Food Guy's Gumbo

I love Creole cooking.  I love the boldness of the flavors and the earthiness of the spices.  I’ve been making gumbo for a few years now, and I think I’ve finally gotten the hang of it.  Everyone makes gumbo different.  This is my version. 

1 cup oil
1 2/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped celery
1 medium chopped onion
1 large chopped bell pepper (red or green)
1 lb Andouille sausage
1 lb chicken (cut into chunks)
1 lb crawfish tails
1 Qt chicken stock
1-2 bay leaves
Palm full of fresh parsley & thyme chopped
Salt & Pepper
File Powder (optional)
Hot sauce (garnish)
Scallions (garnish)
Rice (cooked)

I start in a large pot (a Dutch oven would be best, but I don’t own one yet).  The first step is to make a roux.  You can do this ahead of time, but I always make it fresh.  Heat to medium-high.  Add 1 cup of vegetable oil and 1 2/3 cup of flour.  Constantly stir with a wooden spoon.  You may need to adjust the heat of your stove because you can’t let this burn.  If any black spots appear, you’ll need to start over.  As you stir you’ll notice the roux thicken and start to turn a darker shade.  I look for a dark peanut butter color before I move on to the next step.

On the side, brown the sausage in a nonstick skillet. 

Once the proper color is achieved in my roux I add in the trinity (onions, celery & peppers).  Stir in and cook for 5 minutes.  After the vegetables are slightly tender add stock slowly and stir while adding it as to avoid roux chunks.  If using low sodium stock add some salt at this point.  Also add the bay leaf and a few grinds of black pepper. 

Bring the stock to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.  Add the browned sausage (it’s a good idea to pat the sausage dry if it looks greasy).  Simmer on low for 45 minutes until broth reduced and thickens.  About half way through this I add the thyme. 

Once reduced by about 1/4 add the chicken.  I use all white meat cut into chunks.  Add parsley.  Simmer for 8-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through.  Then add the crawfish tails.  I use frozen tails that I thaw out slightly before adding to the pot (it’s all that’s available in New England).  Since these are cooked, they only need to simmer until they are hot all the way through.  

Serving suggestion:  I like to serve my gumbo in a bowl with a large scoop of rice in the middle.  Then I sprinkle on some fresh scallions and a pinch of file powder and add a few dashes of hot sauce.

Victoria Station - Salem, MA

We travelled to Salem, MA for a couple of days to check out the sites, see some witches, and eat some good food (hopefully).  It was a short trip.  We arrived Friday night and left Sunday morning.  Since we got there so late Friday night I had already eaten.  However, I did find a street vendor selling dirty water dogs.  Though they were insanely overpriced, I got one.

It was actually rather good.  That’s a foot long with processed cheese and Tabasco sauce.  None of my pictures seemed to come out good that first night.  What’s there to say about a hot dog purchased from a random street vendor at 10:00PM?  Anyone who’s ever had one has tasted this.  When it’s late at night and you’re having a few alcoholic beverages, nothing beats the dirty water dog.

The next morning we ate breakfast in our hotel.  They had a nice spread of pastries and danishes along with a waffle maker (but they were out of batter), some fruit, bacon, sausages, potatoes, powdered eggs, and an omelet station.  I went with an omelet with onions, peppers, cheese, and again a few dashes of Tabasco sauce (I love that stuff). It turned out to be your run of the mill buffet omelet.  The potatoes however were interesting.  They were red bliss potatoes baked in an oven with rosemary and thyme and a light coating of olive oil.  They tasted more like oven fries that I make at home and serve with roasted chicken than home fries that you would expect with breakfast.  

Later in the day after walking around the city we worked up an appetite and we came across Victoria Station, a restaurant right on the waterfront in Salem.  This was only a few blocks down from the famed House of the Seven Gables and the world’s oldest candy store, Ye Olde Pepper Companie.  Most of the food here was obviously prepared (i.e. jarred sauce, salsa, etc…) I started with the French Onion soup.

