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Comfort Food Saturday: Crawfish Bisque

My husband is a genius in the kitchen.  In the 13 years I've known him, he has only made 2 things I didn't like.  I was worried about tonight's dish, seeing as we'd never made a soup like this before. Marcus loves bisque. I could take it or leave it most of the time, but then I'm lactose intolerant, so there ya go.  He started with the veggies, which Dean and I helped prepare. (I cleaned and helped chop, Dean took things to the trash can.)  Then I went downstairs to watch the Bama game (ROLL TIDE!) while Marcus worked his magic.  He called me up about an hour later for a taste test. OMG.  All it needed was a dash of hot sauce and we were good to go. So happy to have this in our recipe box.

CRAWFISH BISQUE

• 1-12 oz. package frozen crawfish tails (or fresh, if you can find them)
• 1 white onion
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 leek
• 1 cup cut-cup carrots
• 3 stalks celery
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken broth (low-sodium variety)
• 3 1/2 cups whole milk (can substitute half and half if you want a thicker base)
• 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning (Adjust to taste)
• 2 dashes hot sauce (Adjust to taste)
• 2 cups White cooking wine (or any white wine for stronger flavor)

Thaw crawfish tails in cool water. Drain and chop, if desired.  Set aside.  Rough chop vegetables.  In large saucepan, heat cooking wine.  When warm, add vegetables and cook until tender. (not soft)  Scoop vegetables out (leave wine in pan) and strain. Add crawfish to wine.  Place vegetables in food processor.  Process to a fine chop. (However small or large you like)  Remove crawfish from wine and strain.  In stockpot, melt butter on medium heat.  Once melted, slowly stir in flour.  Next, slowly stir in chicken broth.  Stir constantly!!!  Whisk in milk.  Add Cajun seasoning to taste.  Slowly whisk in vegetables. **If any liquid pools while veggies are sitting, remove it.** Add crawfish.  Add hot sauce to taste.  Serve with crusty bread.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

This recipe is courtesy of Paula Deen and it is DIVINE.  I've made the non-chocolate version before, but this one puts it to shame.  If you like the flavor of bourbon, Paula recommends throwing in a couple of tablespoons.  It's a really rich, sweet pie, perfect with a hot cup of coffee.

CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE

• 1- 9inch pie shell (unbaked)
• 2 cups pecan halves
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup dark corn (or Karo) syrup
• 3 ounces (or about 1/2 cup) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place pie shell in pie pan and cover bottom of crust with pecan halves.  In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and melted butter. (Be sure to let the butter cool a bit or you'll have scrambled eggs!)  Add karo syrup, sugar and chocolate.  Mix well, then pour over pecans.    Place pan on heavy-duty cookie sheet and place in oven.

Bake 10 minutes at 375, then lower temperature of oven to 350. Bake 25 minutes, or until pie is set.

 

Comort Food Satuday: My Top 5

Today is one of those days when the kitchen seems to call out to me.  It's not even 9am and I've already made eggs, waffles and fruit salad for breakfast and there's a batch of muffins in the oven.  Tiffany of Eat At Home is hosting a virtual cooking party over on her Facebook page.  If you're stocking your freezer for the holidays or just cooking for your family, pop over and share what you're making.

I've been writing Comfort Food Saturday for a few years now, and I thought I'd share a few of my favorites here for you to look at either again or for the first time.

Jen's Favorites:

1.  CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN MUFFINS    

I posted these muffins here a while ago, but recently posted the recipe on Food Lush.  They are the easiest thing in the world to make and so, so delicious. They actually taste like Fall.

2.  ANTIPASTO

Marcus and I worked hard to recreate the antipasto recipe of our favorite salumeria in NYC. This is pretty close...and pretty awesome.

3.  BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

I could eat two batches of these by myself.  They are perfect for using up that last banana or two and are a fun, tasty, different treat.

4.  STUFFED SHELLS

My take on these is a little different, as I use Italian sausage AND spinach.

5.  PARMA ROSA SAUCE

This recipe has gotten the most hits of any post I've ever written.  Read it and you'll see why.

 

  If you have a favorite recipe, let me know what it is. If you'd like to share one with us, I'm always game for guest posts!

Comfort Food Saturday: Black Bean Soup

I spent Thursday in my kitchen. I had a ton of internet things to do, like blogging here and at Food Lush, some Christmas shopping to start and a few other online things to tend to. I like to sit at my kitchen table on internet-heavy days like that, mostly so I have somewhere close to put my coffee and to keep my posture from getting too slouchy.  Around 11:30am, I was starving.  I rifled through the cabinets to see what I had to work with and pulled a few staples. The result was a phenomenal (and super easy) black bean soup that came together in about half an hour.  I have some nice spices that were sent to me by my friend Robin, who owns a spice and tea shop in New Orleans (read about it in my Food Lush post this week!) and this simple soup turned out to be pretty special.

