Italian Food

When I first became seriously interested in food I was a devotee of Julia Child and French cuisine. She introduced fine cooking in the French style in her first book Mastering the Art of French Cooking. That tome is as fresh and exciting to read and cook out of today as it was trendsetting when it was introduced in 1961. Every serious cook should have a copy of at least Volume 1 on their bookshelf.

However, over the years I tended to cook more in the Italian style than French, and I think purchasing my first pasta machine was the catalyst for my conversion. That was in the early 1970s when we were living on a small homestead indulging in a diversified agricultural experience raising everything from goats, chickens, ducks, sheep, pigs and a cow to fruits and vegetables of all kinds. We made our own cheese, churned butter, raised veal and pigs for slaughter, put down barrels of cider and cured bacons and hams. We wanted to make everything from scratch, so we scrapped up $35 and bought a pasta rolling machine. (Today I want to roll out the dough by hand, but that’s another article).

The Italian cookbook that inspired me was Marcella Hazan’s The Classic Italian Cookbook published in 1973. She emphasized local, seasonal ingredients and simple recipe construction that matched the Italian approach to meals of a primo, or first course such as pasta or risotto, followed by a secondo, or second course, usually the protein course consisting of meat, poultry or fish, with a contorno, or side dish like a cooked vegetable or salad.

While I followed Marcella’s recipes and loved the food, it was only while visiting Italy that I realized what Italian cuisine is all about. In Italy the past is a part of the present. They have a long culture stretching back for centuries, and for much of those years Italy was a series of towns and valleys that developed regional traditions and recipes based on what was locally available. In their food, their art, their way of life, they honor past traditions while carrying forward recipes and food preparation techniques that are rooted to the land and the sea. Everywhere one travels in Italy, small gardens and backyard food raising operations are common. Game is still a source of local recipes and local fish proliferate, both fresh and salt water, depending on the region. Many people forage for wild vegetables and mushrooms, and all the good truffle grounds are long ago spoken for.

One goes to the market every day, not a supermarket, but to the bread store, the fruits and vegetable store, the butcher’s or fishmonger’s or pasta maker’s store. One purchases items that are “nostrano” which literally means “local,” but is derived from “nostro” or “ours.” I always shopped as early as possible, as Italians are looking for the best of whatever is offered, so the earlier one arrives, the better chance of finding something truly unique.

Pride in local products is central to the Italian experience, so if you get a chance to visit there, do so, and enjoy the different pace of life as well as the truly delicious food that literally is everywhere.

There are lots of recipes for Sauce Bol0gnese, but here's one I've been using lately, an adaptation of a recipe by Anne Burrell, with whom I cooked in New York city.

Sauce Bolognese

* 1 large onion or 2 small, cut into 1-inch dice
* 2 large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch dice
* 3 ribs celery, cut into 1-inch dice
* 4 cloves garlic
* Extra-virgin olive oil, for the pan
* Kosher salt
* 3 pounds ground chuck, brisket or round or combination
* 2 cups tomato paste
* 3 cups hearty red wine
* Water
* 2 cups milk
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 3 bay leaves
* 1 bunch thyme, tied in a bundle
* 1 pound spaghetti
* 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
* High quality extra-virgin olive oil, for finishing

In a food processor, puree onion, carrots, celery, and garlic into a coarse paste. In a large pan over medium heat, coat pan with oil. Add the pureed veggies and season generously with salt. Bring the pan to a medium-high heat and cook until all the water has evaporated and they become nice and brown, stirring frequently, about 15 to 20 minutes. Be patient, this is where the big flavors develop.

Add the ground beef and season again generously with salt. BROWN THE BEEF! Brown food tastes good. Don't rush this step. Cook another 15 to 20 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and cook until brown about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the red wine. Cook until the wine has reduced by half, another 4 to 5 minutes.

Add water to the pan until the water is about 1 inch above the meat. Toss in the bay leaves and the bundle of thyme and stir to combine everything. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. As the water evaporates you will gradually need to add more, about 2 to 3 cups at a time. Don't be shy about adding water during the cooking process, you can always cook it out. This is a game of reduce and add more water. This is where big rich flavors develop. If you try to add all the water in the beginning you will have boiled meat sauce rather than a rich, thick meaty sauce. Stir and TASTE frequently. Season with salt, if needed (you probably will). Simmer for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. About 1 1/2 hours before the end, add the milk in place of the water. The last 30 minutes add the cream.

