Feb 18: Pralines

Pralines are a very popular candy in the South, especially in New Orleans. Pralines (pronounced Pra-leens) looks like a round patty with pecans. The consistency is soft and creamy with a little grittiness from sugar crystals.

I've taken a recipe from "From Woodstoves to Microwaves... Cooking with Entergy." Entergy is the local power company and the cook book was sold through my employers with the proceeds going to local charities.

The original recipes is made on the stove top, but I didn't want to spend a lot of time making the candy so I'm trying the recipe in the microwave. Also, I made a half recipe.

Microwave Pralines
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C Cream
1 T Butter
1/2 C Pecan Halves

Note: The recipe called for breakfast cream. I'm not sure what that is so I used heavy cream.


Heat the sugar and cream for 3 minutes in a microwave. I have a 1,200 W microwave.
I can tell by the thick caramel consistency that I went a little too far in the microwave. However, I kept on.


Added the butter and stirred in the pecans. Microwaved for about 30 seconds.


Darn... the syrup is crystallizing.
I quickly scooped out the mixture to make rounds... However, the pralines crystallized instead of being soft and creamy.


The flavor is is like a buttery toffee. I need to work on the consistency.
Total time to make the candy was 5 minutes.

Notes for next time when using the microwave oven.
1. Add a little corn syrup. The syrup should reduce the odds of crystallization.
2. Heat only for 2 minutes... maybe 2 1/2 minutes.

The stove top recipe.
Pralines
1 C Brown Sugar
1 C Sugar
1/2 C Breakfast Cream
2 T Butter
1 C Pecan halves

1. Boil the sugars and cream to 228F while stirring occasionally.
2. Add the butter and pecans. Cook to 236F.
3. Cool... Beat until slightly thickened but still glossy.
4. Drop onto wax paper or parchment paper... allow to cool completely.

BTW... Pecans is pronounced as P-Cons, not P-Cans. A coworker told us Yankees that "P-cons are for eating and P-cans are used by truckers."

Feb 16: Red Beans and Rice

In New Orleans, it must be Monday if you're eating Red beans and rice. For some reason, Monday was washday. A meal had to be made with minimal effort and minimal supervision which turned out to be a pot of red beans. The beans also incorporated the leftover meats from Sunday dinner.

Over the years, the red beans has become a creamy, ham-flavored dish.

Here's a slow cooker version of red beans...

Red Beans - Slow Cooker

1 lb Red Beans, soaked overnight
1 Onion
1 Bell Pepper
2 Stalk Bell Pepper
2 Bay Leaves
1 Ham Hock
6 ounces Ham Steak
4 C Water (I used 2 C stock and 2 C water)

Initially, started with 1/2 bell pepper, ham hock, onion, celery and bay leaves.


A the last second, I wanted to up the ham factor. Also, I went ahead and just added the rest of the bell pepper.

Turn on low and cook for 8 to 9 hours.


After cooking, the onion, bell pepper and celery was discarded. The ham was chopped and any worthy meat was picked off the ham hock and chopped.

Before serving add the ham back into the beans.... slightly mash some of the beans to increase the creaminess.

The final dish...
Red beans and rice.
Typically served with smoked sausage.


Overall a good dish. I prefer a stronger ham flavor so I should have added more ham or ham hock and less bell pepper.

Feb 15: Mardi Gras Season

Ten days before Fat Tuesday, the party is getting started. Parades, parties, debauchery... all in the name of getting "it" out of your system before Lent.

Some of the throws I collected during Mardis Gras, in years past. I had to do a lot of flashing for them... lol. No, just caught them during the parades.


I had the good fortune to live in New Orleans for a few years. Living in New Orleans was quite an exciting experience, a city with a long history stemming back to the early 1700's and earlier if you include the local native American tribes.

New Orleans is a city of many culinary influences - native American, French Acadians (Cajuns), Spanish, African, Caribbean, Italian, Cuban and now Vietnamese.

I remember cooking shows with Justin Wilson, Paul Prudomme and Emeril Lagasse with there emphasis on the trinity.

Pictured below is the "trinity" of local Cajun and Creole cookery - 2 parts Onion, 1 part Celery and 1 part bell pepper. Playing a supporting role are green onions, garlic and tomatoes.


Over the next few days, I hope to cooks some of the dishes I remember from my stay in New Orleans.

Feb 12: Blue Cheese Burgers Again!

Now that a majority of the CNY festivities have concluded for this year. I was craving a good burger so I wanted to go back and try making the blue cheese burger again.

My previous try (burgers for the Superbowl) I used two patties to sandwich the blue cheese. However, the good stuff leaked from the patties. This time... S suggested using one patty to envelope the blue cheese.

1. 6 ounces of 15% Fat ground beef. I used a plate to flatten to about 6 inches in diameter. Seasoned both sides with salt, pepper and garlic powder.


2. Placed 1 T (Tablespoon) of blue cheese in the center and brought up the sides to seal the top.


3. Tightly wrap with plastic to ensure a tight seal...Shape the patty to about a 4" diameter patty, 1" thick.


4. Grilled about 10 minutes on the GFG (George Foreman Grill).
Success! No leakage. Patty cut in half for a closer look. :)


Nice and gooey on the inside.


5. Grilled some onions on the GFG.


Topped with a little extra blue cheese... dressed with mayo, mustard, grilled onions, tomato slices and shredded lettuce. :)


A quick shot of the cut burger... too hungry to compose the shot.


Ah... very nice and creamy center. Burger a little dense from my mashing technique to make the burger. I'll have to use a lighter hand the next time.

Feb 09: The Fifth Taste?

