Shrimp and Andouille Gumbo

Gumbo is one of my favorite feel good meals. Kinda like chicken noodle for most people it's my comfort meal. Still recovering from my wisdom teeth I decided to make it for dinner tonight. (Omitting the rice from my bowl because I didn't want to take a chance of it getting into the holes)

1 small white onion diced
1 large bell pepper diced
3 links of andouille sausage sliced
1 cup sliced okra (you can use frozen)
1 can of diced tomatoes drained
4 cups of chicken broth (I use 4 cups of water with 4 bullion cubes dissolved into it)
12oz of 70/90 shrimp frozen pre-cooked
1 bag of instant rice cooked
1/4 tsp of each: salt, paprika, chili powder, chopped bay leaves
1/2 tsp of each: black pepper, basil, and cumin
1/8 tsp Cheyenne pepper

You'll want to start by getting all your ingredients together and ready to go because a few of the beginning steps move quickly. This will help you move quickly and avoid burning anything.

Start by heating a large pot over medium heat. Then toss in your sliced andouille sausage and allow to cook for 3 minutes roughly until they start to brown up. Then stir and cook for another 2 minutes.

Now add your onions and peppers and spices and stir together. Allow this mixture to cook for 5 minutes. Then stir in your tomatoes and allow to simmer for another 4 minutes.

Now you want to turn down your heat to medium low and stir in your okra. Allow it too cook for another 5 minutes then stir in your chicken broth (or water with bullion cubes as I did). Allow this to simmer for 10 minutes.

By this time all the veggies have cooked and absorbed the flavors and your broth has a nice dark color to it. This is why I do it all in 1 pot (you can use a dutch oven and the results are better but alas...I don't own one. YET). Now you can stir in your rice and shrimp at the same time and turn down your heat to low.

Simmer all of this together for 5-8 minutes or until the shrimp are heated well. I use cooked shrimp so it's just a matter of heating the shrimp up. If you prefer to use fresh uncooked shrimp then here's how you'd do it starting after you add your broth.

Stir in your Shrimp ONLY. No rice. Turn your heat to low and allow the mixture to cook until your shrimp are pink. Then stir in your rice and simmer for 4-5 minutes on low heat so your rice can absorb the flavors.

And that's all there is to it. Now just scoop and serve. If you'd like you can make a stickier rice and instead of mixing it into the gumbo you can scoop it with an ice cream scoop and serve it on top of the gumbo. This makes for a pretty presentation if you're trying to wow guests. :)

(special note: this is for a milder version. I toned down the amount of Cheyenne to make the recipe milder for those with a less tolerant tounge. If you prefer spicier food you can use 1/4 tsp or even more but be careful and slowly increase the amount making sure to taste test after each addition.)

Spiced French Toast

For breakfast today I decided to make French Toast. I had my wisdom teeth extracted on friday and thanks to a VERY stiff and sore jaw chewing is nearly impossible. I figured french toast would be soft and filling so I went with that. There was still a bit of the strawberry compote I made for Vday left over so I figured I'd top hubby's with that. Since I had to eat mine plain I wanted it to have lots of flavor. So here's the spiced recipe I came up with. This is SOOOOOO delicious.

3 Tbsp. heavy cream
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch ground ginger, nutmeg, and allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon

(this makes enough for 5 slices of french toast)

In a bowl combine your eggs and heavy cream and whip them until frothy with a wire whisk (or your whisk attachment for your stand mixer on low speed).

Once your eggs and cream are combined whip in the vanilla extract. Then add all the dry spices to your mixture. Evenly coat your bread slices with the egg mixture. You'll have to whisk the mixture in between slices of bread to keep the spices evenly distributed.

Then simply cook your toast for 2-3 minutes on a griddle or in a skillet heated over medium heat. Vuala!!

The strawberry compote topping was a HUGE hit with my husband! That's seriously one of his favorite breakfast items (french toast with strawberries). You can also top it with a spiced whipped cream (I'll have to post the recipe for this later on but I'll link to it here when it's posted), the mascarpone whipped topping, or just syrup. The fruit compotes are a great topping though as you don't even need syrup when using them.

