Cajun Cooking at it's Finest: Part III

    This is a recipe I had been dying to try. During this past summer vacation I even made a batch of Homemade Andouille Sausage, just so I would have all the appropriate ingredients. I made it for the first time about two months ago, but I just didn't have the time to post the recipe. It was so good, I have made it about three times since, and now I am completely out of sausage.
   I figured if I wanted to share it with you, it would have to be now.
This Chicken and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya is delicious. If you get around to trying it, you will not be disappointed.
    In my quest to find this recipe, I came across a few facts that I found interesting about Jambalaya.

     Jambalaya is a meal that is native to Louisiana, and it takes on two forms. The first is the Creole, or “red jambalaya” version. The second is the Cajun version. The main difference is that Creole jambalaya includes the use of tomato and the Cajun does not.
     It’s unclear as to where the word jambalaya comes from. Some say the word derives from the French word for “ham” (jambon), “in the style of” (à la manière de) and ya (which refers to rice in certain West African languages), resulting in jambon à la ya. Others say the word is rooted in Spanish as a combination of “ham” (jamon) and paella. However the dish’s name came about, what is clear is that the dish is a very personal one and renditions of it are made according to how it’s been made at home for generations.
    During Mardi Gras celebrations, a day also known as Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day, many New Orlean's natives gather around their table's to eat this dish. Mardi Gras is a tradition created by French settlers and is intended as a day of indulgence before the fasting period of Lent starts. And can you think of a better meal to have before fasting, than a delicious and messy pot of rice, chicken, and sausage?

Chicken and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya:
(Loosely adapted from Emeril Lagasse's Recipe)

A delicious, One Pot Meal!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 cups chopped onions

3 cups of chopped bell peppers (traditionally only green peppers would be used, but I add all sorts)

2 cups of chopped celery

3 teaspoons salt

3 Tbsp's. of Emeril's Creole Seasoning, aka. Bayou Blast (I always end up adding extra. I like spicy food.)

1 lbs. Andouille Sausage (about 6 links) cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast (about 3 large breasts) cut into 1 inch cubes

3 bay leaves

3 cups medium grain white rice (basmati works really well)

6 cups water

1 cup chopped green onions

Directions:

1) Heat the oil in a large cast iron dutch oven/ or a large heavy bottomed pot over medium heat.
2) Add the onions, peppers and celery along with 2 tsp's of the salt and 1 Tbsp. of the Creole seasoning. Stirring often, brown the vegetables for about 20 minutes, or until they are soft and beginning to caramelize.

3) In a large bowl, add the cubed chicken breast and the remaining Creole seasoning. Stir to combine, and let sit for about 5 minutes to marinade.

5) Add the marinaded chicken to a preheated pan and brown for 8-10 minutes. Set aside.
6) Scrape the bottom and sides of the pot to loosen any browned particles. Add the sausage, chicken and bay leaves. Cook for 5-10 more minutes, stirring often.

7) Add the rice, and stir for 2-3 minutes to coat evenly.

8) Add the water. Stir to combine, and cover.

Before

9) Cook over medium heat for 30-35 minutes, without stirring or removing the lid. After the allotted time, the rice should be tender and the liquid absorbed.
10) Remove the pot from the heat and let stand, covered for 2-3 minutes.

After

11) Remove the bay leaves, and serve.

12) Garnish with the chopped green onion.

* This recipe makes 16 servings.
    There is usually quite a bit of Jambalaya leftover. I often portion out the leftovers into medium sized freezer bags, and put them in the freezer for later. Once the rice has thawed, just fry it in a pan as though it were fried rice. This way there is no wastage and you are left with a convenient meal for a busy week night.

You may also like:
Chicken, Chorizo and Shrimp Paella
Chicken, Shrimp and Andouille Gumbo

Slow Cooker Tex Mex Pulled Chicken

    This is the chicken recipe I use pretty much every time I make Mexican. Whether it be Nachos, Burritos, Tacos, Empanadas or Chimi Changas, this Tex-Mex Pulled Chicken will work well.
    Since this recipe creates a fairly large batch, I like to portion the leftovers and freeze it for later use. This way you can make the most delicious Chicken Nachos pretty much on demand.
   
