Fried Soft Shell Crab Etouffee with Coleslaw

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Fresh or frozen soft shell crabs
1 Packet of Louisiana Fish Fry Cajun Etouffee Base
1-2 eggs
Some milk for the egg wash
Salt and pepper
Flour
Cajun/Creole seasoning
Vegetable Oil 
1 Lbs. small peeled shrimp
Steamed long grain rice  

Follow the instructions on the packet to make the Etouffee but do not add any of the crab. Follow the cooking instructions but DON’T add any shrimp until the last 5 minutes of cooking time and cook until done although the 5 minutes should do it.  

Place a 1/2 cup of flour on a plate, sprinkle with a judicious amount of seasoning. Carefully, and without ripping off any of the legs, dredge the crabs in the flour, place into a bowl of the egg wash and dredge in the flour a second time.

In a frying pan, add in the oil until it is about 1 inch deep. Heat to 350 degrees. 

Gently add the crabs to the now hot oil and fry turning as necessary until golden brown and cooked through. Drain on paper towels.

Add some rice onto serving plates, add the Etouffee onto the rice and then place your crab on top. One medium sized crab should be sufficient. 

Enjoy! 

Since I’m a coonass in training forgive me if I didn’t make the Etouffee with shrimp or rice. Also, it’s okay if you put the crab on the plate upside down. 🙂 


   

Creamy Scrambled Eggs and Homemade Fresh (not smoked) Kielbasa Sausage

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It all starts with making your own sausage.

Personally, I find a really fatty piece of pork such as a boston butt, grind it and add A.C. Legg fresh Kielbasa seasoning that I buy on Amazon for about $6.00 that will make about 25 lbs of sausage.   https://www.amazon.com/Legg-Fresh-Polish-Kielbasa-Seasoning/dp/B0063SWAMY

The other option for those who don’t own a meat grinder is to buy store ground pork and add the seasonings.

Place an 8 ounce patty into a fry pan with butter and fry on medium heat until brown on both sides.

As the Kielbasa is frying and about 1/2 way done take a Tbsp of butter and put it into a small pot (non-stick is the best) until melted at med-low heat. With a rubber silicone spatula stir 4 whole eggs until blended well.

Stir all the time and remove the pot from the heating element stirring all the while. Place the pot on the element and repeat. Add salt and pepper along the way for taste and when the eggs become creamy take them off the heat and serve.  

Pork and Veggie Stuffed Egg Rolls

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Hot Mustard:

1/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup dry Colman’s mustard powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp veggie oil

Using a whisk the mustard powder into the boiling water until smooth. Add in the salt and oil and mix until combined. 

Sweet and Sour Sauce:

1 cup pineapple juice
1/3 cup water
3 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and cook on medium heat until thick, stirring all the while.

The Filling:

1 Tbsp veggie oil
1 1/2 cup shredded carrot
3 cups cabbage chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp dried ginger
1/3 cup green onions
4 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 large egg white whisked
1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
8 ounces of ground pork
12 egg roll wrappers, 7″ x 7″
Veggie oil – enough to fry the the egg rolls

Heat a wok or large pan over medium heat
Add the oil and fry the pork and drain of any residual oil if necessary
Add the mushrooms and saute for 1 minute
Add the carrots and saute for 1 minute
Add the cabbage and cook until well wilted
Add the garlic and ginger and saute for 30 seconds
Add the soy sauce and sesame sauce and stir to combine
Remove from the heat and let cool

Then stuff your egg rolls.

Beurre Manié – The Roux in Your Freezer

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Often when making a soup or stew you may find that you really need to thicken it up a bit so you make a flour slurry or add in a cornstarch mixture.  Clearly, this will thicken the soup or stew but often at the expense of flavors that you tried to hard to achieve.

There is a tasty and simple alternative and that is Beurre Manie which is nothing more than equal parts butter and flour by weight. Think of it as a roux that you use in the final stages of cooking instead of before as in making a traditional roux.

I make mine in advance and freeze it and breaking off a chunk or two and add as needed.

One Pot Spaghetti – Is it worth it?

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After making this recipe I must say that it is too rigid for any cook who wants to change the amount of pasta. I say this because with each and every change there are also adjustments that need change as well such as the amount of the sauce and water added, etc. 

So in reality I find that this procedure is more trouble  than it’s worth. 

I never imagined that the end result of a 15 minute one pot spaghetti meal would taste so good but trust me, it is.

For this meal I used…

8 ounces bulk Italian sausage (I made this sausage)
1 1/2 cups of prepared pasta sauce
7 large chopped mushrooms
2.5 cups water
2 thirds of a 16 ounce package of thin spaghetti (about 10.5 ounces)
1/4 cup of Parmesan
1 Tbsp Olive oil

Note: If you use Tones Spaghetti Seasoning add 2 Tbsp and 1 tsp to 10 oz. tomato sauce

Brown the sausage in a large high sided non-stick pan in the olive oil and drain if there is an excess amount of grease, some is just fine.  You can also brown ground beef (drain excess fat) for a beef meat sauce.

