Creole: June 2005 Archives
We're back after vacation! Technical difficulties forced us to cancel the podcast last week (mainly because we were in Boston and the internet connection was problematic). But we're home and hot, so it's time for more cooling Summer Creole Recipes:
Marinated Shrimp
1/2 cup olive oil or salad oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1-2 clove garlic, peeled and halved
1/2 sweet red pepper, cored,seeded and cut into short fine strips
1 teaspoon drained capers, chopped
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced crosswise
2 lbs cooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 lettuce leaves (optional)
1. Combine the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, salt, peppers and cayenne in mixing bowl.
2. Lightly beat together with a wire whisk.
3. Add the scallions, garlic, sweet peppers, capers and celery and stir to mix.
4. Fold in the shrimp.
5. Cover closely and marinate in the refrigerator for atleast 3 hours.
6. Discard the garlic before serving (unless you can eat garlic like I can).
7. If desired, serve in lettuce leaf cups.
Poached lemon chicken
Makes 12 servings
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut lengthwise into one-inch-wide strips
3 leeks, washed, trimmed and cut lengthwise in half
2 to 3 cups chicken broth
Salt, cayenne and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Put the chicken breasts, leeks and broth in a large saucepan. Cover with chicken broth and season with salt, cayenne and black pepper. Simmer until tender. Cool. Pack in an airtight container with some of the broth to keep the chicken from drying out.
Serve with crème fraiche flavored with fresh lemon juice and chopped fresh dill, or this curry mayonnaise.
Curry mayonnaise
Makes about 1 cup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon curry powder (try the Madras curry powder if you can find it)
1 teaspoon horseradish
1 teaspoon tarragon vinegar
1 tablespoon minced onions
¼ teaspoon hot sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Combine all of the ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk to blend well. Store in an ice chest until ready to serve.
Double or triple the next recipe, store it in an airtight container and bury it in ice in an ice chest.
Shrimp and orzo salad
Makes 4 servings
6 cups water
2 teaspoons (or more to taste) salt
1 ½ teaspoons cayenne
2 pounds large shrimp, deheaded
½ cup orzo pasta
2 cups mayonnaise
¼ cup Creole mustard
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ pint cherry tomatoes
Freshly ground black pepper
Hot sauce to taste (optional)
Put the water, salt and cayenne in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the shrimp, allow water to come back to a boil and cook for three to five minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pot and spread the shrimp on a large platter to cool.
Add the orzo to the water in the pot and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and cool.
Shell and devein the shrimp, and cut into bite-size pieces. Combine the mayonnaise, mustard, dill, parsley and lemon juice in a large bowl and whisk to blend.
Fold in the shrimp, the orzo and the cherry tomatoes. Season with more salt if needed, the black pepper and the hot sauce if using. Store in an airtight container and chill.
Barbecued Shrimp Tangipahoa
Ingredients:
36 (16–20 count) shrimp, head-on
½ pound butter
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup minced garlic
¼ cup minced purple shallots
½ cup sliced green onions
3 tbsps chopped basil
3 tbsps chopped oregano
3 tbsps chopped rosemary
2 tbsps chopped thyme
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup beer
salt and cracked black pepper to taste
Creole seasoning to taste
Louisiana hot sauce to taste
Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a 13" x 9” baking dish with a 2-inch lip, spread shrimp out evenly. In a 1-quart saucepot, heat butter and oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic, shallots, green onions, basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme. Sauté 3–5 minutes to flavor butter with herb mixture. Blend in Worcestershire and beer. Pour hot mixture over shrimp. Season with salt, pepper, Creole seasoning and hot sauce. Overseason because shells will prevent meat from absorbing most flavors. Place in oven and stir shrimp once during cooking. Cook 15 minutes or until shrimp are pink and curled. Do not overcook, as shrimp will become hard to peel. Place 6 shrimp in each of 6 soup bowls and top with equal portions of herbed-butter sauce. Serve with New Orleans French Bread.
Creole Cream Cheese Cheesecake with Praline Sauce
Makes One 9” cheesecake
½ lb Butter
4 C Graham cracker crumbs
2 ½ lbs Cream cheese
8 oz Creole cream cheese (*must be made 3-4 days in advance)
6 ea Eggs
2 C Sugar
2 T Vanilla
2 C Pecans
2 C Praline liqueur
1 ½ C Dark karo syrup
½ lb Butter
½ C Corn starch
1 ½ C Water
1 T Vanilla
Pinch of salt
To make Graham Cracker Crust:
Melt butter and allow to slightly cool. Pour melted butter over graham cracker crumbs in a large bowl. Mix butter and graham cracker crumbs with a wooden spoon until incorporated. Spoon graham cracker mixture into a 9” spring form cheesecake pan. Firmly press the mixture across the entire bottom of the pan and about half way up the sides of the pan. Use a small measuring cup or juice glass to tightly pack the crust against the pan if necessary. Crust should be about ¼” thick to avoid crumbling.
To make Creole Cream Cheese Filling:
Preheat oven to 300°. Mix cream cheese, Creole cream cheese, eggs, sugar and vanilla in food processor until smooth, occasionally scraping down the sides of processor bowl to ensure that ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Depending on the size of your food processor, you may need to do this in two batches. Spoon filling into graham cracker crust lined pan. Bake for 2 hours, or until set. Chill for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight, before cutting to serve.
To make Praline Topping:
Evenly spread pecans on a sheet pan and lightly toast in a 300° oven. Bring praline liqueur, karo syrup and butter to a simmer. Make a slurry (culinary term for a thin paste) with cornstarch and water. Temper slurry with a small amount of the hot liqueur, syrup and butter, then add the slurry to the remaining hot liquid, whisking continuously. Continue cooking until mixture begins to thicken. Add toasted pecans, vanilla and salt. Allow topping to cool to room temperature. Spoon over each slice of cheesecake immediately before serving.
I picked up some veal cutlets at the grocery monday, so that was dinner this evening. I dusted them in flour, ground thyme, and a bit of creole seasoning, then pan-fried them in just a bit of olive oil. Removing them from the pan, I deglazed it with some white wine, tossing the veal in a wam oven for a few minutes.
With the veal under control, I sauteed half an yellow onion and some green onions for a couple of minutes. I took the extra flour from the veal and mixed that with the onions to make a blonde roux, then added chicken stock and white wine, then a very ripe tomato, diced, and some sliced mushrooms. While that simmered, I removed the veal from the oven and poured the juices from that pan into the sauce, then served it all over some angel hair pasta with a nice pinot grigio.
:-)
