Shrimp Gumbo

I've been meaning to try to make some gumbo for a while now, and when a buddy requested it on Facebook, I decided it was time. For those not in the know, gumbo is traditional Louisiana fare, based on a roux, stock, some form of meat and/or seafood and thickened using either okra or filé powder. I was unable to find okra, so I went with the filé powder for the recipe below.

If you are unable to find okra and/or filé powder, it is possible to just use the roux as the thickener. Traditionally, you'll slave over the stove for an hour, stirring the roux, but the recipe below uses Alton Brown's genius technique of letting the roux bake in the oven instead. Saves a lot of work!

Shrimp Gumbo

4 oz all purpose flour (1/2 cup by volume)
4 oz vegetable oil (1/2 cup by volume)
1.5 lb shrimp, unpeeled, head-on
0.5 lb andouille sausage
1 green bell pepper
3 stalks celery
1 large yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
2 tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp filé powder
salt
pepper
cayenne pepper
rice

Set the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large dutch oven (I actually used a stainless steel stock pot and it worked fine, nothing burned), stir together the oil and flour. Place in the oven for 1.5 hours, whisking every 30 minutes. Next, peel and devein the shrimp, and place the shrimp in a bowl in the fridge. Place the heads and shells in a large pot along with 2 quarts (roughly 2 liters) of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower to a simmer and reduce to half, which will take about an hour. I was unable to find head-on shrimp, so instead I replaced two cups of water with two cups of store-bought seafood stock. If you can't find either head-on shrimp or seafood stock, two cups of chicken stock together with the shells will do in a bind. Once reduced, strain with a fine mesh strainer and discard the shells and heads.

At this point, slice the andouille sausage into 1/2 inch slices and brown in a frying pan over medium heat. Move to a plate lined with paper towels. Note: if you are unable to find andouille sausage, the closest would be hot Italian sausage. If you can't find that, any form of pork sausage will do, and if it's not spicy at all, you can add a clove or two of garlic and a teaspoon of cayenne pepper later. Dice the onion, pepper and celery. Mince the garlic. Remove the skin from the tomatoes (cut a small, shallow cross at the bottom, boil in water for 15 seconds, move to an ice bath - skin should come right off), remove the seeds and cut up the flesh. Once the roux is ready, remove from the oven (you can turn the oven off at this point) and place over medium high heat. Add the pepper, onion, celery and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is fragrant and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato, bay leaves, about a teaspoon of salt and pepper, and about half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper (to taste - you like heat, add more cayenne pepper, but remember that the andouille sausage is spicy as well). Add the stock, about a third at the time, while stirring frequently. Stir, cover and let cook for about 30 minutes.

When the 30 minutes are almost up, start making the rice according to the instructions on the package - I find that 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water works well. Turn off the heat on the gumbo, add the shrimp and sausage and stir. Next, add the filé powder and stir. Cover, and leave for ten minutes. Remove the bay leaves, then serve over the rice and enjoy with a glass of red wine, white wine, beer or whatever else tickles your fancy.

Baked Chicken and Macaroni

It's getting "cold" out there (it's mid-70's in Austin these days, but I hear it's snowing in Sweden so it's getting cold out there somewhere...) - time to make some hearty meals. We had slow cooker chili last night, and tonight I decided to make a chicken and macaroni bake. Simple, filling, and really good. We washed it down with a bottle of 2004 Jacob's Creek Reserve Merlot that my good friend Craig gave me for my 30th birthday. I still can't believe I'm 30. Oh well.

Baked Chicken and Macaroni

1.5 cups elbow macaroni
1 large or 2 medium chicken breast fillets
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup "Italian" flat-leaf parsley
1 can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup white bread crumbs
1 tbsp butter
salt
pepper
olive oil

Turn the oven to 400 degrees F. Boil the macaroni until al dente (generally, if the package says 8-10 minutes, 8 means al dente, 10 means way overcooked). Cut the chicken breast(s) into half-inch pieces. Put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to a saute pan and add the chicken. Cook for a few minutes, then add the onion and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Drain the macaroni and place in a large bowl. Add the chicken, onions and garlic. Coarsely chop the parsely and add, together with the tomatoes. Sprinkle about a half teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper into the mixture, then stir thoroughly.

Place the mixture in a baking dish (I used my trusty 9x9x2 inch Le Creuset baking dish). Mix the parmesan and bread crumbs, then sprinkle over the macaroni mixture. Dot small pieces of the butter on the dish, then bake in the oven for about 30 minutes.

I served it with oven roasted vegetables (tossed with some olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper, in the oven at 400 degrees F for about 15 minutes) and it was great.

Apple & Raspberry Crumble

There's a saying where I come from: a good crumble is better than two...in...th...uh...actually, I don't know of any sayings that involve crumbles, but they're really awesome so I decided to make one and post the recipe here. You can obviously try various fruit combinations, but this one is pretty fantastic.

