Boiler Room

Is there anything on this planet that’s as good as shrimp? Shrimp is one of the easiest things on the earth to cook but unfortunately so many people are afraid to mess it up.  Shrimp can be fried, sauteed, grilled, blackened, boiled and made just about anyway you like it.  The only real way to ruin shrimp is to overcook it when it then becomes tough and rubbery.  This happens to be the case with many varieties of sea foods by the way.  One of the easiest fool proof shrimp recipe I have found was a shrimp boil.  Potatoes, corn, sausage and shrimp, a perfect combination.
The only special equipment you need for a boil is a large stock pot.  Depending on the servings you will be making the larger the better.  Some people use a frying or boiling basket for ease of removing all your edibles but it’s not necessary if you have a colander.
After inviting four of our friends over we gathered the necessary equipment to feed a small army.  The amount of food can be multiplied easily to feed as many as needed.
Ingredients:

• 3 lbs 14-16 shrimp (royal reds are preferred)
• 5 lbs small fancy or fingerling potatoes (unpeeled, whole)
• 6 ears of corn (husked and halved)
• 2-3 lbs sausage (andouille, brats or any preference)
• 1 seasoning bag ( 4 bay leaves,1 tbsp. black peppercorns or coarse pepper,1 tbsp. salt,2 tsp. cayenne pepper, 1 tsp. celery seed, 1 tsp. whole cloves, 1 tsp. mustard seed, 1 tbsp. allspice,1 tsp. dry thyme leaves)
• 1 Lemon quartered

• Salt if desired

Directions;
Fill stockpot about a third of the way with water and bring to a boil.  When boiling add the seasoning bag, potatoes, corn and lemons.  Cover and let boil for 15 minutes then add the shrimp and sausage.  Continue to boil for 5 minutes then remove from the heat.  You will want to let the boil rest for about 20-30 minutes.  There is a lot of water so don’t be worried about cooling.  This resting period is crucial as the seasoning needs time to soak into the food.  Without letting the boil soak you will get bland shrimp.  That’s it, you are ready to serve.  Drain and put contents into a large bowl for everyone to share. This is a very hard recipe to mess up.  Boil, add food, boil, rest.  It’s really that easy.
I love making this for a large number of people because it is delicious and the ingredients really make the recipe.  You can get creative and look up many boil recipes online.  The next one I’d like to try is the Cajun boil.
A few tips, get quality ingredients.  I like to use fingerling potatoes as they have a good taste and you don’t have to chop or peel.  Another thing is to buy good shrimp.  I really like Royal Reds as they hold up to peeling better and they are a little sweeter and denser than regular gulf shrimp.  They are a colder water shrimp and many liken their taste to lobster although I find that a bit of a stretch but I do notice a difference.  I hope you all try this and let me know what you think.

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Chicken Stock for the Soul

How many times do you have a recipe that calls for chicken stock and you reach for a bouillon cube or a can of chicken flavored salt water?  When I found out how easy it was to make stocks from bones that I would usually throw out I knew I would never be in need of that can o’ stock or would I ever buy boneless, skinless chicken breast again.

Boneless, skinless chicken breast, a staple of any healthy eater can run anywhere from $3-5 a pound now a days.  The real savings comes in when you buy your chicken bone-in and learn to process it yourself.  You can get whole chickens for close to $1 a pound or breast and thighs bone-in for closer to $2 a pound.  Here’s a video of how to process a whole chicken down to its store packaged parts;

So now we removed the meat we can start our stock instead of throwing it out and wasting money.  This stock is so easy to make your going to kick yourself for ever buying salty chicken water in the first place.  Your going to need a large stock pot, at least one that you can fit in about 2 gallons of water comfortably.  Now get out your ingredients:

• 3 lbs chicken bones
• 1 large onion rough chop
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 celery stalks
• 2-3 regular carrots
• 2 bay leaves
• 1-2  tsp  Salt and pepper

Directions:

In your stock pot place all ingredients in about 12-14 cups of water and set heat on high.  When you start to get a boil going reduce heat to medium low or until you just see a few bubbles coming up at a time.  Cook for one hour to an hour and a half.  Strain all the liquid into storage containers.  You can keep in the fridge for a few days or freeze for up to 3 months.  I like to separate the stock into 16 ounce containers (2 cups) for easy use.  Defrost in the microwave and your ready to use.