With the meat in the pan, add in the sauce, mushrooms, water. Break the pasta in half and add to the pot.

Bring the ingredients to a boil and stir until the pasta is fully covered in the sauce and then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and stir occasionally until the liquid is absorbed.

Note: Be prepared to add judicious amounts water if the sauce is thickening before the pasta is cooked al dente.

As soon as the pasta is al dente add the Parmesan cheese and stir to combine.

If you use a thicker spaghetti than the “thin” variety more water may may be required. 

Also, if it seems as if it’s taking too long to cook through you can place a lid on the pan checking for doneness every 30 seconds and to give it a stir. 


Why this works:

Traditionally, raw spaghetti is boiled in salted water until done. But using the one pot  method the pasta is cooked in the same pot along with all of the other ingredients absorbing their flavors thus creating a superior flavor.
Getting Close 

Liverwurst/Braunschweiger Sandwich

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If you like Liverwurst or Braunschweiger this liver sausage sandwich may be the best you have ever eaten.  
Liver sausage
Hellmann’s mayo
Spicy brown mustard
Sharp cheddar cheese
Dill pickles   
Lettuce (optional)

Spread mayo and mustard on both the top and bottom slices of bread and add a layer of sausage followed by the cheese and pickles. Add another layer of sausage and the top slice of bread. 
Serve with potato chips.  

Roasted Pork Butt

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Roasting a pork butt can appear to be a daunting task when most are 8 lbs or more. But much of that can be mitigated to some extent. 

The roast I made started out as a bone-in 8 pounder but that was clearly more than I was interested but with a very sharp knife I cut butt into two 4 lbs. sections with the bone-in section separated from the other. The bone-in section would be the section that I would eventually roast and the other section would be ground into Italian sausage and fresh Kielbasa. 

1 Pork Butt (with or without the bone” trimmed of excess fat
salt
pepper 
granulated garlic (or powder) 
chicken stock 
Rosemary or other spices optional 

In a roasting pan and rack add the stock to the bottom of the rack. Then sprinkle the butt on all sides with a spice blend consisting of 1 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tsp pepper and 1 1/2 tsp garlic for a 4-5 lb roast. 

Place the roast onto the rack in the roasting pan and place into preheated a 300 degree oven. If you own a corded digital meat thermometer insert the probe in the thickest part of the roast avoiding the bone and if you don’t own one, buy one. 

What you want to achieve is an internal temp of 180 degrees for a roast that is tender, juicy and easy to carve. In the case of my roast I used a recommended rule of 45 minutes per lbs. which should have been 3 hours but it actually took 4 hours. This was probably a result of having a bone-in roast.    

(Take note that a pork butt is neither a pork loin nor a pork tenderloin so it will take a significant amount of time  in the oven)

Regardless, at about the 2 hour mark you need to refresh the stock in the bottom of the pan with water to just under the rack.   

After the roast is finished place it on a cutting board and make a gravy from the accumulated juices from the bottom of the roasting pan.

Carve and serve with mashed potatoes or steamed Basmati rice. Give the bone to Fido. 

Amazing Beef Short Ribs with Baby Bella Mushrooms – My Signature Dish


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8 ounces Baby Bella (Crimini) mushrooms
3 pounds meaty lean beef short ribs (see photo below) 
salt and freshly ground black pepper 
2 tbsp olive oil (not Virgin) 
1 onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups beef broth
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of cayenne
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme 
1 Cup Merlot 

Salt and pepper the ribs and brown on all sides in a steel frying pan with 2 Tbsp veggie oil. Place the browned ribs in a dutch oven.

As the ribs are browning, slice one med onion, peel the garlic and trim and quarter the mushrooms.

After all of the ribs have been well browned, place the onions into the fry pan and cook for a few minutes and then toss in the garlic for 30 seconds before adding the mushrooms. Cook for about 2-3 minutes stirring often and then add the wine. 

Reduce the wine by 50 percent, then add the tomato sauce, beef broth, Thyme and bay leaf. Pour mixture over the ribs in the dutch oven and cover.

Cook in a preheated 325 degree oven for 2 hours. Remove pot from oven and test the rib meat for doneness. If the bones have separated from the meat then it’s more than likely that the ribs are incredibly tender. If not using a sharp knife pierce one of the ribs. If the knife passes through with little to no resistance they’re done. If not return the pot to the oven and cook a bit longer.

When finished cooking transfer the ribs to a bowl or plate. Skim off any grease that accumulates on top of the gravy and check for flavor. Add salt, pepper or a bit more Thyme to suit your taste. 

If the gravy is too thin for your liking mix a couple tbsp of cornstarch in about the same amount of cold water. Add in the mixture a little at a time all the while stirring the gravy until it reaches the desired thickness. Or you can add a few pieces of beurre manie. See Link Below

 Note: the cornstarch and water mixture does not have to be tempered with the hot gravy nor does the Beurre Manie.  

Serve over mashed potatoes or wide egg noodles. 

Enjoy! 

Beurre Manie

Preparation Video

If you can find short ribs that look like these you’re in business. Accept nothing less.