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Jan. 4, 2006 One of my guilty pleasures is collecting cookbooks. My wife is disabled and I cook every single meal in our house so I can at least justify this little odd (for a man) indulgence, but I don't really need to increase my repertoire. I already know how to cook everything from authentic sourdough bread and chicken marsala to smoked meatloaf and baba au rhum. I can cook pot roast ten different ways and make ordinary vegetables taste like some exotic delicacy that even kids like. I enjoy looking through cookbooks simply because it relaxes me which I know is healthier than drinking beer heavily every evening. After supper and before good stuff comes on tv (which some nights even with a satellite dish is never) I'm looking at cookbooks or gardening catalogues. To keep expenses down I always buy the cheapest edition I can find. My most recent purchase was a $1.99 edition of the Prudhomme Family Cookbook--a little gem. I already know how to cook cajun and creole food; I've been studying cajun cooking for twelve years, and I can make seven different kinds of jambalaya including a double sausage jambalaya that the whole family loves. So I didn't think that I would get many new recipes, but I was interested in how they made the same dishes I cook. Surprisingly, I did find close to ten worthwhile new recipes such as fish cooked in a brown roux, shrimp and crab spaghetti, chicken maque choux, a hard boiled egg mayonaisse, and a four layer banana cream cake that I'm going to have to cut in half because I only have two cake pans. Almost every savory recipe in this cookbook uses the trinity--onions, celery, and bell pepper. Meats and vegetables get smothered in the trinity, roasts are stuffed with this combination, and it forms the basis of gumbos, sauce picantes, and soups. There are also the strict disclaimers characteristic of all of Paul Prudhomme's cookbooks: "Use only fresh never frozen fish (substitute small game, vegetables, etc.)." "Use stock not canned soup." "This food is cooked over high heat don't let it burn." Paul Prudhomme also makes copious use of onion and garlic powder which I think makes food taste like potato chip dip. He has great technique though, but I prefer the recipes from his eleven brothers and sisters. I did learn, however, why I don't like blackened foods. I had blackened fish in a restaurant once, and it tasted burned and too salty. Chef Paul invented blackening, and there is an entire chapter on this in the Prudhomme family cookbook. I discovered that I didn't like the dish I had in the restaurant because it probably wasn't prepared correctly. Unfortunately, it's difficult to achieve the high heat necessary in a home kitchen without setting off smoke alarms, and it's unlikely I'll try what sounds like an ingenius technique. One method I have learned and made use of from studying cajun cooking over the years is how to make wonderful gumbos out of leftovers. Recently, I was spending Christmas at my mother-in-law's house. I was bored and wanted to cook which is all right with her because she doesn't like cooking. There was plenty of leftover ham, but we were short on what we in the south call "fixings," plus everyone was tired of ham--we'd been eating it since Christmas eve. Of course, the stores were closed, and I had to make do with what was in the house. The solution: a ham and whatever's in the house gumbo. I made a dark brown roux out of flour and oil. All this requires is stirring the flour and oil while watching the stove top temperature to make sure it doesn't burn. I put two chopped onions and about a heaping cup of leftover carrots in the roux and sauteed them until tender. I don't normally use spice mixtures, but my mother-in-law happened to have Mrs. Dash. This looked like it had plenty of good stuff in it so I sprinkled some of this on along with salt and black pepper. I was in luck because my mother-in-law had saved a quart of chicken broth from when she boiled chicken for chicken and dressing. Fresh chicken broth is much better than canned. I added this plus over a cup of chopped leftover ham and some leftover broccoli. The gumbo needed a little acidity, but I didn't have tomato sauce. As a substitute I added two-thirds a cup of strong Bergundy wine. I stirred and served. Everyone enjoyed the gumbo and remarked that it was a welcome change of pace. Another gumbo that I like to make out of leftovers is a duck and hard boiled egg gumbo. First, I strip the carcass of leftover meat and reserve. Next, I make a stock out of the duck bones, drippings, and an onion. When I roasted the duck the day before I reserved all the duck fat. Always save the fat from roasted ducks and geese. The fat from these birds makes a fantastic cooking oil for fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, corn bread, and doughnuts. I use the duck fat to make a dark brown roux then sautee two chopped onions in it. Season it with salt and cayenne pepper, add the duck stock and duck meat, and serve in bowls with rice and a hard boiled egg. The egg, an irresistable morsel, submerged in the brown spicy broth is delicious as sin. My daughter's favorite gumbo has no roux or onions but just a clean vegetable taste that kids love. I call it North Georgia gumbo or macaroni gumbo. I simmer four chicken thighs in a quart of water. When done I shred the meat and discard the bones. In the bottom of a heavy pot I brown a pound of hamburger meat and drain the grease. Then I add the chicken broth, shredded chicken, two cups of tomato sauce, two cups of corn--fresh, frozen, or canned, and two cups of whole small okra. Cooking okra whole keeps them from getting slimy which some people find objectionable. Season with salt and serve over macaroni with tobasco sauce on the side for people who like it hot. Don't waste those leftovers. Make a gumbo today. ------------ About the author Mark Gelbart: My book, Talk Radio, is a black comedy about a radio talk show host who gets kidnapped and psychologically tortured by a loser. www.mark-gelbart.com Email: agelbart@aol.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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