It’s just a few days away from the Super Bowl and with the Saints headed to the big game my thoughts have once again turned towards my time in New Orleans and the foods of that town and region. I spent my first culinary internship at the Royal Sonesta Hotel, in the French Quarter. There I experienced a wide range of the foods New Orleans has to offer. At Begue’s, the hotel’s fine dining restaurant I was taught many of the more refined creole dishes from Oysters Bienville and Shrimp Etouffe to modern twists on things such as Shrimp and Grits, Tomato Tasso Bisque, and Souffles. Desire oyster bar, with frontage on Bourbon St., gave me a crash course in all things cajun, from oysters on the half shell to corn meal crusted fried oysters, to jambalaya, gumbo and po boys. It was here, in New Orleans, that my life long love of all foods Southern (from the BBQ and tamales of Texas to Red Eye Gravy to Frogmore Stew of the Low Country) got its start. While Southwestern cuisine may play a more important role in my style of cooking, it is the food of New Orleans though that captivates my heart.

There are so many great foods that come out of the cajun and creole tradition, but my two favorite are gumbo and jambalaya. Of course there are also Muffulettas, one of The Best sandwiches in the world. A true New Orleans tradition, but not cajun or creole, instead coming from the Italian part of New Orleans history.

While all of these deserve a blog post, and believe me, I will get to each one in due time, it is Jambalaya that I had a craving for this week. Jambalaya is New Orleans answer to Spanish Paella. It’s a wonderful rice dish studded with sausage, seafood, vegetables and, oftentimes, chicken. Unlike paella, it doesn’t rely on saffron for it’s flavor, instead relying on the Trinity of cajun and creole cuisine (onions, celery and peppers). A good jambalaya also has a nice amount of heat provided by cayenne, hot sauce or both, though the heat is usually more on the mild side. Jambalaya can either be cooked on the stove top or in the oven like a rice pilaf. I’ve seen many recipes for both, though people will fiercely defend (and oppose) one or the other.

Like so many of the recipes I offer, as is the case with many family style, peasant type foods, there are a million recipes out there, each family having their own, and each family claiming that theirs is the proper way to make the dish. The recipe I offer below is a great all round jambalya recipe. It contains sausage, chicken and shrimp and has a fair amount of heat to it. You can easily tone the heat down by omitting the cayenne and decreasing the amount of hot sauce used, but leave it with a little kick to it or the dish just seems to lack that something.

Jambalaya

2 medium onions, peeled and diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
12oz. Andouille sausage, large dice
1 pound chicken breast, large dice
1 28oz can diced tomato, with juice
2 1/2 cups rice, long grain
3 cups water
2 Tbsp. hot sauce (New Orleans style such as Tabasco, Crystal, Louisiana, etc.)
1 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves

In large pot over medium heat, heat 2 Tbsp. of oil. Add the vegetables and saute until starting to wilt. Add the sausage and garlic, cooking until the vegetables are tender, but not allow them to brown.

Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients.

Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the rice is done and all the liquid has been absorbed. Fluff the rice and serve.

I was born and raised in the North, but I spent a good portion of my cooking career down South, in New Orleans and Atlanta. While I prefer the North, especially for the 4 distinct seasons it offers, I came away from my time south of the Mason-Dixon Line with a great appreciation of southern culture and of southern foods. Just like in all regions of the US, southern food is a wonderful mix of native foodstuffs, foods brought to this country by colonists, Native American dishes, and a whole lot of ingenuity. What makes a lot of southern cooking so different, and wonderful is the heavy influence of African accented foods, both directly, in the form of foods eaten by slaves in the early years of our country and indirectly through the filter of the Caribbean. While these influences permeate a considerable bit of southern food it can really be seen the cuisines of New Orleans and in the coastal cuisines of the Carolinas and Georgia.

One of my favorite dishes, found throughout the south, but especially along the coastal areas, is Hoppin’ John, a variation on rice and beans, a dish found throughout the South and Caribbean. In this version, rice is paired with black eyed peas (also known as cowpeas) and bacon or ham. While eaten year round, it is often served on New Year’s Day and is considered a lucky food. As the peas are symbolic of coins, eating the dish is supposed to ensure a posperous year ahead.

Hoppin’ John, like so many great regional dishes, can be a very controversial dish with each family claiming that theirs is the proper way to make it. Some recipes cook the rice and the beans separately and then only combine them at service time, some recipes don’t include tomato, some say that ham is traditional, while others might claim that only bacon or fatback is traditional. I won’t make such claims. I openly admit that my version takes from a number of recipes, incorporating what I like and discarding what I didn’t. Is it “traditional?” Maybe yes and maybe no. It all depends on who you ask. Either way, it is quite tasty.

My wife had never had the dish before so I decided that New Year’s Day would be the perfect time to introduce her to this simple, yet satisfying meal. Served with greens, which are also thought to bring money, if eaten on New Year’s Day, and cornbread, you have a hearty soul satisfying meal

Hoppin’ John
serves 4-6

2 slices bacon, thick cut, diced
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 each bell pepper, diced
4 cups water
1 pound black eyed peas, frozen (if you can’t get frozen the buy dried-soak 1/2 pound overnight then cook until tender but not mushy, about 2 2 1/2 hours, then proceed with the recipe)
2 1/2 – 3 cups Ham, diced
1 each bay leaf
1 can (15oz) diced tomato
1 cup rice
1/2 tsp. black pepper, ground
3/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 – 1/2 tsp. cayenne (depending on your tastes)
1/4 tsp. oregano

I a pot combine the bacon and onion. Cook over medium heat until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes longer. Add the ham, bay leaf, black eyed peas and 3 cups of the water. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the rice, tomatoes, remaining cup of water and spices. Season lightly with salt, remember the ham and bacon will bring a considerable amount of salt to the dish. Cook, covered, until the rice is tender, about 15-20 minutes longer. Check the seasoning and add more salt if necessary.