During the last 30 minutes of cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat to cook the spaghetti. Pasta water should ALWAYS be well salted. Salty as the ocean! TASTE IT! If your pasta water is under seasoned it doesn't matter how good your sauce is, your complete dish will always taste under seasoned. When the water is at a rolling boil add the spaghetti and cook for 1 minute less than it calls for on the package. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.

While the pasta is cooking remove 1/2 of the ragu from the pot and reserve.

Drain the pasta and add to the pot with the remaining ragu. Stir or toss the pasta to coat with the sauce. Add some of the reserved sauce, if needed, to make it about an even ratio between pasta and sauce. Add the reserved pasta cooking water and cook the pasta and sauce together over a medium heat until the water has reduced. Turn off the heat and give a big sprinkle of Parmigiano and a generous drizzle of the high quality finishing olive oil. Toss or stir vigorously. Divide the pasta and sauce into serving bowls or 1 big pasta bowl. Top with remaining grated Parmigiano. Serve immediately.

A summer classic is basil pesto. While I made some pesto with store bought basil, because it does give us a hint of spring when we eat it, I believe that the summer basil that we grow in our garden, coupled with our own garlic, makes a better sauce. The recipe is the same for winter or summer basil.

Pesto

3 cups fresh basil (2 to 2.5 oz)
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons pine nuts (or walnuts)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
2-3 tablespoons Percorino Romano cheese, grated

Place the basil, garlic, pine nuts and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Puree the basil and other ingredients and slowly drizzle in the olive oil until a slurry develops. Remove the slurry to a boil and stir in the cheeses to thicken the sauce. If not using right away, place in a small bowl and cover completely with olive oil so the pesto retains in bright green color. Otherwise it will turn black on the top. When ready to use, stir in the oil and spoon over pasta, use on a sandwich or whatever.

Winter Salads

I know it’s the middle of the winter and having a salad with supper poses a problem for guys like me who want to keep their dietary intake to local foods. However, in an attempt to control our weight and eat healthy during this season when we tend to be less active outside, we eat more green salads and less starches like potato or pasta with whatever protein we are having.

High quality supermarkets like the Hanover Cooperative Society carry numerous types of lettuces, most being imported from California right now. A recent trip to the market revealed green and red leaf lettuces, Boston or Bibb lettuce, romaine, endive, radicchio, watercress, arugula, baby spinach, mache or lamb’s lettuce, iceberg, escarole, mesclun, and curly endive or chicory. Sometimes they have frisee, also, and while I like them all, this time of year I prefer the heartier Boston, escarole, romaine, radicchio and endive.

I use Boston lettuce on my sandwiches I take to work, and in salads combine it with some crunchy chopped romaine, which contains both green and white leaves, and bitter chopped radicchio and endive with their red and white colors. You can add other salad ingredients like cucumbers, grated carrots, tomatoes and the like, but we usually just add some toasted pumpkin seeds, grated cheese, perhaps some left over bacon, crumbled, or sauted onion which has been allowed to cool. We’re also partial to Caesar salad, which is just romaine, home-made garlic croutons, grated or slivered Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese with home-made Caesar dressing.

I recommend you make your own salad dressings versus what you can purchase at the grocery store. I counted 18 different salad dressings at the Coop, and only two didn’t include some industrial food additive of one kind or another. The major national brands like Kraft and Wishbone were laden with multiple additives with high fructose corn syrup being the number one ingredient in many of their dressings. Only two dressings contained no additives, and popular brands like Annie’s, Drew’s and Newman’s only included xanthan gum, a polysaccharide used to promote viscosity, in small amounts,

While I will admit that I have a bottle of Annie’s Golden Goddess dressing in my refrigerator, I prefer to not ingest food additives of any kind, so I almost always make a dressing for our salads. There are two types of salad dressings, vinaigrettes and those based on mayonnaise, unless you just want to splash on a little extra-virgin olive oil and some good red wine vinegar with a dash of salt and pepper.

Vinaigrettes are a combination of olive oil and vinegar, usually in a proportion of 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. The oil is slowly added to the vinegar while whisking until an emulsion is formed. While this emulsion will be temporary, if you add a small amount of Dijon mustard, the emulsion will last longer and it adds a nice sharpness to the results. Fresh herbs can be added as well as salt and pepper.