     
Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Pulled Chicken:

Ingredients:

3 whole ancho chilies
3 whole pasilla chilies
4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
2-3 chilies in adobo
1 small red onion, chopped
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
kosher salt
2 tsps. dried oregano
3 3/4 cup chicken stock or low sodium chicken broth
8 chicken thighs, legs removed and skin off
freshly ground pepper
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick

Directions:

(1) Place the ancho and pasilla chilies, as well as the garlic into a microwave safe bowl.
(2) Microwave on high until soft and pliable. About 45 seconds.
(3) Stem and seed the chilies. Peel the garlic.

Right: Ancho Chili  Left: Pasilla Chili

Slice the chili down the center exposing
the inside. Using the blade of your knife,
scrape out the seeds and veins.

(4) Break down the chilies into smaller. Place the chilies and the garlic into a large food processor or a blender.
(5) Add the chipotles in adobo, onion, 2 Tbsps. of olive oil, honey, cider vinegar, 1 Tbsp. salt, and the oregano to the blender. Purée until smooth.

Chipolte in Adobo.

Before...

After

(6) Heat the remaining Tbsp. of oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the chili sauce and fry, stirring until thick and fragrant (about 5 minutes).

Before...

After

(7) Heat the chicken stock in a microwave until warm.

(8) Pour the stock into the skillet, stir to combine. Simmer until slightly reduced and thickened (about 20 minutes).

(9) Arrange the chicken thighs into the bottom of your slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper.
(10) Add the bay leaves and the cinnamon sticks.

(11) Slowly add the chili sauce. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Before...

After

(12) Once the chicken is cooked, transfer to a large dish using a slotted spoon.

(13) Remove the bones, bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Reserve half of the braising liquid (by doing this you can use the leftover liquid for cooking rice, or adding moisture back to the chicken if it seems to dry) and strain through a fine sieve. Discard remnants.

14) Using two forks, pull the chicken apart.

*I have used a 4 Lbs. pork shoulder with this recipe as well, and had great success.

Back to School Lunch Ideas: Part II

    For my second installment of "Back to School Lunch Idea's", I thought I would make Homemade Chicken Fingers. Every child likes Chicken Fingers don't they? Mine does anyway. And if your child does as well, chances are you are already buying them. By making your own, you get 15 healthy chicken fingers for the price of two chicken breasts. Rather than paying the absurd prices they charge for the ready made chicken fingers at the grocery store. You can get the mystery meat dark meat fingers for an affordable price, but who wants to eat those.

Homemade Chicken Fingers:

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup white bread crumbs

1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 Lg. eggs, lightly beaten

2 Tbsps. water

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

2 Tbsps. parsley

Directions:

(1) Form a small assembly line with three shallow containers.

(2) In the first container combine the whole wheat flour. Season with salt and pepper.

(3) In the second container scramble together the eggs and the water until frothy. Season with salt and pepper.

(4) In the third container combine the bread crumbs, parmesan, parsley and season with salt and pepper.

(5) Using two pieces of parchment paper (or a large plastic bag) as well as a meat mallet, pound out the chicken breasts until they reach about 1/2" thick.

(6) Cut the cutlets into as many 1 1/2" strips as the size allows.

(7) Starting with the flour, the then egg bath, and lastly the bread crumbs, bread the chicken strips.

(8) Place on a lined baking dish and freeze. Once frozen place in a freezer safe bag or container until ready to use.

(9) Once ready to use, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 30 minutes (15 minutes on each side).

A healthy meal, equals a happy child

*This recipe yields approximately 15 Chicken Fingers.

Perfect Paella

    Well summer is nearly over, SIGH. This makes me so sad. It seems like it has just begun. Most of my summer vacation was spent in Newfoundland, which don't get me wrong, I totally enjoyed....but all it did was rain. So much so that I ended up coming down with pneumonia. Jeeze.

    Well now that I am finally back in the land of the sun, and my husband has returned home after being gone for three months, we've been trying to cram a summer full of missed activities, into the last three weeks of summer vacation.
    Since returning home, we've been taking it easy. We made a trip to the zoo, a trip to the beach, we went camping with friends, did some back to school shopping, and had a couple of our close friends over for the night to visit.
    While our friends were visiting, I thought it would be nice to try something new for Supper. Paella had been on my brain for quite some time, but it is quite a large dish to make for two people (let alone just for myself), so I had been putting it off. This was the perfect opportunity to give it a whirl.
    I don't often try making a recipe for the first time during a dinner party, but I knew that our friends wouldn't have a problem with being my Guinea Pigs. When we get together, we often spend time trying out new recipes and cuisines.
    I have had Paella on a number of different occasions and really enjoyed it, but have never made it myself. Typically it is made with an assortment of seafood, but to my dismay, my hubby doesn't like many of what he calls "seabugs". This saddens me. So when deciding what approach I wanted to take with the Paella, this was a major factor. In order to make a hubby friendly dinner, I settled on a Chicken, Shrimp and Chorizo Paella.

