One Pot Meals

Laab

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Some people claim, “I do not care for Asian food.” That’s plain absurd. When I hear that asinine statement, I find eye-rolling to be the best evasive tactic for knocking sense into the commenter with a wok. Simply put: if you don’t like Asian food, I don’t like you (and I think you might kick babies for fun). Asian food hits the mark on nearly every check list: flavorful, cheap, filling, comfort, exotic, depth and complexity of flavors, healthful, vegetable filled, quick cooking, and so on and so on. Most importantly – nearly every ingredient in most Asian dishes (minus meat and noodles/rice) is a CANCER FIGHTER. Good food that fights all the bad shit carcinogens that we cannot help but stuff our faces with in the West? In!

Rant over, for now. Laab is a dish that fulfils all the aforementioned criteria of why Asian food is awesome. Laab is a Loatian dish (Thailand has a version as well) that is nothing short of a damn miracle on a plate. Traditionally, it is made with some animal variety (bawk, quack, oink) – minced or ground – cooked with traditional Asian ingredients. I’m partial to making a huge batch and using it in different applications or freezing it (because I have leftovers so often). I like to make lettuce wraps with lots of crunchy veg on top and serve it with a generous variety of toppings and sauces. You can use whatever meat you desire: pork is most flavorful but least healthful (pork actually has very little nutritional quality), chicken or turkey will be most waist-and-other-diet friendly. I believe I used ground turkey and ground chicken thighs and I did not hear any complaints. The beauty of this meal is that you can indulge and feel damn healthy doing it.

I typically add yellow squash and zucchini to up the nutrition factor. The combo you are trying to achieve is a salty-sweet-spicy-acidic combo that perfectly blends each element yielding a balanced bite that offers depth of flavor. Use your palate and add more sugar if you added too much fish sauce, take down the heat with less jalapeños (I personally prefer to use very little jalapeños in lieu of Sriracha) or give it some extra acidity.

Laab

Serves 4-8

Larb

Two pounds ground pork, chicken or turkey (or a combo or these)

Three Garlic Cloves, finely minced

Two shallots, finely minced

One Yellow Squash, halved and sliced

One Zucchini Squash, halved and sliced 

One Jalapeño, seeded and minced (reserve one quarter unminced for garnish)

Two tablespoons Fish Sauce 

One tablespoon Hoison Sauce 

Good pinch of brown sugar

Juice of one lime (lemon can work as well)

Decent squirt of Sriracha 

One tablespoon vegetable oil (hot chili, sesame and grapeseed oil also work)

Half-cup chopped cilantro

Half-cup chopped mint

Half-cup chopped basil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

One head of lettuce (Boston, Romaine or Butter are my favorite), separated into leave

Garnish 

Veg: Paper thin Radishes, Julienned Carrots and Julienned Cucumbers

Herbs: Mint, Basil, Cilantro

Sauce: Hoison, Soy, Sriracha 

Chopped Peanuts

Crispy Shallots 

Lime Wedges 

Jalapeños sliced very thin

In a bowl, mix the ground meat, garlic, shallots and minced jalapeño. In another bowl, combine a lime juice, fish sauce, hoison sauce, brown sugar and Sriracha and mix well. Heat the oil to medium heat in a large skillet and add squash (if using), lightly salting them. Let them cook about three minutes and remove from skillet. If more oil is needed, add and let heat. Once hot, add the meat mixture and brown over a high heat – stirring to break the mass up. Cook about five minutes or until there is no longer any pink remaining in the meat. Turn heat off, and add the the liquid mixture, the squash and zucchini and herbs to the pan. Mix well then let it all soak in for a few minutes – adjust any seasoning as you wish (and add salt and pepper).  Let stand for 5 minutes. Transfer the meat to a bowl; stir in the herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Prepare the garnish platter of lime wedges, hoison, Sriracha, soy sauce, sliced radishes, julienned carrots and cucumbers, fresh mint, basil, and cilantro, crispy shallots, Jalapeños and peanuts. Serve with lettuce as a build your own lettuce wrap.