Red Robin's Campfire Sauce

I'll be the first to admit that I'm absolutely ADDICTED to Red Robin's fries. I no lie will eat the whole basket of fries and order a second before I even touch my burger. Not only is their seasoning for the top of them delicious but the campfire sauce is EXTRODINARY to dip them in. So last night at Red Robin I decided to quench my thirst for knowledge and end the great debate. I asked our waitress if it was mayo or ranch that the BBQ sauce was mixed with to make this spectacular sauce. And go figure...it's ranch. Well since I had some fries left over from my meal last night I set out to tackle the sauce and replicate it to the best of my ability. So here's the ratios I used.

1 part BBQ sauce to 2 parts Ranch. I used peppercorn ranch for that extra spiciness and kick and I also added about a 1/4 tsp of Texas Pete to really give it that spicyness that Red Robin's has. Be sure to use Hickory BBQ sauce as you want that smokey flavor from the Hickory. You can eat it right away no problem but I suggest letting it sit in the fridge and mellow for about an hour to allow the flavors to blend!

Sweet Strawberry Compote

Today is Valentines day and I feel that this recipe is keeping with the feel of the holiday. For my husbands big gift I told him that he could pick ANYTHING he wanted and I'd make it for him. Absolutely anything...including desert! Those that know me know I'm not exactly the baking type. I am truely trying to learn but it's definetly not my strong point right now. Well my husband chose steamed fresh asparagus with hollandaise sauce and Lemon Herb Swordfish steaks. For desert he chose a no-bake cheesecake. He wanted the boxed kind so I was happy to oblige him. He saw the strawberry kind and I stopped him before he picked it up. I told him to get the regular and told him I'd make him a nice made from scratch strawberry compote to top it with. So I whipped this little bad boy up (my first time EVER making a compote let alone coming up with a complete recipe of my own without even looking at any recipes online for inspiration). So here it is in all it's delicious glory. I must throw in a warning that this might be bad for health. It's dangerous. Once you have some you'll put it on EVERYTHING and not want to stop eating it...by the spoon. So you might wanna make a double batch just to ensure that there's enough for the intended desert. teehee



2 cup of fresh diced strawberries (please...whatever you do...DON'T use frozen. Just go with it here ok)
1 cup of sweet red wine (I used a sweet red muscadine wine...but I'm from the south and literally have it running through my veins haha)
1/2 cup of sugar
1tbsp concentrated lime juice

In a small sauce pan heat up your wine over medium-low heat. Once it's heated (not boiling...just starting to steam) stir in your sugar and allow it to dissolve.

Once the sugar is fully dissolved mix in the lime juice and the strawberries. Stir it once to mix it all together. Now here's the hard part....walk away. Do it. Stop standing over the pot taste testing it. I know it's yummy...but walk away before you eat it all.

Allow the mixture to simmer over low heat. You want a sort of soft boil to happen. This will reduce the wine and thusly result in a delicious thick syrupy sauce. You can check it every so often and stir it gently but don't hover. Remember...a watched pot never boils and strawberry compote never makes it to the table if you hover. HAHA.

I'd say to let it simmer about 15-20 minutes. Maybe a little less. When it starts to thicken you can remove it from the heat and allow it to cool. The cooling process will allow it to thicken further. Once you have your mixture all cooked you can start topping things with it. It's great over cheescake. I like to put any sort of fruit compote in a bowl and top it with my mascarpone and cream cheese mixture. It's good drizzled over the top of ice cream as well...or even a delicious cupcake or cookie. You can find the Whipped Mascarpone and Cream Cheese topping recipe here.

Dirty Rice

This is one of my all time favorite side dishes for just about anything. It goes really well with pork and chicken though. Remember that the spicy spices (chili powder and cheyenne pepper) are low. I use a tiny bit more....but I'd start with a pinch of each and then add a pinch more to acquire the temperature you prefer for spiciness.

