Crab and Shrimp Bisque

Sorry for not posting in so long!

Here is a good recipe for Crab and Shrimp Bisque.

1 poblano pepper chopped

3 leeks chopped (use the white parts toward the bottom, not the green at the top)

3 sticks of celery chopped

1 large shallot chopped

2 heads of roasted garlic

1 bunch of scallions chopped

1/2 stick of butter

1/2 can of tomato paste

1 cup of sherry

1.5 cups of heavy cream or half and half

1.5 tsp old bay seasoning

1 lb lump crab meat

1 lb shrimp (peeled, deveined and cut into pieces roughly the same size as the hunks of crab meat)

Either shrimp stock or some kind of seafood bullion (see below)

1. Start by roasting two heads of garlic. If you've never roasted garlic, just cut about 1/4 inch off the top of the pointy end to expose each of the individual cloves. I usually wrap the garlic in some foil with an opening at the top, sprinkle on some salt and olive oil, and throw them in the oven on 375. You'll know they are done when the cloves start popping out of the husk. Be careful they will be like hot garlic super glue when they come out of the oven.

2. Chop the remaining veggies. It doesn't really matter how course or fine you chop the ingredients because we are going to throw everything in the blender or food processor later on, but you do want them all about the same size so they cook evenly. Then, saute all the ingredients in 1/4 stick of butter. The celery and leeks are going to take a little longer than everything else so you can throw them in the pan a few minutes early if you'd like. Don't brown the vegetables. A little carmelization is ok, but you're really just looking to soften everything.

3. Next, we're going to obliterate our veggies in a blender or food processor. Either works fine. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves into the blender/fp, add sauteed veggies, tomato paste and some stock. You can make homemade shrimp stock from the shells, which is excellent, but you can also use prepared stock. I really like Better than Bouillon lobster base (http://www.superiortouch.com/retail/products/better-than-bouillon). If you decide to use the prepared bouillon, just add filtered water to the blender/fp to cover the veggie mixture (we'll season it later). Blend it very well until smooth.

4. Add the blended mixture to your soup pot along with remaining butter, cream, sherry and old bay seasoning.

5. I suggest letting it simmer lightly for an hour or so to let the flavors meld, then season it with the lobster bouillon to get the flavor profile you prefer. Also, I like to keep it healthy, but if you prefer a richer soup, you can add extra butter and cream at this point.

6. About 5 minutes before you're ready to serve, turn up the heat and add the shrimp and crab. You definitely don't want to put the seafood in too early or it will turn to mush. No one likes overcooked seafood.

7. Garnish with chopped parsley if you're fancy. Otherwise, just enjoy!

Sausage & Herb Stuffing

Since we're approaching Thanksgiving, I thought I'd post a recipe for one of my favorite stuffings. Oyster stuffing is actually my favorite, but my family always makes two stuffings at Thanksgiving because not everyone eats oysters. Happy Thanksgiving!

2 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 pound chicken gizzards/hearts (chopped into ¼ inch cubes)

1 cup butter (2 stick)
3 cups onion, chopped (into ¼ inch cubes)
2 cups celery, chopped (into ¼ inch cubes)

1 cup shallots, chopped (into ¼ inch cubes)
2 loaves french bread
2 cups chicken stock, plus extra as needed
Salt and pepper

2 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
4 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

2 teaspoons fennel seeds, chopped fine
2 teaspoons dried tarragon, crumbled
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped

1. Add a little olive oil to a large skillet under medium heat. Saute sausage, gizzards, hearts until cooked through, crumbling sausage into bite-size pieces as you go, about 10 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

3. Transfer sausage, gizzards, hearts with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Discard sausage fat in pan. Add butter, onions, and celery to skillet and saute until tender, about 10 to15 minutes. Add to sausage, along with herbs and croutons, mix to combine.

