Cajun Stew

I was really at a loss for what to call this dish, I know what it is not (a jambalaya) but stew comes the closest to what it really is. I came up with this one all because of some sausage I tasted at a demo table at a grocery store several months ago. I needed to just pick up a couple of things and the parking lot at the store I normally go to was a zoo so I went to the store down the street that I don't go to very often. As I was walking through there was a very nice lady offering up samples of a smoked sausage from a company that I was not familiar with. I tried all the varieties and decided to take a package of the cajun spiced one home with me. Now I needed to figure out how to serve. I thought about it a couple of days and decided I wanted to play around with it a bit.

Since I live a ways from the nearest grocery store I always have stuff on hand in the freezer and pantry. When you live out here you don't run to the store at the last minute to pick up something for dinner. There is also no delivery any where near here. I started to think about what I had on hand. I knew there was some chicken breasts in the freezer (these are always in my freezer) and I had picked up some frozen shrimp a few days before. Hummmm.....

I mulled the choices over for a few days and decided to combine the sausages with both of the above meats. I knew I wanted to go cajun style so that meant onion, celery and green pepper. I had all of these on hand so now dinner was coming together. I wanted the chicken and shrimp to stand up to the sausage so I decided to coat these two items with some of my homemade cajun seasoning blend (I'll add that recipe at the end of this post). I knew it wouldn't take much of the seasoning, a little goes along way but it is so good on almost all meats. I had just picked up a bunch of cans of diced tomatoes and I like a tomato base to this kind of dish so that went on my mental list of ingredients. My fresh thyme was doing well at that time too and since there's dry thyme in my seasoning blend I thought that would be a good addition too (I like to add some fresh herbs in wherever I can)

The rest of the ingredients came about as I tasted the dish as I made it the first time.

Now all that being said the day I recorded this I couldn't get the cajun sausage and used some smoked sausage that was labeled Spicy Italian. It worked just as well. If you want to cut back on the spiciness of the dish use a smoked Polish type sausage. Really any variety of pre-cooked (smoked) sausage will work just fine.

We really love this one and it is really easy to make in a larger batch to feed a crowd. Since the different elements are cooked separately and come together at the end just increase it to fill up your crew. The recipe as written is plenty to fill up my son and myself and have plenty of leftovers for lunch.

On the subject of servings and more importantly how many servings my recipes make. That is a really tough question since I am trying to fill up a growing teenage boy. I swear at this age (14) they can eat enough for an army and still pop up for a snack 5 minutes later. He is currently 6' tall and still growing. So how many normal people will this feed?? You will have to be the judge of that one.

Cajun Stew

½ lb large shrimp (peeled, deveined and thawed if frozen)

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into bite size pieces

1 Tablespoon Cajun Seasoning blend

½ lb spicy sausage Cajun style or spicy Italian smoked sausage

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large onion, sliced

1 green pepper sliced

3 ribs celery sliced

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1 (16 oz) can diced tomatoes

a splash of white wine (optional)

3 Tablespoons of a grainy mustard

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

Cajun Seasoning Blend

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 Tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano

1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon instant minced onion

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon read pepper flakes

combine and store in a jar in a dark place. 

 

Creamy Scallops with Angel Hair Pasta

OK, first let's get the fact that this is really rich and loaded with calories out on the table. Oh yeah, this one is definitely not an everyday dish but it is so good, so luscious and so worth being in your recipe file for special occasions. So save this recipe for a special occasion and enjoy it then go back to healthier fare the rest of the week.

One thing I have noticed about cooking with scallops is that sometimes they seem to give off a lot more liquid into the pan than other times. I am not going to try to figure out why and explain it to you. Instead I will tell you how to deal with it. If you do find that your scallops are really wet and you end up with a lot of sauce use a slotted spoon and remove the scallops from the pan and let them join the pasta in the serving bowl while you cook the sauce down a bit. One of the worst things you could do to this dish is over cook the scallops. They are very delicate but will turn to little wads of rubber if you overcook them.

Don't be concerned about them getting cold sitting there waiting the sauce will warm them up just fine when you pour it over them and toss them and the pasta in it.

I do use a white wine in this sauce my preference for this dish is a nice chardonnay. It doesn't have to be very expensive to be good either. If you are going to serve wine with the dish I would recommend the same bottle of chardonnay to with it. It will stand up to the richness of the dish just fine. If you don't want to add the wine just leave it out no problem I just add it because I like the added layer of flavor it gives.

