King Creole Jambalaya

I love, love, love me  tender some jambalaya. Surprisingly, New Orleans is the one major US city that I have never travelled to, to sample some authentic creole cooking. Nevertheless, this recipe comes via the New York Times food section and it is one that I have been making for years. Jambalaya is lot like paella, in the sense that it is chicken and sausage and rice and spices - only here we are using white rice instead of Valencia or arborio and no saffron, thank you very much. I've had to adjust the heat level over time as the Julia child is less than tolerant of a hunk of burning food on her palette - it leaves her all shook up. It is an easy go to recipe that's always on my mind. Wise man say only fools rush in, but Jambalaya, I can't help falling in love with you. Sure beats a fried banana and peanut butter sandwich.

King Creole, the 1958 tour de force for Elvis, starring opposite Carolyn Jones (aka Morticia Addams) and Walter Matthau in a gritty musical drama set in a French Quarter nightclub. Gangs, guns, and tainted love become our hero's downfall. This film is as good as it gets for Elvis. Only Jailhouse Rock comes close to demonstrating the real talent Elvis had for acting. After that, Colonel Tom Parker, his "trusted" manager,  signed him to do fluff beach blanket movies where Elvis' character characteristically was always named Rick and most certainly always got the girl. No wonder Elvis was depressed, on drugs, and so over weight he had to wear full-figured karate-like jump suits on stage. Gone was the fun loving, husband of a 14 year old Priscilla, buy every one a Cadillac, Elvis. On a college road trip/pilgrimage with three cohorts to Graceland in 1986, the stark contrast between Elvis the man, and Elvis the performer were on display. Especially in the Jungle Room, where a young happy go lucky Elvis selected all of the furniture in under 15 minutes from a Memphis department store. ( Being 20 at the time, our gang of four may not have been as reverent as some of the other visitors, up to and including when I sarcastically inquired to the young woman whose job it was to point with a flourish at fat Elvis' jumpsuits "How do you get a job like this?" Her most serious southern retort: "You apply"). Gone well before his time (if you believe he's dead - I think he wasn't until Lisa Marie married Michael Jackson and that's what killed him), Elvis truly was King, blue suede shoes and all.



The Recipe:

3/4 cup long-grain rice
4 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
4 oz low fat (you know, like young Elvis) spicy chicken sausage, sliced thin
16 oz red & green peppers (4c) chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs thyme, washed, dried and chopped
2/3 cup no-salt added (to avoid bloating) tomato puree
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes
1/8 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper, to taste

Combine rice and 1 1/2 cups water, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed (17 minutes). While rice is cooking, in a 3 qt pot, saute chicken and sausage in sausage's own fat until chicken is browned; remove and set aside. Wipe out but a thin coating of fat from pot. Saute peppers about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add tomato puree, wine, stock, hot pepper flakes and thyme along with the chicken and the sausage. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and continue to cook until flavors are completely blended, just a few minutes. When rice is cooked, add to pot and stir in. Season with salt and pepper and serve with a hunka, hunka crusty bread. Serves one for the money, two fro the show, three to get ready, and four cats go.

Gnocchi on Wood

What is this you say, another post about gnocchi - is she out of her mind, or terribly forgetful? No, I say. I know I have gnocchied before, but consider this a better take on gnocchi. Ok, so here's the story about a lovely gnocchi board. As my regular readers know, I have been making gnocchi with Nonies meat sauce for eons (see Gnip Gnop Gnocchi). But recently, I noticed my foodie friend Phil posted a pic of his gnocchi and I instantly could tell he used a special device to get the crevices on the dumplings to look so uniform. Upon further investigation, Phil revealed his use of a gnocchi board, obtained on a trip to Italy, no less. (Secretly, I would love to get him to guest blog here, as he is lover, not a fighter, of both food and pop culture.) Anyway, it was then that I knew I had to have one. Luck would have it that Christmas was on the horizon,  and I put an Italian gnocchi board on my list, (it's really a little wooden paddle with ridges) as well as Lidia Bastianich"s "Favorite Recipes" book. Having been a good girl all year, I received both and to my surprise Lidia had a recipe for gnocchi the likes of which I had never heard - she boils (not bakes) her potatoes first. Yes, that's right, she boils baking potatoes. She also puts the cooked potatoes through a ricer, instead of merely mashing them. This I had to try. And, armed with my trusty gnocchi board I set to work. Generally, I shy away from kitchen gadgets that have but one use, but this one makes making gnocchi child's play, gnocchi for dummies if you will. The gnocchi came out lighter, fluffier and prettier than my old recipe and I will never look back. The Julia child's exact quote (not wanting to put words in her mouth) upon her first bite: "Heaven".