This stock is so much better than the canned substitute and will make your food much more flavorful and “yours”.  I know canned stock is cheap but homemade stock is by far much more inexpensive and you’ll be saving money on the chicken as well.  If this isn’t a win-win, I don’t know what is.

If you enjoy chicken noodle (or rice) soup this stock makes a great base for an awesome soup.  I’ll share that with you soon.  Enjoy.

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Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

August in Florida is certainly not soup season.  Thick hearty, meaty soups are the staple of the north and cold weather.  You see in 7 month I will be all suited up taking pictures with family and friends at my wedding and in order to shed a few pounds healthier meals will have to be made.  Beef gets substituted by chicken, spaghetti squash for pasta and yogurt for heavy whipping cream.  During a substitution we say a recipe on the side of a Dannon Yogurt container for Creamy Sweet Potato Soup.  Now I’ve been a sucker for potato soup ever since I tried Stefanie’s Yukon Gold Gold Winning Soup, that’s right two golds (I made that name up).  That has been a favorite comfort food since we met but unfortunately it does not hold back on calorie rich ingredients so this new recipe peaked our interest.  The recipe and directions can be found here:

http://www.dannon.com/recipes/recipe/default.aspx?recipeId=999

Now a few thoughts on this recipe.  If you like sweet potatoes then this is a great low calorie healthy option to the heavier potato soup recipes you are likely to encounter.  There are a few suggestions that I would like to make.  The yogurt gives the soup a nice little kick, that is, if you like the little zing yogurt gives.  I do enjoy it but if you are not a yogurt person you can probably even this out by substituting ¾ cup of heavy cream and only using 1 cup of the yogurt although this will add calories if you’re the counting type.  Another thing is that this is a very easy recipe to “mess with”. On my next go around I may introduce some nutmeg and/or cinnamon.

I’m usually not a side of the container or box recipe kind of guy except for maybe rice krispy treats but this was a refreshing find.  Good and light flavor that may be kept in the rotation for a good while.

If there’s any recipes you got of a container that are worth the trouble let me know so I can try to defeat my prejudice.  Enjoy.

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Day 28 – Curry

When we think of Curry it conjures images of a different culture halfway round the world somewhere near New Delhi but instead we should be thinking somewhere closer to London.  It was in England that curry powder was invented to simulate the taste of Indian food.  Curry is in fact England’s National Dish.

Curry is a dish that is traditionally made with a curry powder.  There are many different flavors of curry but the most common in America is Green Curry made with coconut milk.  This dish is relatively easy to make using store bought paste or with a little prep time you can make your own.  I’ll show you how to prepare the paste from scratch and have a delicious curry from scratch.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 stalk lemongrass, minced
• 1-3 green chilies  (If you can’t find green chilies Jalapenos or Serrano peppers will work)
• 1 shallot (substitute purple onion if you can’t find shallots)
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1 thumb-size piece of ginger
• 1 compressed cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves & stems
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp shrimp paste (substitute 1/2 tsp salt)
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 3-4 tbsp coconut milk

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a food processor, chopper, or blender and blend together until you get a good puree.  At this point your paste can be used on vegetables, as a sauce on meats or to make Traditional American Curry.

This is how your paste should look;

Now let’s make some Coconut Curry Chicken.

First warm 28oz of coconut milk until slightly boiling.  Add 4-6 tbs of fish sauce, 4 tbs of brown sugar and all of your curry paste you’ve made. Stir until blended and  reduce heat to med-high.  Let cook for 10-15 minutes then add your vegetables (I prefer mushrooms, sliced red peppers and peas).  Slice 1-2 breast of chicken and add to curry. For a fall apart chicken texture, tenderize chicken by beating with a meat tenderizer until chicken starts to break apart on it’s own.  Let cook for 20-25 more minutes.  Serve on Jasmine or Brown Rice for best results.  Enjoy.

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