4. Add chicken stock, if necessary. You’re looking for a consistency that is very moist, but not soupy. Transfer stuffing to a baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour. Uncover and bake for another 20 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
You can check the stuffing half way through the bake to make sure there is enough liquid. If it's too dry, add some extra stock, if it's too moist, cook it a bit longer with the foil removed.

Taking a Break...

Hi all, I'll be taking a break from the cooking blog while I am in Iraq unless I uncover any notable mid-east recipes. Please take a look at my other blog for updates: aaronbedy.blogspot.com

Homemade Mac & Cheese

I've never met someone that doesn't like macaroni and cheese. The problem is most people eat the stuff out of the box with the fake, oddly colored orange cheese. I'm not naming any names here, but you know who you are...

Ok. Back to business. There are basically three steps to this recipe: making your cheese sauce, cooking your pasta, combining the two and baking.

Let's start with the pasta (use 1 box--I like the large shells). If you don't know how to cook pasta, I can't help you. The only thing you need to do here is cook the pasta el dente, which as my Sicilian grandmother will tell you, means "to the tooth" or just a bit tough. Basically, cooked just to the point that it's no longer crunchy. You want it like this so that when you bake the dish, the pasta won't turn to mush.

Once your pasta is done "to the tooth," put it in an oven safe bowl, preferably one that has a lid. If you don't have a lid, it's ok. Just use what you have.

Next, you are going to make a white sauce. Start by heating up 2 3/4 cups whole milk in a regular pot... you don't want the milk boiling just warming up. Medium heat is fine. If it starts boiling turn it down.

Then heat a flat-bottomed, wide sauteeing pan on medium heat. Melt a half stick of butter. (Optional addition: I like to add a few finely chopped shallots and a couple of finely chopped cloves of garlic. Don't brown them, just let them simmer until translucent). Then, add 1/4 cup of flour and stir until golden brown. At this point, you are on the way to making a roux, which I've included a link to if you are interested. Butter and flour becomes the base to many sauces and will be the base to your cheese sauce. Go ahead and start whisking in the warm milk. I use single ladles until all the milk is mixed into the sauce.

Now you're ready for the fun part--the cheese. I use five cups of shredded cheese. The best part is you can use whatever kind of cheese you please. I like to mix and match depending on what I'm in the mood for, but here are some options: sharp cheddar, gruyere, fontina, parmesan, edam, or smoked or aged gouda. I usually add a bit of parmesan, but I wouldn't add more than a half cup of any hard, Italian type cheese.

The next thing you need to do is season your cheese sauce. It's hard to tell you exactly how much salt and pepper to use because different cheeses have different saltiness so you just have wing it. Just season a bit and then taste until you get it how you want it. A lot of people (myself included) add a 1/8 teaspoon of both cayenne pepper and nutmeg.

You should have a nice cheese sauce and a bowl of pasta. Mix them together really well and set your oven to 350. If you're in the mood, you can add a layer of breadcrumbs or if you want to be super fancy, a layer of Japanese panko.

I bake my mac and cheese with the lid on (or covered with foil if you don't have a lid) until it is bubbling throughout. Once you see bubbles forming in the center of the dish, go ahead and remove the lid/foil and let it get a little brown on the top. Enjoy!

Flounder with Sea Scallops and Spinach

This one is really simple and good. Not to mention, it's very healthy. You need about two-three filets of flounder, sole, tilapia or other delicate white fish and about six large sea scallops. Slice the fish filets down the center so you have essentially thinned them by half. Then cut them again into slices that are approximately 1 inch by 4-5 inches. Season each side of each filet with salt and pepper.

Cut the scallops into two or three pieces depending on their size. You want to be able to roll a piece of fish around the scallop so use that as a guide.

Then roll each piece of fish with a scallop and a piece of spinach. Use a toothpick to secure. Set them in a pan and drizzle with a bit of EVOO and some lemon juice. I bake these on 450 for about 5-7 minutes or until they are done. Enjoy!