Man Mussels

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Man Mussels

I’ve never been particularly ‘girlie.’ Try as I might to emulate Audrey Hepburn’s elegance, chromosomes had other plans for me. I am not dainty. Nor am I graceful (on the contrary, I’m normally a bull in a china shop).  Sure, I can dress the part as occasion demands, but I am not delicate. I prefer yoga pants to A-Line skirts. I’m so far from subtle that I should probably  reacquaint myself with the definition of the word. Point – yes I have one – is that I do not generally adhere to traditional gender roles because I have a tomboy nature. I have always believed women can do everything that a man does better  just as well.  Given my propensity to not conform to anticipated gender traits, it was slightly shocking to realize that I have a juxtaposed habit of being gender-ly judgmental about food. Something about this dish made me aware of my cognitive stereotyping and categorization of certain foods and dishes according to whether I, quite arbitrarily, deem them masculine or feminine. I was a bit horrified by this realization until I found an ally  in none other than Fabio Viviani who mentioned something about his cookbook incorporating “dainty lady food.” (I would attribute this article, but apparently EaterAustin wants it to be top secret and I cannot find it).

Here is the thing: No matter how many females dominate kitchens or grills around the world, the criss-crossed thought waves that emanate from this brain render grilling as a man’s duty. His skill. His forte. Does that mean that women can’t do it? Hell no! Women can rock a grill as good as any man. Heck, Top Chef mainstreamed women rocking a grill alongside men and beating them! But grilling, to me, has a masculine connotation and is a “masculine” duty. I cook my steaks in a cast iron on a gas stove. Like New Yorkers with their stoves, I have used a grill for storage space before. Kebabs are a manly dish to me (possibly because it is just grilled meat and possibly because – if you have a dirty mind – you can make the argument that they are somewhat phallic). I have an engrained – entirely stereotypical – belief that bacon is ‘manly.’ Maybe, this is because men go ape-shit over bacon. Maybe, it’s because I was not a huge bacon eater growing up and, thus, did not associate it with femininity  – or maybe I jusst have classic ‘Daddy didn’t eat enough bacon issues.’ I will save the analysis for my therapist, suffice it to say bacon is manly. Similarly, I have some weird signal in my brain that goes off when ‘smoke’ is introduced into a dish. Smokey equals manly. Lady dishes are tea sandwiches, clear broths and veluote’s, salads (except taco salads), ceviches and all manner of desserts.  For your sake, I am going to assume that you get the point…

I coined this dish  ‘Man Mussels’ because they are robust and quite the opposite of the delicate white wine garlic-based mussels that are ubiquitous (for good reason). Even when swimming in a flavorful broth, mussels have always come across as delicate and feminine to me. Generally, the liquid is light, crisp and bright and invokes visions of springtime ladies lunching. Doesn’t help that mussels are served alongside dainty little forks. When I conceptualized this dish, I actually intended to make two preparations of the mussels. I wanted the [feminine] preparation incorporating white wine, butter, shallot and other deliciousness. I also wanted to try something new. I had been on a tomato binge recently and wanted to create a tomato-based, robust, smokey, savory and fully satisfying mussel stew (to complement the insanely cold May in Texas). Only the latter preparation happened. The result: “man mussels.”  I threw in all manner of pantry (cannellini beans) and fridge items that either needed to be used (roasted carrots) or added nutrition (kale and spinach) and ate my two pounds of pure man mussels as a stew with homemade French bread for two days…(it would have lasted for three, but I couldn’t stop eating it). Don’t be scared by the number of ingredients – this is incredibly simple to make. You can have your fish monger clean the mussels for you, or you can do it yourself using these instructions. whatever you do – do not eat mussels that have not opened during steaming/cooking and be sure to use the mussels within 24 hours of purchase (preferably within 2-3 hours).

Man Mussels

Serves 4-8 depending on serving size

mussels

Two pounds very fresh mussels, rinsed and debearded

Three cups dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc

One can Muir Glen Crushed Chipotle Tomatoes

One Tablespoon Turmeric

One Teaspoon Thyme

Red Chili Flakes to taste

One Can Cannellini Beans

Three tablespoons Butter

Two Cups Chicken Stock (homemade preferably)

Three slices of thick-cut, applewood smoked bacon, diced

Two large shallots, sliced thinly

Four cloves garlic, minced

Six carrots, previously roasted (optional)

One pint cherry tomatoes

One cup kale (optional)

One cup spinach (optional)

