What's Cooking?

[lcaillo]

Cooking is something we all do and I thought it might me cool to have a place to chat about recipes that we try and what we cook. We have done so every now and then in the Swamp, but a thread to share ideas might be nice.

I'm sitting here surfing, drinking a glass of wine and letting some red beans cook. My wife hates beans so I rarely cook this Louisiana staple any more, but I pretty much lived on them when I was in college the first time. Juli (wife) asked me to make some so she could bring it to her massage therapist who loves my Louisiana cooking. She missed an appointment today because of work and had to reschedule. The therapist is of good nature about it, though it is a real inconvenience so we try to make it up at least a little bit.

Trying something different this time. Someone gave use a bunch of cuttings of fresh rosemary, a variety that has more of a thyme scent than normal rosemary. I dropped some in the water while boiling the beans for a twist on this batch. I suspect that it will give it a very light flavoring and the other seasonings will be dominant, as I will be draining the beans after boiling them. I have some primo andouile from a little smokehouse back home in Louisiana that I will be adding to give them the kick and the flavor that I am used to. The "trinity" and the garlic have been sauteed with the andouile added and awaiting the beans.

[salvasol]

My favorite dish ...

In Central America we just boil beans, onions and garlic to make the soup ... after is done, you serve in a bowl with rice and sour cream, and never forget the "tortillas" (not like mexican tortillas, but similar to what mexican calls "gorditas" or "arepas" in Colombia).

Another way to prepare beans (as I do sometimes) is after they're cooked ... cut green pepper, tomato and onion; use olive oil (or wherever kind you use to cook) add everything and cook for about two minutes ... then add the beans and boil them ... when done just serve and eat.

This is "poor people food" ... that's the only food available, forget about meat, chicken, fish or anything else; sometimes that's the only thing to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner ... or in a worse case, once a day

I also have the recepe for "Frijoles Rancheros" ... but that will be another time, after writting about the beans "made me hungry"

[lcaillo]

Most food in Louisiana is from either Cajun or Creole influence. Both were poor populations. Things like beans and rice were staple because they were cheap. Red beans and rice has likely more a creole history than cajun. I know in the islands they call it "rice and peas." In Louisiana, we use a lot of spices to give otherwise plain foods a lot of flavor. Over the years as affluence came to the cajun and creole populations and the food became trendy, we add more costly meats and seasonings. Originally, andouile was the tougher parts of the pig, smoked to tenderize it in a casing like sausage. Now, we get some really nice cuts of meat in chunks in the andouile, much leaner, and a lot nicer to eat.

[avaserfi]

So my fiancee and I celebrated our three year anniversary tonight a little early, but it was good timing. Since I have no classes and am jobless until they start I decided to whip up a good gourmet meal.

At the beginning of summer we did a small tour of Europe as a graduation present to ourselves. We ended up visiting Budapest [where I proposed], Rome and Paris. Her souvenirs were pictures and post cards...mine was a bottle of wine from each country and food paraphernalia along with some fabulous food memories and pictures.

To start the meal I made a vinaigrette using arugula as a base and nice olive oil, minced shallots, Italian parsley, dijon mustard and an extremely high quality balsamic vinegar [maybe 4% acidity] that a friend sent me as a present for graduation.



Of course there was the wine I bought in Paris...Superb.




To follow up I decided to cook one of my favorite proteins, duck breast, with Camargue rice[the recipe and rice a gift from my chef sister]. The duck breast was French inspired as well using the wine I purchased as a sauce and being marinaded with Herbs de Provence I purchased in France as well. [My sister also developed the duck recipe which will be published in her first cook book, Seared to Perfection, next year...I just happen to be lucky enough to be a recipe tester for it ].






Of course a meal could not be French inspired without a cheese plate. Brie and Gruyere along with paper thin crackers.




Lastly, a dessert is required for such a meal. Being inspired by the best pastry shop I have been to in my life Pierre Herme and his emotion line desserts. Thusly, I used the cups that the emotion desserts came in as a plating method. The bottom layer is a watermelon-lime sorbet the middle is a watermelon-lime foam and the top is a whip cream that uses fresh cream and Tahitian vanilla all garnished with a candied grapefruit. If you look closely you will see 4 layers in the cup - this is because I had the top and bottom layer melt slightly so they could fuse together and create a more smooth transition. All in all this was one of the best meals in my life and it certainly felt like we were back in Paris all over again.

[lcaillo]

Outstanding! Ahh, the joy of cooking...

[pswayze]

I have Rice Crispies for breakfast, PB+J for lunch, a plain chicken breast and a can of vegetables for dinner, and maybe throw in a $5 dollar footlong from Subway.

[lcaillo]

To each his own. I'd probably have to add a little Tony Chachere's seasoning to the chicken breast, but I could manage that once in a while.

[Prof.]

You guys are making my mouth water!..

Having been divorced for many years, I've had to do all my own cooking..So I decided to take an interest in what I was cooking and started learning a bit about it..
I've had some successes and some flops and a lot of fun on the way..
I think it's all a part of the DIY in us..that we try to create a dish that's just that little bit different..

I recently decided to try and make some cream cakes..
I've never been a big cake eater, but I do like the occasional cream cake..and one of my favourites from my boyhood days is cream puffs..
They're made from shu pastry and I found them to be quite a simple recipe..
I was amazed at how well they turned out..Beautifully big, light and fluffy cream puffs..Yum!!
They lasted about five minutes..

One of my favourite creations is "Spicey Red Wings"..These are Chicken wings covered in my own red sauce recipe and baked..
If anyone likes the sound of those wings, I'll pass on the recipe..

[lcaillo]

Just grilled some Salmon (with a little Seafood Magic and Salmon Seasoning) that came out perfectly, with some steamed brocolli and fresh avocado. Followed up with a margarita and I feel nicely satisfied.

[kate25]

tell me about that recipe, its look delicious...the joy of cooking!