Gnocchi isn't the only thing for dummies. No, there is actually a museum (the world's largest and only) ventriloquism museum, aptly named Vent Haven, located in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky (just over the bridge from Cincinnati). Founded by a nut job named William Shakespeare Berger (W.S. to his "friends") who began his dummy collection in 1910 with the purchase of Tommy Baloney. His obsession, or hobby, led him to the high ranking position of President of the International Brotherhood of Ventriloquists. Lucky for us, as we were able to visit  his "museum" in 2011 (by appointment, mind you), he left a foundation to care for his 700 "friends". Words cannot adequately describe the experience. Just try and explain to your 21st century child that at one time the most popular form of entertainment was listening to a ventriloquist act on the radio. You decide who the real dummies are in this picture....

The Recipe: (courtesy of Lidia Bastianich)

6 Large Idaho or russet potatoes

2 tablespoons, plus one teaspoon salt

Dash of freshly ground white pepper

2 eggs, beaten

About 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Grated Parmigiano cheese for serving

Boil (yes, boil) the potatoes in their skins for about 40 minutes, until easily pierced with a skewer (or when you can stick your hand up their back). When cool enough to handle (about 30 minutes), peel and rice the potatoes, and set them aside to cool completely, spreading them loosely to expose as much surface as possible  to air (but not so much that you can see your lips move).

Bring 6 quarts of water and 2 tablespoons salt to boil in a large pot. On a cool, preferably marble (although I used my wooden pastry board) work surface, gather the cold potatoes into a mound, forming a well in the center. Stir the remaining teaspoon of salt and the pepper into the beaten eggs, and pour the mixture into the well. Work the potatoes and eggs together with both hands, gradually adding 3 cups of flour. Incorporation of the ingredients should take no longer than 10 minutes (it only took me three, but I am a quick study) - the longer you work it, the more flour it will require and the heavier it will become.

Dust the dough your hands, and the work surface lightly with flour and cut the dough into 6 equal pieces. Using both hands, roll each piece into a rope 1/2 inch thick, then slice the ropes at 1/2 inch intervals (this is where the gnocchi board really comes in handy, as it also cuts the dough). Indent each dumpling with the tines of a fork or roll on a board. Place on a lightly floured cooking sheet.

Drop the gnocchi into boiling water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until they float to the top (like a wooden dummy). Remove with  a slotted spoon. Add sauce, cheese and bueno appetitio!

Serves 6.

Yuletide Pepper Salad

(Reprinted from Cooking with Alice, orginally posted October 12, 2011)
Here's one that I really wasn't looking forward to, just reading the recipe it sounded bad, even thought the ingredients each on their own appeal to me. But together, not so much. White rice, sliced red and green peppers and a vinaigrette of Dijon, oil and white wine vinegar, tossed together. I used the rest of the box of converted rice, as my pantry is beginning to be quite full of half used "specialty" items, sort of like the ghosts of recipes past. Alice allowed for it to be served cold or at room temp, I opted for cold, like my revenge. I also went out on a limb and tossed in the rest of the artichoke hearts I had leftover from last night, a nice touch if I do say so myself. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....

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Episode Note: "The Voice of Christmas" [I will admit that this was a "lost" episode as far I am concerned. I swear I had never seen it growing up, and six months ago if you had asked me if there was a Christmas episode I would have vehemently said no, and possibly bet money or some other tangible item in defense of my position.]  It's Christmastime, and there is a flurry of activity at the Brady residence, decorating the tree, shopping for presents, etc. The holiday is to culminate with a Christmas morning church service with Carol doing a solo of  "O' Come Ye Faithful." But tragedy strikes when she comes down with laryngitis a few days before. All hope seems to be lost that she'll be able to sing and the kids feel as though Christmas is ruined. Little lisping Cindy decides to take matters into her own hands and pleads to the big man himself, the department store Santa, to restore her mother's voice. Mike tries to explain that might be beyond Santa's bailiwick, but Cindy disagrees, saying Santa can do anything. With the family so glum, and Carol bedridden, it is up to Alice to explain to the kids what Christmas is really all about. They rally, and so does Carol, Cindy's wish come true. In the end, they celebrate a very Brady Christmas morning at home, and Carol sings like an angel at church. I believe, I believe, it's silly but I believe....

The Recipe:

Not including the recipe is my gift to you.

Nutty Christmas Cashew Chicken

So, for the first 15 years or so that my silent partner worked at his software company, every Christmas every employee worldwide would receive a ginormous jar of cashews. It became a holiday tradition, and led to a lot of creative cashew cooking. Then, a few years back when the bottom fell out of the industry and it was revealed that sending cashews to all over the world was extremely expensive, especially in the wake of wide spread layoffs, the company announced that it would be the year without cashews. This led to the best line ever uttered in Mark's office. One of his male co-workers, very earnestly I might add, said (and I quote): "I'd gladly give up my nuts if meant saving somebody's job." The good news is, the cashew drought is over and everybody gets to keep their nuts and their jobs this year. Upon arrival of Mark's nuts last week I set about making stir fry cashew chicken with teriaki sauce. It was quite tasty, and while I have made my own sauce (involving sake and flames), bottled sauce works just as well.