A Caesar dressing can be made by hand or in a food processor. Caesar dressing is made with raw eggs, however one can place the raw eggs in boiling water for 1 minute to kill any salmonella bacteria, if you are not sure of your egg’s origin.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 Tbl brown sugar or maple syrup
1 garlic clove, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 Tbl Dijon mustard
1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar
1 cup blended oil
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

If making by hand, add mustard to minced garlic & shallots, whisk in the balsamic vinegar and slowly whisk in the oils to form an emulsion. Season with salt & pepper, adding brown sugar or maple syrup to taste.
Or,if using a food processor
grind garlic and shallots in food processor. Add mustard and with the machine running pour in the balsamic vinegar. Slowly drizzle in each oil in turn to form an emulsion. Add the brown sugar or maple syrup to taste. Season with salt and pepper.

Caesar Salad Dressing

1 egg yolk
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. hot sauce
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
A handful of Parmesan cheese
6 anchovy fillets
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup blended oil
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/8-1/4 cup water
salt &pepper

Place egg yolks, lemon juice, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, Parmesan, anchovies and garlic cloves in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Turn on the machine and slowly drizzle in the oils. As the mixture gets thick, thin out with the water to desired consistency. Season with salt as needed, and lots of freshly ground black pepper.

Garlic, Parmesan Croutons

Take some left over bread, remove the crusts, and cut it into 1/2" cubes. Place in a large bowl and pour some extra-virgin olive oil over them. Sprinkle with minced garlic, salt and pepper, and grated Parmesan cheese. Toss everything together well.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Pour croutons out onto a parchment paper lined sheet pan.
Place in top third of the preheated oven. Toss croutons with a spatula every 5 minutes, or until golden brown and delicious all over.
Store at room temperature in a covered container.

Roast Chicken

In July of 2008 I published an article on chickens, their rearing, and where to find a good one. (Click on the July tab). The gist of that article focused on a discussion of factory farm raised chicken vs. local, grass fed, organic poultry, and why I favor the latter. Now let’s review how to take that fine, local bird and turn it into the quintessential chicken dish, roast chicken.

To quote Julia Child from her classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking, “The most important aspect of chicken cooking is that you procure a good and flavorsome bird…A chicken should taste like chicken and be so good in itself that it is an absolute delight to eat as a perfectly plain, buttery roast…” Every cook is judged by the quality of their roast chicken, so let’s look at how we accomplish perfection.

Chickens are available in a variety of sizes from “broilers,” weighing 1 ½ to 2 ½ lbs, “fryers” 2 ½ to 3 ½ lbs and “roasters “ 4 to 6 ½ lbs. The roaster is the preferred size for our application, although a fryer can be used.

If your chicken is purchased fresh, meaning never frozen, great. However most locally raised poultry is only available frozen, except during selected times in the summer. Do not take a frozen chicken and leave it to thaw out on the kitchen counter. You risk disease from bacteria that will grow on the bird during the thawing process, and many of the bird’s juices will leak out, resulting in a dry bird when cooked. Better to wrap your frozen bird in a towel and place it in a container in your refrigerator. It will take two days or more to thaw out, but little, if any, of its juices will escape. Need it sooner than day after tomorrow, place the frozen bird under slow running cold water, and it will be thawed out in 4 to 5 hours or so.

In recent years, many chefs have recommended brining your bird prior to cooking. The brine includes salt and sugar with various herbs and aromatics to flavor the bird. The benefit is that the breast meat, which always cooks faster than the legs and thighs, will not dry out before the bird is thoroughly cooked. While I have tried this method on many occasions, I think the brine alters the taste of the flesh giving it a slightly cured flavor, and the drippings, the bird emits, are diluted by the extra moisture that was absorbed during the brining process. I am cooking my roast chicken without brining.

Step one is to wash your bird under cold running water, both inside and out. Dry the bird thoroughly with paper towels and allow it to air dry for up to half an hour while the oven preheats. A wet bird will not get that gorgeous crispy skin we all enjoy so much.

It is desirable to truss you bird, meaning to tie it up into a compact bundle so it will cook evenly. Many cookbooks describe the various trussing methods, so I refer you to them.

