Chicken, Pork and Sausage Pastalaya Recipe

This amazing Pastalaya recipe was given to me by my LaPlace, La. friend and neighbor, Amanda. 

16 Ounces Fettuccine

1 Lb Boneless, skinless chicken meat

1 Lb Smoked Sausage (I like Vernon's)

1 Lb pork tenderloin

1 Medium Green bell pepper- small dice

2 Medium onions – small dice

4 Stalks celery – small dice 

1 Can of cream of mushroom soup

1 Jar of Heinz savory beef gravy

½ can tomato sauce

½ can of Rotel Original diced tomatoes w/ green chilies

3 Cups chicken broth

Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning

Accent

Cut the meats into bite-sized pieces.

Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a 5 or more quart pot and add in the sausage. Sprinkle some Tony's seasoning and Accent on the sausage, brown, and remove to a bowl. Do the same with the chicken and pork and cook until done.

Add the veggies into the pot, sprinkle with the Tony's and Accent, then saute until very tender, about 20 minutes.

Then add in chicken broth, Rotel, tomato sauce, cream of mushroom soup, and savory beef gravy; mix well. Add in meat and any accumulated juices and stir to combine.

Break the Fettuccine in half, add to the pot, stir to combine, and then bring to a boil. Ensure the pasta is covered by the liquid, then cover it. Place the pot into a 300-degree preheated oven, cook for 45 minutes, and check the pasta for doneness. Replace the lid once the pasta is tender, and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve in deep bowls.

If excessive liquid is in the pot, stir gingerly and place it back into the oven, uncovered, for a few more minutes. 

Enjoy!

Soft-Shell Crabs in a Meunière Sauce with Capers

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soft-shell crabs

1/2 cup milk

Kosher salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

4  tablespoons "unsalted" butter, divided

1 5/8-inch slice of lemon

1 Tbsp Capers per crab

Freshly chopped parsley, for garnish (optional)

Place the crabs in a bowl of milk. Season the flour with the salt and pepper. Lightly dredge the crabs in the seasoned flour.

In a wide skillet, melt two tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Place the other two tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.

Melt the butter in the pot and continue to gently cook it until the butter solids turn golden brown. Add in the capers and lemon slice and remove from the heat.

Place the crabs in the skillet with the butter and sauté until golden brown, turning once, about 2-3 minutes per side. Arrange on a platter, and pour the lemony butter sauce over the crabs. Garnish with parsley and/or extra lemon wedges.

Cajun Gumbo Base

Who said that good Gumbo has to be made with a homemade roux. Well I'm here to tell y'all that it isn't necessary and this alternative actually has zero fat and zero cholesterol with only 30 calories per serving.

So why put yourself through all the fuss and mess when you can have great tasting Gumbo with little work in minutes vs. hours.

1 Lbs Cooked Chicken
1 Packet Louisiana Fish Fry Cajun GUMBO Base
1 Lbs. Andouille Sausage
1 cup diced Onions
1 cup diced Green Bell Pepper
2 Celery stalks diced
2 Tbsp Butter
2  Quarts Chicken Broth
Cajun/Creole Seasoning

Cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces and the sausage into 1/3 inch thick  rounds. Fry the sausage to get some nice color.

Place the diced onions, bell peppers and celery and butter into a pot and saute until the veggies are tender and then add 1 1/2 quart of chicken broth and the packet of the Gumbo base and stir to combine.

Add the sausage, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Adjust for flavor and thickness and then add the chicken and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

Add in more seasoning if needed based on personal preference.

If you really want the best, let the pot of Gumbo cool and then refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight but if you do this do not add the chicken until after reheating with 10 minutes to go otherwise the chicken will over cook.

Serve over rice in bowls with a ratio of gumbo to rice 2:1

Fried Soft Shell Crab with Etouffee Sauce and Coleslaw

Fresh or frozen soft shell crabs

1 Packet of Louisiana Fish Fry Cajun Etouffee Base

1-2 eggs

Some milk for the egg wash

Salt and pepper

Flour

Vegetable Oil 

Serve over steamed long grain rice.  (optional) 

Follow the instructions on the packet to make the Etouffee but do not add any of the crab. .

Place a 1/2 cup of flour on a plate, sprinkle well with salt and pepper. Carefully, and without ripping off any of the legs, dredge the crabs in the flour, place into a bowl of the egg wash and dredge in the flour a second time.

Note: Crab meat has a delicate flavor so just use salt and pepper as your seasoning.     

In a frying pan, add in the oil until it is about 1 inch deep. Heat to 350 degrees. 

Gently add the crabs to the now hot oil and fry turning as necessary until golden brown and cooked through. Drain on paper towels.

Barr's Coleslaw with Tomatoes

   

Red or White Beans and Rice Recipe

1 lb. dried premium Great Northern or Red Kidney beans 

3 Tbsp butter

2 cups diced yellow onions

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced green bell peppers

3 bay leaves

1 Tbsp dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2+ Tbsp of diced garlic
1 Lbs. meaty smoked ham hock
1 Lbs. smoked sausage 
1/3 Lbs. pickled pork (optional)

Cajun/Creole seasoning

Steamed rice 

There are three fantastic variations to this recipe. Go to the Notes below for a surprise.

