Cook-Along: Paul Prudhomme's Eggplant Bayou Teche

I've been swamped at work (new clients!) and been sweltering at home. At times last week, we joked that we'd brought back the desert climate with us; although this week has been *really* nice - warm, but with a slight breeze!

When it started cooling down earlier this week, I brought home some crab meat from work to make some southern food - weather inspired, of course!

During the pride parade last weekend, I was talking about southern food / New Orleans with I & G. The weather reminded me of Louisiana and I just wanted some gumbo / seafood etoufee / po-boys to go along with it!

I'd purchased Paul Prudhomme's "Louisiana Kitchen" cookbook (used!) probably within the first month I got back from a business trip to NOLA in...July 2005. Hurricane Katrina hit merely a month afterwards, and truth be told, it broke my heart to see that such a lively-spirited city had been seemingly broken.

I don't think it's been rebuilt to what it once was, but I do hope to return to New Orleans in the future. (And to drunkingly scream on the phone about the gigantuan cockroaches! lol!)



For now, a Louisiana dish from Paul Prudhomme, who was at the IFT conference I was at in July 2005.

The recipe I used may be found here. The dish entails making a medium-brown roux, which is a mixture of equal parts of oil and flour. While the recipe itself calls for oil, the French-schooled part of me begged to substitute some butter for flavour. I also used a dry sake in place of the pernod, and made substitutions to utilize only two eggplants. I *love* fried eggplant, but there was no way we could have finished three teches each!

The roux was cooked at a medium-low heat until the colour was similar to that of a weak caramel sauce:



Another difference in Southern cooking vs traditional French cuisine is in the mirepoix - while French chefs utilize onion, carrot and celery as a base for their dishes, Southern cooks use onion, celery and bell pepper. Makes it more interesting, and addes to the layers of flavour. :)



We had this for dinner one night, lunch the next day, and split the remaining eggplant half for dinner again. The butter sauce that is made with the shrimp is delectable. Make sure you use a nice seafood / shrimp stock and don't skimp on the butter - it adds to the yum factor!

Photo Teaser: BBQ Beef Ribs

A month ago, I was not a beef rib fan. The ones I had before were tough, sinewy, and flavourless.

After making them myself at home though, M and I contemplated keeping our new secret to ourselves - we discovered that this cheap cut of meat offered lots of flavour, and when prepared properly, they offered little resistance to our hungry selves.

We'll be bbqing up some for guests this weekend, so I'll leave you with this!



Have a sunny weekend!

Recipe: Say 'Hello' to my Little Friend, aka "Hot" Chocolate Pudding

Fulfilling promises of a recipe from some time ago...

I had a craving for something rich. Brulee? Maybe. Pot de creme? Meh. Chocolate? I ended up with a concoction of what I call "Hot" Chocolate Pudding. I used egg yolks for the pudding, and the egg whites in a pavlova. It was the perfect marriage of dark and rich, and light and sweet.



I even had the perfect ingredient - a lonesome milk chocolate bunny from Purdy's chocolates that I bought on sale on the Tuesday after easter. Yum! Make sure you chop some extra chocolate for nibbling on! :)



Alas, I did make a mistake when preparing the pudding. I forgot to draw off all the foam / floaty proteins and so the top of the pudding wasn't as smooth as I'd liked. I'll be sure to post another recipe later on where I'll detail that.



Ingredients
1 c half & half
150 grams milk chocolate, chopped (or about half of a good-quality easter bunny! :)
3 large egg yolks
3 T white sugar
3/4 t ground cinnamon (or better, a cinnamon stick!)
1/2 t chili powder (gives a nice "warm" spicy note, as opposed to cayenne, which would kick you in the 'buds. . .nice flavour, but not for everyone.)

Method
Heat the half and half with the cinnamon and chili over medium heat just until small bubbles start to form around the edges.

Meanwhile, beat together the white sugar and egg yolks.

When the half and half has just heated to just bubbling, remove from heat and remove cinnamon stick, if using. Cool slightly.

Temper the chocolate by adding the slightly cooled cream to the chocolate and mixing vigorously until the chocolate is melted. Add to the egg yolk mixture and stir well.

Allow to settle overnight in the fridge, or skim off the foam / curdled protein on the top of the mixture before pouring into ramekins.

Bake in a bain marie for 30-40 minutes at 325ºF or just until set. Cool, or enjoy warm. :)



The above recipe made about six individual puddings - I'm sure that if I had remembered to skim off the foam, it would have made about four or five custards instead.

The 'Hello' To my Little Friend reference in the blog title? No, I wasn't talking about the chocolate bunny (although I could have been). I was talking about the brulee torch that I forgot about since I've moved in!

It was a present from my brother and cousin from way back when when I was still in culinary school. Hard to believe that that was almost ten (10!) years ago. Holy cow time flies!

I have to say that my brulee-ing skills have gone downhill. That, and trying to brulee in a rectangular ramekin when you have vivid memories of being burnt by an industrial torch when you were working in a open restaurant kitchen makes it a little difficult. (There were times when I had to go to the back to swear. haha! ha.)

I think this pudding was better without the bruleeing, personally. It was a touch on the sweet side, so leaving it plain was better instead.

It was all enjoyed by M and my dad, surprisingly. :)

Additional photos available at my flickr set.

Photo Teaser: Dessert For Dinner!

Dessert for Dinner? Why not?!

At Yum-O-Rama, anything is possible! :)



The boy was out and I happened have some dessert prepared - "hot" chocolate pudding / custard in the pretty ramekins from Gourmet Warehouse, and fresh fruit pavlovas made from the egg whites leftover from the pudding. What else are you doing to do with egg whites!!

I'll have the recipes up in a bit. Meanwhile, enjoy the photos!

Lunchtime Bentos: Hainanese Chicken Rice with Tomatoes & Cucumber

I made some Hainanese Chicken (with chicken rice of course!) this weekend and have been chowing down on some every night with M. Chicken quesadillas, grilled chicken sandwiches, chicken soup with noodles . . .



I finally went back to the chicken and rice today today and had it in its original form, Hainanese Chicken with yummy (oily) chicken rice, with slices of tomato and cucumber, with some sweet chili sauce.

I'll post a recipe later!