Long Time, no food posts...

Oops! Post #2 consisting of an announcement of my regret in not posting my most recent meals.

I ended up taking a number of horrible photos of my lasagna- just before it was completely consumed by myself and the hungry inhabitants of my apartment complex. Only one of the photos is even slightly acceptable, as you see.




That said, I've made a number a reasonably delicious foods lately. The one of which I am most proud is my gumbo! Not to brag, but even my Ohio- grown "southern" fellow (who has an authentically southern Mi-maw) loved it! :)


2 sticks butter
3/4 cup flour

1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
4 sticks celery, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

5 cups shrimp stock (I made mine, by boiling the shrimp shells w/ s&p)
1 bottle clam juice

1 (12 0z) frozen chopped okra
1 can stewed tomatoes (juice & all!)
2 cups smoked sausage
2 Tablespoons Bay Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
4 bay leaves
2 Tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 Tablespoon garlic salt

2 cans chopped clams (juice & all!!!)
2 (16 oz) bags frozen raw shrimp (make sure to remove all inedibles- i.e. shells...)


Melt the butter in a large, heavy bottomed pot, then add the flour. Heat, stirring frequently, until roux is deliciously dark-ish brown. Note: If you burn the roux, it'll all taste bad. Unless you like the taste of Carbon all through your food (I don't). I'm only saying this because I've done it before. It was a very sad, carbony, UNsavory day in my kitchen. You can't fix it. Honestly? I'm not even sure the Neely's, Paula Dean, or Alton Brown could fix burned roux... And we all know how highly I think of A.B. That man can do almost anything with food...

Ahem. Back to my gumbo....

Once you have a beautiful roux... add the veggies, namely the onion, celery, and bell pepper. Cook about 10 minutes, or until barely translucent and add the garlic. cook another few minutes, then SLOWLY add the liquids (shrimp stock & clam juice, including juice from the canned clams- reserve the clams themselves for later! Overcooked seafood is gummy, chewy, unhappy seafood).
Add the okra, tomatoes, sausage, and spices. Cook about 30 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients, which should only amount to the shrimp and clams, at this point, and cook until the raw shrimp turn a pretty pink. Watch the shrimp! They only take a few minutes to cook, and again, if you overcook seafood, it gets cranky, which will make you cranky. and your guests cranky. Can't say I didn't warn you.


I ate my gumbo as they do in L.A. -that's Lower Alabama- over rice, and was soon consumed by the warm, cozy feeling that only perfectly executed gumbo can provide.

As I'm not *hugely* tolerant of super-spicy foods, my recipe only has a moderate amount of spice to it, so if you use this recipe, be sure to alter it to your tastes. Level of Spice is just so relative!

In my seafood-rice-spice-food love craze, I didn't have the sense to take pictures. My house smelled too good and my brain turned off. I'm actually pleased that I even remembered everything I put in that pot... Hopefully I'll have my wits about me next time I make this.

Soon to come:

Vanilla Rice Pudding
Crab Rangoon
crepes???

Garfield speaks...

You'd think that for someone with as passionate a love for food as myself, I would be posting mroe often. Alas, I have been so busy I haven't been able to be creative in the kitchen. I've been living off of vegetarian hot dogs (I love meat, but these are delicious!), packages of flavored noodles, and canned soup. I can't wait until March 18, when I will suddenly be greeted by an excess of free time and the possibility of working with food- for pay! :)

On another note, I was delighted this morning to find a box of lasagna noodles, complete with a recipe on the back. I've decided to create my own recipe this evening, and since my neighbors are donating half of their ground beef to the project- while using the other half to make their own dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, I feel no obligation to tend to the flavor wishes of anyone but myself. How exciting!

I'll be sure to post the recipe I come up with, along with pictures later today, or tomorrow, should I get too sidetracked. I have a number of additional updates to post as well, but again, they may have to wait until tomorrow, as I'm feverishly busy today.

Until later...

Taste of New England...

I decided this week to spoil myself a little. It's been a stressful week, and nothing de-stresses me like some well cooked seafood (except maybe a good work out). I bought 2lbs of catfish nuggets. While catfish nuggets lack the aesthetic beauty and simplicity that a full fillet has, I usually buy the former due to the cheaper price tag (the fillets were $6.99/lb. nuggets? 3.45/lb. Come on now. It's the same fish). Only one downside I've ever found: sometimes, just sometimes, there are bones. Something to be aware of, not worried about- just check the pieces before you toss them from the prep to cooking.

