Jambalaya...

There was a joke between my class in culinary school that whenever someone asked, "What are you making?", the reply was always, "jambalaya", regardless of what was actually being made.

I've always thought of jambalaya as a one-pot/clean-out-fridge dish of Cajun/Creole origin--perhaps my definition is rather loose considering that jambalaya is a specific cultural dish along the lines of browned chicken, spicy andouille, shrimp, onions, celery, peppers, rice, tomatoes, stock, and seasoned with bay leaves, red pepper, and salt.

When I make jambalaya - I use the basic outline of meat, onions, peppers, rice, red pepper, and bay leaves all cooked together with stock. Then I improvise with whatever is around my kitchen - evoking the historical origin of jambalaya as a meshing of Spanish paella, French herbs/technique, and native Louisiana food culture. 

This jamabalaya started with a need to use up some Prather Ranch whiskey maple sausage, so I started by slicing the sausage and browning it. Browning is an important technique for getting that delicious Cajun flavor.

Then I added some chopped onions, carrots, peppers, and garlic and sauteed these all together until they had a bit of color on them.

Rice gets added before any liquid. The rice will cook better if it's warmed and coated in fat first - this is easily achieved by stirring raw rice into the sauteing meat and veggies for about a minute. 

Next add stock and some spices. This time I used a liberal sprinkle of paprika, a pinch of saffron, and a dash of cumin. And shame on me for not having any bay leaves at hand! Bay leaves are so prevalent in the Bay Area, there's no excuse for me to not have fresh bay leaves in my kitchen!

Let everything simmer together, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender and the liquid is gone. Voila! Jambalaya!

It's Chinese or something...

I was laying in bed earlier today, failing to take a nap, but day dreaming about what makes Chinese food so darn tasty. Those thick voluptuous sauces that are so sweet and salty, and so delicious - I needed to attempt to recreate this. I've long been skeptical of using straight granulated sugar in savory foods, convinced that I could coax the sweetness out of vegetables. But it never quite compares to some of the sauces served at restaurants. After consulting my Chinese cookbook I convinced myself that plain old granulated sugar is the answer.

I put two pans on the stove; one for searing Skagit Valley Ranch pork country-ribs, and the other for sauteing veggies. While the pork got nicely browned, I sauteed onions, garlic, ginger, carrots, and summer squash. When the pork was perfectly browned on all sides I added some Bragg's Liquid Aminos (soy sauce), chicken demi-glace, and a splash of water. Then I put a lid on it and let it all simmer. Just before the veggies were done cooking I added some chicken demi-glace, Liquid Aminos, fish sauce, a pinch of granulated sugar, a small dollop of molasses, paprika, cinnamon, star anise, szechuan pepper, and salt. At the very end I added some chopped boc choy and turned off the heat.

Sugar is the answer. It works with the salt and other spices to create a truly well rounded flavor profile that fills your mouth with a comforting intensity. Oh and I made some wild rice pilaf to go with the pork and veggies also. Here it is basking in the sun and garnished with basil:

Food of Spring, that isn't really spring yet...

Alex's cooking continues to amaze me. His latest creation reminded me of what Thomas Keller might eat at home if he lived in Germany... or perhaps Iron Chef Germany - battle cabbage! Here is what he made: Sausage braised in beer with napa cabbage and potatoes, topped with sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) and served with kale (a type of cabbage) salad and Tall Grass Bakery sour dough bread. Three cabbages, two sour things, meat, and potatoes. Perhaps it's my heritage, but this was a fantastic meal.

This also exemplifies the type of spring we've been having--as far as I can tell it's still winter. The farmers market still pretty much only has cabbages and root vegetables. I've been itching for the variety of summer, and craving spicy, citrusy foods. So my recent culinary exploration was a beef ceviche of sorts... ceviche was the inspiration, beef stew meat is what was in my freezer. I stewed the meat in lime juice, chicken stock, and onions until it was tender. Meanwhile I cooked up some rice and mixed in a bunch of paprika, cayenne, and cumin. When the beef was tender, I turned off the heat and added a few canned tomatoes and a lot of chopped scallions, cilantro, cinnamon, and salt. It was exactly the tangy brightness I needed with all the clouds and rain outside lately.