Squeeze of lemon juice

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Fresh Herbs, such as basil or cilantro, to finish (optional)

In a large sauté pan or dutch oven, heat a couple good glugs of olive oil and one tablespoon butter over a medium heat. Add bacon and crisp the chunks, remove from pan to bowl reserving drippings. Add the garlic, thyme, and shallots and sauté until glassy – about five to eight minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil to reduce slightly, then – after a couple minutes – add chicken broth, crushed tomatoes and cherry tomatoes bring to a simmer. Add the turmeric, red chili flakes, remaining butter, salt and pepper to taste and the reserved bacon. Let all that hang out in the pan for a few minutes and then get all glorious, then add beans, carrots, greens and spritz with some lemon. Then turn the heat to medium and add the mussels. They will cook quickly, opening in about two minutes give or take a minute. DISCARD any mussels that do not open – unless you feel like getting sick because that is what unopened mussels can do to you. Remove from heat and serve with fresh herbs and hot, fresh bread.

Meat Sauce

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Taste buds are a funny thing. To say that I was a picky eater during my formative years is a colossal understatement. I subsisted mainly on cereal and PB&H sandwiches (honey girl all the way – to this day I do not touch jelly). Additional food groups, consumed during my youth were: meat and potatoes (English dad), tamales and popcorn (Venezuelan mom) and massive quantities of pasta (swimmer). As an early-college student I lived off of pretty pasta, cereal, PB&H, Totino’s pizza rolls, Taco Bell (a fact which is possibly one of the greatest regrets of my life to date) and Chick-fil-a. The list of foods that I would not eat was as long as the Monday after the Superbowl until my mid-twenties. On that list: any tomato-based sauce.

I never ate tomato sauce. EVER. I ordered pizza sans sauce. I pitched fits, reusing to eat anything that I even thought included tomato sauce (this lead to many full-blown tantrums over lasagna that I refused to eat even out of politeness at friends of my parents). In all fairness, my tomato sauce aversion was not irrational picky-ness. When I was 11, I got the flu after spaghetti night and threw up red sauce for three days (all over white carpet much to my mother’s dismay). From that day forth,  the sight of tomato sauce sickened me. Until the past year. I started small, eating my pizza with a light layer of tomato sauce, dipping my Rocket Pockets in Meaty Porcini Marinara and eating copious amounts of tomato soup. But recently, I have been on a full blown tomato-based sauce kick. I have experimented with Pomodoro sauce, but my biggest craving (and it is a damn strong one) has been for meat sauce. So strong this craving has been that I made meat sauce four times in five weeks (and hoarded every batch). This intense craving is [thankfully] not pregnancy craving-related, so I have only by taste buds to blame – however bewildered that makes me (and anyone who has known me longer than a year or two).

I have altered the versions a couple times and each one has been sensational. I personally like my veg to be a little less processed because I like to bite into a carrot every now and then, but feel free to process the heck out of the veggies to make the sauce more silken. I added miso paste to two batches to up the umami factor with very tasty results. Between the umami-packed miso and the Parmesan cheese rind, which lends a unique depth of flavor that cannot be emulated, the meat sauce has that awesome “Je ne sais quoi” quality that coaxes you to have bite after bite. Whether that is a good or bad thing is up to you (I do know that I have put on some pounds that are directly correlated to my increased sausage intake). Feel free to include miso and rinds if you have them on hand, but the meat sauce will be just as spectacular in their absence. Brief side note, you can now buy Parmesan cheese rinds at HEB.

In an effort to cut calories and ingest something of nutritional value, I typically eat my meat sauce with spaghetti squash versus pasta. Feel free to use fresh or dried pasta, squash, polenta or baked potatoes as your meat sauce vessel. I actually ate meat sauce soup on a least 10 different occasions. Don’t judge – I  love my meat.

