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I love all sorts of cephalopodes, squid, octopus, cuttlefish, you name it. Now let me tell you a secre, actually the key to cooking octopus is freezing it first, believe it or not. It doesn't alter the flavour but reduces a lot the time necessary for cooking which ends up preserving the flavour more. In fact, when frozen the right way, you can't find a difference in taste or texture in none of this kind of seafood.
Tonight, however, I'll be making something Caribbean. Specifically, jerk chuck steak grilled over pecan wood and served with rice and spinach.
Someone mentioned paella, my father makes a killer one, see it here (yes because he did made a YouTube video):
Here you go Willy, it's about what mine looked like. It wasn't as thick as I would have liked and I think I slightly burned the roux, plus instead of adding the seafood during the first cooking, I should have added the second day when the pot was reheated and let it cook then. Although it tasted just fine, I need some gumbo lessons and will look for someone to teach me even if I have to pay for the demo- it was still delicious!
Last night I made Turkish herb fritters and the wife made a rice pilaf with pine nuts. It was solid fare, but next time I'm amping the fritters up with some Urfa pepper.
Tonight it's penne lisce with vodka sauce and a green salad on the side.
Food allergy? I can't imagine life and food without shellfish. But I'm sparing with it. Right now I've got 2 pounds of crawfish tails, some bay scallops, and a half pound of imitation crabmeat in the freezer and that's it. I pick up shrimp here and there if I want to make a dish with it, maybe twice a month. There's very little I won't eat, whereas I don't care for a lot of fish except a nice blackened tuna steak, salmon once in awhile. We eat a lot of white meat, like chicken and pork. Ground beef for tacos and Sloppy Joes every week, or for dirty rice. Once a month I might buy some bacon wrapped beef medallions or some t-bone steaks. I like to mix it up, consult with the kids and have a weekly menu so everyone knows what's for dinner.
I know most people use a dash of Tabasco or Crystal in their gumbo, but Tabasco strangely does not agree with me. I had some Frank's in the cabinet but never got around to using it. Between the tsp of Cayenne, the tsp of Essence, and the natural heat of the andouille, it was nicely spiced without being OTT. And as I said, I was stressed because it was intensive and sweaty work. Have you mastered gumbo yourself? I would like to compare notes.
My gumbo contains chicken, ham and andouille. It is loosely based on a recipe in Rima and Richard Collins' The New Orleans Cookbook. I find it highly satisfactory. And by the by, I thicken with file powder, not okra.
PS--The way we come up with our menus is through two indices. One contains quicker preparations for weeknights, and the other more intensive dishes for the weekends. Each index contains close to 200 recipes on small notecards. We simply prepare whatever dish comes up next in the index and circulate the most recently prepared recipe to the back of the index. This obviates having to decide what to prepare for dinner, and because of the extreme variety of the indices, guarantees that we'll always be eating something that is fresh and distinctive. It's a great system for us.
Most shellfish are scavengers, of that I am aware. I try to get my shellfish farm raised as opposed to wild caught, like my crawfish tails which come from a farm in Louisiana. You know they haven't been eating who knows what. Tuesday night I got my usual crawfish tackle box from Popeye's and not saying they weren't good, immediately noticed the difference. Meaning they were cheaper Chinese ones, which are a different species altogether from our homegrown mud bugs and definitely not as tasty.
Regarding shellfish, I'm not particularly fussed by what they eat (hell, I love catfish, after all), but what they are. Logically, if I ate clams I would have to eat escargot as well, and I'm not about to do that. And you can evidence similar, even less appealing analogues for various other shellfish. But I wouldn't want to detract from anybody's enjoyment of shellfish so I'll just clam up.
I am also a heathen, but I think we're talking cross purposes.
I would rather mindlessly enjoy my shellfish than get the details. But I have to ask since this particular shellfish has come up- are you saying "if it smells like fish, do as you wish. If it smells like abalone, leave it alone" ;) :))
;)
Asparagus with ham and Hollandaise
I'm not going to explain how to make sauce Hollandaise, you can find recipes for that elsewhere ;)
The asparagus used for this recipe are the white ones, not the ones that come in cans but those grown under the ground so that they don't produce chlorophyll (not sure if they are easily available outside this area to be honest). They are very different from regular asparagus, taste a bit more earthy if that makes sense. Peel the asparagus and cook them in an upright position in a deep pot with water, salt and a bit of sugar for 15 minutes. Afterwards, wrap each asparagus in ham and pour hollandaise on top.
