From Denny: This was one of many popular appetizers (no photos of these appetizers, guess they didn't last long enough to photograph!)that were a big hit here in Louisiana at a recent chefs' preview party where volunteers who are home cooks made appetizers for the local top chefs, caterers and restaurateurs. They were honored for their service in the Capital Chefs’ Showcase which benefits Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge.
This year is most special as it is the 50th golden anniversary of the Cancer Services. This organization helps over 5,000 people annually with free services, assistance and support.
This is a recipe easy enough for the home cook to make as these ladies proved to the top chefs in the city!
From: Cheri Lasseigne from a “Body for Life” cookbook
Serves: 8 as a main dish or about 50 as an appetizer. Serve hot as an entree or cold as an appetizer.
1. For sauce: Place garlic, ginger, mustard and soy sauce in food processor; process until blended.
2. Add honey and vinegar and process again. With motor running, add sesame oil and coconut oil gradually, blending until sauce thickens and emulsifies.
3. For tuna steaks: Brush tuna steaks with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until just cooked through, about 5 minutes per side on a grill or broiler.
4. If serving as an entree, place tuna steaks on warmed plates. Spoon sauce over steaks and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. If serving as a cold appetizer, take tuna off grill and coat with sesame seeds. Cut into bite-size pieces and place on a tray over ice. Sprinkle some sauce over the tuna and garnish with green onions. Serve with additional sauce on the side and bamboo skewers or toothpicks like they did at the party.
Note: If serving as an entree, this dish goes well with steamed string beans with toasted almonds and mashed potatoes.
From Denny: Chef Sandra Lee from the Food Network has launched her new show about Money Saving Meals. She is a creative person AND a joy to watch while she figures out how to save us money and make it taste good!
Throw a cheap but fabulous party by making margarita tacos
From: Chef Sandra Lee Makes 10 servings$14.03, $1.40 per person
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 8 hours
Inactive prep time: 5 minutes
Ease of preparation: Easy
INGREDIENTS
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup margarita mix with orange liquor added
1 10-pound bone-in pork shoulder picnic
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup orange marmalade
20 corn tortillas
DIRECTIONS
Place the onions and margarita mix and liquor in the bottom of a 5-quart slow cooker. Season the pork roast with salt and pepper. Stir together garlic and soy sauce and rub all over pork roast. Place the roast in the slow cooker and spoon marmalade over the top. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
When meat is done, remove from slow cooker, let rest for 5 minutes then shred or break up with a fork and arrange on platter. Strain sauce and stir 1 cup into shredded pork.
Warm tortillas slightly in a 250° F oven or in microwave. Set out pork and tortillas with red cabbage slaw and have guests assemble their own tacos.
*****
Simple red slaw
From: Chef Sandra Lee
Makes 10 servings$2.89, $.29 per person
Prep time: 10 minutes
Ease of preparation: Easy
INGREDIENTS
1 small head red cabbage
4 medium carrots, coarsely grated
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh-ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
Finely shred cabbage with a sharp knife. Mix cider vinegar, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss, add cabbage and carrots and toss to combine.
1 can (15 ounces) black beans (drained and rinsed)
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1 minced jalapeno
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
DIRECTIONS
For salsa: Set up grill for direct cooking over medium heat.
Brush corn with oil and season with chili powder, salt and pepper. Place on hot grill and cook 8 to 12 minutes, turning frequently. Remover and let cool. When cool enough to handle, cut kernels from the cob. Place corn in a bowl with tomatoes, beans, onion, and jalapeño. Whisk together lime, garlic, cilantro. Pour over vegetables and beans and toss to combine. Season with salt & pepper.
Optional indoor roasted corn: Preheat oven to 400°. Cut corn kernels from cob and place on baking sheet. Drizzle with oil, chili powder, salt and pepper. Roast in over for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.