 Meat Sauce 

Serves 4-6 (or one if you are me)

meat sauce

One medium yellow onion

One and one-half large carrots, peeled and cut into one-inch pieces

One celery stalk, cut into one-inch pieces

Ten garlic cloves

One 28-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes

One pint Cherry Tomatoes, divided

One-Fourth cup Olive Oil

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper To taste

Crushed Red Pepper, to taste

One-Half Cup Flat Leaf Parsley

Two Tablespoons Fresh Oregano

One pound hot Italian Pork Sausage (bulk or removed from casings)

One pound ground beef

One tablespoon tomato paste (plus a squeeze or two more)

One scant tablespoon Miso Paste (mellow) Optional

One Parmesan Rind (optional)

Two cups water (or beef stock)

One spaghetti squash, halved, seasoned and roasted

Ten Basil Leaves, Julienned

Three-fourths cup Pecorino Romano

In a large food processor, pulse onion, garlic, celery, carrot, oregano, and parsley and pulse until finely ground.  Transfer to a small bowl and reserve. Using the food processor, puree the tomatoes (juices included) until smooth. Heat oil in a large dutch oven (or other heavy pot) and add sausage and cook until browned (about four minutes). Add beef seasoned with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning (latter being optional) and brown until no longer pink. Transfer meat to a plate using a slotted spoon and reserve. Add reserved veggie mix to the pan, season with salt, and cook for about eight minutes (stir often). Combine tomato paste with one cup of water (or stock) in a small bowl and add to the pan, scraping the bottom bits. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is nearly evaporated. Add tomato puree, crushed red pepper, half of the cherry tomatoes, one [additional] cup water – or stock – and the browned meat to the pan and bring to a boil. Upon achieving a boil, immediately reduce heat to a simmer. Add more water as necessary to ensure that the meat remains nearly submerged the entire cooking time.

Once the meat sauce has simmered for two to three hours, add the cheese rind and miso paste if using. Check for salt and pepper content and adjust as necessary throughout the cooking process. Simmer for an additional two to three hours and remove from heat. Roast remaining cherry tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper whilst the squash is roasting. Serve with roasted spaghetti squash (or other meat sauce vessel of choosing), topped with Pecorino Romano and Basil.

Southwest Chicken Chile Stew

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Accidents happen. Luckily, those accidents can sometimes turn out better than original intention. Take,  for example, this stew. It was an accident and the direct result of indecisiveness. It is also example of one of the [very] few times that indecisiveness has worked in my favor. Almost like the light bulb went off in the pan. To be fair, the ridiculous sale ($1.50/lb) that Whole Foods had on organic, bone-in chicken breast was also to blame as I bought enough to feed an army with virtually no free freezer space. I needed to make something that used a large amount of chicken and, preferably, something I could eat all week and freeze – most likely in someone else’s freezer –  if there was any remaining. I was torn between making a green chili chicken stew, which I love ( and also because my mom just passed off a Costco-sized jar of green chilis to me) and making something similar to Red Lentil and Veggie Soup (because it was so damn good the first go round). The result was that many of the same ingredients went into the pan with southwestern spices versus the Asian infusion that made the lentil soup delightful. That said, southwest spices are something to write home about as well so everyone wins. The addition of corn, spinach, and kale  (and my need to remove stuff from the freezer to accommodate the copious amounts of chicken I had purchased) also had a hand in steering me away from green chile chicken. However, I did use a hefty amount of green chilis in a futile attempt to put a dent in the ones given to me. In the end, the accidental stew turned out quite robust and flavorful. I hope did the Southwest proud.

Note: The reasons I did not use the same beans was because I only had those two cans and some Garbanzo beans on hand. Use whatever beans you like! Personally, I have a thing for kidney beans – but I do not discriminate. I am a bonafide bean freak. Yes I know, we all know about my obsession with beans…

Southwest Chicken Chile Stew

Serves four-six, plus leftovers

One can each Kidney Beans, Cannellini, and Garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
One bag frozen corn (or canned)
Four bone in chicken breasts
Two cups frozen or fresh Kale
Three cups frozen or fresh Spinach
Six Carrots, cut into semi-thick slices
Two Onions, diced
Ten cloves garlic, minced
Two Bay leaves
Eight quarts chicken stock, preferably homemade
Two tablespoons Ground Cumin (adjust to taste)
Half-tablespoon Cayenne (adjust to taste)
Two tablespoons Ground Coriander
One tablespoon Oregano
Two cups fresh Cilantro
Two cups leftover Spaghetti Squash (optional)
One can Diced Tomatoes with Garlic
One cup (to one and a half) Chopped Green Chilis
Juice of one lemon

 *I did not add celery to my mirepoix which means I must not have had it on hand. Incorporate it if you like.