I like to put butter, salt and pepper, and some squeezed lemon, garlic and fresh herbs in the cavity of my roast chicken. Lemon and chicken have a particular affinity, so put the squeezed lemon inside, too.

You can roast your chicken on a rack, however, I scatter some diced onions and carrots over the bottom of my roasting pan to sit the chicken on, and they add taste to the drippings that are the basis for a light sauce. I take a lot of room temperature butter and smear it all over the bird, and baste the bird every 20 minutes or so.

I put the chicken in a hot oven, 450 degrees, for 15 minutes or so before turning the oven down to 375 degrees to finish it. Cook the chicken to 160-165 degrees recorded in the deep part of the thigh. Allow the bird to rest in the oven with the door ajar for 15 minutes or more before carving to allow its juices to settle, and carry over cooking to take it’s internal temperature up to 170 degrees. During this resting, you can make a light sauce from the renderings in the bottom of the pan.

Roast Chicken

½ Cup good local butter, room temperature
4 lb local free range organic chicken
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon
Several sprigs fresh thyme or tarragon or a mixture of both
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
A mixture of ¼ cup each chopped onion, carrot and celery, brunoise

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Wash the bird thoroughly and pat dry. Season the bird liberally with salt and pepper, inside and out. With your hands, smear the butter all over the chicken. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze its juices over and into the chicken. Place the herbs, garlic clove and squeezed lemon halves inside the bird. Truss, if needed.

Brunoise the onion, celery and carrot by cutting into 1/4 “ dice and sautéing in butter for 3-4 minutes. Place chicken on top of the vegetables and place in the preheated oven. Cook for 15 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 375. Baste with the pan juices every 15 to 20 minutes. Cook 40 to 50 minutes more, or until an instant read thermometer reads 160 to 165 degrees when inserted into the deepest area of the thigh, or all juices run clear when deeply pricked with a fork.

Leave chicken in turned off oven with the door ajar for 15 minutes to allow to rest. The chicken should be golden brown with a crisp skin, and the juices in the bottom of the pan will be a nut brown, buttery, lemony mix that when strained and boiled down a little and whisked will make a light sauce to accompany the bird.

Lentils

Winter is upon us and local farm products are limited to stored root vegetables, frozen meats, eggs, cheeses and canned or pickled produce from last summer. This is the season when we turn to beans and other dried legumes for some of our dietary needs, and the variety is pretty broad. I made a chili with Bob’s Red Mill 13 Bean Soup Mix the other day, although it included a number of beans unavailable in New England, it was hardy and delicious.

A legume that is less used in New England than the Jacob Cattle Bean, the soldier bean, the pea bean, the yellow-eye or others that we use in Boston Baked Beans, Maine Baked Beans, or whatever you name your baked beans, is the lentil. Lens culinaris originated in the Near East where it grows with other native grasses like barley. It takes its name from the lens-shaped seeds it produces. As an annual, each plant bears pods that include several seeds, which are rich in vegetable protein. As a legume, its fixes nitrogen in the soil, where bacteria that lives in its roots takes nitrogen directly from the air, making it an important plant that enriches the ground on which it grows, and is ideal for crop rotation.

Lentils, grown primarily in India and throughout Asia, although some of the most famous lentils, like Lentilles Verte du Puy come from the alluvial soils in France, come in two sizes; the larger ones, which have had their husks removed, are light colored or yellow, and the small ones which are brown, pink, grey or green. The most common variety in India is the red or salmon colored lentil, which, when cooked, produces a soft, powdery texture that is popular in pureed dishes and soups. The smaller lentils become tender when cooked, retaining their shape, making them useful in main dishes, salads and casseroles, where they are often pared with pork products like sausages and bacon. Lentils are eaten by mourners at Jewish funerals, along with boiled eggs, as their round shape symbolizes the life cycle from birth to death.

Unlike other dried legumes, lentils do not need to be soaked before cooking, and will be tender in 30 minutes or so of simmering. They readily absorb the flavors of ingredients with which they are cooked or dressed, although their mild, earthy flavor when served alone is appreciated by many.

