I tried a Jambalaya recipe yesterday, but there were a few things about it that I think should be changed because it called for almost a whole stick of butter and only 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper. There are several kinds of Jambalaya with different varieties of proteins and spice, so here is my version. Prep is minimal, but the cooking takes about an hour.
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
1/2 cup white onion, diced
1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup shrimp, peeled and cleaned
1/2 cup clams
1/4 cup oysters
1 link andouille sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
4 chicken thighs
1 cup rice
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 14 1/2 oz. can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne peper
Place half the butter in a large skillet or saucepan and brown the chicken over medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side. Set aside the chicken and heat the andouille sausage for 3 minutes. Set aside the andouille and then saute the rest of the butter, onion, green onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic until tender. Add the seafood and cook for 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, salt, and cayenne and heat for 15 minutes. Add the rice, chicken broth, chicken, and sausage and stir to combine everything. Cover the skillet or saucepan and cook for 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, the shrimp are pink, and the rice is tender.
Showing posts with label new orleans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new orleans. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Muffuletta
Muffuletta [muhf-uh-let-uh] (n): a thick, round sandwich similar to a hero, typically containing ham, salami, and cheeses and topped with an olive salad, a specialty of New Orleans.
Central Grocery on Decatur Street in New Orleans is the gold standard of muffulettas. You MUST try one when you are in New Orleans.
The bread you use for this sandwich is extremely important because you can't just throw these hearty ingredients onto any old bread or else it wouldn't be a muffaletta, now would it? A large (8-10 in. diameter) round loaf of Sicilian/Italian bread is usually be hard to find outside of New Orleans, but luckily, I found a place on North Miami Beach, Laurenzo's Italian Market (http://www.laurenzosmarket.com/home.html), that makes fresh Sicilian bread each day. If you can't find the bread, there is a recipe at NOLA Cuisine (http://www.nolacuisine.com/2005/08/21/muffuletta-bread-recipe/).
The next important part of the Muffuletta is the olive salad. I've seen a few variations of the olive salad and decided to leave out gardiniera (pickled cauliflower, carrots, celery, and pperoncini) because I had a hard time finding it and I don't really want cauliflower in my sandwich.
Mr. M gave the following recipe his seal of approval and even liked this muffuletta more than the one we had in the Big Easy. Yeah, baby!
Olive Salad Ingredients
1 cup pitted green olives, very coarsely chopped
1 cup pitted black olives, very coarsely chopped
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup jarred roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup minced fresh parsley
Juice from 1 large lemon
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp black pepper
Sandwich Ingredients
6 oz. Hard Salami
6 oz. Mortadella
6 oz. Provolone cheese
1 round loaf (Sicilian or Italian with sesame seeds on top), 8-10 inches in diameter
Instructions
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 24-48 hours to allow all the flavors to combine and marinate.
Cut the loaf of bread in half. Depending on how much time you have and how thick you want your sandwich, either jump right into assembly or dig some of the bread out to make room for all the toppings.
To assemble the Muffuletta, use a brush to spread any excess oil from the olive salad over the bread, spread one layer of olive salad on the Sicilian loaf, add a layer of salami, then a layer of provolone cheese, a layer of mortadella, then another layer of olive salad. Cover with the top half of the bread.
If you have time or didn't scoop any bread out, cover the sandwich with a plate and weigh it down with some cans for 30-45 minutes. If you don't have much time, want an extra thick sandwich, or scooped most of the bread out, then skip this step.
Traditionally, you're supposed to cut the muffuletta into quarters, but that's a little too much for me, so I recommend cutting it into eighths. One muffuletta will serve anywhere from 2-8 people, depending on the hunger level :)
Central Grocery on Decatur Street in New Orleans is the gold standard of muffulettas. You MUST try one when you are in New Orleans.
The bread you use for this sandwich is extremely important because you can't just throw these hearty ingredients onto any old bread or else it wouldn't be a muffaletta, now would it? A large (8-10 in. diameter) round loaf of Sicilian/Italian bread is usually be hard to find outside of New Orleans, but luckily, I found a place on North Miami Beach, Laurenzo's Italian Market (http://www.laurenzosmarket.com/home.html), that makes fresh Sicilian bread each day. If you can't find the bread, there is a recipe at NOLA Cuisine (http://www.nolacuisine.com/2005/08/21/muffuletta-bread-recipe/).