Looks something like this
It's a delicacy I doubt I'll ever get the chance to sample.
If you didn't know this already, according to one text I read, "to cultivate white asparagus, the shoots are covered with soil as they grow; without exposure to sunlight there is no photosynthesis, and the shoots remain white in colour." By that, I would guess that the sun has everything to do with not only color, but texture and taste as well. The same text says that there is another variety- "Purple asparagus differs from its green and white counterparts, having high sugar and low fiber levels. Purple asparagus was originally developed in Italy and commercialized under the variety name "Violetto d' Albenga." Has anyone ever had that variety?
Personally, when I tried asparagus, I found it to be a bit too bitter for my palate. Obviously it depends on your taste buds, as my brother feels differently. If you've heard of a dish called "Veal Oscar", which consists of sauteed veal cutlets topped with crab or crawfish meat, bearnaise sauce, and asparagus spears, that how I am used to seeing it eaten. My Mom used to make it once a month when we were growing up, and it's a delicious dish if you're a veal lover. Asparagus is also very popularly seen in Chinese stir fry dishes.
This weekend is crawfish fest in my home, which will consist of my first attempt at the infamous New Orleans Jazzfest dish called Crawfish Monica, plus crawfish/andouille quesadillas which my boy and I absolutely adore. More details and pictures to come, along with that discussion of apples I promised.
The Portuguese and their style of cooking have definitely influenced my favorite cuisine, particularly the more diverse Creole end. The use of the "holy trinity" (onions, celery, and bell peppers) is attributed to the immigration of the Canary Islanders. Other influences generally credited to the Portuguese, as well as the Spanish and the Italians and there is no distinction made here, is the use of certain peppers, tomatoes, rice, citrus juice marinades, and certain types of beans. I haven't yet found something I can specifically attribute to the Portuguese, but such dishes I'll get into at one point like grillades (slow cooked veal, pork, or beef chops in a rich Creole style tomato sauce, similar to a Swiss steak) and jambalaya (rice and whatever meats or seafoods you like mixed up together) are attributed to the Spanish. The famous "muffuletta" sandwich with with layers of marinated olive salad (olives diced with the celery, cauliflower and carrot found in a jar of giardiniera, seasoned with oregano and garlic, covered in olive oil, and allowed to combine for at least 24 hours), mortadella, salami, mozzarella, ham, and provolone is probably the most distinctive contribution of the Italians. Cajun cooking is much more based on the ancestral Acadian French style and relatively free of the myriad Creole influences, adapted for whatever is locally available, and tends to be spicier and makes use of the cayenne pepper and Caribbean and Mexican peppers like the jalapeno and habanero. I've bene given to understand that chile and other hot peppers were native to the Americas and unknown to the Europeans until colonization began, but that Portuguese traders were more instrumental for spreading them worldwide than any other people.
The overlap of Cajun cooking into Creole is attributed to the legendary Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme, for whom I have a wonderful recipe he calls "Velvet Shrimp" which I will share one day. Most dishes you can tell as far as what is Creole and what is Cajun, some are more recent creations that combine and are popular with both.
@Ludovico- I didn't forget about that paella. One day I am going to do your Dad's recipe :)
I agree with you about the spices and the variety being a worldwide contribution by the Portuguese, but as far as the rice, marinades, and beans, I feel it would be difficult to separate the Spanish from that discussion. They also use these items extensively and were actually the first Europeans to settle the area, followed closely by the French Acadians.
P.S- My first try at Crawfish Monica was a big success and my son said so too! Pictures and the recipe coming tomorrow !
You can also make white asparagus soup. If anyone is interested I may find time to post a recipy.
Here's my new love Monica ;)
You should rename it the Monica Bellucci version; it is tempting and beautiful!