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper (additional spicing as desired) and brown in a good amount of  oil a large dutch oven. Once browned on each side, remove meat from pan and reserve. Add the mirepoix (carrots, onion, garlic) with a pinch of salt and sauté until onion becomes glassy. Add a cup of the chicken stock and deglaze the pot for a minute or so, then add remainder of chicken stock, the tomatoes, and the green chilis to the pot. Add the cumin, coriander, cayenne, bay leaves, oregano, a good couple pinches salt, and any additional seasoning that you desire. Return the chicken to the pot and simmer, covered, for up to four hours. Thirty minutes before you plan to remove the stew from heat, add in one cup of the fresh cilantro, beans, and the juice of half the lemon. Test for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Ten minutes before removing from heat add the spaghetti squash, frozen corn, kale and spinach. Add additional lemon juice as desired or necessary. Garnish with remaining cilantro when serving.

Curried Red Lentil and Veggie Soup

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Curried Red Lentil and Veggie Soup

This soup is something along the lines of an “East Meets West Minestrone” or maybe  a worldly interpretation of “everything-but-the-kitchen sink” soup; either way, it is a darn successful example of fusion food.  The soup’s benefit list is long: comforting, healthy, nutritious, restorative, flavorful (with anti-cancer spices as well), easy, a breeze to make from your freezer and pantry, affordable…the list goes on. All with just a twist on the every day garden veggie soup. I created this (and in doing so, greatly elevated my self-esteem) to use up A LOT of leftover food including: chicken; chicken stock; cooked squash; zucchini; and, carrots. Then I just added ingredients from the pantry or freezer that are usually on hand and – VOILA! There is one stipulation: you MUST use homemade broth as it will give the soup depth and richness and also is essential for the restorative factor (your body likes what the bones of animals put into stocks). Homemade broth, inclusive of the gelatin that is formed, is incredibly restorative for a tired or aching body (and probably has something to do with the “comfort” in comfort food). Omission of homemade broth will lessen the amazeballs quality that this soup has. And, yes, amazeballs is a legitimate adjective in Andiland.

Note: I made this a while back and cannot recall the exact amount of what spice that ended up going in. The quantities listed below are more like suggestions. If you are a confident spicer, you will know what to do; however, if you follow a recipe to the “t” you may want to start with a bit less, taste along the way, and add as desired. The curry powder is a blend that is Barons Thai Curry Blend Secret #52 (available at Whole Foods). You can substitute your favorite curry powder in its stead. I think the only difference is the presence of onion and red pepper flakes. If you have a Parmesan rind you would like to throw in, go for it – I did not (though I usually do with broth-based soups) and did not miss it one bit.

I really have to make more broth so that I can have this again! Please do not be scared of the long ingredient list – this is a cinch and you just throw stuff in!

There are no pictures of this soup unfortunately. I was too busy eating it to snap a picture. Next time…

Curried Red Lentil and Veggie Soup

Serves Six (unless I am around and that number reduces to One)

Two cans Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
About two tablespoons Ground Cumin
Two Tablespoons Thai Curry Powder (add additional to taste)
Three teaspoons Red Pepper Flakes or Cayenne (optional)
A good pinch or two of Salt (add one first and taste before adding more)
Juice of one lemon 
One and one-half yellow onions, diced
Eight to ten cloves garlic, minced  
One Box (or can) Chopped tomatoes
Six to Eight cups Homemade Stock
Five carrots, sliced and quartered
Two celery stalks, leaves attached, sliced
One Bay leaf
One tablespoon olive oil
One package Frozen 365 Organics Kale
Two Zucchini, cut into quarters  
Three Cups fresh, frozen or dehydrated Green Peas
Two cups (or more) cooked Spaghetti Squash
Two cups Red Lentils, washed well in cold water
One half cup of chicken stock gelatin
Two cups shredded chicken breasts (I had some leftover, but you can also cook the breasts in the soup if you wish)
Black pepper to taste

In large saucepan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, onions, celery and carrots and allow to sweat until onions are glassy. Add the stock and gelatin and bring to a simmer. Add the cumin, curry blend, cayenne, bay leaf, and salt, (which can be pre-mixed in a small bowl) and stir well. Add the lentils, kidney beans, and tomatoes and allow to simmer for about 25 minutes. Check the lentils for doneness (should have about 10 more minutes or so and check the soup for seasoning deficiency (and/or awesomeness). Try to stop testing the soup…it will be hard, but you can do it. Add the chopped zucchini, kale, spaghetti squash, chicken, and a squeeze of lemon (use more or less to taste). After about five minutes add the peas. Serve with whole grain bread or with a salad (or all by its Divine self).