Chicken, Shrimp and Chorizo Paella:

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces and marinated in spice mixture (see below)
salt and black pepper, to taste
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Spanish chorizo sausages, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 red onion, diced
2 ripe tomatoes peeled, seeded and finely chopped OR 1 can 14 ounce whole tomatoes crushed by hand
1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper, julienned
2 cups Spanish short grained rice (Arroz Cebolla)
1 generous pinch saffron threads
4 1/2 cups warm homemade chicken stock or water
1 pound jumbo shrimp
1/2 cup sweet peas, frozen and thawed
Lemon wedges

All the fixin's

Spice Rub for Chicken:

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. sweet spanish paprika
2 tsp. dried oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1) Combine ingredients in a small bowl.
2) Rub the spice mixture all over the chicken.
3) Marinate for 1 hour, covered.

Directions:

(1) Marinate the chicken for 1 hour and remove from refrigerator.

2) Heat the oil in a paella pan or wide skillet.
3) Brown the chicken on all sides, when it's nearly cooked through, add the chorizo links and brown.





Browning the chicken

Add the chorizo.



4) Remove the chicken and sausage from the pan. Keep the remaining oil and caramelized bits in the bottom of the pan.

5) Sauté the garlic and onion until just caramelized.

6) Add the bell peppers. Cook just to soften them and to meld the flavors. Season with salt and pepper.

(7) Add the rice, stirring to coat the grains until lightly toasted. Then add the tomatoes.

Add the rice, and stir to toast
the grains for a minute or two.

8) Add the stock and saffron and give it a stir. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, gently moving the pan around so the rice cooks and absorbs evenly. Do not cover with a lid or constantly stir like risotto. Just shake the pan to move everything around.

If you are unfamiliar with the floral flavor of
saffron, I suggest going easy on the amount
you add. It can be a little intense, and if you
don't end up liking it, you will ruin your dish.

9) Once the rice begins to absorb the liquid, add the shrimp. Cook until the underside begins to turn pink.

10) Return the chicken and chorizo back to the pan. Simmer, without stirring, until the rice is al dente, about 10 minutes.

11) Scatter the peas on top and continue to cook until the liquid is absorbed. Allow to rest off the heat for 5 minutes before serving.

12) Garnish with lemon wedges.

* When cooking Paella, it is important not to stir. But equally important to cook it long enough to create a golden brown crust on the bottom. This is called the socarrat and is important in achieving the key flavor. After doing so, let the Paella set for five or so minutes.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Unfamiliar Tools and Ingredients:

Paella Pan:

The pan is circular and shallow, and has two round handles on
opposite sides. It is traditionally made with cast iron, but is more
commonly found in stainless steel. I found my pan in the gourmet
food section at Winners.

Spanish Rice/ Arroz Cebolla:



This is a medium grain rice that's perfectly suited to making paella.Although it is very similar to Arborio rice (which is commonly used for
Risotto), it has less starch content and is actually harder in texture. If you
are unable to find Spanish Rice, Arborio will make a suitable substitute.

 

Saffron:

Saffron's flavor and aroma are described as being very floral. Which would make sense considering
it is nothing more than the stamen, which has been very carefully harvested from the Saffron Crocus
Flower. Saffron also contributes a luminous yellow-orange colouring tofoods. It is widely used in ethnic
cuisines such as Milanese Risotto in Italy, Bouillabaisse in France, in Biryani along with various meats in
India, and Paella in Spain. Because of the labour intensive harvesting process associated with
Saffron it is quite expensive to buy. Safflower and Turmeric make great substitutes.

Chorizo Sausage:

Spanish Chorizo is a pork sausage that has been given it's smokiness and deep
red color from dried smoked red peppers otherwise known as paprika.
It is usually encased in natural casings made from pig intestines, using a traditional
method that has been used since Roman times. The sausages are flavored
using white wine, a generous amount of garlic and herbs, and pork fat.
Chorizo is easily found in local grocery stores, due to recent popularity. But
if you're making a Spanish dish, be sure you buy the Spanish Chorizo
and not it's Mexican counterpart.