When cooking, it is desirable to rinse them thoroughly until the water runs clear before simmering. Inspect them carefully as foreign matter like small stones or twigs are sometimes packaged with them. Besides being about 26% protein, lentils, also rich is iron, make a complete protein when paired with other grains like rice. They are rich is animo acids, folic acid, vitamin B1 and minerals, besides supplying dietary fiber. Health Magazine has named lentils as one of the 5 healthiest foods on the planet.

Spinach & Lentil Salad with Bayley Hazen Blue Cheese & Tart Cherry Vinaigrette

yield: Serves 6 as a first course

3/4 cup green lentils
7 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
8 bacon slices (about 6 ounces)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup finely chopped shallot
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup dried unsweetened tart cherries (about 3 ounces)
2 tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 cups baby or regular spinach leaves
1/3 cup blue cheese (about 2 ounces), preferably Bayley Hazen Blue from Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, Vermont.

In a heavy saucepan cover lentils with water by 2 inches and simmer until just tender but not falling apart, about 15 minutes. Drain lentils well in a sieve. Rinse lentils under cold running water to stop cooking and drain well. In a bowl toss lentils with 2 tablespoons vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. (Lentils may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Bring lentils to room temperature before proceeding.)

In a skillet cook bacon over moderate heat until crisp and with tongs transfer to paper towels to drain. Crumble bacon.

In cleaned saucepan heat 2 tablespoons oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking and cook shallot, stirring, until golden brown. Stir in water, cherries, sugar, and remaining 5 tablespoons vinegar and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by about half, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a slow stream until emulsified. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper.

Add half of vinaigrette to lentils and toss well. In another bowl toss spinach with half of lentil mixture, half of bacon, half of cheese, remaining vinaigrette, and salt and pepper to taste.
Divide remaining lentil mixture among 6 plates and top with spinach mixture. Sprinkle salads with remaining bacon and cheese.

Lard

It’s the New Year, 2009, and while we’re all signing up for gym memberships and contemplating our diet and weight loss goals, I’m thinking about a subject that considered out-of-date, bad for our health, and prohibited by dietary canons in some religions. Yes, folks, I’m thinking about lard, a pork product that, despite its reputation as being an unhealthy fat, has applications in today’s cooking that should not be ignored. If you’ve never used lard in pastry baking, you are missing the boat. It is also used as a spread, a preservative, and a cooking medium as well as a shortener.

Lard is rendered pig fat. The pig has various fat deposits within its carcass. The most prized is the leaf lard, which is located within the body cavity surrounding the kidneys. Also known as flare, this fat, when properly rendered, produces the finest lard as it is both white in color and has very little pork flavor, making it ideal to use in pastry baking as it produces flaky, moist pie crusts. I also use this fat when I make blood sausages as it renders almost completely, leaving very little cracklings.

The fat back is found between the pig’s skin and the flesh along the loin. It is a hard fat producing good quality lard. Fat back is cured in Italy into lardo, which is consumed in small quantities as an appetizer. I purchased a small amount of lardo di Colonnata the last time we were in Tuscany and found it absolutely delicious. Fat back is also the preferred fat for inclusion is sausages, and it is used in France to “lard” meats, where long strips of fat are inserted into a lean roast with a special larding needle, keeping the roast moist inside while cooking. Salt pork is produced from pork bellies, which are also the source for bacon.

Caul fat, the thin membrane of connective tissue with deposits of fat throughout is the peritoneum of the pig, covering the organs of the abdominal cavity. This soft fat, used to wrap little sausages and other items, which, when cooked, virtually disappears, is difficult to find unless you know someone who raises their own pigs.

Commercially produced lard is a combination of the leaf lard and fat back, usually rendered either by the wet rendering method, or the dry rendering method. The best lard is produced by wet rendering, where the fat is exposed to hot water and steam. As the fat is insoluble in water it is skimmed off or separated in a centrifuge. Thereafter it is treated with bleaching and deodorizing agents, hydrogenated (which produces trans fats), and emulsifiers and antioxidants are added to make it shelf stable. Due to all this industrial manipulation and adulteration of supermarket lard, I recommend seeking artisan produced lard from a local farmer, or rendering your own.

Lard, like all fats, is composed of large crystals, which make it difficult to cream, but effective as shortening in pastry baking, which is its primary use in this country. Many chefs use a combination of lard and butter in making pastries to benefit from the flakiness produced by the lard with the taste of butter.