Blonde Gumbo

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Blonde Gumbo

My wonderful friend Bonnie, our resident NOLA transplant, makes the best gumbo! As soon as she gives me her recipe, I will be replacing this one almost immediately. That said, one week I was craving gumbo. I was stressed out and generally when that happens, I spend a lot of time in grocery stores planning a lot of dishes that I will cook for that week. The problem is, naturally, I plan these meals on my day off when I am not as stressed, as tired, or as bogged down by the day-today bustle. This week I planned to make gumbo and eat it for a couple days, in addition to two fish dishes and loads of chicken pesto salad, veggies, and fruit. Sounds great in theory…keep reading….by the time that I got around to making the gumbo my kitchen was nearly packed as I was moving three days later. So instead of working out, doing hour 14 of my 15 hour workday, or packing, I was laboring for nearly an hour over a roux (which I had wrong from the beginning). This is the definition of “rational” in Andiland. Apparently, three degrees and nearly 100k in college costs cannot buy you common sense…but that is another story….

The gumbo came out very tasty – it did not however taste exactly like gumbo due to the roux failing to brown because I was too scatter-brained to do it properly. However, the soup was tasty and gumbo-like if nothing else and there was a ton of it.

Note: As much as I love seafood, I dislike seafood gumbo – crime, I know. I always use or eat chicken or duck and sausage gumbo. Make yours whatever way you like.

Blonde Gumbo

Serves 6

Two cups Roux, recipe follows
Two cups diced onions
One cup diced celery
One green bell pepper, diced
One pound Okra, washed sliced into 1/8 inch pieces
Four tablespoons finely chopped garlic
Three quarts chicken broth (preferably homemade)
One pound Bone In chicken thighs or quarters
One pound chicken breasts, bone in
Three or four links of Andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds, browned in a skillet, and drained on paper towels
Two bay leaves
One tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
One tablespoon (or more to taste) Tabasco hot sauce
Cayenne to taste
A couple good pinches of salt
One tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
One bunch green onion, chopped
Half-cup coarsely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup file powder, or to taste
Pinch each of: Paprika, Oregano, Garlic and Onion Powder (to taste)
Steamed White Rice and Crusty French Bread, for serving

*Make Roux first. I have included Emeril Lagasse’s roux directions, because I am not the person who should be telling you how to make at roux –yet.

Emeril Lagasse’s How to Roux:

3 cups oil
5 cups flour

Place a dutch oven, (or iron skillet with deep sides) over medium heat and heat the oil until just smoking. Whisk in flour, a little at a time and cook, whisking constantly, until roux becomes smooth and thick. Continue to cook, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon and reaching all over bottom of pan, until roux darkens to desired color. Be careful not to produce specs of black. The roux must remain an even color throughout process. If specs appear you must start over.

For a Light Brown Roux, cook the mixture, over medium heat for 1 1/2 hours, or until the color of peanut butter. Remove about 1 cup of the light colored roux, cool completely.

For a Medium Brown Roux, cook the mixture, over medium heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until the color of a copper penny when ready. Remove about 13/4 cups of the medium colored roux, cool completely.

For a Dark Brown Roux, cook the mixture an additional 35 to 45 minutes. The color should resemble dark chocolate when ready. Remove all of the remaining dark roux from the pan and cool completely.

Yield: about 4 1/2 cups roux

NOTE: The timings for various shades of roux will vary depending on the cooktop as well as the amount of roux made. (A smaller amount will cook in much less time.) If this is your first time making a roux, the slower you cook it, the less likely you will be to burn it. The important thing is to cook the roux to the desired color, as specified above.

