white asparagus with leeks and vanilla pepper

You have to peel the stalks, they are touch,  then a quick blanche.  Olive oil and whole garlic cloves in a pan.  Cut a clean leek, about 3 inches long in half.  and make slices long ways and add to the pan.  Add the blanched white asparagus and get some color going...  This is the same night I made the maryland crab soup and the blackened redfish and I had this nice white wine around so I added about 1/8 of a cup to the mix and let a little sauce form.  Toped with a little vanilla pepper which is kind of sweet a bland of vanilla bean, peppercorn salt and sugar...  it was awesome.  a great compliment to the redfish dish.

Blackened Redfish over fresh tomato sauce and yukon gold medallions

Blackening is an amazing way to cook any hearty white fish. Catfish and Redfish are my favorites...  (hard not to fry a catfish).
The redfish was looking oh so good and on special the other day...  I got after it.  I made a pretty standard blacken seasoning without the cayenne and light on the salt.  The recipients of this dish do not have spicy palates.   Traditionally you melt some butter and dip the fish in the butter and then seasoning then straight into a scorching hot skillet.  I substituted grape seed oil for the butter and got a good sear on the one side.  I had peeled potatoes boiling on the back burner.  On the front I cooked some garlic in olive oil.  I blanched about eight cluster tomatoes with an X cut on the bottom.  the skins came right off and they were ready to add to my garlic and hot oil.  they cooked down for a while...  I helped it with some nice white wine, about a half a cup, when I had a sauce working I pureed with some fish stock bouillon and that sufficed my savory.  no salt.
I threw the red fish fillets on a sheet pan and finished them in the oven at 350 with the convection on. When the potatoes were soft I pulled them and sliced medallions with a slicing knife so not to break them.  and placed two on top of a ladle of the red sauce, and then the Redfish.  I served with a side of white asparagus with leeks and vanilla pepper.
It was a hit.

the sauce

Maryland Style Crab Soup

Every now and again I remember my MD roots.  My family moved to Gaitherburg, MD in 1979.  Ripping me from the soulful Austin, TX in the seventies...  I never lost my accent.  I missed Austin so much I moved back as an adult in 1998 not really knowing anyone.  Stayed for six years...  and now I'm back here again. Austin will always have a hold on me.  There are things I take with me though from all of the fine places I get to travel to and live.  The first thing I remember falling in love with, culinarily speaking was Chesapeake bay crabs.  We'd have them in the summer with corn and we'd pick them up steamed from the local fish market by the bushel.  You'd sit and pick all day long til yer fingers stung and your mouth was tingling.  Stinky, dirty  fun.  I even scooped the mustard and ate it all up.   Later on when I got to New Orleans I found I was a natural for crawfish eatin and head suckin due to my early experience with MD crabs.

Every now and again I get a hankering for some good ol' crab soup,  It is extremely satisfying and healthy too.  I started this one with a chopped leek and a few garlic cloves, one diced carrot and celery stalk in some olive oil....  a good pull of white wine, at least a cup.  I add my spices here.   Celery seed, cayenne, white pepper, dry mustard, paprika, any italian dry herb blend, and a bay leaf.  You could also add a touch of all spice, clove, cardamum, ginger, nutmeg here.  This will mimic your traditional Old Bay seasoning.  You can use Old bay but be careful of the salt that come with it.  I find I want more of the spice an less of the salt.  Then I add some nice strained tomato, try the Mutti brand (17 oz. )with only italian tomato or Pomi brand (24 oz).  if you use Pomi reserve 10 oz or so for later use.  Use tomato in a carton or jar as opposed to canned, always.
Add four fresh shucked sweet corn from the cob,  one diced zucchini, half a diced sweet onion, a diced red pepper, and finally a full pound of lump carb meat, you could use claw if you are on a budget, will be fine.  Most restaurant style soup like this will be claw and only a half a pound....  so you are really going for it here with crab flavor and actual chunks of crab in every bite.  I add some smoked sea salt to taste and cracked black pepper.  Some fresh parsley is nice to finish.  I had some cilantro and it was perfect and bright at the end.  Add a touch more wine if you can't feel it.  Mine was drunk enough at this point.  I may have added a heavy cup at the top though...  Ooopsie.  I love this soup!

here's better look at the soup pot.  CHUNKY!