In Europe, wet rendered lard is used for deep-frying, and the real English “fish and chips” is made using lard. It has a relatively high smoke point, making it desirable for this application. Dry rendered lard, with is brown color and more porky in flavor is still used as a spread on bread, where it is sometimes mixed with paprika, as in Spain.

If you do come across some local pig fat, chop it up into smaller pieces and place it in a saucepan with a cup of water. Bring to the boil and cook slowly for the fat to render and the water to boil off. Skim out any cracklings and strain the liquid fat into a container, allow to cool and keep covered in the refrigerator.

One note, lard, by weight, has less saturated fat and less cholesterol than butter, and non-hydrogenated lard, has no trans fat, so while artisan produced lard is better for you than the commercial product, it should be used in moderation, just like everything else.

Pie Crust with Butter & Lard

yield: Makes 2 pie crusts (enough dough for 1 double-crust pie, 1 lattice-topped pie, or 2 single-crust pies)

2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup chilled lard, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
5 tablespoons (or more) ice water


Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and lard; using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Add 5 tablespoons ice water and mix with fork until dough begins to clump together, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough together. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into disk. Wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. If necessary, soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

New Year's Eve food

Next Wednesday will be New Year’s Eve and we’ll all be anticipating the arrival of 2009, a new President shortly thereafter, and a new beginning for each of us as individuals and the country. It’s a watershed moment for change, and we celebrate it at our house with an evening of fellowship and food, when we again depart from tradition and honor our national non-cuisine by indulging in a couple of Cajun dishes, a seafood gumbo and a deep fried shrimp dish with an unusual twist.

America is a land of many cuisines, most regional in nature and usually rooted in our immigrant customs that have been adapted to our locally available foods. The Cajuns are an immigrant peoples whose origin was France. Originally these Frenchmen settled in Nova Scotia, where they were known as Acadians. They, however, were driven off their land in 1755, with some returning to France, but others ultimately finding the French colony in Louisiana, where they were welcomed and granted land by the Spanish. The Cajuns are distinct from the Creoles, whose origin is Africa, although their cooking uses many of the same ingredients, most of which are indigenous to bayou regions of the Louisiana delta.

Perhaps the best know Louisiana chef in Paul Prudhomme (no slight intended to Emeril Lagasse) who showcased Cajun and Creole cooking at his K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen restaurant in New Orleans. His most famous dish is blackened redfish, which has been replicated using every imaginable protein available by other chefs across the country. His cookbook, published in 1984, Chef Paul Pudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen, is a compendium of Cajun and Creole cooking, and I have enjoyed adopting recipes from that work using local ingredients. One note of caution; if you have or use his book, his spice mixes, now available for purchase in stores, can be mighty HOT!, so I go easy on the cayenne, as you can always add more if you love the heat.

Gumbo is a spicy soup/stew made with a strong stock, meat or seafood/shellfish, a thickener and the “holy trinity” of onion, celery and green pepper. The basis of all gumbos is the roux, a mixture of roughly equal parts fat and flour cooked until nearly burnt which imparts a deep smoky flavor and rich color to the stew. The Cajuns make a different colored roux for different applications, however for gumbo the choices are dark red-brown roux, or the preferred, black roux, which is more difficult to achieve. I’ll detail the roux making process with the recipe, but a big word of caution is called for as a Cajun roux is the equivalent of napalm if you splash it on yourself, so use a deep cast iron skillet or Dutch oven and long handled wooden spoons or whisks during the cooking process. The fat is heated to almost smoking (500 degrees) and the flour, which has moisture in it, is added in thirds, whisking all the time, or you risk having the fat boil over, possibly igniting and causing a fire. This Cajun cooking isn’t for the untried or the timid, however if you can master this technique, you will be rewarded with some interesting and delicious food.

