Shrimp with Chrystal Beurre Blanc and Tasso

18 Medium to Large size shrimp, peeled and slit down the back

1 (6 oz.) bottle Chrystal Hot sauce

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 T. butter

Juice of 1 lemon

18 (1" square piece) Tasso

Put the contents of the hot sauce into a small skillet and reduce by 1/2. Add the heavy cream and bring back to a simmer; add the butter and let it melt. Add the shrimp and cook in the liquid until the shrimp are pink and fully cooked through.

Place one piece of the Tasso on top of each shrimp and place on individual dishes; pour any extra sauce on top. Squeeze the lemon on top of the shrimp and serve. 

Brie and Crab Soup

Well it looks as if my cooking class conquered the Brie and Crab Soup as well as the Shrimp with Chrystal Beurre Blanc and Tasso today!! I'm so proud!!! Here is the soup:

1 small onion, chopped, small

1/2 of a bell pepper, chopped small

2 stalks of celery, chopped small

4 T. butter

1/4 cup of flour

2 cups of whole milk

2 cups of chicken broth

3/4 lb. Brie, cubed and rind removed

1 lb. lump crab meat

Salt, pepper and cayenne to taste

Chopped chives for garnish

Saute onion, bell pepper and celery in the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook until the onion is clear and stir in the flour. Continue stirring until the flour is no longer gritty. (~3 min on medium-high heat)

Stir in the chicken broth and milk and whisk to mix well.

Return the soup to a simmer, stirring constantly, until the soup thickens; add the cheese and stir until the cheese is melted. (You can blend the soup at this point for a smoother texture but I do not.) Add the crab and warm.

Add seasonings to taste. Garnish with the green onions and serve.

Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel Sauce

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 c. cooked, mashed pumpkin

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup flour

1 1/2 cup cake flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1 cup raisins

1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cream shortening and sugar together; add eggs and completely mix. Add the pumpkin and stir gently to incorporate.

In another bowl sift both flours, salt, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and baking powder together. Add the raisins and chopped pecans. Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients. Bake for 15 min and cool on wire rack.

Caramel Sauce:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 T. Butter

...and have some water standing by

Brown the sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Do not stir. Wait until all of the sugar is brown. (the sides will color first so do not let it burn!) Take the sugar off the heat and add the cream whisking constantly until the sugar is completely incorporated. (If you need to put it back on the heat to melt the sugar feel free!) Stir in the butter and if you need to add some water add it now. You want this to be a glaze not a candy. Pour 2-3 T. on top of each pumpkin cookie. YUM!!

Corn Meal Cookies

I love cornbread! It's great with almost any southern dinner, but here is an old recipe that my great grandmother, Mama Wiley used to serve at breakfast or after dinner. These cookies are sweet but with a few changes I was able to make them MUCH more versatile by add a little zing.

1 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup raisins
3 cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup yellow corn meal
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cream the shortening and sugar together; add in the eggs, zest, and lemon juice and stir until well incorporated. Add the raisins into the wet ingredients and set aside.
In a larger bowl sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt together. Add the nutmeg and corn meal, gently stirring to incorporate. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until the dough forms.
These are drop cookies so work them as if you were making chocolate chip cookies: take a tsp. of dough and drop each cookie onto a cookie sheet lined with a silicone mat. Bake at 400 for 10-12 min. or until brown around the edges. Cool on a rack before tasting. 

For the variation: use 3/4 cup sugar instead of 1 1/2 cups. Also add 1 T. of Ancho Chili Powder (or a good chili powder of your choice), 1/4 tsp. of cumin and 1/4 tsp. of cayenne into the dry ingredients before sifting. These are GREAT as an appetizer with drinks before a football game!!

Bubba's Fresh Italian Sausage

This sausage is MUCH better than any of the grocery store or manufactured sausage that I have ever tasted!

10 lbs. ground pork butt
12 oz. ground fat back (skin removed)
4 T. Kosher salt
2 T. paprika
3 T. fennel seed
1 bunch minced green onions
1 T. white pepper
1 T. black pepper
1 T. red pepper flakes
1/2 cup cold water
Casing (can be purchased at most grocery stores)

Always take a tablespoon of sausage and cook it in a small skillet for tasting to adjust the seasonings before you stuff the meat in the casings.
Combine all ingredients, mix well and stuff into the casings or if you don't want to use the casings, freeze the sausage in 1 lb. portions for convenience.

