| | Creole JambalayaPage 1 of 1 | This makes enough to feed about 15 people, more if you are serving other things, so be ready.
You need a very large heavy bottom stainless steel pot, or porcelain coasted cast iron pot.
Aromatics:
3 large dark green ribs of celery with leaves, remove leaves for later and dice ribs
2 large white or yellow onions, chopped
2 large carrots, diced
1 very large green bell pepper, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
Liquid:
1 quart tomato juice
2 quarts chicken broth
1 larger can tomato paste
Herbs and Spices:
2 Bay Leaf
3 Tbls Tony Chachere's or Cajun Spice mix
1/2 Tbls black pepper
1 tsp celery seed
2 tsp dried thyme
1 cup flat leaf parsley, minced
celery leaves from reserved, plus more if you have them, chopped
Meats:
6 chicken thighs, with bone and skin, cut in half through the bone
4 Pork Shoulder Steak, cut into 3 pieces each (have butcher do it)
2# Andouille Sausage
1/2# ham cubes
1 1/2# peeled and deveined large shrimp with tails
Rice:
2 1/2 cups converted, or parboiled rice
Corn Oil
In large heavy pot use about 4 tablespoons of corn oil, heat and brown, not cook, the skin of the chicken, the fat of the pork steak and the outside of the sausage. Remove all and set aside.
In the same pot add the onion and carrots and cook until becoming softer, then add the celery and bell pepper and cook all until soft. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
Add bay leaf, black pepper, celery seed, thyme, Tony Chachere's, tomato paste, tomato juice and chicken broth. Stir and mix well.
Cut Andouille into 2" pieces and add it to the pot with the chicken and pork steak. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.
Add shrimp, ham cubes, parsley, celery leaves and rice and cook covered until rice is soft and has absorbed most of the liquid. About 15 minutes.
Serve with French Bread and butter, or Garlic Toast. Ahhhhhhhhh
SS :-) | |
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| Creole Jambalaya
Posted: 7/3/2012 1:53:50 PM | Ok, if no one likes my Jambalaya recipe then here is another New Orleans Classic
Shrimp Remoulade
4 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
4 green onions, coarsely chopped
1 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
3/4 cup fresh Italian parsley
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup tomato purée
1/2 cup Creole mustard*
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tsp paprika
2# spice boiled fresh large shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 large lettuce leaves/cups or cooked artichokes hollowed out (I then also make a sauce for the artichokes)
1. Pulse first 4 ingredients in a food processor until finely chopped. Add vinegar and next 5 ingredients, and process until well blended and smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. With processor running, pour oil in a slow, steady stream, processing until blended. Stir in paprika, if desired.
2. Cover and chill 6 to 8 hours.
3. Stir chilled sauce; pour over shrimp, gently tossing to coat. Serve on lettuce leaves.
* Creole Mustard is a brown mustard made w mustard seeds that have been marinated in vinegar and w an added touch of horseradish. If I make it at home, I also add Creole seasoning.
SS :-) | |
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| Creole Jambalaya
Posted: 7/3/2012 1:57:50 PM | And another New Orleans Classic, though not special to New Orleans, it is believed to have been created for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887.
Cherries Jubilee
2 – 12 to 15 oz. bags red sweet cherries or Montmorency
2 cups sweet cherry juice
1 Tbls sugar
1 Tbls cornstarch
¼ cup cognac or kirsch warmed
Ice cream
In a small dish, combine a little cherry juice with sugar and cornstarch. In a skillet, heat juice from cherries over moderate heat. Add cornstarch mixture. When juice thickens, add cherries to warm through. Pour in warmed liqueur, then flame the pan to burn off alcohol. Remove cherries from heat. Scoop vanilla ice cream into large c@cktail glasses or dessert dishes and spoon cherries down over ice cream.
SS :-) | |
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| Creole Jambalaya
Posted: 7/3/2012 3:31:42 PM | I am the proud owner of a spice jar of file powder and am in search of a gumbo recipe... :)
Figure this is my best bet to get a tried, tested and true recipe...  | |
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| Creole Jambalaya
Posted: 7/3/2012 7:13:16 PM | Oh my goodness girl. I think somewhere on here a few years back I posted one of my Gumbo recipes, I have maybe 8 that I make up. As well, Carolyn posted a good one in her Creole Gumbo thread on here, but I will give you a couple of Classic Gumbo recipes. This first one is a completely made from scratch recipe, but you will see obvious shortcuts you can take. Like Pho, it is one of those things I just do from scratch. It is really not hard at all, you just need about 3 hours total. I don't call that bad. My second recipe is classic, but not as involved if you already have roux and because you do not need to prep as much. Every family has their own Gumbo version, so all are a little different.