The next important part of the Muffuletta is the olive salad. I've seen a few variations of the olive salad and decided to leave out gardiniera (pickled cauliflower, carrots, celery, and pperoncini) because I had a hard time finding it and I don't really want cauliflower in my sandwich.
Mr. M gave the following recipe his seal of approval and even liked this muffuletta more than the one we had in the Big Easy. Yeah, baby!
Olive Salad Ingredients
1 cup pitted green olives, very coarsely chopped
1 cup pitted black olives, very coarsely chopped
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup jarred roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup minced fresh parsley
Juice from 1 large lemon
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp black pepper
Sandwich Ingredients
6 oz. Hard Salami
6 oz. Mortadella
6 oz. Provolone cheese
1 round loaf (Sicilian or Italian with sesame seeds on top), 8-10 inches in diameter
Instructions
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 24-48 hours to allow all the flavors to combine and marinate.
Cut the loaf of bread in half. Depending on how much time you have and how thick you want your sandwich, either jump right into assembly or dig some of the bread out to make room for all the toppings.
To assemble the Muffuletta, use a brush to spread any excess oil from the olive salad over the bread, spread one layer of olive salad on the Sicilian loaf, add a layer of salami, then a layer of provolone cheese, a layer of mortadella, then another layer of olive salad. Cover with the top half of the bread.
If you have time or didn't scoop any bread out, cover the sandwich with a plate and weigh it down with some cans for 30-45 minutes. If you don't have much time, want an extra thick sandwich, or scooped most of the bread out, then skip this step.
Traditionally, you're supposed to cut the muffuletta into quarters, but that's a little too much for me, so I recommend cutting it into eighths. One muffuletta will serve anywhere from 2-8 people, depending on the hunger level :)
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Rice with Turkey Andouille Sausage
Rice with Turkey Andouille Sausage
I though of this out of sheer laziness. I didn't feel like going out to dinner. I didn't feel like eating chicken or fish and can't bring myself to touch raw beef. I didn't want to take a long time to cook. I did want something spicy.
2 links of Turkey Andouille Sausage (cut into thinly sliced rounds)
1/2 cup rice (if you want extra flavor, get a box of the flavored rice pilaf...don't use the toasted almond one though, it'll taste a little weird with the sausage)
1 cup water
Bring the water to a boil, add the rice, and simmer until all the water is absorbed. When the rice is almost done, heat the sausage in a skillet (not too much oil b/c the sausage will release some grease). When the rice is done, stir the sausage in and voila! Serve with some veggies on the side.
I though of this out of sheer laziness. I didn't feel like going out to dinner. I didn't feel like eating chicken or fish and can't bring myself to touch raw beef. I didn't want to take a long time to cook. I did want something spicy.
2 links of Turkey Andouille Sausage (cut into thinly sliced rounds)
1/2 cup rice (if you want extra flavor, get a box of the flavored rice pilaf...don't use the toasted almond one though, it'll taste a little weird with the sausage)
1 cup water
Bring the water to a boil, add the rice, and simmer until all the water is absorbed. When the rice is almost done, heat the sausage in a skillet (not too much oil b/c the sausage will release some grease). When the rice is done, stir the sausage in and voila! Serve with some veggies on the side.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
The Cooking Lawyer
Welcome! I'm a young lawyer living on South Beach who loves cooking and eating good food. One of my goals after graduating from law school was to learn how to cook. I've set pots and towels on fire and turned food into charcoal...but I've graduated to chicken saltimbocca, snapper a la veracruzana, ginger pear muffins, biscotti, and pannettone bread pudding.
One of my goals with this blog is to share my attempt to meet billable hours then come home and cook a good dinner with limited utensils.
New Orleans = good food. I've been eating gumbo, jambalaya, muffaletta, crawfish etouffee, pralines, and beignets for the last 4 days in New Orleans. I bought the Brennan's cookbook and am determined to learn how to cook some of these amazing dishes and, for the first time ever, cook with boyfriend, "Mr. M."
One of my goals with this blog is to share my attempt to meet billable hours then come home and cook a good dinner with limited utensils.
New Orleans = good food. I've been eating gumbo, jambalaya, muffaletta, crawfish etouffee, pralines, and beignets for the last 4 days in New Orleans. I bought the Brennan's cookbook and am determined to learn how to cook some of these amazing dishes and, for the first time ever, cook with boyfriend, "Mr. M."
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