Coconut Beer Shrimp w/ Sweet & Tangy Dipping Sauce

Serves 6 as a main course or 12 as an appetizer

Seasoning Mix
¾ tbl to 1 ½ tbl cayenne
2 ¼ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp sweet paprika
1 ½ tsp black pepper
1 ¼ tsp garlic powder
¾ tsp onion powder
¾ tsp dried thyme leaves
¾ tsp dried oregano leaves

Beer batter
2 eggs
1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, in all
¾ cup fresh beer
1 tbl baking powder

2 lb medium to large to extra large shrimp, peeled & deveined
3 cups grated coconut, about 6 oz
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Sweet & Tangy Dipping Sauce (recipe follows)

Thoroughly combine the seasoning mix in a small bowl and set aside.
Combine 2 tsp of the seasoning mix with the 2 eggs and beat until smooth. Add 1 ¼ cup of the flour, the beer and baking powder. Mix well and break up any lumps.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining ½ cup of flour with 1 ½ tsp of the seasoning mix. Set aside. Place the coconut in a separate bowl.
Sprinkle both sides of the peeled shrimp with the rest of the seasoning mix. Heat the frying oil in a large pot to 350 degrees.
When the oil is hot, dip each shrimp holding onto its tail into the flour mix, shaking off any excess, then into the beer batter, allowing the excess to drip off, before rolling in the coconut. Cook in small batches until cooked through (30 seconds to 2 minutes depending on the size of the shrimp you use). The batter should be cooked through and the shrimp not overcooked. Serve immediately with Sweet & Tangy Dipping Sauce.

Sweet & Tangy Dipping Sauce

Makes 2 ½ cups

1 18 oz jar of orange marmalade, or 1 2/3 cup
5 tbl Creole mustard (preferred) or good brown mustard
5 tbl finely grated fresh horseradish or prepared white horseradish sauce

Combine all the ingredients and mix well.

Cajun Seafood Gumbo with Andouille Smoked Sausage

Serves 5 as a main dish, 10 as an appetizer

The Trinity
1 cup chopped onions
¾ cup chopped green peppers
½ cup chopped celery

The seasoning mix
1 whole bay leaf
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp white pepper, ground
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp black pepper, ground
¼ tsp dried thyme leaves
1/8 tsp dried oregano leaves

The roux
6 fluid ounces (12 tablespoons) vegetable oil
3/8 cup flour

1 ½ tsp minced garlic
2 ¾ cup seafood stock (recipe follows)
½ lb andouille smoked sausage or kielbasa, ½” pieces
½ lb cooked lobster meat or peeled, medium shrimp
3/8 lb. crabmeat, picked over
½ dozen medium oysters with their liquor, about 5 oysters
1 ¼ cup cooked rice (recipe follows)

Make the seafood stock and prepare the rice for cooking.

Combine the onions, green peppers and celery in a bowl and reserve.

Heat the oil for the roux is a large, heavy cast iron skillet or Dutch oven over high heat, until it begins to smoke, about 5 minutes. Gradually add the flour, whisking constantly with a long handled metal whisk. Continue cooking, whisking all the time, until the roux is a dark, red-brown to black, about 2 to 4 minutes, being very careful to not let it scorch or to splash any on your skin. Immediately add half the trinity vegetables. Cook 1 minute, stirring, and add the rest of the vegetables. Cook another minute or so, stirring, and add the seasoning mix. Stir cooking 2 minutes, add the garlic, cook one more minute and remove from the heat.

Place the stock in a Dutch oven and bring to the boil. Add the roux mixture by spoonfuls, stirring until dissolved before adding more. Bring back to the boil after the last addition of roux and add the sausage, cooking 10 minutes at a simmer. Add the lobster meat, oysters and their liquor and the crabmeat. Return to the boil, stirring occasionally, before removing from the heat, skimming any oil from the surface. Serve immediately with a ¼ cup cooked rice placed in the center of a soup dish, with 1 cup of the gumbo ladled over, being sure to include some of each of the different sea foods and sausage in each plate.

Seafood Stock

Yield: one quart stock

2 quarts of cold water
1 medium onion, unpeeled and quartered, plus any trimmings
1 large clove garlic, unpeeled and quartered
1 rib celery
1 ½ to 2 lbs shrimp shells, lobster shells, crab shells, or fish carcasses

To increase the flavor of the stock, consider roasting the ingredients in a hot oven until caramelized. Place ingredients in the cold water and bring to a boil, skimming any scum that rises to the surface. Simmer from 30 minutes to 4 hours, depending on how much time you have, but the longer the better. If simmering for a long time, replace some of the evaporated water on occasion so that you end up with a quart or slightly more when done. Strain the stock, degrease if needed, cool and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Can also be frozen in ice cube trays for future use.

