Tag Archives: rice

Rice and Gravy with Sirlion

03 Friday Jun 2016

Posted by in Cajun dishes, Soul Food

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Fewer things in this world will fall as close to any coonass kid’s heart as a steaming plate of rice and gravy.  I have some friends from Breaux Bridge, LA–serious Cajun Country, that have recently made me aware that there’s a entire festival/cook-off hosted there annually where you can find what I imagine must be some of the best rice and gravy in the world. I’ve added next year’s event to my bucket list.  In the meantime, whenever I get the craving, here’s one in about a million recipes (you can make this with beef, pork, poultry, seafood, wild game, or just veggies) to have it in the comfort of your own home, coonass kid or not.  This is my sirloin version and it’s really delicious.

The ingredients:  image

  • 1.5 lbs. (or somewhere around there) sirloin steaks
  • 3 stalks of celery
  • 1 large or 2 small onions
  • 1 bell pepper
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • Mushrooms (your preference/optional)
  • Flour
  • Cooking oil (olive oil or vegetable oil)
  • 3 beef bouillon cubes or 4 cups of stock
  • Dried thyme
  • Garlic powder
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Salt, Pepper, Cayenne
  • Steamed rice (duh)

The first step is to thoroughly season your steaks, front and back, with salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne.  Then, I lightly dust them with flour, reserving the remaining flour for later in the cooking process.

I use a cast iron skillet to cook this, but you can use any large heavy-bottomed pot or deep skillet.  Brown the steaks in a few tablespoons of olive or vegetable oil until dark golden on each side and set them aside on a plate to rest while you cook.

Next, finely chop the bell pepper, celery, onion and garlic and toss them into the hot pan with the meat drippings and oil.  Add more oil if necessary and stir until they begin to turn translucent.

Now chop and add the mushrooms and season everything with salt, pepper, cayenne, a bit of dried thyme leaves, and a pinch more cayenne.  Stir that all around for a bit until the mushrooms warm up.  If you’re not a mushroom lover they can totally be left out. Mushrooms are one of my favorite foods, so I add them to everything when I have the chance.  Completely your call.

As I’ve been cooking, because I didn’t have any ready-made beef stock on hand, I dissolved three beef bouillon cubes in about 4 cups of water with 2 bay leaves until it came to a low boil.

Next I added the reserved flour from the steaks, about 1/4-1/3 cup, and stirred that in to the cooking veggies, allowing it to cook for about 2-3 minutes over medium heat.

Now begin to SLOWLY pour in your hot stock.  Pour about a cup, stir, allow it to incorporate, come to a simmer, and then slowly add another cup.  Adding it all at once will make your gravy too thin.  Nobody likes thin gravy.  Nobody.

Remember those steaks that you browned earlier?  Those are going back in.  And all that meaty juice that’s on the plate?  That’s going back in, too.

Just nestle them right back into the pot, let them get covered with gravy, turn the heat down to medium-low or a very low simmer, cover the pot and let the magic happen.  It’ll take about 45 minutes to an hour, but magic WILL happen.  The steaks will fall right apart with the pull of a fork and make this blissful blend of meat, mushrooms and gravy right inside that pan.

Trust me, it’s worth the wait.  This picture doesn’t do it justice.  Enjoy!

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Red Beans & Rice

20 Wednesday Apr 2016

Posted by in Cajun dishes, Soul Food

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A Louisiana classic!  Let’s make some red beans!

Your ingredients:

  • 1 lb red beans, soaked overnight in cold water
  • 3 tablespoons of bacon grease
  • 2 small or 1 large yellow or white onion
  • 5 stalks celery
  • 1 1/2 lbs. smoked sausage
  • 1 ham bone with meat or 1 lb. cubed smoked ham
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tablespoon chicken base (stock starter)
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
  • 5 scallions
  • Seasonings:  Tony’s, Cayenne Pepper, Black Pepper, Salt, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, Hot Sauce

Soak your beans overnight in cold water (or follow the package instructions for the “quick soak”), then rinse and drain.  Set aside.

Add about 3 tablespoons of bacon fat to a large heavy-bottomed pot on medium heat.  Here in the south, we’re raised to save bacon grease and store it a mason jar in the refrigerator.  I don’t know a self respecting southern cook who doesn’t have a jar of bacon grease looming in the back of the fridge.  If you’re not one of us, just cook a little bacon and use the grease left in the pan.  Yes, it’s an essential step in this process.

Next, finely dice your onion, celery and green onion and add that to the pot to cook.

Allow the vegetables to cook and soften and add the following seasonings, to your taste–but be liberal:  Salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper, tony’s, and cayenne.

Now finely chop 4 cloves of garlic and add that to the party.  The veggies should be getting soft and translucent by this point.

Now, it’s time to add the meat.  I used about a pound of Cajun andouille sausage, and a few links of regular smoked sausage.  Chop into bite size pieces and add it to the pot.

I made a ham for Easter Sunday and reserved the ham bone specifically with these red beans in mind.  If you don’t have a ham bone lying in wait in your freezer, then you can simply grab a package of diced smoked ham from the grocery store.  I just added the big, frozen bone directly to the pot.