For Gumbo stew

Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning of choice. Sear chicken on both sides until just brown in a large dutch oven/stock pot, working in batches as necessary. Remove chicken from pan and reserve. Add sausage links to the pan (before slicing them) and brown well. Remove, cool, and slice. Add the roux to the pot and heat over medium heat, adding the onions, garlic, celery, bell pepper and a pinch of salt when hot. Saute for about five minutes.Slowly pour in stock, whisking constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Add the chicken, browned sausage, bay leaves, Worcestershire, Tabasco, cayenne and other herbs and seasonings, salt, and pepper. After about an hour, add green onions and parsley. In a separate pan, flash fry the okra and then add to the soup. Slowly add file powder and sprinkle and stir well for about two minutes. Remove from heat and serve with rice and crusty, hot French bread.

Green Chile Chicken Stew

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Green Chile Chicken Stew

D and I recently upgraded to a two bedroom – meaning my office and one bedroom – house with a yard for Foster Brown. This is an astronomical improvement over apartment living (no offense to apartment lovers – I have only lived in three apartments for a total of three years and there is a reason for that). However, the upgrade was to a house with a small, older fridge and freezer than I have had since….2001? Why did anyone every design a fridge with a freezer on top? Freezer on bottom people! Anyway,  I basically have to cook with a lot of frozen food at the moment and am slowly emptying the freezer to make room for ice trays (yes it is that old and yes I am a bonafide appliance spoiled brat). My mom gave me a bag of homemade (though what home it came from I cannot tell you) green chili sauce and it fell victim to the teeny tiny freezer. The nice thing about freezer cooking is that I basically had everything I need for what I envisioned as “Green Chili Chicken Stew” (which I have been craving since my Mom made Green Chile and Turkey White Bean Chili a few weeks ago). So Monday night after I made my actual dinner, I threw thawed chicken breasts and green chili sauce with other pantry items and let it cook on low heat overnight. Woke up the next day and the house smelled amazing and I had lunch and dinner just waiting to get in my belly!

Note: I did not do this because I honestly did not have time to get to the store, but I planned on adding cilantro and avocado as garnish. I did miss it a little bit – but I am overly enamored with both of those ingredients so you may not.  Also, feel free to use chicken thighs – you will get more flavor out of them. Breasts are a) healthier and b) were in my freezer; but, thighs are tastier and cheaper – your call.

Green Chile Chicken Stew

Serves Four

One whole chicken breast, cut into halves and seasoned with favorite season combo
Two and a half cups favorite homemade Green Chili Sauce
One White Onion, diced
Seven Cloves Garlic, minced
Half-Tablespoon Crushed Red Pepper
Two Tablespoons Ground Cumin
Half Tablespoon Ground Coriander
Salt
Pepper
One half can black beans, drained and rinsed
One can Cannellini Beans (or other white bean)
Two to three cups Chicken Stock (preferably homemade)
One can Whole Kernel Corn

Sear the seasoned chicken breasts in a glug of olive oil. Remove from pan and add onion and garlic and a pinch of salt. Saute until glassy, add beans, corn, chicken breasts, green chili sauce, chicken broth, and spices to the pan. Let simmer for about twenty minutes, then check and adjust seasoning as desired. Let cook up to 10 hours.

Serve with lime wedges, cilantro, sour cream, green onions and/or avocado as garnish.

Roast Chicken

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Roast Chicken

The number of recipes that call roast chicken ‘perfect’ is astounding. Not without reason, well-executed roast chicken is the definition of perfection (the quality or state of being perfect: as. a : freedom from fault or defect : flawlessness). The simplicity of a handful of quality ingredients make roast chicken sing with exceptional flavor, tenderness and juiciness. If you want to hear it hit the Christina Aguilera notes (it is possible that I am watching The Voice in a post chicken coma – I am not actually her PR person), then take the time to brine it, air dry it, stuff it and rest it before devouring it. There were several mishaps along the way to this roast chicken. First, I have never made a whole roast chicken. I think I may have tried once years ago – with decent results – but it was when I was first embarking on my cooking journey and really just don’t remember; ergo, I consider myself a roast chicken virgin and was frantically pulling cookbooks from their current state of disarray after the move to work up a plan when I threw my hands in the air and just made my own – par for the course. Second, I was simultaneously roasting garlic to sweet, gooey perfection for a roasted brussel sprout and asparagus dish and the oil managed to seep out causing the oven to smoke profusely. Third, the oven has not been used, but once since we moved in last week and it was on a cool 500 degrees, so the gas fumes of a rusty oven were considerable. The fire alarms were going off, the dog was freaking out, there are now bugs everywhere, and – in the end – all this means that I opened the oven door more times than ideal (ideal being NONE) when roasting a chicken. You will want to cook yours less (by about five minutes) to make up for the normal Andi shenanigans.

