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MallCrawler99

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Posts posted by MallCrawler99

    Post your Favorite Recipies

    in Off-Topic

    Posted

    Shrimp marinate to try:

     

    1 tbsp jerk sauce

    2 tbsp teriyaki sause

    1 tbsp garlic juice

    1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

    1 tsp garlic salt

    1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

    1 lbs of shrimp

     

    Marinate 1/2 hour minimum, longer recommended and toss on the BBQ grill for delicious shrimp!

     

    K

    Post your Favorite Recipies

    in Off-Topic

    Posted

    OK, I've been working on this since yesterday. I am now so HUNGRY

     

    It's starting to get cold outside, so here is my recipe for chicken and andouille gumbo. Relax, I'm from south Louisiana, I know what I'm doing. :tongue:

     

    Ingredients:

     

    Cooked Rice

     

    Vegetable oil

     

    1 whole chicken (with or without giblets)

     

    2 to 3 lbs of andouille (cajun sausage). If andouille is not available locally, use spicy smoked pork sausage prepped in links

     

    1 to 1.5 pounds tasso (optional, I would suggest mesquite or applewood smoked pork belly if tasso is not available in your area)

     

    1 large bunch of celery

     

    4 large onions

     

    4 green bell peppers (as a side note, celery, onions, and peppers are the "trinity" of Cajun cooking)

     

    12 to 20 petals of garlic

     

    1 or 2 Jalapeños, seeded and choped (optional)

     

    1 pound okra, finely sliced (optional as well if you don't like the texture)

     

    3 tbsp Gumbo file. (pronounce fee-lay, ground sassafras leaves, may be available at your local grocer)

     

    5-6 oz of condensed chicken stock. I recommend Knorr's

     

    5 to 10 Bay leaves, depending on age/ strength. 5 if fresh, more if not

     

    Tabasco sauce to taste (I put about 3 tbsp)

     

    Fresh ground black pepper to taste

     

    White pepper to taste

     

    Celery salt to taste

     

    Kosher salt to taste

     

    Cayenne Pepper to taste

     

    Dried crushed red pepper flakes to taste

     

    Dash of smoked paprika

     

    *note* spices are "to taste" because my idea of seasoning may not be your idea; if you already cook, you know what you like, just don't be afraid of the spice. A runny nose during consumption is the mark of a good gumbo. I go heavy with the pepper and light with salt due to the saltiness of the chicken stock.

     

    Roux:

     

    Either purchase pre-made roux such as Savoie's, or you can make it yourself with oil and flour. Honestly, I can't make a better roux than what is available pre-made locally, and since this is the thickening and flavor agent for gumbo, if you're not familiar try to find a jar of pre-made roux. I prefer a dark roux for chicken and andouille, and a lighter roux for seafood gumbo, but that's just me. If it's not available locally, here's a quick roux:

     

    Between 1/3 and 1/2 cup vegetable oil or peanut oil. These work better than olive oil because they withstand higher heat. If you want, get crazy and use Crisco, or see my variations below.

     

    All-Purpose flour. You will have to guesstimate the amount but I'll teach you how: the roux is meant to thicken the texture of the gumbo and provide its signature brown color. With that in mind, you know what you're aiming for, right? Not runny and oily, but not like biscuit dough. You want the texture to be like thick natural peanut butter but slightly darker. So go slow adding flour if you're not confident and you can't mess it up. Oh and here's the good news: It's cheap to mess up a roux, and expensive to mess up a gumbo. There's nothing wrong with throwing out bad roux. So in this recipe, the roux is added separate from the stock, so you won't risk messing up the whole pot.

     

    In an iron skillet, begin heating the oil on medium heat. When the oil is hot to the touch but not yet able to boil off a drop of water, add roughly an equal amount of flour as what you put in oil. (1/3 to 1/2 cup) stir the flour into the oil, reduce the heat ever so slightly, and stir constantly. Once the flour is completely stirred in, it should be slightly runny - not yet thick enough -, but you want the heat to equalize as you add new flour so that's the part of this that's gradual. Gradually add flour until it reaches the desired consistency, then continue to cook it at that slightly-below-medium heat as it darkens. Remove from heat and set it aside for later when it is about the color of standard brown sugar. (not light nor dark brown sugar) I suggest spreading it out on a dinner plate to cool to cut down on it continuing to cook and possibly breaking.