Fried Oyster Taco

Fried Oyster taco?  O.K. but for breakfast???  Sure why not?  Me and Cray Cray were celebrating something I know we were staying home from the SXSW interactive part one night because we had an early morning with AYREP (Austin Young Real Estate Professionals).  She was going to the event and had a hand in getting me on board as entertainment.  Playing my tunes in North Austin at the bright hour of 9am.  We woke up at 7am!  Any of y'all who know me know this is really something.  Turned out to be my only SXSW event and I was happy to get paid and get on with the music part of it all.
We got 2 Dozen Oysters and champagne cocktails going early.  I shuck 'em in the back yard and we keep the shells (cleaned ones) for out garden area.  We also had a nice crab cake and salad to go with it after...  we got to wanting those crab cakes after about a dozen and a half so I shucked and saves a half a dozen big boys.
next day or so I got o scrounging around the fridge and we had just enough stuff to put together two tacos.  I have found the key to frying these is get a cast iron skillet crankin' and enough oil to get em covered about a 1/4 ways up but not too much to waste oil or nothing like that.  Use your thermometer and make sure it reads 375.   be careful not to let it touch the skillet.  this is tricky.  I can sorta tell when it's ready but still check cuz it sure does help.  I made a one egg wash.  coated the oysters in tapioca starch, dipped in the egg wash and into the spiced corn meal mix and into the hot skillet, a couple of minutes on each side is really all it needs.  Use your brains here depending on size of the oyster and all...  make sure your oil is hot enough!  I use grape seed oil.  it's clean and does not smell up the house or impart it's flavor on my food.  It has a high burning point and it's good for you.  Use grape seed oil for frying.
On a separate skillet I have been heating  two corn tortillas.  When the oysters are done I place them on a plate with paper towel to drain any excess oil, there isn't much.

I place a dallop of tartar on the tortilla, three big oysters, hot peppers, some avocado, shaved red onion an diced tomato, side of baby spinach (some cabbage woulda been nice here).  and topped all of that with some spicy habanero salsa.  Good morning SXSW I look forward to the fun....  later that night we went to J Muellers BBQ for a DIYevent  about web sites and blogging....  things I need to know about.  We tore up a plate of some world class BBQ brisket, short ribs, pork ribs, sausage and sides, even went back for seconds...  That was a good food day.

Steak, Luchadors, and Leon Russell

Well steak it was.  We got to Bill and Livi's and he had just gone and done it.  Not one but TWO cowboy bone in ribeye steaks.  about an inch and a half thick.  A stalk of brussel sprouts and some baby red bliss.  I got right to work as we were starving and we got to a bit of a late start.  We started with fresh grapefruit poloma style margarita's while I boiled some water for the potatoes.  I took the brussels of the stalk and trimmed them and set them in a casserole dish whole, drizzled with olive oil, salt and garlic powder, and pepper...  a 1/4 inch of chicken stock and into a hot oven...  425.
While we did these we snacked on a wedge salad and sipped our margys.
I had set the steak out for the entire time to bring it to room temp, or as close as I could to it.
When I smelled the brussels they were done and crispy outer shell, and buttery in the middle.  I set them out and turned the oven up even more.  I smashed the red bliss on a baking sheet and covered them with olive oil salt and pepper and into the hot oven (turned it up to 450)....   dalloped them with butter too.
When I started to smell the potatoes they were done too and I started the steak...  beacause of the rain I brought my cat iron skillet and got it real hot.  I liberally salted one side of the steak with my hickory and alderwood smoked sea salts and pepper.  and seared that puppy for 4 almost 5 minutes.  do not touch it until you want to flip it.  I salt and peppered the other side and flipped for 4 minutes,  add a half a stick of butter here and let if foam up and blend with the fat from them meat.  flip the skillet back and spoon the buttery fat over top of the steak for the entire 4 minutes.  Pull from the pan and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

I brought over some NM red chile sauce and in order to tame the heat a bit I dropped some chopped tomato in the cleaned skillet and cooked it down a bit before adding the NM red.   It blended a bit and I poured it onto the lady guadalupe plate,  plated the brussels and potatoes in a bowl side by side,  sliced the rib eye in 1/2 inch thick slices and placed over the sauce.

for desert?  I repeated this process for steak number two.

the soundtrack?  Elton Johns first album on vinyl followed by Leon Russel.  Elton wanted to be Leon.  sounded like the same artist really...  only Leon does something to me that I cant explain.  Somewhere in his voice and in his playing he touches me deeply.   This certainly made the food taste better.

We watched some Los Panchos on youtube and had one last drink before Bill sent us off with the gift of a Mil Mascaras luchador belt buckle.  Bill want to bring back the luchador.   I'm in.

Rainy Day Chowda

It's been rainy and cold all day...  blahh.  The first day of SXSW and I don't want anybody's free beer or food plate.  I just want to sit here and have a michelada and cook in my own kitchen.  We have not had enough  rain or cold for that matter down here this entire winter.  So it's no surprise really that we bring in spring and SXSW with awful weather.  I get it.  haha funny.
I headed out to HEB in the thick of the rain storm and picked up a few things we needed around the house but couldn't shake the feeling that I would be missing a great opportunity to make a clam chowder.  Soon enough it will be bajillion degrees out there no one want a chowder then.  Part of me loves this weather and I miss this part of it a little.   I made a fire when I got home and started my chowda, after I made a michelada, of course.