A Simple Spicy Soup

    So I am still eating the Tandoori Chicken. It's on it's last day today, so I need to use it all up. What better way to do that, than to make a pot of soup. And I have just the recipe for the job. Chicken Mulligatawny.
    Chicken Mulligatawny is an Indian curried soup similar to our North American "Chicken and Rice Soup". It is flavored with curry and various other Indian flavors, given a yellowish color by using turmeric, and is traditionally thickened with rice. When translated literally, it means "pepper water".
    This is a delicious, hearty soup that is guaranteed to warm you up on a chilly day. I make my version using chicken or turkey, but have read recipes that have used beef or lamb as well. Whatever suits your mood will do...

Chicken Mulligatawny:

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. oil

3 celery stalks, finely chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

2 Tbsp. all purpose flour

2 tsp. garam masala
1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander seed

1 tsp. turmeric

1/2 tsp. cayenne

4 cups of chicken stock
1 bay leaf

1/2 cup raisins or snipped prunes (optional)
    (I'm not really in favor of these. I've added them a few times just to try them out, but they're just plain weird. They swell up from the liquid of the soup and basically become "grapes" again...ick)
1/2 cup granny smith apples (peeled, cored and cubed)

1/2 tsp. lemon zest

1/4 tsp. crushed thyme (dried)

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups basmati rice (cooked)

2 cups tandoori chicken (precooked and diced)

1/2 cup milk or light cream

1 cup light coconut milk (canned)

shredded coconut and cilantro as garnish

Directions:

(1) In a large pot heat butter and oil.

(2) Add the celery, onion and carrots. Cook until tender. (About 15 minutes)

(3) In a separate bowl combine together flour, garam masala, coriander, turmeric and cayenne pepper.

(4) Add to the pot, and stir to combine. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until fragrant.

(5) Add chicken stock, bay leaf, raisins, apples, lemon peel, thyme, salt and pepper.

(6) Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes.

(7) Remove bay leaf. Add the chicken and rice.

(8) Before serving add milk and coconut milk.

(9) Garnish with cilantro and shredded coconut. Serve with warm Naan bread.

The Better Butter Chicken

    We had a mountain of leftovers from the Tandoori Chicken I made yesterday. I thought I could put it to good use by making a batch of something that I could portion out, and put in the freezer. This way, on the busy days of the week when I have little time to cook (or just don't feel like it), I just have to thaw and reheat.         
    Since it was Tandoori Chicken I was working with, I thought I would stick with the Middle Eastern flavor theme. So I checked out what was available in my pantry and decided to make Indian Butter Chicken.
    Traditionally Indian Butter Chicken is made with loads of, well, butter....but I use a lighter version of the recipe that's much kinder to my waistline and my arteries.

Indian Butter Chicken:
(Adapted from Janet and Greta Podleski's, Eat Shrink and be Merry)

Indian Butter Chicken over Basmati Rice
with a side of Steamed Broccoli

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. oil

1 1/2 onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. garlic, minced

1 1/2 Tbsp. ginger, grated

2 Tbsp. garam masala

3/4 tsp. turmeric

1/2 tsp. fenugreek seeds, optional (These can be really hard to find. I have made this recipe many

           times without the fenugreek, and it tastes great regardless).

1 can (28oz/798ml) tomatoes, drained

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup light sour cream or plain yogurt (not fat free)

1 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

1 Tbsp. cashew or almond butter (this helps to thicken the sauce)

1/4 cashews, as garnish

1/2 of a tandoori chicken, precooked and cut into pieces 

            (Or 3 chicken breast that have been precooked and cut into cubes)

Hot cooked basmati rice, optional (yield one 1/2 cup for each serving)

Directions:

(1) Heat the butter and oil together in a large heavy bottomed pot, over medium heat.

(2) Add the chopped onions and saute until tender. About 5 minutes.

(3) Add the ginger, and all the spices. Stir to combine, and cook for another minute.

(4) Add the drained tomatoes, chicken broth, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

(5) Remove from heat.

(6) Transfer the sauce to a blender to puree, working in batches. (It is very important to firmly hold down the lid of the blender. When adding a hot liquid, pressure builds up in the sealed pitcher causing the lid to slip off).

(7) Return the sauce to the pot.

(8) Stir in the sour cream, as well as the cashew or almond butter.

(9) Add the precooked Tandoori Chicken and mix well. Continue cooking until the chicken is hot.

(10) Serve over hot Basmati Rice. Garnish with the chopped cilantro and cashews.

* I always freeze any leftover sauce. Once all the hard work is done it makes a super easy weekday meal. All you need to do is pour the sauce over some chicken and rice and the whole thing can be made in no time.