     

    *Variations: brown your sausage in the skillet first to get some of that flavor, or use some bacon, venison, or even rabbit fat. Also, you can add spice to the roux such as black pepper or cayenne, but I find this unnecessary since it's in the stock.

     

    Stock:

     

    In a LARGE stock pot – I’m talking 15 quarts or more here – put ½ cup of oil and begin heating on medium high heat. Chop the onions, celery, and peppers, and when the oil is hot, throw in the onions first and turn them to coat with the oil. Cook them down a bit, then add the celery and repeat. When the celery starts to wilt, add the peppers and turn them into the veggie mix. Throw in the garlic and spices at this point as well. Keep the heat high, but keep stirring the veggies as you’re not wanting to sautee them as much as reduce them. If you’re adding okra, keep it set aside for now.

     

    When the veggies are good and tender, reduce the heat to just below medium and add cold filtered water. You’re about to boil a whole chicken in the pot, so keep that in mind. I can’t really say how much water, but at least 2 quarts. It will need to be enough to completely cover the chicken when it’s submerged. Add the chicken stock and bay leaves and stir them in good. Prep the chicken, rinse it off, and remove the giblets if you don’t like to eat them. When the stock comes to a boil, slide the chicken on in there. When the stock returns to a boil, set a timer for 45 minutes (add time if the chicken is larger than average) and occasionally move the chicken to keep it from burning on the bottom or broaching the top of the stock in the same place.

     

    Take a frying pan or iron skillet and get some heat under it, it’s time to brown the sausage. Cut the links into circles about ¼ inch thick, and brown them puppies down in your skillet and set aside. Keep the fat, it’s delicious. If you were able to locate tasso, it doesn’t need to be browned, just cut it into spoon-size pieces. You’re in the home stretch now, just hang on. There’s only one more tough step – deboning the chicken.

     

    When you’re chicken is finished boiling, pull it out of the stock and debone it. Hopefully, the long slow boil has given it the consistency of pulled chicken – kinda stringy. When you are finished deboning it, add the chicken meat back to the stock – now it’s time for roux.

     

    The roux should be room-temperature at this point. So, increase the heat on the stock to a rolling boil. Once it’s really going, start slowly adding the roux and stirring it in. You’ve added enough when the gumbo starts to look like really muddy water – but don’t it smell delicious? You can add all the roux you want, it will just make the gumbo darker and thicker. First-timers beware, this is where the gumbo really gets it’s signature flavor, so don’t dump it in there. Add it a bit at a time until it looks like muddy river water, that’s the best bet. The point of having the stock at a rolling boil is for complete incorporation without breaking the roux. You know the roux broke because the flour will lump at the bottom and the oil will come to the top. But if you made the roux right, this won’t happen unless you’ve allowed the water to get cold.

     

    When you have the roux completely added, reduce the heat to medium low, and add the browned sausage, tasso, okra, and the file and stir everything in together. It should have the thickness/ consistency of a runny stew. Reduce to low heat and let the gumbo simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally, to let the flavors marry.

     

    Serve in bowls over rice with crackers or potato salad – I put my potato salad IN the bowl – and voila!! Laissez les bon temps roulet!!

     

    B made the gumbo last weekend and it is freaken awesome! Thanks for the recipe, much appreciated. :jig:

     

     

    K

    Post your Favorite Recipies

    in Off-Topic

    Posted

    Ok, this one is for Red since he said he like Asian food. One of my all time favorite from my favorite Thai cookbook.

