Creamy Creole Shrimp and Grits

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
3 tablespoons butter, divided
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 ribs celery with green leafy tops, finely chopped
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
4 to 5 sprigs fresh thyme, intact
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
1 to 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons hot sauce (recommended: Frank's Red Hot), divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup beer, 1/3 of a bottle
3 cups chicken stock, divided
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped frozen okra, optional
1 1/2 pounds peeled, deveined medium to large shrimp, tails removed
1 cup whole milk
1 cup quick cooking (sometimes marked "instant") polenta---we actually used quick Grits and it came out just delicious.

Directions:
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. When butter melts into extra-virgin olive oil, add garlic, onions, celery, bell peppers, thyme, bay leaf then season with salt and pepper. Cook veggies 7 to 8 minutes until tender, add in the Worcestershire, 1 to 2 tablespoons hot sauce (medium to spicy heat level) and the flour and cook 1 minute more then add in beer and cook it off, another 30 seconds or so. Whisk in 1 cup of stock then add tomatoes and okra, if using, and bring to a bubble. Add shrimp and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until shrimp turn pink and firm then turn off heat. Remove thyme stems and bay leaf.

Bring remaining 2 tablespoons butter, 2 cups stock, 1 cup milk and 2 teaspoons hot sauce, to a boil in a sauce pot. Stir in 1 cup quick cooking polenta (or follow grit recipe on box and add hot sauce). Stir constantly to mass the cornmeal. Once the mixture thickens to the consistency of whipped potatoes, season the "grits" with salt and divide among dinner plates.

Serve generous ladles of shrimp and sauce on a bed of creamy "grits".

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients:

1 cup whipping cream
1 cup shredded Pepper Jack Cheese
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 cup sour cream
4 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 10oz can diced tomatoes and chilies
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
10 6 inch soft corn tortillas
1 cup green salsa
1 2.3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

(If you haven't done so already, cook and shred chicken). In a 2-quart saucepan heat whipping cream just to boiling. Remove from heat; stir in Pepper Jack cheese, cumin and chili powder until cheese melts. Gradually add sour cream. Sir in shredded chicken; set aside.
In medium non-stick skillet combine 2 tbsp vegetable oil, red pepper, onion and garlic. Cook and stir over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Add diced tomatoes and chilies, and lime juice; mix well. Cook for 1 additional minuted. Remove from heat; set aside. In bottom of greased 13x0-inch baking pan place 1 cup of red sauce. Begin layers; layer 5 torn corn tortillas on the red sauce, then layer 1/2 the chicken mixture, 1 cup of green salsa, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, the remaining five torn tortillas, last 1/2 of chicken, remaining red sauce, then top
with last 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese. Cover, bake for 30-35 minutes on 375. Garnish with chopped cilantro and additional sour cream.

Banana Sour Cream Bread

**** Makes 4 loafs!****

Ingredients

1/4 cu sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cu butter
3 eggs
6 very ripe bananas
1 (16 oz) container of sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp groun cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
4 1/2 cu flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 egrees. Grease four 7x3 inch loaf pans. In a sm. bowl, stir together 1/4 cu sugar and cinnamon an ddust pans lightly with the mixture.

In a large bowl, cream butter an 3 cups of sugar. Mix in eggs, mashe bananas, sour cream, vanilla, and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda an flour. Stir in nuts. Divide into prepared pans.

Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Crab Cakes

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter
1 oz garlic, minced
2 oz diced onion
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp old bay seasoning
1 oz parshley flakes
1 oz dried mustard
sprinkle of paprika
sprinkle of garlic powder
sprinkle of chili powder
1 lb crab meat
1 raw egg
1 cup of bread crumbs
cilantro leaves for garnish (optional)

In a large pan saute butter, garlic, onions and peppers until tender. Let cool. In a large bowl combine mayo, lemon juice, old bay, parsley, mustard, and the sprinkles of seasoning. Set small amount aside for dipping sauce. In a separate bowl mix crab meat and egg (being careful not to break the crab meat). Combine the 3 mixtures together. Toss and mix gently. Add more bread crumbs if needed. Should be able to make a patty with the mixture.

Form into 3 inch patties and 1/2 inch thick and saute in non-stick pan until golden brown on both sides.