Apple & Raspberry Crumble

1 stick + 1 tbsp unsalted, chilled butter (9 tbsp)
1.25 cups all purpose flour
0.75 cups granulated sugar, divided
2 medium apples (I like Gala, but pretty much any apple will be fine)
12 oz raspberries (about 1.5 cups)
ground cinnamon
salt

Turn your oven to 425 degrees F. Next, peel and core the apples. Cut them into small chunks, about half an inch. Wash the raspberries. Place the fruit in a 9 inch tart pan (preferably made of glass, but metal will work as well). Sprinkle about 1/4 cup sugar over the fruit.

In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, a small pinch of salt and about half a teaspoon of cinnamon. Next, cut the butter into the flour in chunks. Now, it's time to get dirty: mix the flour mixture with the butter with your fingertips. You're looking to divide the butter enough that there are no large chunks left, but you're not looking to form a uniform dough, like you would when making a pie or quiche.

Sprinkle the mixture over the fruit, making sure to cover as evenly as possible. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until the fruit is bubbling and the crust is golden. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

This will keep, covered, for about 4 days if left in room temperature and about a week in the fridge. If you keep it in the fridge, I suggest reheating it in the microwave for half a minute on high before eating.

Mountain of Cookies

I just had to share my mountain of cookies. Now I want one, and I'm all out :(

Swedish Meatballs

Being Swedish, I can't believe it took me over 40 posts to finally post a recipe for Swedish meatballs! These are a modified recipe of my mom's meatballs (who else?) and are perfect for children as well as adults. In Sweden, meatballs are generally served as a kid's dish and they're usually a huge hit on the smorgasbord for Christmas. These have a slightly more "adult" taste.

When I was working in the kitchen of a bar outside of Paris (The Bitter End in St Germain-en-Laye), I made them and they became an instant hit. After that first try, I basically had to make them as the daily special every Wednesday! The main reason I'm posting right now is because someone I used to work with at that bar was checking out this blog for the first time and was wondering where the meatballs were at!

Meatballs can be made as almost "thin" food (by using water and low fat meats) or, even more delicious, as a decadent meal that you probably shouldn't be eating on a daily basis (by using cream for both the meatballs themselves and the pan sauce.) The below recipe is the more decadent kind, but I have commented what to substitute if you want a leaner dish. I served this with my creamy mashed potatoes, but the original dish is generally served with boiled potatoes or some form of pasta.

Swedish Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes and Cream Sauce

Meatballs:

1 lb ground beef (I use 7% fat which seems to work well)
5 oz ground pork
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 egg
1 large yellow onion
3 tbsp butter
white pepper
kosher salt

"Stock" and Sauce:

beef or veal stock (preferably homemade, or a reduced broth - dried will work)
1 carrot
1/2 yellow onion
2 bay leaves
4 garlic cloves
~10 oz heavy cream
corn starch
soy sauce

Mashed Potatoes:

6 large potatoes
1/3 cup sour cream
white pepper
kosher salt

Lingonberry jam for serving (available at IKEA all over the world)

Begin by bringing 1/2 gallon of water to a rolling boil. Add the carrot, half onion (cut up in chunks), bay leaves, garlic cloves (smashed and peeled) and the stock. If you're using homemade, well-reduced stock, about 1/4 - 1/3 cup will be enough. If using dried bullion, about 1.5 - 2 tablespoons should be enough. Let this boil (without a lid) while making the meatballs.

Peel the potatoes and cut them up into chunks (for faster cooking). Pour water into a large pot, add the potatoes and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. I generally keep them covered while boiling; just keep an eye on the pot if you do the same.

For the meatballs, start by mixing the cream (this can be replaced by water for a leaner meal) and the breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Let stand for ten minutes. In the meantime, very finely cut the onion. I used a very fine grater for this - it basically turned the onion into a mush, which is fine. You don't want large chunks of onion in the meatballs. Once the breadcrumbs and cream have stood for ten minutes, add the ground beef, ground pork, 1 teaspoon white pepper, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, the onion and the egg. I wear latex gloves for the next step - if you do not have any available, make sure you have some cold water in a bowl to dip your fingers in.

Mix the ingredients well with your hands. Once there are no chunks of the breadcrumb mix left, you're ready to start rolling. Make meatballs around an inch to an inch and a half in diameter and place them on a plate.

Turn the oven to 250 degrees F. Place about 5-6 meatballs in the pot of boiling "stock" and leave for about 3 minutes. Most of the meatballs should start floating (but if they do not, don't let them stay in the pot for more than 3 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a plate covered with a paper towel. Once you've cooked all the meatballs, let the water continue cooking. In a large pan (I prefer cast iron, but nonstick or stainless steal will work fine), melt the butter over medium heat. Add about ten meatballs and cook until they have some surface color. Be careful not to burn them. Once a batch is done, place in an oven-safe dish and place the dish in the oven. Repeat until all the meatballs are done.