Paella, Brownies, and Duck

I have a bit of catching up to do, so here's one big post about a couple totally unrelated things I've been cooking recently. First is paella. At least, my initial intention was paella, inspired by my Spanish coworkers. But then I realized I don't really keep paella ingredients just lying around, so this is my Cascadian Paella:

Blue Bird Grains wild rice pilaf blend, Skagit Valley Ranch breakfast sausage, chicken stock, onions, garlic, carrots, tomatoes, cilantro, paprika, saffron, and cayenne. Breakfast sausage is officially no longer just for breakfast!

A few days after the paella adventure we hosted an Indian-fusion themed potluck. I made gluten free chai brownies and they were amazing! First I have to show off a new toy that I used for this recipe; it's essentially a sauce pan with a round bottom that becomes the top half of a double boiler. The rounded bottom is really nice to have for making cooked-egg emulsion sauces like hollandaise or sabayon. But I just melted butter and chocolate in it this time:

I followed Julia Child's recipe for fudgy-gooey chocolate brownies, substituting Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour and adding coriander, cinnamon, and cardamom.

That was Friday, then on Sunday we went to the farmers market. Stokesberry farms had duck again and we couldn't resist. I decided this was a special duck that deserved special treatment so I rummaged through my cookbooks for a while and finally settled on a recipe in Thomas Keller's French Laundry cookbook. The recipe was for duck breast wrapped in cabbage leaves and poached for just a couple of minutes. Thomas Keller wrapped them in plastic wrap for poaching, which seemed excessive to me--I just tied the cabbage on with butchers twine and it worked perfectly. Oh and I poached it in duck stock from the last duck that we got. Here's the finished product served with pilaf:

That was just the breasts. For the rest of the duck; I roasted it and then plucked all the cooked meat off and cooked it in butter with onions, garlic, and carrots. Mean while I made a duck demiglace, washed some spinach, and cooked some pasta.

Then I combined the demiglace with the buttery duck and veggies to make a pasta sauce, seasoned with salt and fresh ground pepper, and finished it with the spinach so it just barely wilted. Then I mixed in some cooked pasta and grated a bit of Gouda for garnish. Voila!

Curry and Spice

I am no where near mastering the art of curry. But I keep working at it, and here is my latest and best attempt yet. I think my biggest problem is a totally irrational fear of using too many spices, possibly because I hate over-spiced foods more than I hate under-spiced foods... So I'm trying to find my spice-balance. Here's how last night's curry began:

Spices in a saute pan: Cinnamon, Coriander, Tumeric, Paprika, Clove, Cardamom, Cumin, and Star Anise. (Note to self: buy some Fenugreek!)

I put this pan of spices over high heat and kept the spices constantly moving to toast them and to release their oils without burning them. This happens fairly quickly.

Meanwhile, I was cooking Blue Bird Grain Farms rice pilaf with lots of saffron and an "Iranian rice herb" mixture. In another pan I seared chicken legs in bacon grease until they were good and brown (dreaming of a tandoori oven). I used onions, garlic, ginger, carrots, and peppers to deglaze the pan as they cooked and released their moisture. When the veggies began to caramelize I added chicken stock and the toasted spices and let the whole thing simmer until the sauce was thick. It turned out to be pretty delicious and my under-spicing aloud the flavor of Stokesberry's incredible chicken to come through.

Fruitful Fall

This has apparently been a fabulous fall for mushrooms. I got a new one at the farmer's market that I've never tried, the Saffron Milk Cap. Though, I think the Latin name is more telling: Lactarius deliciousus - Delicious! Lactarius and Russula are the two main genera with a crunchy texture. The difference is, when raw, Lactarius has a milky juice that oozes out when the flesh is broken (thus the name). Russula on the other hand has no such juice. Enough mycology, here are the gastronomic stars of the Russulaceae:

Lactarius deliciousus on the left bruises dark green when touched giving them a sort of spooky appearance that I think is totally appropriate for October! On the right is my old friend the Lobster Mushroom - Hypomyces lactifluorum (parasitized Russula brevepis).

I diced these mushrooms up along with some onions, garlic, and patty-pan squashes and sauteed these all together in some butter. Once the mushrooms were fully cooked, I added some flour and then milk and then white cheddar to make a cheesy cream sauce. Lastly I mixed in some cooked rice. What resulted was fantastic comfort food on a chilly autumn evening with the welcome crunch of the Russuloid mushrooms!

Deliciousus indeed!

Beef Bourginon, it's what's for dinner!

Amidst my studying, I was suddenly hit by an insatiable craving for beef bourginon. All things considered, it's incredibly simple and quick to whip up, I need to do this more often. Oh and I added chard. I have officially discovered the importance of chard. yum.