I could eat a hundred roasted chickens, this coming from a girl who really does not care much for chicken. Every recipe is different and every recipe is amazing and I feel like posting roast chicken is somewhat offensive to other chicken roasters. But then, no cookbook is complete without it. The art of chicken roasting depends much less on adherence to recipes and much more on feeling the food, adapting as necessary. Your cooking time will be different with different sizes, as will your seasoning amounts. Brining is an essential part of the roasting process. The longer the better. Overnight is ideal, up to two days just makes it better. After brining, you want to let the chicken air dry in the fridge overnight, up to a day and a half. Both of these steps will help you yield a perfect crispy skin. About an hour to an hour and a half (two depending of chicken size), pull the chicken from the fridge and let sit at room temperature to allow chicken to cook properly. After cooking, you must let the bird rest for at least twenty minutes so that the juice redistributes and you don’t lose all that drippy magic that is soon to be running down your chin.

Use the juice in the pan to make a gravy or just drizzle over the chicken as is. I roast my birds over parsnips (sometimes with the addition of beets and carrots), garlic and onions. Parsnips are better much the best root vegetable in the world and when they cook in chicken fat, they will blow your mind with just how luscious and dang tasty they can be. If I can save any whole ones from my mouth whilst the chicken is cooling, I like to make a parsnip puree to place the chicken atop of – perhaps with some roasted garlic and fried sage and caramelized onion. Drool. Feel free to add carrots, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, or potatoes to your “chicken bed;” alternately, use a roasting pan and rack and avoid the veggies, reserving the jus for gravy.

Note: I used a four pound, organic whole chicken. I also kept the onions and garlic from the roasting pan and made then into a sandwich accoutrement the next day. Toasted whole grain, arugula roast chicken, roasted garlic and onion marmalade sandwiches don’t suck. At all. And now I am drooling again. 

 Roast Chicken

Serves Four, plus some leftovers

Brine

One quart (four cups) hot water

Three Quarts cold water

One scant cup Kosher Salt

One fourth cup Sugar

Boil one quart water, add salt and sugar and allow to dissolve, add cold water and the chicken. Squeeze a tad bit of fresh lemon if desired.

Chicken

Inside

One onion, sliced 

Three celery stalks, sliced

One whole head of garlic, cut in half

Half bundle of Thyme

Three sprigs Rosemary

Kosher Salt (about five tablespoons)

Black or white pepper (around four tablespoons – to taste) 

Two Lemon Halves

Mix all in a bowl well and stuff inside the chicken. Use a toothpick or kitchen twine to close the opening with a small braid or by tying the legs together.

Outside and under skin

Five Sprigs thyme and some chopped rosemary (to taste)

Half stick butter, room temp

Kosher Salt (about four tablespoons)

Black or white pepper (around four tablespoons – to taste) 

Juice of one lemon

Roast garlic-rosemary compound butter would be wonderful if you have some

Combine the butter, herbs, three tablespoons salt and three pepper and mix well. Lift chicken skin and rub the butter mixture all over chicken. Apply rest of salt and pepper to top of skin and spritz with lemon.

Chicken Bed

One white Onion, thick slices

One head garlic, in skins

Four celery leaves, rough chop

Three to Four Large Parsnips, sliced into quarter inch pieces (half the larger pieces near top)

Tablespoon butter

Three tablespoons (heavy) olive oil

Heat roasting pan in the oven at 500 degrees. Add the oil, butter, and veggies (salt slightly). This will sizzle, stir, then top veggies bed with chicken and return to oven. Add broth (or butter) as necessary to avoid burning the veggies (though some caramelization is ideal).

Remove pan from oven after about 45 minutes (a thermostat should read around 160 when inserted into the thickest part of the chicken). Allow to rest for twenty minutes at a minimum to allow juices to redistribute. Carve and serve drizzled with the pan jus (and the onions) as desired.