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Crawfish Étouffée

crawfish-etouffeeCRAWFISH TAILS SIMMERED IN A BUTTERY AND SPICY CAJUN BROTH WITH ONIONS AND SWEET BELL PEPPERS. SERVED WITH RICE, AND GARNISHED WITH LEMON AND ITALIAN PARSLEY.

Crawfish étouffée deserves special attention as one of Pea’s all-time favorite dishes. Despite half the name deriving from the French word meaning “to smother”, a few funky accents over the vowels, and the stick of butter in a first step that would make the French proud (although I hear their sticks are twice as big as ours), the crawfish étouffée was actually invented in Louisiana. Though to be fair, the étouffée has quite the culinary overlap with French cuisine, aside from the butter. The technique in making  étouffée is pretty similar to French stews, and it often begins with a butter roux, with or without vegetables or other ingredients, to which spices and a flavorful stock is added with the main protein to cook to a thick, rich consistency.

We won’t get into too many details about the differences between Cajun and Creole – suffice it to say that Creole recipes tend to have tomatoes, and Cajun doesn’t – or the differences between light and dark roux in cousin dishes like gumbo. The idea behind this recipe is to flavor everything to your taste, so the amounts in our recipe might not be the same in yours! And since this dish is from Louisiana, and not France, no one will bite if you don’t follow the instructions to the letter, either. – Boo

Servings: 4 (full courses)
Difficulty: 1 star

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick butter
  • Minced vegetables
    1 onion
    2 bell peppers
    4 cloves garlic
  • 0.33 c flour
  • Cajun spices
    2 ts smoked paprika
    1.5 ts cayenne pepper
    0.75 ts salt
    0.5 ts black pepper
    0.5 ts garlic powder
    0.5 ts onion powder
    1 ts dried oregano
    1 ts dried thyme
  • 2 c chicken stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 lb crawfish tail meat
  • 2 tb chopped parsley
  • Garnish
    lemon wedges
    chopped parsley

Directions:

  1. In a pot or large pan, melt butter over medium heat.
  2. Saute vegetables in butter until softened, 8-10 minutes.
  3. Add flour and spices to coat vegetables, and toast over medium heat, 3 minutes.
  4. Add chicken stock and bay leaves, and stir and simmer until thickened, 3-4 minutes.
  5. Add crawfish to cook or warm through, 3-5 minutes.
  6. Stir in parsley, optionally garnish, and serve with rice.

Braised Brisket Crêpes au Poivre

braised brisket crepes au poivreSLOWLY-BRAISED BRISKET MIXED WITH BELL PEPPERS AND ONIONS, AND SEASONED WITH CAYENNE, SMOKED PAPRIKA, AND BLACK PEPPERS. CREPES FINISHED WITH A DRIZZLE OF BALSAMIC REDUCTION.

Most foodies have probably heard of “Steak au Poivre”, which is half-translated from French for “steak with pepper”. Usually, the steak is coated completely in black pepper, then seared to form a smoky, spicy crust on the steak, and served with a cream sauce. Though black pepper doesn’t feature as pungently in this recipe, we’ve joined it with three of our other favorite peppers – bell peppers, cayenne pepper, and smoked paprika – to have savory, spicy, and sweet all work together in the brisket for a super flavorful and addictive bite that made Pea and me go back for more. Any meal – breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and midnight snack – could use some of this recipe! – Boo

braised brisket crepes above

Servings: 6 (2-crepe portions)
Difficulty: 2 star

Crepes:

  • Dry ingredients, sifted
    1.33 c flour
    2 tb sugar
    0.5 ts salt
  • Wet ingredients
    2 c milk
    2 eggs
    3 tb butter, melted
  1. Whisk wet ingredients together thoroughly, and gradually stir into dry ingredients.
  2. Cover and refrigerate, at least 1 hour.
  3. In a flat pan over medium heat, melt 0.25 tb butter, and pour a thin layer of crepe batter (~3-4 tb) to cook until lightly browned on one side, ~2 minutes. Toss or use a spatula to flip over, and cook until lightly browned on the second side, ~1 minute. Set aside on a plate.
  4. Butter the pan slightly before cooking each additional crepe.

Balsamic reduction:

  • 0.75-1 c balsamic vinegar
  1. In a small pot, simmer balsamic vinegar until thickened to desired consistency, ~10-20 minutes. Add water as needed for a thinner consistency.