The Night Before -

Place the beans in a large bowl and cover with
salted water by 4" and a healthy dose of salt

Let soak for 8 hours or overnight, sometimes I do it for 48 hours. Drain, rinse 2 times if necessary and set aside.

Boil the ham hock in a saucepan for 50 minutes then add bite sized pieces of the pickled pork (if using) and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Total boiling time should be 60 minutes even if the pickle pork is not used.  Reserve the broth. 

Cut the sausage into 1/3 inch rounds and fry until brown in a large pot (I use a porcelain coated cast iron pot) then remove the sausage set aside.  

Add butter to the pot over medium-high heat. Add finely diced onions, celery and bell peppers to the pot and cook until tender, about 10 minutes adding water if necessary.

Add the bay leaves, parsley, thyme, and garlic, cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the beans, stir. Add water to cover the beans by about 1 inch.  

Bring to a boil, stir again and reduce the heat to a slow simmer uncovered for about an hour stirring every 20 minutes. Make sure you scrape the cooked beans from the bottom of the pot with a wide wooden or plastic spatula. Add water as necessary. 

After 1 hour, remove the bay leaves and add the ham hock and pickled pork along with its juices. 

After simmering for another hour place the hock on a cutting board and separate the rine and bone from the meat. Put the meat back into the pot. 

Simmer until the beans cook down and become  become creamy, adjust the seasonings (if necessary) with Cajun/Creole seasoning.  

But remember, particularly with respect to salty seasonings, you can put it in but you can't take it out so be judicious and sprinkle in a little stir and taste until you are happy. 

Serve over steamed white rice and enjoy with catfish or not - better with! 

Note 1: I was messing around the other day and decided that I'd try something different so instead of using rice for my white beans. I boiled up some Fettuccine pasta, after draining I cut the strands into about 1 inch long pieces and mixed it in with the beans. It was an amazing departure from the standard rice.

Note 2: Serve red or white beans with catfish or any other white fish. 

I saved the best for last so here it is.

Note 3: A Cajun told me to pitch in a few pieces of fried chicken legs and/or wings in the pot of red beans during the last 30 minutes of cooking. Try not to knock off the breading as you stir the beans. When done, remove the chicken to a plate, put down a bed of rice in a bowl, and ladle the red beans on top. There is no doubt that this is the only way that I'll make them from now on. Yes, they were that good!  




  

Muffuletta (muffaletta) Italian Sandwich Recipe

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In terms of its primary ingredients, the very flavorful muffuletta sandwich is not much different than an Italian submarine sandwich, aka, a hoagie or Po Boy.

The traditional muffuletta replaces the condiments like tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, etc. with Italian olive salad.

So what is Italian olive salad?

Well my favorite is Boscoli brand who lists its ingredients as a medley of pickled cauliflower, carrots, celery, green olives, black olives and capers, combined with our special blend of spices and select oils. Note that green olive is the primary ingredient … hence the name – olive salad.

What you will need:

Nice crispy bread
ham
salami
provolone cheese
mozzarella cheese (optional)
Italian olive salad
Before you build your sandwich, spread several tablespoons of the olive salad on both the top and bottom halves of the bread. Cover and let the oil and penetrate into the bread for one hour turning over after 30 minutes.
Then layer the meats and cheeses in the proportions you decide. I like to put down a foundation of ham and salami, then slices of each of the cheeses and continue upwards.

You can eat a muffuletta at room temp or warm in the oven. I always warm mine so you have to build the sandwich on a large sheet of aluminum foil and then seal tightly.

Place the sandwich onto a baking sheet and then into a preheated 400 degree oven for 45 minutes or until the meat is warm and the cheese has melted. Even better, insert the probe of a corded digital thermometer sideways through the foil and into the center of the sandwich. Set alarm for 135 degrees.

Unwrap, slice and enjoy!

Fried Shrimp Sandwich

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The primary ingredients are a quality bread, raw shelled and deveined shrimp, tartar sauce, Knoriko Creole Seasoning and Frank's REDHOT sauce.  The seasoning and hot sauce can be substituted for a brand of your liking. 

The Process:

Make the Tartar sauce:

1/2 cups Mayo

2 TBS finely diced dill pickles

1 TBS White Wine Vinegar 

1 TBS Capers finely diced

1 tsp coarse ground mustard

1 pinch ground pepper

Refrigerate immediately

In a frying pan add enough vegetable oil to cover the shrimp when frying, about 1/2 inch deep should be sufficient.  Heat to 350 degrees.

Measure out enough flour to roll the shrimp in twice and add in enough seasoning based on your particular tolerance for salt. Prepare a pan or shallow bowl and beat one egg with a little milk to make a bath. 

Dry the shrimp on paper towels and coat once in the flour.  Add the shrimp to the egg bath, ensure that they are coated evenly and then immediately return them to the flour mixture for another roll.  

Place the shrimp in the hot oil and fry until cooked through.  This usually takes only a minute or two depending on the size of the shrimp. Remove and drain on paper towels. 

Spread the tartar sauce on the bread, add the shrimp and sprinkle with the hot sauce.  

Enjoy!