Bacon-wrapped Chicken Rolls

This is one of my favorite recipes just because it can be cooked in a small toaster oven...and in the summer heat of Houston this is a very big advantage! It is wonderful also because you can put almost anything in the center of the roll. This recipe uses spinach, Fontina cheese and ham slices but you could just as easily use blanched carrots, Parmesan cheese and Panchetta! Use your imagination! I promise you won't be disappointed!



The chicken rolls before cooking.
Stuff them with whatever you can imagine!

          

One tiny toaster oven produces much
less heat!!



3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin and cut in 1/2

6 slices Applewood-smoked ham

1 handful of baby spinach, washed and dried

6 slices Fontina cheese

6 slices thickly sliced bacon

Layer the ham, spinach and cheese on top of each piece of chicken; roll up. Secure each roll with one slice of bacon by wrapping it around.

Bake at 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Cover the top of the dish if the chicken begins to brown too much before the hour is up. Serve on top of rice or with mashed potatoes.

If you don't want to use the bacon just secure the roll with toothpicks before baking.

Honey and Pecan-crusted Chicken Breasts with Sweet Potatoes

You can eat the chicken as a meal by itself or slice it and serve it over a salad of ice berg lettuce, fresh peaches and some Fontina cheese with a Raspberry Vinaigrette! Yum!

Chicken
3 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
2 cups cold water and some ice cubes
2 egg whites
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup pecans, chopped finely
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup olive oil

Place the chicken breasts in a gallon Zip Lock bag with 2 cups of cold water, 5-6 ice cubes and the white wine vinegar. Marinate for 30 minutes or up to 2 hrs.
In a medium bowl mix the egg whites, honey and orange juice. In another medium bowl mix the pecans, bread crumbs, flour and seasonings.
Drain the chicken breasts and discard the marinade. Dip the chicken into the the honey mixture and coat completely. Dip the chicken into the pecan mixture and shake off any excess flour. Set aside.
Heat oil on medium high heat. Carefully add one chicken breast at a time. Brown on both sides and cook until the juices run clear. Drain and serve.

Jackie's Sweet Potatoes
2 large sweet potatoes
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 T. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
3 T. butter
Bake the potatoes until very soft. (depending on the size ~1 1/2 hrs)
While the potatoes are still warm remove the skins and place in a medium bowl. Add the butter and allow it to melt a bit. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until completely mixed. Pour into an oven-proof dish. (You can sprinkle with bread crumbs if you like.) Warm before serving.

Butter Rum Pound Cake

Christmas in July!!! Here is one of my favorite cakes to serve at Christmas, but it's great even in July!

Cake:
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cup sugar
6 eggs, separated
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp.soda
8 oz. sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1 recipe Butter Rum Glaze
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time. Whisk until completely incorporated.
Combine the flour and soda; add to the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Stir in vanilla.
Beat egg whites until stiff; slowly pour the 1/2 cup of sugar into the egg whites while whisking. Fold the egg whites into the batter and pour into a 10" tube pan. Bake at 325 for 1 hour.

Butter Rum Glaze:
1 stick of butter melted
1 cup sugar
1 cup of dark rum
1 cup of Praline liquor
Combine all the glaze ingredients except the pecans and bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar. (Be careful with the alcohol- it can ignite!) Remove from heat and stir in the chopped pecans. Pour over cake while the glaze is warm. Wrap in cellophane for at least 12 hours before serving.

Pelican Club

Located in the French Quarter across the street from the Monte Leon is the Pelican Club. As u walk in thru the frt door an incredible dark- wood bar awaits. The walls are beautifully decorated w local artist's paintings; some from the Mechalopocelos Gallery rt next door.
The bar tender recommended a summer drink special that we just couldn't pass up- a lemon drop. It was very refreshing especially after dealing w the humidity all day!
At the table we had their BBQ shrimp which had an oriental twist- totally unexpected for a restaurant n the quarter! Other appetizers included escargot w puff pastry and grilled quail w grits. The boys had an olive salad which strongly resembled a Central Market muffalatta. It was really good!!

Entrées included lamb and veal chops but the best item of the night was the Crispy Flounder! Amazingly crunchy on the outside, white soft and flakey on the inside. The sauce also had an Asian influence w sautéed onions and bell pepper strips and a plumb base w hints of citrus and cayenne.
It was a GREAT way to end our trip!