1 bag of minute rice cooked(yes I'm lazy and use it...no harm)
1 cup of water
1 chicken bullion cube
2 tbsp flour
3 links of Andouille Sausage diced
1/2 large onion diced
1/4 tsp Cheyenne
1/4 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Cumin
pinch Salt
1tsp pinch Pepper
1tsp dried Basil
Crushed Bay leaves
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp celery seeds

Heat your pot over medium heat. I use 1 pot for this as you want the flavors that are left in the bottom of the pan to properly season your rice. Once the pot is heated up add your sausage.

Cook for 5-6 minutes and then add your onion and spices. Cook until the onions are transparent and soft.

Now in a seperate container (I use my glass measuring cup) add the bullion cub and flour to the water. Make sure it's hot water so it can dissolve the cube and flour. Mix it well with a wire whisk.

Pour your water mixture into the pot where the onions and sausage are. Stir it frequently and allow it to simmer on low heat for about 2-3 minutes. You want it to start to thicken up. The water should instantly turn to a dark color thanks to the yumminess at the bottom of the pot.

Once the water starts to thicken and is heated through add your rice. Make sure the temperature of the eye is turned down really low. I use the lowest setting possible on my stove. And allow it to simmer stirring it frequently (I pretty much stand over it and stir it the whole time) until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. This should only take a few minutes.

Vuala....delicious dirty rice. You can substitute regular southern style breakfast sausage if you prefer. (DO NOT...I repeat do NOT use maple flavored sausage. It's just gross. A mild or spicy southern style works best. Remember that if you use spicy and you aren't accustomed to spicy things...you may want to adjust the amount of pepper spices you use.)

Fried White Hominy

Hominy is one of my all time favorites. It's probably the southern woman in me that loves this dish. Pan fried is by far my FAVORITE way to eat it.

1 can White hominy
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp Adobo
1 tsp Pepper

Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and allow to melt.

Add in the spices to the butter as it's melting. This will flavor the butter which will then flavor your hominy. :)

Add the hominy once your butter is hot and allow to cook on medium-low heat until popping. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes. Remember to stir occasionally or else you'll end up with it popping back in your face.

Cornish Hen

I would have to say that Cornish Hen is one of my all time favorite meats. Then again...I pretty much love poultry all together. I could live off of just poultry and seafood as my only sources of meat. If only my husband wasn't such a red meat lover. HAHA. So I picked up a cornish hen to fix myself and it turned out AMAZINGLY well. Here's the recipe for your culinary pleasures.

1 hen (I use to make 1 per person but I couldn't even eat half of one myself last night)
Thyme
Marjorum
Salt
Pepper
Celery Seed
Rosemary
Butter (REAL butter...not country crook imitation or any of that kinda "fake" butter)

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Now take your hen and rinse it in the sink. I like to do this just to get the "juices" off and to make the surface moist to allow the herbs to stick.

Place the hen in a shallow roasting pan. Take your spices and combine in a bowl. I'd say a generous pinch of each (about 1/4-1/2 tsp). Sprinkle the mixture all over the top of the hen. Covering the entire breast, outside of the wings, and tops of the drumsticks.

Now you want to fill the cavity of the Hen. Absolutely fill it. I used roughly 3-4 tbsp of butter. But don't worry about measurments....just fill it. Trust me on this one. It'll keep the meat moist from the inside out. Then place about 3 tbsp's around the outside of the hen in the dish.

Once the oven is heated place the roasting pan with hen inside the oven WITHOUT a cover. This is CRUCIAL to crisping the skin. Just do it!

Now you want to take a small bowl while the hen is in the oven and melt a ton of butter in it. About 1- 1 1/2 cups of butter. This you'll use for basting the hen.

Roast the bird for 1 hour and 15-30 minutes. Checking it every 20-30 minutes and basting it. Roast it until the internal temperature is 180 degrees at the thickest part (the breast is generally the thickest).

After it's reached the required temperature remove from the oven and allow to rest for about 5-10 minutes. Then slice and serve!! Your taste buds will thank you. teehee