     

    Garlic Shrimp

     

    3 tbsp vegetable oil (I used less)

    1/2 lbs of shrimp, peeled and deveined

    2 tbsp Cilantro Pesto (see below)

    1 tbsp fish sauce (B said I might lose people here, :lol: )

    A few fresh cilantro leaves

     

    Heat a wok or medium skillet over med-high heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat the surface. When the oil is very hot but not smoking, add the shrimp and stir-fry until it coats the shrimp and begins to cook. Add the fish sauce and toss the shrimp to mix it in. When cooked to preference, transfer the shrimp and sauce to a serving platter. Sprinkle with the cilantro leaves and serve.

     

    Cilantro Pesto

     

    1 tsp whole white or black peppercorns

    2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh cilantro stems and/or leaves

    2 tbsp coarsely chopped garlic (I use more per B's preference)

     

    Using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder, crush or grind the peppercorns to a fine powder. Combine the pepper, cilantro stems, and garlic and work the 3 ingredients into a fairly smooth paste in the mortar or a small blender or food processor (Magic Bullet blender is great for this). If you use a blender or food processor, you may need to add a little vegetable oil or water to ease the grinding (I add a little water).

     

    Enjoy!

     

    K

     

     

    My cool, late Christmas gift

    in Off-Topic

    Posted

    It just showed up today, a late gift from my wife. She bought me the 40" rifle sling which is made up solely of 80' (25m) of 550lb test milspec paracord weaved together with Uncle Mikes quick detachable super swivels on either end. The paracord is about 1/8 (3mm) in diameter.

    https://www.survivalstraps.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=RIFLE-SLING

    http://www.cabelas.com/gun-slings-uncle-mikes-quick-detachable-super-swivels-2.shtml

     

    Quite frankly (and she will see this), I would have preferred the belt but that is ok for two reasons. 1) I will simply buy myself the belt now and 2) my 10/22 doesn't have sling studs/swivels so I will just have to go and buy a rifle that does... :D

     

    For the survival geek this is a cool and potentially useful design so check out some of the other stuff they have. I will tell you right now that the products are exactly as advertised, well made with quality materials and just plain cool!! :aok:

     

    B

    Hey now, I tried...I did not check to see if your rifle had the sling studs/swivels. :doh::(

     

    Thats pretty cool B. I learned how to weave the bracelets, but they only use around 8 feet of cord. The regular cobra weave is only around 5/8 wide. That would be too skinny for a rifle sling. How wide is yours? I guess with more internal cords the weave would come out wider.

    I have a box of hot pink and lime green para cord that I ordered for my daughter to make bracelets for all her friends.

    James

    That is cool.

     

    I have no idea what's goein on besides something pink is gettin made and that is almost enough to make me want it :shrug:

    :lol:

     

     

    K

    Birthdays!

    in Off-Topic

    Posted

    Thank you everyone, I did have a good Birthday! B took me out to lunch. :jig:

     

     

    Happy Birthday!!

     

     

    K, I hope B gets you something nice for the pathy! :)

    He did! He just haven't started on it yet. :)

     

    Happy Birthday Everyone!! :fireworx:

     

     

    Yeah, you too K, I guess... :rolleyes:

     

    B

    Thanks for lunch.

     

    :coffee!: till later the :beer: !

     

    Have a good one!

    K don't want people to know how many hundred years younger than B she is?

    :lol:

     

    I hope B did something cool 4 u. Maybe I'll see u & B in a week. Maybe I should have Trish should join as MallCrawler94...

    Happy B-day K-Day

    Thanks. Stop by if you can; we love having guests over.

     

    :beer:

     

    K

    Thank your Secret Santa HERE

    in Off-Topic

    Posted

    Well, looks like I did ask for it...lol

    :rofl:

     

    Even my Jonas had a Santa! NPORA swag FTW

    Thanks a lot Santa :) I love it and I think he does too.

    jonasnpora.jpg

    That is sooo cute!! :aok:

     

    That's pretty awesome right there!! The funniest part is that I was going to say, take the pants off, give him a remote, some cheetos and a bean bag and he'll looks like a Mini Me version of a member... :lol:

     

    B

    :lol:

     

    AWESOME! I guess you needed to be a bit more specific in your request.

    :rofl:

     

    Thanks guys, had a good laugh during my lunch break!

     

    K

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