For chips:
Preheat oven to 400°
Cut each tortilla into 8 triangular portions. Arrange in a single layer on a sheet pan. Spray with canola oil cooking spray, sprinkle with salt and bake until crisp and lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
From Denny: Found at EveningEdge.com is this wonderful Cajun styled fish recipe! I'm a huge fan of wild-raised salmon like you can get over at Whole Foods. Soy sauce, sesame oil and garlic are all perfect flavors for salmon cooking. The unusual dressing sounds unique to go with the fish. Give it a try!
Ya Ya Salmon
From: Gumbeaux's Cajun Cafe in Douglasville, Georgia
"Ya Ya Salmon is the creation of chef Richard Paul-Dennis, has been featured on TV cooking shows. Incidentally, Ya Ya in Cajun means a young, aspiring artist. In the old days, young tap dancers were called Ya Yas. It is also the chef's nickname."
Mix red pepper, black pepper, creole seasoning, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and sugar. Coat salmon fillets with the spice mixture and set aside.
To make the Red Hot Sesame Onion Dressing: In the bowl of a food processor, place brown sugar, green, red and yellow onions, vinegar, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Process 3 to 4 minutes. With the motor running, slowly add sesame oil.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare grill. Grill salmon long enough (about 5 minutes) to leave grill marks. Transfer salmon to an ovenproof pan. Pour 1 1/2 cups onion dressing over salmon and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in oven 25 to 30 minutes, or until onion dressing bubbles and thickens.
Notes:
Recipe tester Sara Levy notes that though it might seem that there is a lot of pepper and hot spices in this recipe, the sugar in the rub and sauce tempers it to the point where it has just enough bite without being overwhelmed by heat. She says that it is "very flavorful."
From Denny: Since grilling season is almost upon us here is a wonderful post and recipe from a lady who is used to doing ahead and making in bulk! AND she has some great organizing ideas on all kinds of unusual subjects you might not have thought about - until now.
From Denny: Louisiana has always been about two things - food at an affordable price and French cooking!
Patricia Williams is a former ballerina who retired at age 30. She followed her passion and became a chef, studying in France. She answered the CBS Morning Show's challenge of a meal for a family of four on $35 or less.
Seriously mouth-watering is this comfort food! She lines the meatloaf pan with smokey bacon and it adheres while it is baking in the pan. To serve, take it out of the pan, flip it over so the bacon is now on top: awesome!
Chef Williams shows you how easy it is to make your own fresh Green Goddess salad dressing and finally, a small bite version of Strawberry Shortcake. A lot of nutritional and taste value for reasonable money definitely qualifies as great comfort food in my book!
Recipes from CBS:
Arugula Salad
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound Arugula
16 asparagus green stalks, standard size
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper
METHOD:
Wash and dry the arugula. Cut the woody stems off the asparagus; peel the asparagus and save for the salad. Blanch the asparagus in salted water then shock in ice water.
To assemble the salad, place a large dollop of green goddess dressing on the plate. Place the arugula and the asparagus shavings in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper; add the olive oil and the lemon juice and toss. Place 4 asparagus on each plate (2 green and 2 white) and top with arugula.
Slice the herbs and arugula thinly and puree with anchovies, garlic, lemon juice, avocado with ½ cup extra virgin olive oil.
To make the mayonnaise, blend the egg yolks and white wine vinegar and slowly add 2 cups extra virgin olive oil; combine and season with salt and pepper.
Bacon and Beef Meatloaf
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon mustard
2 ounces breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 egg slightly beaten
2 pounds ground beef
1.5 ounces heavy cream
1 tablespoon tabasco sauce
2 teaspoon kosher slat
1 piece of diced bacon
1 pound fresh green beans, cleaned & blanched
METHOD:
Sauté the bacon and add the onions and the garlic; let cool. Mix the remaining ingredients and combine everything with the beef; do not over mix. Place in a 1-pound loaf pan and bake at 320°F for 30 minutes.
