Almost the last meal of the year

The weather is officially cold, and most of the time the house is too.  At least I think it is!  Today I decided to make gumbo.  I used to make this all the time, when I used a box mix...tee hee.  Several years ago a friend gave me an authentic New Orleans recipe.  So now I only make this once or twice a year, it takes a long time to prep, and make.  Seriously, prepare to stand in the kitchen chopping for half an hour, and over the stove stirring for an hour, and then you are still not done...I didn't follow the recipe exactly, I never do!  And I realize that I have blogged this before, but it is so fun!

Prep the chicken, season and stick in the refrigerator

Then prep the vegetables and sausage, topping with the seasonings that belong with each step, garlic with the onions, and salt and peppers with the sausage and bay.

Then it's time to start the roux, this takes the longest!

Oil and flour in a pot

stir

when it's brown like chocolate (20-30 minutes later) 

add the vegetables! (watch for the steam!!!!)

Cook for 4 minutes

Then....add the sausage, salt, seasonings and bay leaf

Another 3 minutes

then time to add the water and whisk like crazy to get the roux dissolved!

Bring to a boil then reduce to medium low for 1 hour, stirring occasionally!

Once the hour is up, you can add the chicken, and cook for another 2 hours then skim off any fat that has come to the surface.  Remove the bay leaf.  In the meantime, chop the green onion and parsley.

Remove from heat and stir in the file, parsley, green onion and okra (if you are using this, and oh yes I am!)

You also add the shrimp right now...otherwise it can overcook...Cover, and in 7 minutes this is ready to serve over rice! You can also add some hot sauce if it doesn't already have enough kick!

Enjoy!

Shopping makes me hungry

Today marks the beginning of my month officially off school, and my time to cook and create to my heart’s content!  To mark this occasion we went to the grocery store to shop for this week’s groceries, and a few things I saw that were on sale!

So tonight, I have a whole chicken in the crock pot so I can have some homemade broth for my soup tomorrow, and the chicken will be partly used in my Chicken Taquitos I plan to make, and freeze for our snacking pleasure!

But before I go into all of the deliciousness I made tonight, I must stop, and take a moment to inform everyone of the BEST COOKING STORE EVER!  Bed Bath and Beyond is good, don’t get me wrong, but compared to Cockrell Mercantile…wow.  I had never been to this foodie’s wonderland until tonight.  My neighbor, Vickie, emailed me and asked if I wanted to go “play” after my boyfriend left for work…soooo glad I did.  Not only did I discover this phenomenal grouping of anything-and-everything-you-could-want-and-need stores, I found some truly excellent toys for my kitchen that I couldn’t pass up.  And they were priced right!!!  I got a Pastry Crimper (hello homemade ravioli), an itty bitty spoon for my jars of spices, and a Mellon Baller. 

I highly recommend that you make the time and “Discover a treasure of modern kitchen wares.” I can’t wait to go back again!

All this shopping made me hungry, and eager to try another new recipe.  So tonight I will be feasting on Garlic Scallion Noodles with Shrimp. I originally found this recipe on Week of Menus. I decided to add Shrimp and Mushrooms because I love the combination of garlic, shrimp and mushrooms!

So, to start I had to thaw and peal my shrimp.  I generally try to keep some on hand, frozen, quick peel, and deveined.  While it was thawing I went ahead and started the butter melting, and the mushrooms cooking.  Fresh mushrooms take a lot longer to cook than the shrimp does.

When the shrimp are almost done cooking, add the soy sauce and the brown sugar. Cook for a minute then toss the noodles in and let them soak up that saucy goodness!

After eating I decided that the next time I make this, I’m not using ANY brown sugar, and adding more garlic.

Garlic Scallion Noodles with Mushrooms and Shrimp

8 oz (half a box) of angel hair or spaghettini noodles (I used fettuccini noodles)
4 tablespoons butter (half a stick)
5 cloves of garlic, minced or pushed through a garlic press
2 scallions finely chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 or 2 tablespoons of brown sugar (based on your own personal preference of sweetness)
8oz sliced button mushrooms
1lb frozen quick peeled deveined shrimp

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and rinse.

In a heavy skillet over medium heat.  Melt butter.  Add mushrooms, cook until almost done, (your decision on the doneness, I prefer  a well done mushroom) Add scallions and garlic and shrimp.  Stir and cook, without browning the garlic.  Cook until the garlic smell is fragrant and filling the room and shrimp is done, about 5 minutes (turn shrimp once halfway through).  Add sugar and soy sauce, and cook for another minute.  Increase the heat a bit and throw in the noodles.  Quickly saute the noodles until they are all coated with the garlicky butter mixture.

Serve immediately.  Garnish with additional scallions if desired.