Cajun Seafood Gumbo
Roux:
3 cups peanut oil
3 cups flour
1 large onion, rough chopped
I normally take 1 to 1.5 hours to make a gorgeous roux from clarified butter (plus an hour cooling time), or ghee, but with this recipe I often make this quick roux, but you have to be careful not to splash it on you, because it will burn you badly. It requires high heat, as opposed to the low heat of a slow roux, so I substitute peanut or corn oil so it can take the heat. This will take about 12 minutes to make and an hour to cool. The butter roux tastes better, but in the gumbo it won't be noticed.
You really must have a heavy bottom large stainless steel skillet or the roux will burn, be sure not to use one with a non-stick finish* or a cast iron for this. Be careful not to splash, so wear long sleeves and maybe oven mits or playtex gloves. Make sure no one and nothing will distract you while making this. You also need a stainless steel whisk.
*A non-stick finish will peel off with this high heat and all of the whisking. A cast iron is too dark to see what is really going on with the roux and it holds even more heat and will burn the roux.
Pour oil into the skillet. Heat the oil on medium high to high until it begins to smoke. As soon as you see smoke, quickly whisk in the flour. You will continue to whisk vigorously the entire time the roux is cooking, or it will burn (at any point, no matter what color it is) and be worthless. It will begin to turn tan, then the color of peanut butter, then mahogany, then brick red. At that point remove the skillet from the heat to a solid surface (a couple of multi-folded towels in your sink or on a counter-top...have it prepared first) and whisk for a couple more minutes. The roux will continue to darken to a chocolate color, so you must whisk so it doesn't burn from the heat of the skillet. Never stop whisking before this point. After that, sprinkle chopped onion on top and let cool. A little oil will come out and the onions will absorb it, so you do not have a greasy roux. You can jar this once it is room temperature and refrigerate and use for any thickening needs. Each shade of roux is used for one dish or another, but for seafood, you want a very dark roux. This way allows you to save an hour and a half. This can be made days ahead.
Seafood Broth:
1 large onion, rough chop
2 large carrots, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
10 peppercorns
1 handful of fresh parsley, washed, stems and all, no chopping
1 handful of fresh dill, washed, stems and all, no chopping
shells from 2# of shrimp (if you can get shrimp with heads, use the heads too, it is the BEST ingredient, but up the weight to 3#)
shells, heads and bodies from 2# of whole Crawfish
4 hard shell crabs, cut in quarters
4 heads and tails from whole fresh fish
4 Tbls of olive oil
2 Tbls Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
1 gallon distilled water
In a heavy stainless steel stock pot heat the oil and add the onion, carrots, celery, bell pepper, shrimp shells, crabs, fish head and tails and crawfish parts, stir and cook on medium high for 10 minutes. Add the peppercorns and Creole seasoning and stir, then ad the water and remaining ingredients and let come to almost boiling, then turn down heat and let simmer for 1.5 hours. Cool, strain, discard everything but the broth (if you have used shrimp heads there is good eating in those before discarding and the crabs). You could buy Clam broth or fish stock if you can find it, but this is a good way to make it. This can be made a couple of days ahead and refrigerated, it is actually better that way, but do not strain until you are ready to use, then heat to warm and strain before it is too hot to handle. I have often done it all in one day and made my roux, accompaniments and prepped my vegetables and seafood while the broth is making and cooling.
Aromatics, Vegetables and Spice:
2 large onions, diced
2 large carrots, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
2 poblano chilies, diced
10 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 small can tomato paste
1# bacon, chopped (or fatty ham)
3 Tbls Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
5 cups small young Okra pods, or 2 bags of thick sliced frozen Okra
In 3 - 5 gallon stock pot place the bacon and get it frying, when it has rendered its fat, before turning brown, add the onions, carrots, celery, poblano, thyme and Okra pods if using whole fresh. Saute` until turning soft. Remove Okra pods before they are soft, but after they have gotten fried on all sides, to seal them and set green color.
Add tomato paste and Creole seasoning. Mix in well. Add Seafood broth and bring to simmer.