Here's how I started this one....  render fat from two slices of bacon, and add one chopped onion, smoked sea salt/pepper, cover and sweat.  If I had some celery I'd add a half a chopped stalk here.  I did add a couple of chopped garlic cloves though.  Add one jar of clam juice.  and the juice from three cans.  (when I go big and impressive I go to central market for chopped fresh clams but doxie are just fine and delicious in a pinch)  and three medium white potatoes diced.  When the potatoes are soft make a roux with 3 TBS of butter and 3TBS of your flour of choice and add to the stock.  Then add the chopped clams and 1/2 pint of cream.  Serve and garnish with chopped parsley and more cracked pepper.   This will be delicious tomorrow.  It's delicious now actually and I'm going in for another bowl.

French onion soup with gruyere crouton

I nearly forgot to post this French onion soup.  I began by sweating an organic red and yellow onion cut in medium sized circles.  A little salt and pep and cover the pan.  check and stir a little.  at least 10 minutes maybe longer.  when they are just about to start getting some color on them I hit it with a half a cup of nice white wine.  reduce and add the beef stock.  I have some stock left over from some marrow bones I added to a box of kitchen basics.  I added some fresh herbs here, sage, rosemary and thyme...  I added them whole so I could pull them easily later when I got the flavor I was seeking.  I cut a baguette into rounds and hollowed them and filled with the gruyere.  baked them until they over flowed, crunchy and gooey on the inside.  The crouton comes off like a crouton with a cheesy crisp chip base.
Adding one more big 1/2 cup of red wine near the end I achieved the flavor I was going for.  I like tasting the wine in this.
Some fresh parsley at the end and some parmesan reggiano and drop in the croutons.
this is comfort food at its best.

the meal was followed by a mixed grill of chicken, shrimp, baby octopus, and squid.  They all were marinated in olive oil, garlic, the fresh herb trio, and lemon zest.  when they came off the grill they were sprinkled with red sumac...  there were also grilled eggplant rounds and zucchini.  I drizzled some nice balsamic on them and a sprinkle of dried oregano.

Radio HEad + lots of foods today

I was able to get some Radio Head tickets last minute but had a dinner party at 6:45 so I had to hustle in order to get there on time.  I made chicken tenders and white sauce, a mac and cheese casserole + and stracciatella.

I started by making one pound (undercooked) of gluten free mac and setting aside.  I started the sauce with two TBS of butter and made a roux with tapioca and rice flour adding four cans of evaporated milk.  sweet and delicious and much less fat than cream.   salt, pepper, a lil nutmeg and stir.  I stirred in a few cups of grated gruyere, and a few more of cheddar, some quatro formagi and a some Parmesan.  It was gooey heaven.  stirred in the dried mac and some organic frozen peas and poured into a greased casserole dish.  I made some gluten free bread crumbs with tapioca bread and baked some bacon simultaneously.  I mixed the bread crumbs with some fresh herbs and topped the mac with it + some reserve cheeses and the bacon.
baked for 30 at 350.

left over bread crumbs I mixed with parmesan and coated the chicken tenders after garlic powder, salt and pepper.  coated them in the GF flour, then egg wash, then bread crumb and pan fried in olive oil.  I made a basic white sauce.  started just like the sauce for the mac...  butter, flour roux...  and a few cups of fat free milk, reduce and stir adding parmesan and salt and pepper to taste.  boom.  kids meal done.
there were still some bread crumbs left so I mixed with two eggs and started boiling some chicken broth
with some of my fresh herbs.  I removed the herbs after they imparted their flavor.  Pour the hot broth into the egg, parm and bread crumb mixture and you have italian egg drop soup, the stracciatella.
I also made a quick solo veal parmesan bread the same as the chicken, a nice tomato puree, fresh mozz and baked with the mac.

I roasted a few medium tomatoes on the vine to garnish all of the above.
I cleaned the kitchen and raced to pick up my lil Cray Cray and head off to the Frank Erwin center for one of the greatest concerts I have seen in maybe forever...
We got home and were a little hungry.  I have left over shrimps from our shrimp enchiladas...  heated some tortillas, added a diced tomato to a hot skillet added my shrimps bathed in new mexican red sauce, and some shredded mexican cheese.  when the cheese was melted I filled the tortillas and topped with a slice of avocado.  Complimented by my red bridge michelada.  I did have no turned on any music and wont until tomorrow.  We considered going to see a band after but agreed it would be like going to McDonalds after eating a fine steak dinner.  There is nothing left to do this evening except digest.  Tomorrow there will be another party, and I will probably play my guitar and help them drink some tequila after wards.  I'll let you know the menu when I know something.