Anyway, the original thought with catfish, was to fry it. I love love love Andy's seafood seasoning (no, not an exclusive friend-made magic mix- it's a brand name pre-made seasoning! usually found in the seafood dept. of your grocery store.) for coating catfish just before frying it to perfection. Super simple, super tasty. Just for the heck of it, I'll type up that as a recipe:



Perfect Fried Catfish

1 egg, beaten
Andy's seafood seasoning
~1lb catfish
oil for frying

Heat about 1/4" oil in a frying pan until rippling (but not smoking!). Dip the fish in the egg to coat it, then coat in the seafood seasoning. Place the now coated fish in the pan (it will sizzle & may spray), cook until golden brown on each side and cooked all the way through (time depends on size of fish fillet/nugget, so I'm refraining from putting a time here. Catfish will be completely white all the way through, without being dry when cooked correctly).

I did this with about half of the catfish, last night, but I still had a ton left a day later. Now, I grew up in New England, and if there's one thing I learned about food while growing up, it is this: cook and eat your seafood within a day or two of buying it or don't eat it at all! I couldn't let it go to waste, and had been planning to make clam chowder later in the week, so I adapted my plans for the clams and cream and grabbed a few other things from my kitchen. In the end, what I came up with left me with that amazing comfort food feeling.

Seafood Chowder

• ~12 cocktail sausages, cut into thirds
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 T butter
• 1 T peanut oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 large red potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 cups water
• 1 (8 oz) bottle clam juice
• 1/2 tsp each: salt & pepper
• 1/2- 1 lb catfish nuggets, cut into bite-size peices
• 1 lb shrimp
• 2 (6.5 oz) cans chopped clams in clam juice
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 c. frozen corn
• seasoned salt
• fresh parsley, chopped

Cook the sausages until browned slightly, then add onions and oil. Cook until the onions are almost transparent and add the garlic and potatoes. Add water, clam juice, salt and pepper. After a few minutes (3-5) add the catfish. Cook for another 5 or so minutes and add the shrimp, milk, 1 cup of the cream and the clams- everything in the can! juice & all! Simmer for 10-15 minutes more, or until the seafood is fully cooked. Add the corn, seasoned salt and parsley to taste, cook for 2 more minutes, and Enjoy!

*sigh*

I have always loved fried chicken. Be it KFC, Popeyes, homemade, you name it- if it is battered, crispy, salty and juicy I will put away as much of that chicken as a 280lb NFL player. I like to make my own fried chicken in the oven.

That's right. I bake my "fried" chicken.


Sorry guys. It's healthier, tastier and heck, *I* think its crispier. Not to mention- who wants to heat up all that oil and risk burning yourself, making a mess, or who know's what else. I LOVE fried foods- don't get me wrong!- but I only whip out my deep fryer on rare occasions when I'm having a terrible sad craving for fried goodies (usually occurs with wontons, crab rangoon, fried calamari, or veggie tempuras- yum!!!). And you'll be a monkey's uncle before you'll see me use that peice of machinery when one (or more) of my more rambunctious associates is around. The very thought conjures up disturbing images of a flame- filled kitchen, the likes of which only my dear college acquaintances could achieve. (I am NOT making cake with you for a while. You know who you are. I don't need my living place to look like a scene from The Day After Tomorrow, thank you very much.)

I have to run- things to do- if I have time tonight, I might even post the basic recipe for my chicken...

First and Formost

I must admit that I am no classically trained chef, nor am I a busy mother of three (unless you count cats, as I have two adorable kittens). I am however, a self proclaimed foodie, a declared bottomless pit and most of all a person who loves food more than any normal person I have ever met.

My closest friends all seem to have the same uncanny instinct- to show up at my door around dinner time and casually ask "so...what are you doing for dinner?" This generally results in a short conversation, leading to a dinner sitting either around my eclectic and very blue living room or across the courtyard in front of my friend's very large tv, watching (surprise!) Food Network.

While I am new to this blogging sphere, and likely don't need to post a purpose for my blog for YOU, I am, shall we say, focus-challenged- undiagnosed and jokingly ADD, even. So, for my own peace of mind, I will be using this blog to post my opinions on events, recipes, nutrition and other food-related things. Of course, I will be looking for your thoughts as well! While I love cooking anything and everything, there are most definately things I have NO clue how to do. Oh, and let me tell you something. I am THE BIGGEST foreign food fanatic ever, so if you have something to contribute PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me. You might even become my new best friend.

sugar, spice and TONS of salt...