Seafood:
2# Shrimp, peeled and deveined, save shells for broth (if shrimp have heads, buy 3#, this is the best option)
1.5# Soft Shell Crabs, small, about 2" diameter body
1.5# frog legs
2# Crawfish, remove heads and bodies and shell from the tails, use the shells, heads and bodies for the broth while the tails go in with the rest of the seafood (this is about 1# of tail meat)
2 cups Oysters, shucked
16 Lobster Claws or Stone Crab Claws
You need 5 -7 pounds of seafood here. You do not have to use my choices, but don't use things like clams or mussels or fish chunks that will flake away. I have used Conch, Turtle and Alligator before. You can use lump crab meat or even 3" pieces of king crab leg in the shell. You do not have to have as much variety. Just do what sounds good to you.
Add frog legs and let simmer 5 minutes, then add whole soft shell crab and simmer 5 minutes more. Add the remaining seafood and frozen Okra and simmer 10 minutes. If using the whole fresh Okra pods, add them in the last 5 minutes. For the last couple of minutes, prepare the next step.
In a stainless steel bowl, pour 1.5 cups of roux and 2 Tbls of File`, whisk. Then add 2 ladles of Gumbo broth (no veg or meat), whisk well and quickly. Now pour all of this into the Gumbo pot and mix well, as it gets to the thickness of gravy, turn off the heat.
Accompaniments:
Cooked Rice, white or brown
Sassafras Leaves, fresh dried and ground (File` - fee-lay)
Green Onion, chopped
Serve immediately around a 1/2 cup compact scoop of Rice, sprinkle with File` and chopped Green Onion with French Baguette and Butter, or Garlic Toast.
Cajun Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Roux:
2 cups clarified butter or ghee (you can clarify by melting and straining through cloth to remove solids)
2 cups flour
Melt clarified butter in a heavy stainless steel skillet over medium low heat. When it is browning, add flour and stir continuously with a wooden spatula or whisk until it is a mahogany color. Remove to a cold burner and continue to stir for 5 minutes. Let cool in the skillet and after it is room temperature you may jar and refrigerate or use. This will take about an hour to make and an hour to cool. Can make days ahead. *Be sure to read all of the directions for roux above.
Aromatics, Vegetables and Spice:
2 large onions, diced
2 large carrots, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
2 poblano chilies, diced
10 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 small can tomato paste
3 Tbls Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
5 cups 1" sliced Okra pods, or 2 bags of thick sliced frozen Okra
2 cups fresh corn cut form the cob
5 cups tomato chunks, cut large or 2 cans stewed tomatoes
olive or corn oil
Liquids:
2 quarts chicken broth
2 quarts tomato juice
Meats:
6# Baking Hen, cut into pieces and back and breast bones removed. The older the hen the better. Like Chicken Cacciatore it is much better with an old hen or rooster, but we cannot always get those today (can use guinea hen, duck, pheasant, goose, woodcock, dove, quail) just end up with at least 3#-4# of meat, not including bone. I usually cut thighs in half with the bone and breasts in quarters without bone. I cut the back in 3 or 4 pieces and remove any small bones as well as the spine.
If you are making your own chicken broth, do it with all the same ingredients as fish broth above, but with only 3 quarts of water, leaving the chicken whole (leaving out the seafood of course) and add 3 star anise. Remove the meat from the bone, when cool, to use in the Gumbo. You may do this 2 days ahead, it gets a richer flavor that way.
3# Smoked Sausage, hot or mild cut into 2" pieces
Accompaniments:
Cooked Rice, white or brown
File`
Green Onions, chopped
If you are starting from raw chicken, or other fowl, brown in oil in a heavy 6-8 quart pot and set aside. Brown the sausage in the same pan, set aside. If using fresh okra, fry to seal outside, not to soft and set aside.
Add the onion, carrot, celery, poblano, corn, fresh tomato and thyme and cook until soft. You may need to add more oil. Season with salt and pepper. Fry for 10 minutes. Add canned tomatoes if using and Creole seasoning.
Pour in the broth and tomato juice. Bring to a simmer. If using frozen Okra, add it now, along with the browned chicken or other fowl pieces. If you are using boiled chicken pieces, give the okra 10 minutes to cook.
Add the sausage (and boiled chicken if that is what you use) and fresh fried okra. Stir to mix all well.
In a stainless steel bowl, pour 1.5 cups of roux (should be the whole recipe I gave you here) and 2 Tbls of File`, whisk. Then add 2 ladles of Gumbo broth (no veg or meat), whisk well and quickly. Now pour all of this into the Gumbo pot and mix well, as it gets to the thickness of gravy, turn off the heat.
Serve immediately around a 1/2 cup compact scoop of Rice, sprinkle with File` and chopped Green Onion with French Baguette and Butter, or Garlic Toast.