Serve with rest of the mayo dipping sauce and a lemon wedge. Garnish with tomato and a cilantro leaf!

Shrimp and Spot "in" Chowda... By P.K.

First, buy some crappy fishing gear at the local fishing hut then head out to the nearest highway run off. Next, attempt to fish while getting attacked by invisible bugs until you're about to give up.

Of course the last cast you land a fish..... PK and I named him Spot b/c he was a spotted trout... and at the same time we thought... "WE gotta eat Spot... in a Chowda, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm".

See Spot caught.




Spot made the cut at 15 inches long. Poor Spot.



See Spot Bleed out.



See Spot de-scaled.




See Spot Fillet.



See 2 Spots.




Ingredients:

2/3 stick of butter
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1 lb of shrimp w/ the heads on.(y'all)
Fresh catch of the Day (aka Spotted Trout if you caught it off the dock by my house!)
1/2 cup minced Onions
3 cups diced red potatoes
6 cups of corn kernels
Pinch cayenne pepper
Pinch of Old Bay seasoning
3 cup milk (we used skim, but PK recommends whole milk)
1/2 quart heavy cream
2 tsp pepper and salt to taste
Shrimp Stock: (use shrimp heads and shells only)

Rip heads and shells off shrimp, separate into a sauce pan. Cook heads and shells covered with water, add cayenne pepper and old bay seasoning then cook over medium heat until it reduces by half. Then stain the heads and shells from the stock and set aside.








In a large sauce pan (I am talking big for soups sauce pan), saute butter, onions and garlic until the onions are transparent. Then add shrimp stock, potatoes and corn until the potatoes are tender (about 10-15 minutes).

Add shrimp and Spot to the chowda for approximately 10 more minutes (see Spot cook).


Finally, add enough milk and cream to cover the vegetables and reduce until desired thickness. Add pepper and salt to taste. Serve hot!



PK and I gave this a 9 out of 10. I ate an entire bowl before PK had 1/2 of his!

Seafood Arrabiata for you and for me!

Shall-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la la Ti Da! Seafood Arrabiata! Now folks, this is not for the chef who is weak of heart, oh no, it is for one of courage, enduring fortitude, and a bottomless hunger. PK is that chef... well, he's 1/3rd of that chef has he always brings an appetite when he steps into La Cocina Berard!

Ingredients:

8ish oz. uncooked linguine
2ish tbsp extra virgin oil oil
10 bay scallops
1/2 chopped onion
1/4 tsp red pepper
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 can petite cut diced potatoes, drained
1 can of clams with juice (Pk wants me to emphasize "tuna can size")
12 littleneck clam
12 mussels
2 tbsp fresh parsley

Directions:

Clean both mussels and clams and debeard mussel. Let clams, mussels, and scallops sit out covered at room temperature. This will help to have everything cook evenly.

In a large saute pan, saute olive oil, onions, garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, clams w/ juice and red pepper flakes.

In a sauce pan, begin to boil water with a dash of pepper, salt, and olive oil for flavoring. Then add the linguine and cook al dente.

Now, add littleneck clams, mussels, and scallops to the saute pan. Cook until clams and mussels open up. (mussels will open before clams).

Bob and Jane's Oven Roasted Potatos & Sweet and Salty Salmon

Ingredients

1/8 cup olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried majoram
1/2 tsp dried dill weed
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1.2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F

2. In a large bowl, combine oil, and all the spices. Stir in potatoes until evenly coated. Place potatoes in a single layer on a roasting pan or baking sheet.
3. Roast for 20-30 minutes in the preheated oven, turning occasionally to brown all sides.

Sweet and Salty Salmon















Directions:

Score the Salmon filet without breaking the skin (both horizontally and vertically) with each score being approximatly 1 inch apart. Cover the Salmon with Kosher salt on the meat-side of the salmon only. The skin side remains down throughout the entire process. Cover the fish with brown sugar making sure to get it within the scores of the salmon. Let marinade in a baking dish for approximately 8 hours. Grill the fish skin-side down (never flipping the fish). Fish should be flaky. Time to cook depends the thickness of the fish, atmospheric pressure, (for every 20 degrees below ISA cook it an extra 5 minutes ~ says Bob),and the general temperment of the cook.