Making up for the NFC South's Terrible Week 1: GUMBO!

So, in light of the NFC South's terrible opening week (all four teams lost), I thought I should feast on something to remind me of how much I love the South...Gumbo.

Starting out with about a pound of andoille sausage, sliced into about 1/4 inch pieces in the pan, brown until fully cooked.  Once cooked drain off about 2/3's of the drippings, then add 1 cup of the trinity (1/4 inch diced celery, onion, bell pepper), a teaspoon of finely diced or crushed garlic and brown in sausage drippings.

For the shrimp I used a pound of 21-25 count, (a little larger than I desired, but they were on sale!), heavily seasoned with Zataran's Creole seasoning.  PS, I de-veined/shelled/tailed the little basterds before seasoning.

Once the trinity is tender, add in the shrimp, and cook until bright pink.  Once the shrimp are done, add in a cup of water, and a cup of stock.  Because of availability in my fridge, I used chicken, but pork or shrimp stock would do fine.  Once the liquids start to boil, add in your thickener.

Being the good southern man that I am, I chose to use okra.  Okra is a plant that's seed pod (the part you eat) produces mucilage, a soluble fiber that in a neutral pH will cause it's surroundings to thicken.  If you prefer otherwise, a simple  blond roux will suffice.

I added in about a cup of okra and simmered for another 45 minutes, and I had a great looking stew that was just thick enough to cover the back of the spoon.

I served it up over a bowl of rice, with a side of Kings Hawaiian Sweet-rolls, and voila!

Best part about this meal is that it can be easily customized, a variety of seafood or meats and veggies can be added, chilies for more heat etc.  If you ever find yourself exploring the cuisine of New Orleans, please do drop me a line and tell me what you think!
Thats all folks!

Hot Dogs from around America

So today I was craving a hot dog, and due to the town where I live's lack of a Der Wienerschnitzel I figured I'd have to make my own.  Yes, Costco is there but I didn't want to spend money I don't have on things I don't need.  I digress.

So I went to the store and bought a pack of hot dogs and buns, then decided to get creative.  I ended up purchasing a few additional toppings.

So I decided that this Californian would cook and eat four hot dogs (I was really hungry).

There was the:
-Chicago style: a dog served up with a pickle spear, tomato juliennes, mustard and onions.  Not a bad combination, but I think I need to dry out the pickle because it really overpowered the dog.
-Seattle style: a dog split then cooked served atop a toasted bun with cream cheese, grilled onions, and cock-sauce (sriracha).  My least favorite of the three...sort of expected, leave it to a bunch of Seattle hippies to ruin a good ol' fashioned meal.
-Coney dog: an American classic, a dog served on a bun with mustard, chili (NO BEANS of course), topped with cheese (I used sharp cheddar), and diced onions.  Always hits the spot
-Carolina dog: a hot dog topped with coleslaw, chili, and onions. MY FAVORITE, no surprises here I should've expected it from the name alone, I mean everything is  bigger in Texas, but its better from the Carolinas.

Surprisingly, the vinegar content in the slaw was more mild than that of the mustard as compared to the coney dog.  The partially broken down cabbage also provided a sweetness that complimented the mild heat in the chili so I would say it was a sweet-heat combination on the dog.

Total cost of this recipe <$20.  Total time (prep/cook) <30 minutes.
It was a good day in the kitchen.

St John's Festa-Portuguese Sopes

Being from San Diego, I thought myself to be pretty well exposed when it came to foreign gastronomy, but I experienced one of the most delicious meals I've had that I didn't prepare myself.  With my past Portuguese cuisine limited to linguiça and eggs (fake I know), I had no idea what to expect.  I was told that it would be a day of eating slow cooked meat and day-drinking.
Day-drinking has been a past time of mine pretty much since I relocated from San Diego to Merced.  Remembering back to my college days of good-beer-Sundays, spending Sunday at a festa sounded like a good idea.
Upon arrival at the church, we parked our booties in a picnic bench and proceeded to open up a few silver bullets.  Werewolves be ware.  