When I was in elementary school, we learned that tongue had four taste receptors - sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Well... that was the olden days. Now, there is a belief that we have a fifth taste receptor - Umami.

Uma-what? Umami! Umami is a Japanese term that refers to a flavor that's savory, not just salty, but meaty too. These taste buds respond to glutamates. That's one reason that MSG is a popular seasoning... MSG represents umami.

From Wiki, foods that contain glutamates: soy sauce, fish sauce, kombu, mushrooms, anchioves, parmasean.

There's a Chinese New Year dish, which I haven't had in 20 to 25 years, but I still remember the strong flavors and the crunch of water chestnuts. I think it was the umami of the dish that made this dish stand out.

Here's my attempt at make the dish - Lettuce cups with dried oyster filling.

Oysters (hao si) is a symoblic food since hao sounds like "good" or "good fortune". Lettuce is symbolic of "prosperity".

Lettuce Cups with Dried Oysters
1/3 C (about 5) large dried oysters, soaked a few hours to overnight to rehydrate
1/4 C Water Chestnut, minced
1/2 lb Ground Pork
1/4 C Carrot, minced (for color)
1/4 C Shiitake Mushroom, rehydrated and minced
1 Clove Garlic, minced
1/2 t Ginger, grated
1 Green Onion, chopped
1/4 C Stock
1 T Oyster Sauce
2 t Soy Sauce, Regular
2 t Soy Sauce, Dark

Picture of the rehydrated oyster.


Soaking the oysters made for easier mincing.


The rest of the ingredients.


1. In a hot wok or saute pan, add about 1 T oil and slightly fry the garlic and ginger (30 seconds) add the pork to start cooking... About 1 minute add the oysters.


2. I became impatient and added the rest of the ingredients and seasoning.
Stir to break up the ground pork. Add the broth and cook for about 10 minutes.
The dish did not look as dark as I remembered so I dug around my pantry and found some dark soy sauce.


The finished dish - minced meat and lettuce cups.


Scoop some of the filling into a lettuce cup and fold to eat like a lettuce taco. :-)


The dish turned out very close to what I remember.
Looking at the ingredients, this dish is laden with umami flavors - dried oyster, dried mushrooms and soy sauce (two kinds), oyster sauce and possibly the garlic.

Notes:
Add more water chestnut for more crunch.
Add more oysters or use less ground pork... in order to have a stronger oyster flavor.
Not sure If I really need the ginger or carrots.

Feb 08: Chili Prawns?

If you've every watched Iron Chef, then you'll be familiar with Chef Chen Kenichi. His signature dish is Chili Prawns. The judges describe the dish as extraordinary - spicy, sweet and garlicky. One of the few dishes from the show that I would want to try.

Also, a local restaurant makes "sweet chili prawns". I don't know if it's similar to chili prawns, but it's a delicious dish too.

Here's my improvised attempt to make a chili prawns dish.

Chili Prawns (Take One)

~Mix and let marinade about 15 minutes before cooking.
1/2 Shrimp, shelled and deveined (used 51/60 shrimp)
2 T Corn Starch
1 T Wine
2 t Soy Sauce
Dash of garlic powder.



~ Sauce Ingredients
1/4 C Chicken Stock (or water)
2 T Ketchup
1 t Chili Sauce
1/2 t Sugar
1 Green Onion, Chopped
1 Clove Garlic, Minced
1 T Vinegar


1. Heat the wok (or a saute pan) until hot!
Use about 1 to 2 T oil and add shrimp in a single layer... Cook about 1 minute.


2. Flip shrimp and add the garlic and green onion.
After another minute add the sauce ingredients and cook until boiling.
Use vinegar to taste.

Note: It is typical to cook the shrimp about 80%, remove from the wok to cook the sauce. When the sauce is boiling, the shrimp is added back to finish cooking.... about another minutes or two. I chose not to do that since I didn't want wash more dishes.


The finished dish... The shrimp had enough cornstarch where I didn't need to add more to thicken the sauce.


The dish turned out nicely.

With a hot pan, the dish was cooked in about 7 to 10 minutes... Maybe a little quicker if I had my act together.

Dish notes:
Spicy - I thought this dish would be a bit mild, but surprisingly had a little heat. 1 tsp of chili sauce is a nice level.
Garlic - needs more.
Sugar/Sweetness - needs more... maybe 1 tsp.
Shrimp - Almost overcooked... tender, but on the cusp of being rubbery. Will have to "twice cook" the shrimp as mentioned in my note above.
Sesame oil - add a few drops for next trial.
Sour - Needs just a touch more acidity.
Corn starch - can get by with 1 T instead of 2 T

Feb 07: Braised Pork

Walking through the market and spied a pork shoulder with the skin on. Bone-in and with skin! I couldn't pass it up. The bone and outer layer just adds lots of flavor to a dish, especially a braise.

Today's braise contains....
2 to 3 T Fermented Black Beans, soaked and rinsed
1 Shallot, sliced
1 T Ginger, sliced
2 Cloves Garlic, smashed
2 T Oyster Sauce
2 T Soy Sauce
3 C Chicken Stock

The pork was marinaded 24 hours with soy sauce (3T) and fresh garlic (crushed).


Lightly brown the pork in a heavy pot (about 5 minutes)... add the rest of the ingredients (less the stock) to saute with the meat (another 5 minutes). Finally, add the stock and bring to a simmer... Cook for 2 to 3 hours.


With an hour left, add potatoes. Typically, taro would be used.


After 3 1/2 hours, the dish is ready. The pork is falling off the bones which makes it easy to shred and defat. The flavor of the black beans permeates the meat and potatoes.