#food

I'm very FROND of how this came out.

--geque!--

#food

Sausage & lamb gumbo!

Okay, not a true gumbo, but I used gumbo and "smothering"techniques, plus a whole lot of delightful cheats that borrow from French, Asian and Australian (yes!) cooking.

Enjoy the pictures (thanks to
@cargoweasel.com
as always).

Meats: crumbled "sweet Italian" sausage; firm garlic sausage cut into wedges; mini-pepperoni; leg of lamb cut into large chunks, all fat and silver-skin removed

Veggies: green peppers, onions, celery, garlic, parsley, various dried herbs

Liquids: several home-made stocks & demis

Lamb isn't a typical gumbo protein, but I had some, so why not? I used a mix of several home-made stocks and demi-glace reductions I had laying around.

The roux I made the night before using the oven technique: two hours of AP flour and bacon grease (!!) in a pan at 350F, stirring every 30 mins.

I marinated the cleaned cubed lamb for 48 hours in apple cider vinegar, olive oil, parsley, dried spices, salt and pepper.

I browned the Italian sausage, evacuated to a strainer set over a bowl to catch oil. Then I browned the garlic sauce. Repeat for ALL proteins. This way I could remove all the fat and control how much I added back.

Wiped the pan and returned fat from the rendered, browned proteins; sweat down all the veggies (except the garlic). I let this take a WHILE, and even took it to brown to create more flavors. Garlic in last so it wouldn't burn.

Added flour to make a white roux, for thickening. Then deglazed with 1/2 bottle white wine.

Cooked to reduce out alcohol, then came the tricks: added the "peanut butter"-colored roux from the day before, plus soy sauce, Marmite (!!), MSG, cajun seasoning, white & red pepper, dried herbs and spices, fish sauce, Worcestershire, corn syrup & the stocks and meats.

Simmer gently for 2+ hours.

After ninety minutes the magic happened: the wine, stock, roux and meats combined into something sinful: luscious, thick, spicy, rich, meaty, and not too lamb-y (as I'd removed almost all the lamb fat) or fatty, as I controlled the grease levels.

Serve with rice & parsley.

Autumn warmth in a bowl!

#food

Blackened snapper over two sauces: parsnip purée and sauce Nantua (made with the crayfish stock I had leftover), served with white rice and fresh parsley.

Two rich, creamy sauces, earthy and perfect for a delicate fish. I spiked the Nantua with brandy (out of sherry). Worked like a charm.

#food

Special dinner tonight: CRAWFISH & SHRIMP ÉTOUFFÉE!

Took forever to de-shell the seafood (specially the mudbugs), turn the shells into a rich stock, and get a deep brick roux, but oh wow the results are worth it.

No tomato products this time, I went the other route.

Spectacular.

#food

Chicken & slicks! Two days in the making.

Supermarket rotisserie chicken bones & skin pressure cooked to a stock, strained, rested overnight, defatted, reduced, supplemented with one of my previous frozen double-stocks (also home-made).

I simmered this base with aromatics (PARSNIP, carrots, onions, celery, all the usual spices and herbs, lots of fresh dill) and more to become a broth.

Sweat fresh celery, carrots, shallots and scallion whites in roux, deglazed with white wine, simmer to drive off the alcohol, then added the broth, along with all the chicken meat. A touch of MSG and some black pepper gave it heft. Cream gave it richness.

Then just whipped up some "slicks" dumplings (milk, butter, flour, baking powder, salt, lots of pepper.

I let the slicks cook for half an hour to get tender, then adjusted seasoning and topped with fresh scallion greens and copious black pepper.

This method with all the garnishing vegetables is a lot closer to "blanc de poulet" than a simpler "chicken 'n slicks," but that's what I wanted. A touch of white wine vinegar at the end gave it a balance. A dollop of corn syrup early on gave it some sweetness.

I cut the slicks with a pizza roller, giving them that triangle / diamond look that's so classic.

Very yum!

#food

Home-made Mongolian ground beef transformed into a chili, lightened with béchamel (itself enriched with onions and cream), topped with broccolini (blanched and drained yesterday) stir-fried hot and hard in garlic oil, sesame seeds.

No starch! Great for @Supership79 diabetes.

Hearty!

#food

I made this for @cargo this morning.

Happy halloween!

#food

Double today!

@cargo's "breakfast for dinner," mushroom cream sauce & crispy bacon (fried) eggs Benedict over mini-ciabatta toast, plus smoked cheese sauce.

Mine's the same, minus the egg and toast, instead atop buttery mashed potatoes.

All home-made (except the toast).

#food

Made this chick-pea penne with an herb+mushroom+onion cream sauce, crispy-fried beef, mushrooms sautéed in butter, pork floss, copious fresh ground black pepper, grated parmesan and scallion greens...

...and all anyone's going to notice is the cherry tomato garnish I cut into a CROWN.

...of which I am inordinately proud. *giggle*

#food

Some Kalua pork floss! Check out pics and more over on my Bluesky account:

https://bsky.app/profile/axiomfox.bsky.social/post/3l6s67ek5cs2a