Drain the oil that has accumulated during cooking. Remove from the mold and serve with spicy ketchup sauce and green beans.
Combine all ingredients and puree in a blender; season to taste with Tabasco and serve with the meatloaf.
Strawberry Shortcake
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
Topping:
1 pint strawberries - washed, hulled and sliced
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
METHOD:
Topping: Whip the heavy cream and add the powdered sugar. Set aside until ready to serve.
INGREDIENTS:
Shortcake:
2 cups flour
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
3.2 ounces butter
4.8 ounces heavy cream
2 eggs
3 tablespoons flour for the surface
1 tablespoon cream for tops
1 tablespoon sugar for the tops
METHOD:
Shortcake: Cut the butter in small pieces. Place the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in the bowl of the mixer. With the paddle, beat the butter into the flour mixture; do not over mix.
Beat the eggs and combine with the heavy cream and add to the flour mixture.
Lightly flour the surface and roll the dough into 1 inch height and cut with a 3-inch cookie ring.
Brush with heavy cream and top with sugar. Bake in a preheated 300°F. oven for 20 minutes or until lightly golden.
From Country Roads Magazine: "In a city where good times often equate to good food, the joy of finding a terrific restaurant where you can wine and dine really well on extraordinary food and libations, at extremely reasonable prices, can produce a near-reverential response.
Boucherie, the new eatery that occupies the former Iris restaurant site just off Carrollton Avenue near New Orleans’ Riverbend, fulfills that need for those who want to enjoy the excitement of dining out on exceptional cuisine in a carefree, lighthearted environment. The kicker is that none of the food items cost more than $15…not even the specials."
Sweat onion, celery, carrot, and garlic in butter, add peeled and chopped potatoes. Add liquid, thyme, and bay leaves and slowly cook until potatoes are tender. Quickly purée in blender until smooth. Season with salt, pepper, soy sauce, and thyme. Blanche fennel bulbs in water with fennel seeds until tender. Grill until almost charred. Bring soup up to a boil and drop in oysters.
Serve immediately.
***
Vietnamese Braised Pork Belly with Stir-Fried Rapini
From: Boucherie
(Serves 15- 20)
1 whole pork belly 2 cups fish sauce 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised 1 head garlic 1 bunch scallions ½ cup ginger 2 Tbsp grated palm sugar Water to cover 3 bunches cleaned rapini 1 Tbsp minced garlic 1 Tbsp minced ginger 2 Tbps soy sauce 1/4 cup lime juice
Combine first eight ingredients and slowly bring belly up to a simmer and cook for about 2 hours, or until tender. Lay in a casserole dish and cover with cooking liquid. Press with weights, and cool overnight. Slice into 3 ounce portions and sear the skin until crispy. Stir fry rapini with ginger and garlic, add soy and lime juice.
***
Drunken Red Wine Sausage
From: Boucherie
(makes 20 sausages) to be served with Creamy White Beans, or on Bread
5 lbs diced pork butt 1/4 cup salt 2 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup minced garlic 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1 cup strong red wine (cabernet or shiraz) 10 feet hog casing
Season pork and bring to near freezing, while freezing grinder parts. Finely grind pork and mix in chilled red wine until emulsified. Refrigerate and set up sausage stuffing attachment. Pipe into casing, twisting sausages between each link. Let sit in fridge for at least 1 hour uncovered to allow pellicle to form. Slowly smoke to 150 degrees internal temperature. Grill over high heat and serve immediately.
***
Bacon Brownies
From: Boucherie
(Makes 10-12)
3 oz bittersweet chocolate 1 oz unsweetened chocolate 6 Tbsp bacon fat 3/4 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 eggs 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 1/4 cup finely chopped bacon (preferably cured and smoked)
Melt bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate with bacon fat over a bain-marie. Cool to lukewarm. Cream sugar and eggs together and slowly add melted chocolate. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and bacon pieces. Line pan and bake at 350 degrees until brownies are set.
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