While there no end to nutty references, my current favorite nutty buddy is Buddy Nutt, his wife Ukulizzy, and their catchy little song "It's Breakfast Time" recently featured on the PBS "Breakfast Special" hosted by Rick Sebak. The show focused on the best and most unique breakfasts in the U.S. and was the latest installment in his long line of quirky documentaries that have included  A Hot Dog Program, A Program about Unusual Buildings and Other Roadside Stuff, A Cemetary Special and A Flea Market Documentary. The roadside attraction special led us to take our summer vacation to Cave City, Kentucky a few summers back so we could sleep in a a wigwam at the Wigwam Motel (although, I think they technically are really teepees). Anyway, if you are looking for kitsch and off the beaten path places these docs do the trick and you could say we are nuts about them. Play the video and you will see what I mean.

The Recipe:

A whole lotta nuts, preferably free company cashews
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped
vegetable oil
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Any other veg that suits your fancy - go crazy
1 cup cooked white rice
1 cup homemade teriyaki sauce (see Professor Whitehead's Beef Teriyaki for details) or bottled such as LaChoy
Special Equipment: A Wok

Heat oil in the wok. Add chicken and stir fry until cooked through. Add peppers, carrots, etc and continue to stir over high heat until cooked, about 4 minutes. Add sauce and heat through. Stir in nuts and immediately remove fromm heat. Serve with rice.It's insanely good.

Thanks for the Rum Ball, Mickey!

So here is one of those awesome Christmas holiday traditions - neighborhood housewives getting together to drink and make rum balls while the kids are at school. My friend Sue makes the most famous rum balls in town, and the first year she invited me to join the party I brought the Mai Tais and the Hawaiian Christmas music to set the mood for some Mele Kalikimaka dessert making. This year, I went prepared to take the Bermudan Dark and Stormy route (dark rum, preferably Gosslings, and ginger beer). However, we never got past the Prosecco and OJ. One reason is that the rum balls are REALLY rummy. Even the aroma when you are mixing in the rum will give you a buzz. With one bite you can eat, drink and be merry - my kind of food. The recipe comes from another neighbor who we think may have gotten it from either her Irish mother or Italian father - either way they are little balls with a big kick.

1972 was the best Christmas ever - Santa brought me the Mickey Mouse Gumball Machine. Now, I already had the Mickey Mouse AM transistor radio and the Mickey Mouse camera (the flash cube stuck between his ears), but a home gumball machine was the piste de resistance of my collection. Of course, as with all joys on Christmas morning, a little rain must fall - I don't think I ever got the gum refills once the first batch got eaten (by Christmas afternoon). And, I remember the bottom broke or was jimmied open by someone who needed money, so that was a bust. Nonetheless, it still is one of the best commercials and tag lines of all time. (Play the video) P.S. I still have the camera and the radio....

The Recipe:

2 cups finely crushed Nilla Wafers
2 cups finely crushed walnuts
2 cups confectioners sugar (aka powered sugar)
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup dark rum (more to taste and texture)
2 aspirin, ibuprofen or Motrin (for later)

Chop wafers and walnuts in a food processor. Combine wafers, walnuts, sugar and cocoa in a large bowl. Stir in butter, vanilla and rum until moistened. Shape into 1 inch balls and roll in additional powered sugar or cocoa. Refrigerate in an air tight container. Must be 21 or older.

I Dream of Chicken Marsala

So the trouble with living with an 11 year old foodie is that her sweet nature and belief that anything is possible often bleeds into my cooking. Often, she eats something in a restaurant and actually thinks I can magically recreate it at home (see Book'em Dano Pu Pu Platter). Today's case in point, Chicken Marsala. I ordered it at a restaurant when we were on vacation in Glen Arbor (which Good Morning, America voted Most Beautiful Place in America, btw) and the Julia child preceded to eat most of it. Ever since, she's been asking me to make it at home. Then, as if fate, I discovered that I had already clipped a recipe for Chicken Marsala out of my beloved Gourmet Magazine and had stuck in the back of my recipe book, apparently for future reference. Now, one cannot maintain ones girlish figure eating too much of this, as the butter and heavy cream contents can add 10 pounds with a blink of the eye. But, in moderation, it is a dream come true. This version matched the restaurants bite for bite. So, I guess you can say that Julia's wish is my command.