I will never be mistaken for one of the more prolific bloggers around, but this month, so far, has seen less than usual activity from me. I apologize, work and family has kept me pretty busy the last few weeks, and I haven’t had a chance to do much serious cooking, let alone writing. But I’m back now, though I never completely left, and hopefully I’ll have a chance to blog on a more regular basis.

In the last few weeks, we’ve been ordering in pizza quite a bit, eating leftovers and reheating homemade soup. I felt it was time I make a special dinner for my wife. She tends to eat a lot of pasta and noodles so I wanted to stay away from those, but I was craving carbs so I figured I do a rich, creamy risotto, and since my wife loves shrimp I would make a shrimp risotto.

This version of risotto is not for the weak of heart. It’s got plenty of butter, cheese and cream to stop a horse, but as long as you aren’t eating like this regularly, then this is worth splurging for. This recipe serves 2-3 people. Don’t be alarmed. The portions aren’t huge, but because this dish is so rich the servings are plenty big!

Shrimp Risotto

1/4 cup Olive Oil
3 large cloves Garlic, minced
1 each Shallot, minced
1 1/2 cups Arborio Rice
5 cups Stock (shrimp* or chicken) or water
1/2 cup White Wine
3/4 cup Peas
12 each 16/20 Shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut into thirds
1/2 cup Cream
4 Tbsp. Butter
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 each Tomato, pulp removed and flesh diced
1/4 cup Green Onions, minced
Salt
Pepper

Bring stock or water to a simmer. Meanwhile in a large pot heat oil over medium high heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook until starting to turn translucent. Add the Arborio rice and cook 2 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Add wine and cook until fully absorbed. Start adding broth or water, about 1/2 cup at a time, and stirring until almost fully absorbed before adding more liquid. Continue this process until rice is al dente. This should take about 18 minutes. You might not use all the stock or water or you might need a bit more. The rice should be cooked but still firm, not soft, and it should be creamy but not loose or soupy. When the rice is about 3/4 of the way done add the peas. 2 minutes later add the shrimp. When the rice is done add the butter cheese and cream. Cook 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper and stir in the diced tomato. Divide among plates and garnish with the green onions.

*To make a simple shrimp stock. Reserve the shrimp shells from the shrimp you peeled to make this dish. Place them in a pot with 1/2 onion, diced and 1 rib of celery, diced. Fill with enough water to cover, bring to a simmer and allow to cook for 30 minutes. Drain off the stock, pressing on the solids to release as much liquid as possible.

This past Saturday my brother and his wife came up to spend the weekend. The plan was for them to arrive in time for dinner on Saturday and then they and I would head out and hit one of the local haunted houses for a good scare. The wife opted to stay home and take care of our daughter. She may love a good scary movie, but haunted houses, with all the loud noises and people jumping out, at her, just isn’t her idea of a fun time. The weather was cool, bordering on cold and just a little rainy so I was looking to make something that was warming, soul satisfying, but not overly heavy. I wasn’t in the mood for soup or chili and stew seemed a little too heavy when I remembered that it had been awhile since I had made risotto. Served with pan roasted chicken breast, it would be the perfect dish for the night; warm and comforting, yet it wouldn’t weigh us down as we ducked ghouls and ghosts and ran from bloodthirsty serial killers. Since it is Autumn, I decided to garnish the risotto with mushrooms and fresh sage, which also made a wonderful compliment to the simply pan roasted chicken breasts.

Mushroom Risotto
6 ounces Mushrooms (use a few varieties. I used white, shiitake and portobello mushrooms)
1 each Shallot, minced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 1/4 cups Arborio rice (or other Italian rice normally used for risotto such as Carnaroli)
1/4 cup White Wine
4 cups Chicken Stock
2 tsp. Fresh Sage, minced
2 Tbsp. Fresh Chives, minced
4 Tbsp. Butter
1/4-1/3 cup Parmesan, grated
Salt
Pepper

Bring chicken broth to a boil, reduce heat and allow to stay at a simmer. Meanwhile heat a large pot over high heat and add 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and saute until golden brown. Add shallots and garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Add remaining olive oil, then the rice. Stir until the rice is coated with oil then add the wine. Stir the rice and cook until the wine is full absorbed. Turn heat down to medium high. Add about 1/2 cup of the stock and cook until absorbed, stirring the entire time. Add another 1/2 cup of stock, stirring and cooking until absorbed. Don’t stop stirring the risotto. The stirring is the key to a good, creamy risotto. Continue this process until the rice is al dente. Don’t over cook the rice or it will be too mushy. It may not take quite all the stock or it might take just a little more than the 4 cups depending on the rice and will take about 18 minutes to cook. Add the sage about 1/2 way through the cooking process. When done remove from heat and stir in the butter and Parmesan cheese.   Check the seasoning and season with salt and pepper, if necessary.  Have everything else, that you are serving, ready as risotto does not like to sit around and will continue to cook and get mushy if not served right away. When serving garnish with the fresh chives. This makes enough risotto for 4 generous side dishes.