Personally, I usually serve this with Dirty Rice and Sauteed Mixed Greens; which are usually served with Beans and Sausage, but we always liked them with Chicken and Sausage Gumbo because we really didn't eat Beans and Rice together, not even with Mexican food. Just not our thing to mix beans and rice.
I know you are up to the cooking of these and I think it is really cool that a Canadian wants to cook southern food! When I grew up in the south, cooking was done all day from 6am until the evening meal and then it was usual to have something soaking or marinating to be ready to cook the next day. We cooked continuously, but we fed a lot of people, 8 minimum, and we always cooked from scratch and often from our garden.
SS :-) | |
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| Creole Jambalaya
Posted: 7/3/2012 8:04:01 PM | I must have gotten tired from all of the typing because I left 2 ingredients out of the Chicken Sausage Gumbo.
When you are sauteing the vegetables with the thyme, also add 2-3 bay leaf
Along with the liquid of chicken broth and tomato juice, also add 1/2 cup of Worcestershire Sauce.
Sorry, I get sloppy when I type a lot and try to go fast.
SS :-) | |
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| Creole Jambalaya
Posted: 7/3/2012 8:05:50 PM | All I can say is feed me!!!!! LOL
Oh what I'd give for some real cajun food. | |
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| Turtle Soup
Posted: 7/4/2012 12:04:13 AM | Turtle Soup is as much New Orleans culture as Gumbo and Jambalaya. It is a classic dish and well worth trying. Turtle meat has the look and texture of chicken thigh meat and around the neck it is like white meat. Turtle taste is unique, with some of the parts like beef and some faintly like rabbit, while other parts have a more of a seafood taste. When I was young my dad and I ate this a lot.
Classic New Orleans Turtle Soup
Servings - 24 appetizer or 12 meals
6 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 pounds turtle meat, cut into about 1” dice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Brown the meat in the hot butter, season with salt and pepper and cook for about 18-20 minutes, or until liquid is almost evaporated.
2 medium onions, diced
6 celery ribs, diced
1 large head of garlic, all cloves peeled and minced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 poblano peppers, diced
1 Tbls ground dried thyme
1 Tbls ground dried oregano
4 whole bay leaves
2 quarts Veal Broth
Add the onions, celery, garlic and peppers, stirring constantly, then add the thyme, oregano, and bay leaves and sauté for 20-25 minute, until the veggies have caramelized.
Add the stock, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
1 bottle (750ml) dry sherry (I love the La Cigarrera Brand from Spain for cooking)
1 Tbls hot pepper sauce, or to taste
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 large lemons, juiced
3 cups tomatoes, coarsely chopped
6 cups fresh spinach or chard, washed, stems removed, chopped
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, or ground mace
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Add all of these and simmer for 15 minutes.
1 1/2 cups Roux, peanut butter colored
In a bowl with 1 1/2 cups of peanut butter colored roux, add 2 ladles of the hot broth form the soup (no vegetables or meat) and whisk well to combine, then pour into the pot and stir to combine well. Cook for a few more minutes until thickened like a thin gravy/thick soup.
12 Eggs, hard boiled, chopped
3 lemons, sliced thin
1 1/2 cup Flat Leaf Parsley, minced
La Cigarrera Sherry
Ladle Turtle Soup into warm bowls or cups. Place a Lemon slice on top to one side and chopped egg on the other side, splash with Sherry and sprinkle with Parsley.
Serve with warm French Baguette and Butter, or Garlic Toast. Some people make turtle shaped bread to go with it.
SS :-) | |
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| Creole Jambalaya
Posted: 7/4/2012 12:38:56 PM |
Sorry, I get sloppy when I type a lot and try to go fast. Geeze, you should see some of my letters I'm typing up, I have to go through the thing since I have words blending into each other from thinking faster than I can type. 
I'm absolutely salivating from the chicken and sausage gumbo recipe... thank you very much!
Does this freeze well or should I consider quartering the recipe? | |
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| Creole Jambalaya
Posted: 7/5/2012 11:28:08 AM | Yes, it actually freezes quite well. I wouldn't freeze the seafood one, but the chicken and sausage gumbo will be good frozen.
You are welcome. This is one of those things southerners just can't pare down to small size. It doesn't stick around long anyway LOL All you have to do is tell 2 people you have Gumbo and in 30 minutes you have 12-15 people over to take care of that pot for ya. They will even do the dishes.
SS :-) | |
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