Sauteed Mushrooms... the Perfect Complement to a Great Steak

I love steak... It's probably my favorite meal, but you have to eat red meat in moderation because it's high in fat (which is what makes it so good) and it seems to have a number of other negative health effects if consumed too often. Sorry to start out my post this way, but it's an important caveat. I like to limit my red meat intake to once a week and that works well for me since I get to have my weekly "steak night."

My favorite complement to a great steak is sauteed mushrooms. While baby Portobello and even white mushrooms work well, in my eyes (and mouth), there is nothing better than sauteed Shitakes. Their consistency is almost meaty, they have a great oaky flavor and they saute better than any other mushrooms in my opinion.

Most people make a critical mistake when they saute mushrooms and add salt at the beginning. In order to get a great saute of any vegetable that holds water, it's important that you DON'T season until after you've finished sauteing. The reason is that the salt draws the water of the mushrooms and you end up steaming instead of sauteing, which results in mushy shrooms without a lot of flavor.

I start by cutting the stems off of the Shitakes. While you don't need to do this with many other varieties, Shitakes have tough stems that you probably don't want to eat. The general idea though is to cut the shrooms into relatively equal-sized pieces so they cook evenly. I usually quarter white and Portabello mushrooms as it makes them easier to cook.

I smash a few cloves of garlic to get the skin off (with the goal of leaving them almost fully intact), cut up a jalapeno and slice a couple shallots (see photo). The general idea here is use big slices because the mushrooms take a little while to cook and if you use thin slices or too finely chop your other veggies, they will end up burned before your mushrooms are done cooking.

Once you've chopped everything, you're ready to cook. I usually throw my mushrooms on about the same time as the steak. I heat one of my cast irons to medium high heat and add a tablespoon of unsalted butter (again, our goal is to stay away from the salt until the end). Once the butter has melted, I add my shrooms and the rest of the veggies and I usually add a drizzle of EVOO just for a little extra flavor. You'll notice that without salt, you won't end up with any liquid in the bottom of the pan... this is a good thing.

Saute away, adjusting your heat as necessary. If your mushrooms finish up before your steak just turn the pan to low heat (or off) and your shrooms will stay warm until your steak is finished and won't overcook. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy steak and sauteed Shitake mushrooms with a great glass of bold red wine. Yummy!

Black Beans and Rice... with a Twist!

First, I want to apologize to my three loyal followers for not posting in nearly four months. It's been a hectic couple of months with school, work and life in general.

Anyway, I am going to keep this one simple. My grandfather on my mother's side, who I called Ole Man after a Hemingway novel he used to love, used to make this dish. I'm not sure he ever made it for me, but my mother used to make it as well and I really enjoyed it as a kid. It's pretty much a new take on black beans and yellow rice.

I use the packaged Vigo brand of yellow rice. I think it has the best flavor and consistency, although it does have MSG in it, which my mother says makes her temples flutter. I've never experienced this personally and, honestly, I'm not even really sure what it means, but I'm not saying it doesn't happen.

Next, you take a can of black beans and cook them on the stove for a little while until the beans soften. I usually add some bacon grease for flavor and a chopped jalapeno (minus the seeds) when I'm feeling adventurous. If your beans get too thick on the stove, add some chicken broth to loosen them up.

The last part of this dish is the salsa, which is my favorite part. I usually mix equal parts chopped tomato and cucumber... say a cup each. Then I add about 1/3 of a part (in this case it would be 1/3 cup) of finely chopped red onion. Finally, I chop a few sprigs of parsley (personally, I like Italian parsley vs. curly parsley, but either will work).

I mix these ingredients in a bowl with a teaspoon or so of EVOO or extra virgin olive oil and season with salt. If possible, I like to refrigerate the salsa for a half hour or so just to create some contrast between the cold salsa and hot black beans and rice.

To finish off the dish, scoop some yellow rice onto a plate, spoon some black beans over the top and finally add the salsa to the top. It should look like the photo. Best of all it's an economical and healthy dish. Enjoy!