Brisket au poivre:

  • Braised brisket
    1.5 lb beef brisket
    4-6 c beef stock
    4 cloves garlic
    2 bay leaves
  • Vegetables, minced
    2 bell peppers
    1 onion
  • Seasoning
    1.5 tb Dijon mustard
    2 ts smoked paprika
    2 ts salt
    0.5 ts black pepper
    0.25 ts cayenne pepper
    0.25 c cilantro, minced
  1. In a large pot, sear the brisket in olive oil on all sides.
  2. Add garlic, bay leaves, and stock to just cover brisket. Cover and barely simmer over low heat until tender, 5-6 hours.
  3. Discard bay leaves. Remove brisket and garlic to a mixing bowl, and pull apart with 2 forks. Keep warm.
  4. Boil braising liquid until reduced to 20% of original volume, 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, cook and set aside crepes, and prepare balsamic reduction.
  5. Add vegetables to reduced braising liquid to cook through, 5-6 minutes.
  6. Stir vegetables, reduced braising liquid, and seasoning into the pulled brisket.

Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb

herb-crusted rack of lambROASTED RACK OF LAMB WITH CRUSHED HERB AND GARLIC CRUST. SERVED WITH ASSORTED SEASONAL VEGETABLES.

A wise man (not me) once tweeted, “Once you realize that you don’t need a special occasion to buy a cake, the second part of your life begins.” And while I can definitely get behind cake anytime and anywhere, the same can be said about rack of lamb. Often found on Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner tables, or as specialties at your local fancypants restaurant, rack of lamb is a natural centerpiece and can (and should!) be appreciated year-round with it’s mildly gamey, tender, juicy, supremely flavorful meat. Though quite pricey even at our favorite wholesale clubs, rack of lamb is still our perfect go-to as an occasional treat or a date night main course. In our humble opinion, it goes best with bright and fruity flavors, or with savory sauces like red wine reduction or demi-glace! There’s just nothing quite like it. -Boo

Servings: 2-3 (main portions)
Difficulty: 2 star

Oven: 375 F, 20 minutes; 400 F, 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 (1.5-2 lb) rack of lamb
  • coarse salt and black pepper
  • 2 tb Dijon mustard
  • Herb crust
    2 tb breadcrumbs
    2 tb fresh parsley
    2 tb fresh rosemary
    2 tb fresh thyme
    3 cloves garlic
    2 tb olive oil

Directions:

  1. Process or finely mince herb crust ingredients, and set aside until use.
  2. Season rack on all sides with coarse salt and pepper.
  3. Sear in olive oil until browned on all sides. Remove to a work surface.
  4. Brush rack completely with Dijon mustard , and press herb crust mixture evenly over the rack.
  5. Roast at 375 F to desired doneness, 20 minutes.
  6. Increase temperature to 400 F, and roast to desired doneness, 14-16 minutes for medium-rare.
  7. Set aside to rest, 10 minutes.
  8. Slice racks into chops, and serve.

Blood Orange Sea Scallops Flambé

blood orange sea scallops flambeSILKY SEARED SCALLOPS WITH A SPICED BLOOD ORANGE REDUCTION. MISO-POACHED RADISHES AND SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS.

There are few better mealtime omens than a good scallop starter. And while scallops are great with the usual butter and white wine sauce, their natural sweetness and creamy texture complement fruity, tangy flavors delightfully! Blood orange may not be in season anymore, but of course regular oranges can be used, even though you won’t get the almost-berrylike tones as you would from the blood orange. For those of you who like playing with fire, there’s an optional step to flambé the sauce with Grand Marnier, too!

The focus of this recipe is definitely the sauce, while the method for the seared scallops is pretty much the same as any classic recipe – some light seasoning followed by a very hot pan and some oil for a minute or two a side. Happy cooking 🙂 – Boo

Servings: 2 (appetizer portions)
Difficulty: 1 star

Ingredients:

  • Blood orange sauce
    2 blood oranges, zested and juiced
    0.75 tb honey
    2 pinches salt
    1 pinch five spice
  • 1 tb Grand Marnier
  • 4 (large) sea scallops
  • Seasoning
    salt and black pepper, medium coarse
    garlic powder
  • Garnish
    pea sprouts
    blood orange zest
  1. In a small saucepan, stir and simmer sauce ingredients on medium heat until slightly thickened.
  2. Add Grand Marnier, and optionally set alight to flambé.
  3. Reduce sauce to 2-3 tb, or to a syrupy consistency. Remove from heat, and keep warm.
  4. Season scallops on both sides, and sear in olive oil over high heat, 1.5-2 minutes per side.
  5. Serve scallops with orange sauce, and garnish as desired.

Brown Butter Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Swiss Chard

brown butter gnocchiCHEWY PORCINI AND TRUFFLE POTATO GNOCCHI BROWNED IN BUTTER AND TOSSED WITH SAUTEED MUSHROOMS AND SWISS CHARD.

