwave on high for 6 minutes. Stir, recover (redampening the paper towels, if necessary), and microwave another 6 minutes. Stir in cream until no lumps remain.

Spray a little Pam cooking spray in a large pot, add 2 oz. butter, 2 Tbl. olive oil, and 1/2 t. Hokan chili oil. Saute the diced red and green bell pepper. Add the cubed onion and continue to saute. Add the garlic. (Meanwhile, "Pam" a 2 1/2 - 3 qt. pan and put the grits in the pan.) Add the shrimp to the pepper and onion mixture and saute until barely pink (not done). Add 2 tsp. lemon pepper, toss, and add the shrimp to the pan of grits. (If you want, you could cook everything to this step the day before and then cool and refrigerate the pan, covered.) Top with cheese and bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees (325 if in a convection oven). (If you made the ingredients a day ahead and they are cold, bake for 40-45 minutes.)

Pork chops with pomegranate fennel "slaw"

This is a recipe that my dear friend, Heather Vitale, shared with me. I am giving you fair warning now - it is completely addictive. I find myself eagerly anticipating pomegranate season, and yesterday, while at Wegman's grocery store with another dear friend, my dreams were answered. That's right...beautiful pomegranates and fennel were both on hand, and all I can say today is "pork...it's what's for dinner"!

In my yard in Athens, I actually tried to grow pomegranates. I got two plants from the organic plant producer that supplied all of my apple, pear, and cherry trees in my "orchard", because I thought they had to cross-polinate, and I did my best to take care of them. One year, I did actually have a pomegranate on one of the little trees (which looked more like a shrub), but either my brother ate it or the deer did...I never had the pleasure, and I'll never know the culprit for sure.

Pomegranates do have one downside - they are sort of a pain to prepare. Be sure to wear an apron, because you will get splattered with juice! I tend to use the water method, where you slit the skin and try to break off larger pieces to work with, and then I sort of "mumble" off the seeds from the white part gently into a bowl of water, and any of the pith that I miss seems to float away from the seeds. While somewhat time-consuming, I find it relaxing, and I figure I'm using up some of the calories that I'll soon be eating. I don't include any bruised or mushy seeds, so I usually buy two just in case I have to leave out a portion of the seeds. I've been known to throw in a little of the wispy fennel fronds into the slaw, as well, just because it looks so pretty. Also, the pomegranate fennel slaw could be used on its own as a side dish or "salad", and I can also picture it with a hearty fish, like salmon, or with a chicken breast (though I haven't tried it yet...if you do, let me know how it works!).


Pork chops with Pomegranate Fennel Slaw

1 lb. fennel bulb, outer tough parts peeled and then coarsely chopped
3 Tbl. vegetable oil
1 cup pomegranate seeds (from 1 large pomegranate)
2 scallions, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp. seasoned rice wine vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
2 tsp. honey
1/4 tsp. salt
4 (1/2- to 3/4- inch thick) pork chops (preferably organic and sustainably raised, of course)

Cook fennel in 2 Tbl. oil over medium heat until tender, approximately 15 minutes. Transfer to bowl, stir in pomegranate seeds, cilantro, vinegar, scallions, honey, and salt.

Season the pork chops with a little salt and pepper, heat the remaining oil until hot but not smoking, and cook the pork chops until deep golden brown, approximately 4-5 minutes per side. Serve topped with the pomegranate fennel slaw. If you have any leftovers, be thankful - it's great the next day for lunch (even cold or at room temperature)!