 

Creamy Scallops with Angel Hair Pasta

8 oz angel hair pasta

2 Tablespoons olive oil

¾ pound small scallops (fresh or thawed)

2 medium tomatoes, peeled and seeded

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

½ cup white wine

1 cup heavy cream

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

4 oz crumbled feta cheese

Cook the pasta as directed on the package. When cooked drain well and reserve in a large bowl.

While the pasta is cooking heat the oil in a large skillet then add scallops, tomatoes and garlic. Cook over medium heat until the scallops just begin to turn opaque. Add the wine and cook to reduce. (If the scallops cook before the sauce reduces to about half remove the scallops and add them to the pasta in the bowl)

When the sauce has reduced to about half add the cream and oregano and heat through (just to bubbling)

Pour sauce over pasta and toss. Add the feta cheese and toss again

Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon on the Grill

This is a really quick little dress up for salmon that I think you will really enjoy. It has a hint of sweetness offset by a bit of sour and hint of heat. How can it get any better than that.

The last time I made this we used the amounts for the sauce that I am giving you here and for most people they would probably be perfect. Next time my son wants me to double the Sriracha because he felt it was not spicy enough. So if you like spicy you might want to increase the hot sauce a bit when you make it. I thought it was wonderful and liked the fact that none of the flavors (spicy, sour, sweet) was in the forefront, they played well together and were very balanced.

If you are not familiar with Sriracha sauce I highly recommend you add it to your list of staple ingredients to keep on hand. You will find it with the Asian foods in most grocery stores. It is easy to identify by the rooster on the label. It originates in Thai cooking and is just wonderful in so many dishes. It adds not only a bit of heat but also a garlicky slightly sweet almost smokey flavor to anything you add it to. I use it to season so many things.

If you are braver than I am you can cook this right on the grill rack, I cooked ours on a piece of well oiled foil. I didn't want to risk loosing any of the fish to the grill. I have had bad luck in the past trying to deal with delicate fish on the grill racks. For me the aluminum foil underneath just is a bit of insurance that I will get to eat the fish and not watch it fall through the rack to the charcoal below. You still get the smokiness that we are looking for on the grill so it is up to you. I think I really should go get a fish basket for the grill but I never remember that when I am in the store, I remember it when I am facing the grill with a chunk of fish. The only real downside to cooking on the foil was we lost the wonderful salmon skin to the foil, it stuck and was not to be removed. With a fish basket I am sure the skin would have been left intact on the fillet.

Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon on the Grill

1 (1 lb) salmon fillet (skin on)

oil

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon prepared mustard (any variety)

¼ teaspoon Sriracha Sauce (or to taste)

Fresh chopped chives

Look over your salmon and remove any remaining bones (they always seem to miss a few) and use the oil to coat the skin.

Lay skin side down on well oiled aluminum foil or in a fish basket.

Combine brown sugar, vinegar, honey, mustard and Sriracha sauce in a small bowl. Brush the salmon with the sauce.

Grill skin side down, over medium coals 10 to 15 minutes or until the salmon flesh flakes easily and is opaque.

Sprinkle with chopped chives just before serving.

Lemon Butter Catfish

There are some things that I always try to have on hand; frozen fish (of all kinds) is one of those items. One of the things I love about it is that it is really a blank canvass. I can do so much and make it fit into any mood. I sometimes refer to it as the “little black dress of the freezer” simply because it can be dressed up or down to fit any occasion. This fish dish is so easy and although I used catfish you can use your favorite fish fillets either fresh or frozen.

Lemon Butter Catfish

¼ cup all purpose flour

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (the kind in the can is fine here)

Salt and pepper to taste

4 catfish fillets (thawed if frozen)

1 Tablespoon olive oil (or as needed)

3 Tablespoons butter (divided)

The juice of 1 lemon

Preheat your skillet over medium high heat.

Add oil and 1 Tablespoon butter to pan.

Combine flour, cornstarch, parmesan, salt and pepper in a flat dish (pie plate works great here) and use to dredge fish. Add fish to hot pan immediately.

Allow fish cook on first side long enough that the fish no longer sticks. If you start in a hot pan, add the fish and leave it alone it will let go when it is ready to turn. Carefully turn fish and cook on second side.