Aside from the shady picnic area surrounded by the kitchens the next sense that was awakened was my olfaction.  The air was filled with the scent of cloves, cumin, and bay but more importantly, cinnamon.  My stomach immediately started to growl.  I was hungry.  I was curious.  I asked a friend who is a veteran festa-er to take me into the back.  It was quite the spectacle.  I've worked in a production kitchen before, and this is nothing like I've ever seen before.  There were at least three generations of men working the kitchen.  I was amazed at how efficiently the machine was working.  (For perspective purposes the dude with the shovel-tool was like 6'1")

So after about an hour of good company and good conversation, a pair of sixty-something Portuguese men start at the end and unroll butcher paper the length of the table.  They're followed by another two who bring out two huge metal bowls.  In the bowls contain the Sopas.  Sopas in Portuguese is different than Soaps in Mexican.  Instead of a soup, its more like a stew, which is even a stretch, Id say most like a pot-roast.  
So back to the food.  One pan had cabbage blanched to perfection in the spice-meat juices, as well as what I presume is a french bread sliced and also in the bowl.  They called it "soggy bread" the bread like the cabbage is soaked in these tasty juices.  Accompanying the cabbage and bread is another bowl filled with the meat.  From the size and color it is very obviously beef but I imagine chevon or mutton could be easily substituted.

The food was amazing!!  Best part about this meal: it's served family style.  The one drawback about the family style was the jackass sitting across from me, who insisted on using a clean utensil to grab.  Note to the jackass: family style means you grab what you eat from the common plate; don't be a doucher about germs, its 2011 there's no such thing as microbes!  

For each bite I took a little beef and cabbage and a morsel of soggy bread, and my whole mouth was engaged.  The acidity in the broth started to breakdown the bread so it was sweet and sugary, the cabbage provided just the right amount of sour and bitter and the meat balanced it out with the salt and umami.  
Following the meal, the bowls are pulled, and the same old men that laid the paper, come by and fold up the edges and roll it back up and away.  In a matter of seconds the table is cleaned and bused.  Right after the paper is lifted away, in the background a band can be seen unpacking.  The band set up and started playing covers of popular country songs.  This country boy transplant was happier than a pig in shit!  If given the opportunity to attend another festa, I would do it in a heartbeat.  This is one cultural event that you cannot take a pass on!

Moving Week

Sorry, nothing new for the week, spend it moving and such.  hopefully a new food adventure next weekend...its the Gilroy Garlic Festival...
Something to look at:
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/sriracha

Mariposa Pizza Factory

So I spent this past Sunday hiking around in Yosemite National Park with some friends; the views were spectacular, the company was even better.  On the way back home from the park, there's a small mountain town  called Mariposa, named for the butterflies that can be seen during the winter seasons.  The whole town has this sortof old-west feel to it, needless to say its quite an interesting town.
Anyhow, it is home to a place called the Mariposa Pizza Factory (yes I know its a franchise).  The place makes their own pizza dough and sauces on site, not very franchise-esque; and they do a great job.  My buddy and I decided to split a medium linguica and pastrami pizza.  We're both big boys, and it was enough to satisfy us both.
It was the first time I've ever had pastrami on a pizza, IT WAS FREAKIN GOOD!  As a matter of fact, it was the first time I've ever had pastrami and cheese together   Food was great, the restaurant is awesome.  Its very age friendly.  There's a game room in the back, the children traveling with us had a blast on the claw-machine.  It was a good claw-machine too, well decent...all the stuffed animals were accessible, not crammed in like the others.  Both the 6 and 3 year old's left with a souvenir.  I digress... there's flat screen tv's around with sports on (made the information lockdown on world cup scores nearly impossible); and about 6 beers on tap plus plenty more on bottles; just enough to be refreshed and fed after a day of hiking.