It was typical French Onion with a salty beefy broth containing sweetly stewed onions and a rather large crouton and huge glob of melted cheese topping the crock.  The soup was lacking the density of onions I like but the flavors were well balanced and not too salty as onion soup tends to be.  The wife had New England clam chowda and our friend Nick had something that was obviously delicious though I can’t recall what it was.  

Then we moved on to our appetizers.  We ordered Eggplant rollatini, fried artichoke hearts, and nachos.  

The eggplant was OK.  It was a bit over cooked which greatly affected the texture and kind of turned it to mush.  The cheese filling was tasty and slightly salty with a mixture of ricotta and mozzarella seasoned with a touch of black pepper and fresh parsley.  The sauce was not made in house as was apparent by the flavor.

Anytime I receive a plate like the nachos on my table I get excited.  It is such a fun food to eat with a group of friends.  Someone doesn’t like the jalapenos?  That’s ok, more for me.  There was a nice mix of cheese, salsa and sour cream dotted with jalapenos, black beans and scallions.  

The artichoke hearts were…unique to put it nicely.  They were canned whole artichoke hearts dipped in a flavorless batter and deep fried.  I’m not sure if the boiling liquid that squirted out of them upon first bite was natural juices, leftover water from the can or oil.  I’m pretty sure it wasn’t oil as that would have actually added some flavor to the dish.  The only thing that had any flavor on this plate was the remoulade it was served with.  The remoulade was actually the only thing that tasted like it was made in house.  

Overall this was a good meal.  Upon reading the back of the menu I learned the history of this restaurant.  There used to be something like 100 of these across the country in cities and towns that had “historical” areas.  Now the one in Salem is the only one left.  It was a nice building with a great view of the harbor and some really cool décor and an awesome bar.  The bar was one of the neatest bar coolers I’ve ever seen.  Of course I ordered a beer instead of taking a picture.  However, the bar was the highlight of the meal.  Would I go back to Victoria Station next time I’m in Salem?  Sure.  But only for drinks and I’d sit at the bar or on the outdoor patio if it were warm enough.

Grilled Chicken Quesadillas

I haven’t eaten out much lately, but the Wife and I have been revisiting some of our old recipes using new tools, spices, or techniques to try and change things up a bit.  Recently we made grilled quesadillas.  I worked at a Mexican restaurant for many years as a cook and learned the basic technique of building a good quesadilla.  In my mind the perfect quesadilla has tender juicy meat, fresh slightly crunchy vegetables, a crisp tortilla, and tons of flavor.  Here’s what we did this time. 

I started out with three trimmed skinless boneless chicken breasts.  I seasoned them with a mixture of salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, ancho chili powder, and a dash of habanero flakes.  A store bought mixture will work just as well, but go for something smoky and slightly spicy.  Those were grilled on our outdoor grill (Yes, I grill in the winter).  

Using my new found favorite grill toy…I mean tool, I cut up a red and green bell pepper and a sweet yellow onion.  They were lightly seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper.  I like to keep my veggies simple.  Those too were grilled, but not too much.  I like my veggies to still have a crunch to them when they are cooked and not turn into vegetable mush.

After the food on the grill was cooked, it was time to assemble and finish the meal.  After letting the chicken rest for a few minutes, I cut it up into manageable sized pieces.  I then take an 8” flour tortilla and add chicken, vegetables, and some shredded cheese.  I like to use pepper jack, but you can use anything you want.  I would suggest staying away from cheddar as it tends to be oily when it melts.  I then fold the quesadilla in half and finish it on my Panini grill (not pictured).  I could finish it on my outdoor grill, but then I’d have to go outside again, and it’s cold in Connecticut in the winter.  

After the cheese melts and the tortilla has a nice crisp to it, I remove it from the Panini grill, cut it into 4 pieces, and plate with a dollop of sour cream and some salsa.  In the past I have made a side dish of rice to accompany the main course, but this time I was out of rice.  

There are several variations to this meal that you can adjust to your own tastes.  Use beef instead of chicken, or a flavored tortilla.  Even use more vegetables such as yellow squash or mushrooms.  The possibilities are endless.