Never big fans of Whole Foods, Pea and I were still excited for the recent opening of one just two blocks away from our home. As we strolled through the aisles of fancypants ingredients and munched on the occasional free sample, we were shocked to find Swiss chard, one of my all-time favorite veggies, at a reasonable price! Quickly, before the shock and novelty of a good deal at Whole Foods wore off, we checked out contentedly with our find.

Swiss chard is great sautéed, stir-fried, or even raw in a salad or as a wrap. Although the recipe below is for a “gnocchi dish”, the swiss chard adds an fantastic dimension of flavor to the plate, which is otherwise just seasoned with salt, pepper, and lemon zest. The leaves are like a softer, silkier spinach, and the stems are just a hint sweet. With the mushrooms and chewy potato gnocchi, this vegetarian-friendly recipe makes a great earthy, savory meal for two or a comforting appetizer for three or four! – Boo

Servings: 2 (full courses) or 3-4 (appetizer portions)
Difficulty: 2 star

Ingredients:

  • Vegetables
    0.5 lb mushrooms, sliced
    0.5 onion, diced 1 cm
    2 cloves garlic, grated
    0.5 lb Swiss chard
  • 8 oz gnocchi
  • 2 tb butter
  • 0.25 tb olive oil
  • Seasoning
    0.5 ts salt
    0.25 ts black pepper
    lemon zest

Directions:

  1. In a large pan, sear mushrooms in olive oil over medium-high heat.
  2. Meanwhile, separate chard leaves from stems. Dice stems, and chop leaves.
  3. Add onions, chard stems, and garlic to large pan, and saute over medium-high heat until softened, 3-4 minutes.
  4. Add chard leaves to saute until wilted, 1-2 minutes. Set vegetables aside.
  5. Cook gnocchi per package instructions, and drain.
  6. In a pan, heat and stir butter over medium-high heat until browned. Add olive oil and gnocchi, and sear gnocchi on several sides, 2-3 minutes.
  7. Stir vegetables and seasoning into gnocchi, and serve.

Olive Oil Poached Chicken Breast

olive oil poached chicken close upMOIST, SLOW-POACHED CHICKEN BREAST ENRICHED WITH OLIVE OIL AND DASHED WITH BLACK PEPPER. SIMPLE, FRESH BALSAMIC SALAD. TORCHED BRIE OVER HONEY. LEMON WEDGES AND WHOLE-LEAF BASIL.

In 95% of cooked dishes, “color equals flavor”, meaning that the best flavor comes from the deliciously crispy, golden-brown crust that gives each bite traces of hundreds of different flavors through perhaps the most famous chemical reaction in the culinary world – the Maillard reaction. Other than in meats, the Maillard reaction also gives us fries, caramelized onions, classic caramel, and freshly baked bread.

But there’s much to appreciate in the other 5%, like the simplicity and the clean taste of fresh ingredients. In this dish, the chicken is seasoned with nothing more than salt from the water, pepper, and olive oil. It’s amazingly moist because it’s poached gently and allowed to soak in some of the olive oil as it chills. This recipe is really about the technique for the poached chicken, but we included our choice of sides, too, which are also lightly seasoned to let the flavors of the main ingredients shine and meld with each other. I hope you give this technique a try, and perhaps inspire even more interesting ideas! – Boo

olive oil poached chicken top view

Servings: 2 (small courses)
Difficulty: 1 star

Poached chicken:

  • 2 chicken breast halves (or 1 chicken breast, halved into cutlets)
  • Poaching liquid
    4 c water
    1 tb salt
  • 2-3 tb olive oil
  • Seasoning
    black pepper
    olive oil
  1. In a saucepan, bring water and salt to just under a simmer. Add chicken to poach, keeping water just under a simmer, until cooked through, 9-12 minutes.
  2. Remove chicken onto a plate, and drizzle olive oil over chicken. Wrap plate in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, 30-45 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare sides.
  3. Thinly slice chicken, and season to taste.

Sides:

  • Salad
    1 roma tomato, diced
    0.5 c cucumber, diced
    1 tb balsamic vinegar
    0.25 ts salt
  • Torched brie
    2 brie wedges
    2 tb honey
  • Garnish
    4 lemon wedges
    2 basil leaves
    olive oil
  1. Stir salad ingredients together, and set aside.
  2. Bake or torch brie over the honey until softened.
  3. Garnish plate as desired, and serve with poached chicken breast.

Raspberry Financiers

raspberry financiersMOIST, GOLDEN FRENCH ALMOND CAKES WITH RASPBERRY COULIS AND POWDERED SUGAR.