BLACK BEAN SOUP

• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 large can tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika (smoked if you can find it)
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup each, red and green bell pepper (or jalapeno if you'd rather), chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen or canned corn kernels

Place all ingredients in a large stockpot and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, stir well, then reduce heat to low and allow soup to simmer for at least 30 minutes, or until onions and peppers are at desired tenderness.  Top with grated cheese and, if you're in the mood, a dollop of sour cream.

Comfort Food Saturday: Trashy Meatloaf

Meatloaf is one of those wonderfully greasy, comforting foods.  I have made many, many versions in my time, but this seems to be the one my family prefers. It sounds absolutely disgusting, but is SO SO good.  We call it trashy because it's seriously something you'd expect someone to whip up in a kitchen like Lafayette's on True Blood or on the  "White Trash Wednesday" menu at Brother Jimmy's in NYC.

TRASHY MEATLOAF

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup chicken flavor Stovetop Stuffing Mix (told ya it was gross)
• 1 packet McCormick meatloaf mix (or your own spice blend)
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• Giant squirt of ketchup
• 1 egg
• Heinz 57 sauce

Mix all ingredients except Heinz 57 sauce together in a large bowl. Use your hands. Place mixture in loaf pan, then cover with a coat of Heinz 57 sauce. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 40 minutes (depends on the depth of your loaf pan).  Enjoy.

Comfort Food Saturday: Eggplant Pizzas

I decided to do today's post in the form of a video. (How 'bout that freeze-frame?)  Enjoy.

Untitled from Jen Lane on Vimeo.

 

Comfort Food Saturday: Greatest Hits

I've been writing Comfort Food Saturday posts for quite a while now, so from time to time, I may revisit a recipe or two.  Below are a couple of links to some of my favorite recipes that I've shared. These are the ones I constantly refer to, the ones I use instead of written recipes now because it is just so much easier to pull up the blog. 

Have a favorite Comfort Food Saturday post or have a recipe you'd like to share?  Email me or leave it in the comments!

Blueberry Muffins  Dean and I baked a batch yesterday!

Parma Rosa Sauce  I get at least 5 hits a day from people Googling this recipe

Black Beans and Rice One of my favorite dishes to make

 

Comfort Food Saturday: Blueberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese and Lime Frosting

 

BLUEBERRY CUPCAKES

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup milk

 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

LIME CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

8 oz. cream cheese
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon lime juice
Zest of 1 lime

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients for cupcakes together in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, milk, vanilla and softened butter.  Mix with hand or stand mixer on low for 30 seconds, then increase speed to medium.  Mix for approximately 2 minutes, until well-blended and smooth.  Fold in blueberries with wooden spoon.  Drop batter into lined muffin tin, using an ice cream scoop.  Bake 18-22 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool completely.

For frosting, allow cream cheese to soften on counter for about 10 minutes.  Combine butter and cream cheese with mixer until well-blended, about 3 minutes.  Add lime juice and zest and mix.  Add confectioners' sugar 1/2 cup at a time and mix well.  Spread or pipe onto cupcakes.



Enjoy!

 

Comfort Food Saturday: For Jennie and Mikey

This week one of our own, Jennifer Perillo, a phenomenal food blogger, lost her husband, Mikey, to a sudden heart attack. He leaves behind Jennie, his soul mate, and their two young daughters.  I cannot even begin to imagine what Jennie and her girls are going through right now.  The Twitter-verse quickly became abuzz with requests of "What can we do?" Jennie answered with this heartbreakingly beautiful post.  At the end, she asks that, as a tribute to her husband and family, we all join together and bake Mikey's favorite dessert--a creamy peanut butter pie.  Bloggers all over the place joined together on Friday to bake a pie in honor of this man most of us never had the pleasure of meeting.  We can't do peanut butter around here (Dean has a sensitivity), but we took the sentiment to heart and baked our favorite dessert--tea cakes.  Standing over our favorite mixing bowl, my hands next to my son's tiny fingers in the dough, I said a prayer of comfort for Jennie and her family and a tearful prayer of thanks for all I have.  Please, if you want to leave a comment, click the link above and leave it for Jennie. She could use all the love we can send her way right now.

 
 
Click on this post at Food 52 to see the outpouring of love.

Comfort Food Saturday: Soy Honey Lime Pork Chops

We are visiting my husband's parents for a bit and we always enjoy cooking with and for them.  Last night my husband was put in charge of what may be the thickest pork chops I've ever seen.  He whipped up a fantastic marinade, let them set, then grilled them. They were delightful.  This marinade is one of those that gets better the longer it sits. Minimum marinating time should be one hour, but you're better off going for six.

SOY HONEY LIME PORK CHOPS

• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• dash of onion powder
• 2 tablespoons honey
• black pepper to taste
• cayenne pepper to taste

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together  soy sauce, lime juice, olive oil, pepper, garlic, cayenne and onion powder.  Emulsify the mixture by blending on medium-low speed with an electric mixer (or whisking vigorously by hand).  Once the oild is blended very well with the soy and lime (about 3-5 minutes of mixing), add honey 1 tablespoon at a time, adjusting the amount to your desired level of sweetness.  Mix well.  Marinate pork chops in mixture for 1-6 hours.  Prepare pork as desired.