Once the potatoes are cooked, drain and put back into the pot you boiled them in (or a bowl). Mash them with a fork or potato masher. Add about a teaspoon of white pepper and the sour cream, then stir to combine. Keep warm by placing a lid on top (mashed potatoes will also reheat well in the microwave if need be).

The final step is the sauce. If there's very little to no fat left in the pan you cooked the meatballs in, add a tablespoon or two of butter. Add about a tablespoon of corn starch and stir with a whisk or wooden spoon, removing brown bits from the pan. Next, bring out a mesh strainer and pour the "stock" into the pan. You'll need about a cup of the stock. Whisk together and add the cream (if you wish for a leaner meal, you can replace the cream with more stock, water or red wine) and about two tablespoons of soy sauce - make sure you taste it, soy sauce is salty! Whisk and let cook for a minute or two. Salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the meatballs from the oven, place on a plate and smother with the sauce. If you're using boiled potatoes instead of mashed, make sure they get a dose of the sauce as well! Serve with the lingonberry jam and eat immediately.

Hmm, I wonder if I should go have seconds now...

KitchenAid Pasta Attachment (plus a recipe!)

I finally got around to buying the pasta maker attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer relatively recently - it's been a while since I actually bought it, but I've been too lazy to write about it.

The attachment is great - and the fact that I make the actual pasta dough in the mixer and then flatten it and make tagliatelle with the attachment is awesome!

In honor of my wonderful new piece of equipment, here's a recipe I came up with at some point in the recent past.


Tagliatelle with a Creamy Smoked Salmon & Mushroom Sauce

1.5 cup heavy cream
0.5 cup dry white wine
6 oz mushrooms
5 oz smoked salmon
2 tbsp butter
salt & pepper
Tagliatelle for two, preferably homemade

Start by boiling water for the pasta in a large pot with a tablespoon of salt and a little bit of olive oil (especially if using fresh pasta.) Slice the mushrooms thinly. Melt the butter over medium high heat in a saute pan. In the meantime, bring the cream and wine to a simmer in a pot. Slice the smoked salmon thinly. When the mushrooms have sweated out most of their moisture content, add the salmon and cook for another couple of minutes. Boil the pasta for 2-3 minutes, if using fresh pasta. If using dried pasta, follow the instruction on the package (and start cooking it earlier.) Add the mushrooms and salmon to the cream mixture. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with crusty bread and maybe a side salad for the rabbit food lovers.

Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto

I'm back! Woo!

I do apologize for the delay in making this post. I will do my best to get back to the twice weekly updates now. Hopefully, at least!

I love a good risotto, and one of my favorite things with making one is how it tastes and looks like it was hard to make and cost a lot. This does not have to be true at all (unless you like to throw copious amounts of extremely difficult-to-cook ingredients in there, and top it all off with real diamonds, of course.) This specific risotto is pretty awesome, and very quick to prepare. Enjoy!

Note: apparently, there's one of these on Olive Garden's menu. This, however, is good as opposed to what I can only assume is a travesty of food that they would serve you there.

Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto (Risotto di gamberetti e asparagi)

Serves 2

10 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
10-15 asparagus stems
1/2 medium sweet or yellow onion
1 cup arborio rice (risotto rice)
1/2 cup dry white wine
3-4 cups chicken stock, possibly more
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper

Start by bringing a large pot of water to a rolling boil, and add about two teaspoons of salt. While you're waiting for the water to boil, clean the asparagus and cut off the very bottom ends. If there are some very large stems, cut them in two pieces. Once the water is boiling, add the asparagus and boil for four minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to an ice bath to avoid further cooking.

Next, prepare the shrimp - peel and get rid of the veins. Add the shrimp to the boiling water and cook for about 3 minutes, or until pink. Set aside. Bring the chicken stock to a simmer, but don't let it boil so it starts reducing too much. Covering the pot should keep the liquid from evaporating.

Next, chop the onion into small pieces and place in a pan, together with the oil, over medium heat. Cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Next, add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, for about one minute. Do not let the rice get any color. Add the wine and lemon juice, and continue to stir constantly, until the wine has been absorbed. At this point, start adding the simmering chicken stock, 1/2 cup at the time, while you continue to stir. Once it's evaporated, add the next half cup and continue this process until the rice is al dente - cooked through, but still slightly hard.

Once the rice is finished, add the butter and Parmesan cheese, then stir. Salt and pepper to taste, then add the asparagus and shrimp. Stir until everything has heated up, then serve immediately with fresh bread and the white wine you used in the risotto, if you have any left!