These little guys are like cupcakes, but even better! They are traditionally made as rectangular bars to resemble bars of gold, hence the name financier. And although Boo and I have managed to collect molds of all sorts of shapes, we don’t expect everyone else to have a rectangular 6 x 3 cm mold at arm’s reach, so we decided to use a regular cupcake tin. Plus, I think they’re cuter round. Geometric differences aside, these moist, spongy almond cakes are absolutely satisfying, incredibly easy to make, and great with a cup of tea or coffee.

When you’re making these, you may want to mix gently to keep from incorporating too much air into the batter, otherwise they will deflate as they cool after baking. After breaking up the egg whites with a fork, I used a rubber spatula to mix the batter together, which worked out just fine. But other than for aesthetic reasons, this step can be optional.

For our financiers, we used raspberry, but almost any fruit with a hint of tartness – like blueberries, peach, or even passionfruit – would pair beautifully with the richness of the cake. Be warned: they’re addictive. Thank goodness this recipe only makes 10! – Pea

raspberry financiers 2

Yield: 10 financiers
Difficulty: 1 star

Oven: 400 F, 6 minutes; 350 F, 14 minutes

Preparation:

  • Grease 10 small cupcake molds, or line with cupcake wrappers.

Almond cake:

  • 1 stick butter
  • 4 egg whites
  • Dry ingredients
    0.5 c sugar
    1 c almond meal
    0.33 c flour
  • 2 tb honey
  • 10 raspberries
  1. In a small saucepan, heat and stir butter over medium heat until browned. Pour into a bowl, and set aside to cool slightly.
  2. In a mixing bowl, lightly stir together dry ingredients, egg whites, and honey until homogenized.
  3. Gently stir butter into egg mixture.
  4. Divide batter into prepared molds or cupcake wrappers. Place a raspberry in the center of each with the cavity facing up.
  5. Bake at 400 F, 6 minutes. Lower to 350 F, and bake ~14 minutes until cooked through. Meanwhile, make raspberry coulis.

Raspberry coulis:

  • 3 oz raspberries
  • 1.5 tb sugar
  • 2 tb water
  1. In a small saucepan, stir and mash ingredients over medium heat until thickened, 10-12 minutes.
  2. Press through a strainer, and discard seeds.
  3. Using a small round tip, pipe coulis into the centers of financiers.
  4. Serve warm.

*recipe inspired by Bruno Albouze

Crispy Roasted Cilantro-Lime Chicken Thighs

cilanto-lime chicken thighsEASY, TANGY, FLAVORFUL MARINATED CHICKEN THIGH OVEN-CRISPED AND SERVED OVER ROASTED DICED VEGETABLES.

We’ve all had those long days at work. You want (or need) something delicious and comforting, but the last thing you want to do when you get home is be on your feet another hour prepping and cooking dinner. Even passionate home cooks need a break sometimes, and so this recipe was born with those days in mind.

All you have to do is toss the marinade together the previous night or the morning of, and let the refrigerator do the rest of the work for you! You can come back home, move the chicken from the fridge to the oven, and relax for 45-55 minutes until you have a juicy, succulent, tangy chicken with a crispy skin waiting for you. If you want to round out the meal with some vegetables and starch, Pea and I found that roasting up a couple diced bell peppers and potatoes (2-3 extra minutes!) worked amazingly with this. So with simple, comforting dinner that you can look forward to through a tough day, hopefully you can turn your frown upside down 😀 – Boo

Yield: 4 chicken thighs
Difficulty: 1 star

Oven: 400 F, 45-55 minutes

Marinade:

  • 0.25 c cilantro, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 0.25 tb cumin
  • 0.25 tb coriander
  • 1 ts salt
  • 3 limes, zested and juiced
  • 3 tb olive oil

Directions:

  1. Thoroughly coat chicken thighs with marinade. Seal/cover and refrigerate, at least 8 hours.
  2. Shake off excess marinade, and place chicken thighs skin-side up on baking tray. Bake on upper-middle rack until cooked through, 45-55 minutes. Serve.
  3. Optionally, boil excess marinade in a saucepan for 2 minutes, and spoon over chicken or side dishes.

Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Blueberry-Lemon Reduction

pork tenderloin medallions with blueberry lemon reductionROSEMARY-RUBBED PORK TENDERLOIN MEDALLIONS FINISHED WITH A REDUCTION OF BLUEBERRIES, LEMON JUICE, AND RED WINE. OVER GARLIC SAUTEED GREENS.