Basic Cajun Cooked Rice

Makes 3 cups

1 cup uncooked rice
1 ¼ cup seafood stock
2 tsp minced onions
2 tsp minced celery
2 tsp minced green pepper
2 ¼ tsp butter, unsalted
¼ tsp salt
pinch of garlic powder
pinch each of white pepper, cayenne pepper and black pepper

In a mini loaf pan, combine all the ingredients, mix well, and seal well with aluminum foil. Place in 350 degree oven and bake until tender, about 1 hour or so. Serve immediately, however, it will remain hot 45 minutes or so. If done ahead, reheat in a skillet with a pat of butter before serving.

Yorkshire pudding

The holiday season is upon us with the winter solstice, the day the sun is the lowest in the sky and the days are the shortest of the whole year, approaching just before Christmas day. While we love Italian food at our house, we adhere to my family’s English tradition for our Christmas meal when we splurge on a standing rib roast of local, grass-fed beef served with Yorkshire pudding, a dish that uses the rendered fat from the roast to make a starch to accompany the meal.

There are two ways to cook the beef, either using the high temperature approach, which produces a succulent joint with very little drippings, or a low temperature method, which produces flavorful meat with a good gravy. While Mom always used the latter method, I remember the first time I used the high temperature method, my Dad proclaimed it the best roast beef he’d ever eaten. As Yorkshire pudding is eagerly anticipated by my family at Christmas, I’ll use the low temperature method this year, as it is the only occasion during the year when I make Yorkshire pudding, and it really is a treat, besides being a visually spectacular event when the pudding, all brown and risen up in the roasting pan, is pulled, ceremoniously, from the oven to displayed to the seated diners. It rivals the flaming plum pudding we have for dessert.

Yorkshire pudding is comprised of a batter made from eggs, milk, flour, salt and the roast’s rendered fat. Originally the roast would have been cooked on a spit before a hot fire and the pudding would be placed below the roast to catch it’s rendered fat and juices. Today Yorkshire pudding, which is somewhat similar to popovers, is cooked either in the meat’s roasting pan (the method I use) or in smaller round tins to make individual puddings, but this isn’t the authentic Yorkshire method. Traditionally, the pudding was served before the meat with some gravy to take the edge off the appetite. We, however, serve it with the meat as one of the side dishes.

Yorkshire pudding can be very good or a soggy mass of fatty batter. The secret for success lies in a couple techniques that I recommend you follow. First, the pudding batter should be made in advance of its being cooked and it should be covered and refrigerated for an hour or more while the roast cooks. During the meat’s roasting, periodically remove some of the rendered fat to a small bowl and reserve. When the roast is done (and remember there will be carry over cooking when the roast is removed from the oven and allowed to rest, so plan accordingly) remove it to a platter, leaving all the drippings in the pan. Deglaze these drippings by adding some lightly salted water or, better yet, some beef stock to the pan, scraping up all the fond and stuck-on renderings. Pour these through a sieve or China cap into a saucepan. Remove as much fat as possible either by skimming, using a gravy separator, or by placing a sheet of paper towel on top to absorb it. Do not wash the roasting pan.

Return a couple of tablespoons of these drippings to the roasting pan and a tablespoon or two of the rendered fat. Raise your oven temperature to 450 degrees. As you want the roasting pan hot, you can place it over a burner on the stove while you retrieve the pudding mixture from the fridge. Whisk the pudding mixture to homogenize it and pour it quickly into the hot pan with the drippings and fat. Place in the hot oven and cook for 25 minutes until golden brown, puffed up, and crunchy on the top. After displaying the pudding to the eager hoard, cut it into squares and serve with the beef.

Yorkshire Pudding

Serves 12

2 Cups Flour, sifted
1 Tsp Salt
4 Ea. Eggs, well beaten
2 Cups Milk
½ Cup Beef drippings

Combine the eggs and milk. Stir in the salt and flour. Cover and refrigerate the batter will the roast is cooking. Remove the roast from the pan, deglaze the drippings with some beef stock or lightly salted water. Strain deglazed drippings thru a China cap and reserve for gravy making. Pour a couple of tablespoons of rendered fat and enough drippings to make a half cup into the unwashed roasting pan and pour batter into the roasting pan. Bake at 450 degrees until puffed and golden, 25 minutes. Serve with roast beef and/or gravy.