Remove fish to serving plate and add the remaining 2 Tablespoons of butter and the lemon juice to the pan. Allow butter to melt and use a spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan. Pour the butter/lemon mixture over fish and serve immediately.

Seafood Pasta

This is one of those meals that came about because I really didn’t want to go the grocery store so I put together what was here. You see I live about 10 or 12 miles from the nearest grocery store and some days I just don’t really feel like going there. I do keep a lot of stuff on hand so that I can pull a meal together when I don’t have anything planned.

The ingredients in this dish are a combination of some of the staples I keep on hand always (canned seafood, bacon, pasta, half & half, wine, onions and garlic) and some things that I wanted to use up before they were past their prime (some cheese and mushrooms) the kids really liked this one so I thought I should pass it on.

Let me first say that I know some people don’t like to mix seafood and cheese but I happen to like the combination. I think this very same dish would also work really well with some chicken too.

This is obviously not a low calorie dish; don’t eat it everyday, save it for a special occasion. I think these kind of dishes can be enjoyed from time to time as long as you balance it with the rest of your diet.

Seafood Pasta

1 lb spaghetti (or other pasta)

2 slices of bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup coarsely chopped mushrooms

2/3 cup white wine

4 cloves garlic, grated or minced finely

4 oz can minced clams, drained reserving the liquid

2 cups half & half

1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese (mozzarella and parmesan)

¼ grated parmesan cheese

6 oz can crabmeat

Bring a large pan of water to a boil to cook your pasta, adding the pasta as soon as it comes to a boil.

Meanwhile cook the bacon in a large skillet, rendering the fat. Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate and add the onions and mushrooms to the bacon fat to cook. When the veggies are softened add the wine scraping the bottom of the pan to remove the flavorful bits from the bottom. When the wine comes to a simmer add the garlic and cook until everything is tender. Add the liquid from the clams and bring back to a simmer

Lower the heat and add the half & half along with the cheeses heat to melt the cheese and bring the mixture up to temperature. Add the clams and crab to the mixture stir gently to combine.

As soon as the pasta is cooked add it to the cream mixture and mix to combine.

Serve immediately.

Lemon Chili Salmon

Since I live a bit out of town and it is not always convenient to get to the grocery store I like to keep a good variety of stuff on hand that is easy and quick for dinner. Since I really love fish and seafood I like to keep a lot of those items on hand.  For connivance sake I like the frozen products that individually vacuum packed and then frozen. The fish is frozen fresh and since it remains frozen until I thaw it out it stays that way. I was looking through  the freezer at one of my local stores and I noticed a package of salmon fillets, I hadn't  tried these before so I threw them into my cart. I removed them from the freezer to thaw out in my fridge today, then started to think about what direction I wanted to take with this meal. I checked out what was on hand and based on those items and our tastes I decided this meal will take a Southwest trend. I started the rice cooker with some brown rice along with some chopped green onion, cumin, chili powder, chicken bouillon powder and a little fresh ground pepper along with the required amount of water. We love brown rice and it is a wonderful blank canvass to add seasonings so it will go with your meal. I will be doing so actual recipes for the rice cooker in the next week or so.  I decided to cook the salmon on my grill pan on the stove top. Then I combined some spices with some fresh lemon juice to brush on the salmon. I also cut some lemon halves to grill alongside the fish. I made sure the bottom side of the salmon was well oiled so it wouldn't stick to the grill. When the grill pan was thoroughly heated I brushed the lemon juice/spice mixture over the top side of the salmon. I carefully placed the salmon on the heated grill oiled side down and tucked the lemon halves next to them and cooked them until the were done to our liking. With a nice vegetable to round out the meal we had a very nice, easy and satisfying meal.

Lemon Chili Salmon
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
juice of 1 lemon
2 lemons, cut in half

Prepare your grill to cook the fish.
Oil the bottoms of the fish fillets (skin side) and the cut edges of the cut lemons.
Combine the spices with the lemon juice and brush over the tops of the salmon fillets and allow to stand for about 10 minutes.
Place the salmon and the lemons cut sides down on the gull. Watch the lemons, they cook quickly remove them when they get good grill marks on the cut sides. Cook the salmon for about 15 to 18 minutes depending on how you like your salmon cooked. Turning these over is optional. I did this time because I did these in the house on the stove top grill, if I was outside where I could cover the grill I wouldn't have turned them.