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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: 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: 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.

Comfort Food Saturday: Jalapeno Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

This recipe was adapted from this post over at Closet Cooking. I found the picture and link on Pinterest and immediately started daydreaming about the sandwich.  On my next shopping trip, I grabbed some jalapenos and made myself one for dinner. It was everything I wanted it to be and more.

Jalapeno Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

(recipe is for one sandwich...increase ingredients to make more!)

• 2 jalapeno peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
• 2 slices of bread (your choice, but I used Italian bread)
• Butter or margarine
• 1 tablespoon cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

First, roast your peppers.  Place the pepper halves on a baking sheet, skin side up.  Broil in your oven for approx. 10 minutes, or until the skin has blackened and blistered enough that you can pull it right off.  (after it's cooled a bit, of course)  Assemble sandwich by spreading margarine or softened butter on one side of each slice of bread, then cream cheese on the other side of each slice.  Place peppers on top of cream cheese, then top with grated cheddar cheese and other slice of bread.  Grill until golden brown. Enjoy.

 
A horrible picture of assembly.

 
The finished product.

Comfort Food Saturday: Antipasto

 
Marcus and I lived in Queens for several years, as many of you know, and we frequented an amazing little salumeria that cured their own meat and made their own cheese.  Everything I ever ate from there was incredible.  We used to go pick up some antipasto, ravioli salad and a nice, crusty loaf of bread, then sit and indulge in a nice Italian feast.  Since we've moved away, there have been days where we'd give ANYTHING for some of that food. In fact, I brought home 2 quarts of balsamic ravioli salad from NYC when I went for BlogHer last year.  We decided to splurge a little this week and buy some good-quality meats, some fresh cheese and a few other odds and ends to make our own antipasto.  It was worth every single penny we spent. 

We used Boar's Head meats, some from the deli's refrigerator, others that we had cut fresh.  Publix has a good fresh mozzarella, so we got some of that, along with some fresh veggies, then we picked some fresh herbs from my garden.  Assembling it was almost as much fun as eating it. (Almost.)

This antipasto, alongside some pasta salad and a nice loaf of crusty bread, makes for a perfect summer dinner.

ANTIPASTO

*Use as much or as little of each cold cut as you want.  We used a large Ziploc container and filled it to the top, eyeballing the ingredients.

• Mortadella (with pistachios)
• Sopressatta
• Prosciutto
• Hard Salami
• Pepperoni
• Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
• Red onion, sliced into rings, then cut in half
• Pepperoncini peppers, sliced into rings
• Green onion (2, diced)
• 1 small bottle Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar salad dressing

Cut meats and cheese into cubes and place into a bowl.

 
Add peppers and onions and entire bottle of dressing. Stir well, then refrigerate, stirring every hour.  Serve well-chilled.

 
Enjoy!