Before he was a oil baron bad guy, Larry Hagman was an officer and a gentleman on I Dream of Jeannie. It's a classic tale, really. Military boy meets jewelled bottle, boy rubs bottle, boy meets girl (Barbara Eden) from bottle and takes her home where she lives as his scantily dressed servant. And all of this worked before Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The antics of astronaut Major Tony Nelson, his girl Jeannie, his best bud Capatain Roger Healy and their annoying psychiatrist Dr. Bellows entertained us for four seasons from 1965-1970, until Master and Jeannie got married and then nobody wanted to see them living without sin and the show was cancelled. Just about the catchiest theme song in TV history though, if you ask me.

The Recipe:

1 3/4 cups chicken broth (use fat free, trust me)
2 tblsp finely chopped shallot
5 tblsp unsalted butter
10 oz mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced (I used cremini)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour (I actually used a little extra to thicken the sauce)
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (2 pounds total)
2 tblsp olive oil
1/2 cup plus 2 tblsp dry Marsala wine
2/3 cup heavy cream

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 200 degrees. bring broth to boil in a 2 quart saucepan over high heat and then boil, uncovered, until reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 20 minutes. Cook shallot in 3 tablespoons butter in a 10 inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until shallot begins to turn golden, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid the mushrooms give off has evaporated and mushrooms begin to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Put flour in a wide shallow bowl. Gently pound chicken into 1/4 inch thick between 2 sheets of plastic wrap using the flat side of a meat pounder or a rolling pin (or the bottom of a genie's bottle). Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour, 1 piece at a time, shaking off excess. Transfer to sheets of wax paper, arranging chicken in one layer. Heat 1 tablespoon each of oil and butter in a 12 inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then saute chicken, turning over once until golden and cooked through, about 4 minutes total. Transfer chicken to a heatproof platter, arranging in 1 layer, then put platter in oven to keep warm. Add 1/2 cup wine to skillet and boil over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, about 30 seconds. Add reduced broth, cream and mushrooms, bring to boil, then simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons wine. Serve with pasta.
Serves Major Nelson, Major Healy, Jeannie and Dr. Bellows

Who Jell-O Shot J.R.?

Here is the one thing I am certain about: Jell-O could be its own blog. So, I warn you to be patient with the rambling that follows. Oh. wait there is one more thing I know about it: I don't like Jell-O. That said, let's go to town, and by town I mean LeRoy, New York - the birthplace of Jell-O and home of the Jell-O Gallery. Now, truth be told, after General Foods bought out the company (the brand is now own by Kraft), closed the factory and put the whole town out of business you'd think Jell-O reverence would subside. Not in LeRoy. They are as proud today as they were in 1897, and I know because we had the pleasure of visiting what I like to call the "World of Jell-O" in 2000 (it's just south of I-90 on Route 5 between Tonawanda and Rochester, NY). They take their "watch it wiggle, see it jiggle" very seriously there, and it begins when you walk in the door and the welcome mat says "JELL-O" instead of "HELLO". Having learned from an earlier visit to Graceland, I kept my mocking to a minimum, even when the tour guide showed us the "Mold Room". Now, for a product that only ingredients besides sugar and gelatin are aspic acid and fumaric acid (both for tartness), it is surprising how popular it is. While consulting my "Joys of Jell-O" cookbook (yes, I own it and I'd say it was circa 1960) there are thousands of uses for flavored gelatin. My favorites include Ring Around the Tuna (which is green), Under the Sea Salad and Ambrosia Loaf. I am pretty sure the person who invented the Jell-O shot (recipe to follow) read this book and needed a (not so) stiff drink.

1978, the dawn of the nighttime soap opera and with it "Dallas," starring the now late Larry Hagman as J.R. Ewing. J.R. and the Ewing clan conivived and finaggled their way to wealth and power in the Texas oil industry (I will admit, the orginal title for this post was "Ewing Oil and Vinegar Dressing"). Lust for power, love and money made Dallas the number one show year after year and more people watched the "Who Shot J.R.?" episode than actually live on the planet (I remember watching it with my sistr and a couple of her high school friends at a Pizza Hut on 8 Mile). Dallas wasn't just a tv show, it was an event. And, I will admit that it spawned my all-time most favorite show ever- Knots Landing, but that's for another post. 13 seasons of prime time greatness, well, only 12 if you don't consider the one that was just a dream.

The Recipe:

• 3 oz Jell-O or other gelatin (any flavor, but is there really any other brand other than Jell-O?)
• 6 oz water
• 6 oz vodka (or other distilled spirit)

1. Pour gelatin into a bowl.
2. Add boiling water, stirring until gelatin is dissolved
3. Stir in liquor.
4. Refrigerate until cool.
5. Pour into shot glasses, molds, or a baking pan for a sheet of Jell-O to cut up once set. Tip: The small, plastic shot cups are perfect because the drinker can just squeeze the shot out.
6. Refrigerate until the liquid sets. (At least 2 hours, but overnight refrigeration is recommended)
7. Serve cold. So easy, a child could do it.