What's Cooking?

[ness]

Although I like to try to do things 'authentically', I don't get too hung up on it. It's gotta taste good, take a reasonable amount of time and not break the bank.

Rice with a spicy, savory sauce/gravy and some meat, fish or fowl is a great combination. I've got a pretty easy étouffée recipe that's much less of a production. Probably more like your gumbolaya. Disclaimer: autocorrect added them fancy accents to étouffée. Look, it did it again!

[Chief Grey Bear]

Next time I make it, I'll post up some pics and info.

I like the whole "no rules" like you said.

Only the French follow the rules!

[rps]

Actually, most of the rules are honored only with lip service. The good chefs borrow from all over the world.

[jerry241]

Try some Tasso in yo gumbo sometime

[ness]

Yeah -- I should do that. I don't see it around as much, but haven't really looked for it either.

[jerry241]

It's not easy to find but sure does go good in a gumbo

[rps]

Pasta e Fagioli

This is the dish Dean Martin called “pasta fazul” in his 1950’s hit, "That’s Amore.” The phrase translates to pasta and beans and was originally a meatless peasants’ dish made from inexpensive ingredients.

Recently Nancy and I were watching Moonstruck and she asked me what was the pasta fazul in the song. I double-checked and told her. She decided we needed to try it. This is not authentic. I have zero Italian relatives. Instead, I did a bunch of reading and put this together from the various sources.

Serves 4 hungry people.

Ingredients

¼ cup small-diced slab bacon

1 onion, diced small

1 large carrot, diced small

1 large stalk celery, diced small

2 sundried tomatoes, sliced in this strips

½ cup dry white wine

1 can each cannellini and garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed. (Provides a texture contrast.)

1/2 cup green lentils

1 cup crushed tomatoes

1 quart chicken broth

4 minced garlic cloves

large stalk fresh rosemary

1 bay leaf

1 stalk of fresh thyme

½ cup ditalini pasta

salt, pepper, pinch of red chili flakes

¼ cup grated Parmesan

EVOO

Method

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Slowly fry the bacon in a tablespoon of olive oil. Remove the bacon, but leave the fat. Saute the onion, carrot, and celery until the onion is translucent. Add the white wine and cook until the wine evaporates. Add the tomatoes,sundried tomatoes, beans, garlic, herbs, spices and chicken broth. Add the bacon back into the soup.

Bring the soup to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Simmer about 20 minutes until the lentils are cooked.Remove a cup of the liquids and beans and use an immersion blender to puree the removed solids. Add the puree back into the soup to thicken it. Add the ditalini to the soup and cook until the pasta is al dente. Remove from the heat and stir in the grated Parmesan.

Serve with focaccia and garnish with olive oil and additional grated Parmesan.

[fishinwrench]

White bass

Hush puppies

Bush's baked beans

Yeah Baby !

[BilletHead]

Yowza,

Right there is some good eats,

BilletHead

[Feathers and Fins]

Glen you suck lol