When we hear “filet mignon”, most of us think of the fork-tender, melt-in-your-mouth beef steak without a match. But interestingly, in France, “filet mignon” generally refers to the steak cut off the pork tenderloin. And though I love a good beef steak, using pork gave this a different steak-eating experience. A little more neutral in taste than beef, a pork steak pairs well with sweet and tart ingredients such as apples, grapes, berries, and honey. It might sound odd, but I think this recipe has an almost-dessert-like quality to it – in the best possible way! I even added a dash of cinnamon to the sauce to help bring out the sweetness even more. With a lean serving of protein, almost a whole serving of fruit, and a red wine-based sauce, this recipe was our fun experiment and turned out to be a healthy and exciting way to use pork tenderloin. – Boo

pork tenderloin medallions blueberry reduction

Servings: 3 (main portions)
Difficulty: 2 star

Pork medallions:

  • 1 pork tenderloin
  • Seasoning
    salt and black pepper, coarse
    2 ts dried rosemary
  1. Cut tenderloin into 6 medallions. Flatten medallions to a thickness of 1-1.5 inches.
  2. Rub seasoning over pork.
  3. In a large pan, sear pork medallions in olive oil on both sides until browned. Remove from pan, and prepare sauce.

Blueberry sauce:

  • Liquids
    0.25 c red wine
    0.25 c chicken stock
    1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • 1 c blueberries
  • 2 shallots, minced
  • Seasoning
    0.25 ts salt
    0.25 ts cinnamon
  1. In the same pan, add all sauce ingredients. Bring to a gentle simmer.
  2. Mash several blueberries, and add tenderloin medallions back into sauce to finish cooking, ~5-7 minutes for medium.
  3. Remove pork, and reduce sauce to desired consistency.
  4. Serve pork medallions with sauce, and optionally garnish with blueberries and lemon zest.

Asian Honey-Glazed Salmon

honey glazed salmonCRISPY FILLET OF SALMON GLAZED WITH HONEY AND SEASONED WITH FRESH MINCED AROMATICS. BOK CHOY STIR-FRIED WITH GARLIC AND SESAME OIL. CINNAMON-ANISE STEAMED RICE.

As much as we love our comforting, spicy stews and hearty broths through the winter, we felt it was time to bring in the light, fresh, and crisp flavors to hit off the start of spring. And so we bring you our very quick and easy honey-glazed salmon, where the natural tanginess of the fresh green onion and the just-barely-cooked ginger and garlic mince were the life of the dish, maybe even more so than the salmon itself! Since this worked so well with the lightly salted bok choy dashed with sesame oil and the fragrant rice, we’re including the sides in the recipe, too. If you’re just feeling the salmon, though, feel free to go straight down to that part of the recipe. Hope you give this a try! – Boo

P.S. If you want some curly green onions for garnish, slice them into thin strips about 4 inches long, then put them in ice water for several minutes.

honey glazed salmon top-downServings: 2 (full courses)
Difficulty: 1 star

Anise rice:

  • 1.2 c water
  • Spices
    3 star anise
    4 cloves
    0.25 ts salt
    0.25 ts cinnamon
  • 1 c white rice, washed
  1. In a small saucepan, bring water with spices to a boil.
  2. Add rice to boiling water. Cover and steam over low heat until cooked through, 20-25 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare bok choy and salmon.

Garlic bok choy:

  • 4-6 heads bok choy, halved lengthwise
  • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 0.5 tb sesame oil
  • 0.5 tb cooking wine
  • 1 ts vinegar
  • salt and black pepper
  1. In a pan/wok, saute bok choy with garlic in vegetable oil over medium-high heat until slightly softened, ~3 minutes.
  2. Add sesame oil, and toss to coat vegetables.
  3. Add remaining ingredients, and cook to desired doneness, 3-5 minutes.
  4. Cover to keep warm, and set aside. Meanwhile, prepare salmon.

Glazed salmon:

  • 2 (6-8 oz) salmon fillets
  • Seasonings
    salt
    white pepper
  • 1.5 tb corn starch
  • Toppings
    2 green onions, minced
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    1 tb grated ginger
  • 2-3 tb honey
  • Garnish
    green onions
    roasted salted peanuts
  1. Salt and pepper salmon on both sides, and sift a thin layer of corn starch onto both sides.
  2. Sear salmon in olive oil over medium-high heat until cooked pink halfway up, ~4 minutes, and flip over. Spread toppings on seared side, and drizzle honey over fillets.
  3. Continue searing second side until crisped and cooked to desired doneness, 3-5 minutes.
  4. Remove salmon from heat to rest, 3 minutes.
  5. Serve, optionally with green onions and roasted salted peanuts.