This is a tough decision for me, but I’ve got to go with Sweet and Pungent Shrimp. Of course, you gotta like shrimp, but even if you don’t you can do it with popcorn sized chicken.
So what is the ONE recipe of your’s we have to try?!
Three bean curry (which is actually what I’m making tonight). It’s just so easy for a midweek dinner.
Make a basic curry sauce - fry onion & garlic; add spices (or curry powder/paste); add a tin of tomatoes. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Add tins of beans - for instance, tonight I have chickpeas, butter beans and red kidney beans. Simnmer for a few minutes more till its hot. Works with rice but we usually have it with roti.
It makes enough for two meals for us, so half goes in the freezer brown gloop drawer.
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One daughter is vegetarian and also appears to be gluten sensitive. When I was discussing recipes with a friend who’d gone completely plant based to try to control his cholesterol etc., he mentioned this one.
Huge family hit. All the kids ask for it when they’re home from college and even my son, who’s “okay with” but not a huge fan of the other stuff I make when the veg/GF daughter is home (mostly veg curries both Indian and Malay/Thai, paneer curries, black bean “burgers”, etc.), really loves it.
It takes about an hour or so but is well worth it. The only modifications were dialing the chili flakes down to 1/2 tsp (first time it was too spicy for my wife) and a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar at the very end helps.
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My gin martini.
1 glass
Add gin
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Isn’t the bottle already, technically, a glass? And the gin is already inside the glass.
Just swill, friend; swill!
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Really good point. +1
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You need to at least THINK about vermouth while you make it. Otherwise it’s just a glass of gin.
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So, a thoughtful glass of gin?
Y’all guys are killers. My local bev mart closes at 7, and it’s 7:45 here now. So NOW you remind me of all the stuff I shoulda gotten?
Philistines!
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Shrimp and Crawfish Etouffee
4 oz. neutral oil
4 oz. flour
2 large celery stalks, medium diced
1 large onion, medium diced
2 large green peppers, medium diced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
2 t. kosher salt
2 t. black pepper
1.5 t. cayenne
1 T. sweet paprika
1 t. dried thyme
2 t. Mrs. Dash Onion and Herb seasoning (or 1. t each onion and garlic powders)
2 bay leaves
24 oz. beer (nothing too hoppy or malty. Beer flavored beer.)
1 c. shrimp, fish, or chicken stock
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled
1 lb. crawfish tails, peeled (I get mine frozen and I think they may already be cooked)
1 lb. smoked sausage, sliced (Andouille if you have it. Kielbasa works too.)
Parsley and scallions, chopped (for garnish)
Cooked white rice (for serving)
Ok, with the caveat that I am a Northerner, the first thing I do is, in a 5-6 quart Dutch oven, brown the sausage, remove from the pan, and make a roux with the oil and flour. I do this in a 350F oven, stirring every 30 minutes, a la Alton Brown. Usually 90 minutes gets me to a rusty roux bordering on milk chocolate, but sometimes I will go for 120 minutes. If you have a stovetop roux method you like, feel free to use it here. Aim for a milk chocolate roux.
When the roux is ready, move back to the stovetop and add the celery, onion, and green pepper. Cook over medium heat until the onion goes translucent and begins to soften. Then add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. The garlic will become fragrant. Avoid browning the garlic. Add all the salt (I did use the 2 t. last time I made this. Your tolerance for salt may vary.), pepper, and spices/herbs and cook for another minute or two to bloom a bit. Add the beer, stock, and 1 T. Worcestershire. Stir thoroughly and then bring to a boil (keep stirring) until the liquid thickens. Add the sausage and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes. Add the shrimp and crawfish and simmer for another 5-10 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through and the crawfish have reheated. Taste and adjust your seasonings. Add the other tablespoon of Worcestershire if you think it needs it.
Serve over white rice with parsley and scallions on top.
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I glance at the vermouth out of the corner of my eye.
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From a 1970’s St. Mary’s Church cookbook, a gift from my husband’s classmate’s mother from New Bedford., MA for our wedding. Portuguese Pork Chops…brown several bone in rib chops with the filet attached seasoned with salt and pepper in olive oil, take out of the skillet and set aside. Add sliced onions, sliced red and green bell peppers and cook until softened. Add one can of chopped stewed tomatoes, a bay leaf and a pinch of cinnamon. Put a cover over the pan and let cook for 5 minutes or so - then add the pork chops back to the pan with their juices and cook until tender. I always serve this with homemade Madras curried rice pilaf made with butter, onion, currants and chicken stock.
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Three Q’s
- When you say green peppers… those are bell peppers, right?
- Substitute for crayfish? Maybe just 2x shrimp?
- I always make a roux with butter… any reason I should use oil? and do you leave the sausage fat in pan?
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- Yes - green bell peppers. However, if you wanted to use poblano or Anaheim, I would not judge.
- You could sub more shrimp. However, you could also add cooked chicken that needed to be used up from some other meal. Or, brown up some chicken thighs when you do the sausage and then add it back in at the beginning of the half hour simmer.
- Since I do my roux in the oven, I use the oil to avoid the possibility of the milk solids getting too dark. I do leave the sausage fat in (and might adjust the oil accordingly, depending on how much it gives off).
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I’m hearing a lot about martinis yet no olives?
Do you all drink it naked?
A very simple pasta sauce:
For 2 servings melt 200g of Gorgonzola with 100g of heavy cream up to simmering point. Pour over just-cooked short pasta (Penne works).
Serve with a green salad.
Hardly counts as cooking.
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I usually have an olive. Sometimes a twist.
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Only drink my gin naked. I hate the sweetness of white vermouth. And a twist of lemon…
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Twist for me, save for very rare exceptions (and it always depends on gin, of course).
Even Dolin? I like my martini dry AF, but a drop of Dolin and a drop of (usually orange) bitters makes it perfect – for me.
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