Now toss in your beans and cover it all with water, by about an inch.

At this point, I like to add a big, heaping tablespoon of chicken base, which is the same as stock starter or bouillon.  It adds more flavor along with about a dozen shakes of your favorite hot sauce and a few bay leaves.

Now bring the uncovered pot to slow, rolling boil and cook for about an hour.  You’re looking for some of that liquid to cook out.

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Give it a taste and reseason as needed.  If it’s too liquidy (you know how you like it), remove a bit of the liquid from the pot with a measuring cup.  Are the beans super soft?  If yes, then you can proceed to the next step.  If no, let the pot cook another half hour or so, continuing to stir often so nothing sticks to the bottom.

At this point, it’s safe to remove the ham bone (the meat should’ve all fallen off by now) and the bay leaves.

Once the beans are super tender, I take the back of a large spoon and SMUSH (technical term) about half the beans against the side of the pot.  That’s how they get all delicious and creamy.  You know how SMUSHY your like yours, so SMUSH to your own liking.

Then I add about 3 tablespoons of chopped parsley and let it cook over super low heat about another 20 minutes.

Serve with steamed white rice and enjoy!

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*Note:  Red beans freeze really well for up to six months.  I spoon them into quart size freezer bags once cooled and lay flat to freeze for easy storage.

Pepe’s Sauce Picante’

23 Wednesday Mar 2016

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I come from magical place known as Louisiana.  A place where friends are family and where the men can often times out cook the women.  Herein lies a recipe that encompasses both of these phenomena.

pep

Behold!  The mythical Eskimo-Coonass hybrid otherwise known as Pepe Hill. Renowned for his tight embraces, rapier wit, warm personality, and magical cooking skills.  The photo above portrays him at his happiest, in his natural environment:  smoking grill nearby, natty light in hand, big smile across his face, and those ripped abs just gleaming in the summer sun.  Pep is my brother from another mother.  Our relationship surpassed the “friend” zone long, long ago and moved directly into family.  When this little blog was born, I just knew he had to be a part of it.  Pep cooks Cajun dishes from the heart and anything you recreate from his kitchen (or backyard, or whatever random parking lot he happens to be set up to cook in…) is bound to be delicious! Trust me.

Today, you’re getting his world famous Chicken and Sausage Sauce Picante’ recipe.  Pepe made this particular sauce picante’ with chicken and sausage but he and any old coonass will tell you it is delicious made with just about any meat, seafood and game included.

Here’s Pepe’s how-to (with photo credit to Melissa Minella and stand-around-and-drink credit to Clay Keown and Erica Hill):

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. bacon
  • 1 large white or yellow onion
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 4 toes of garlic
  • 4 pounds chicken (white or dark meat, your call)
  • 1 pound Cajun smoked sausage
  • 3 15-ounce cans of tomato sauce
  • Tony’s
  • Salt/Pepper
  • Roux
  • 2 quarts chicken stock
  • (serve over white rice)

If you are anything like Pep Hill then you will have your ingredients neatly contained when preparing to make your dish.  The container is a requirement according to Pep.  Pep may be a tad OCD (ask me about how he eats his crawfish).

Cooking outside is not a requirement for sauce picante’ but it sure does make it a lot more fun!! At least this way you aren’t the bitch stuck cooking in the kitchen.

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First things first… fry the bacon (1 lb).  Because all good meals start with bacon.  If you don’t have a cast iron pot, use any heavy bottomed pot.

While the bacon is frying, cut the veggies. Dice 1 large onion, 1 green bell pepper, and 4 toes of garlic.

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Cut 4 pounds of your favorite chicken (bone-in, boneless, dark, or white) in one inch cubes.  Pep likes to get whatever is on sale because this meal should be cheap AND delicious!  Get one pound of Cajun sausage and cut in half inch slices.

Once the bacon is finished frying, remove it from the pot.  See, now you have a delicious snack…

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Slowly brown the sausage in the most amazing bacon grease on a low/medium heat…

Remove the sausage, set it aside, and add chicken.  Don’t brown it, whiten it!

Add about a tablespoon each of Tony’s, salt, and pepper.

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Remove the chicken and boil out the extra moisture to get back down to the amazingness of… the grease.

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Next up… fry 3-15 ounce cans of tomato sauce over a low/medium heat for about 20 minutes.  Stir constantly because it acts like a roux (a bit of a pain in the tail but worth it).  It will bubble, pop, and squirt…be prepared.

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This is at about 25 minutes.  Notice the color change.  It also smells much sweeter than it did to begin with.

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Time to add the veggies with another tablespoon each of Tony’s, salt, and pepper.  Cook for about 10 minutes.

Once the veggies are finished add the meat and stir.

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Add 2 quarts of chicken stock.

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Once it comes to a boil, add 2 tablespoons of roux and stir.  Pictured here is what Pep considers to be a tablespoon.

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Now, take a big whiff!!

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Let that simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Serve over warm rice with a side of warm, buttered French bread.

Thanks, Pepe!  We can’t wait for your next guest appearance on The Fizzle!  xoxox