Ceviche

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I love ceviche. I mispronounce it cerviche (ser-vee-chay). The first time I had it I was hooked. I don’t get it enough. Too many restaurants that offer it make me wary of their heat-cooked seafood.

What about making it from the road?

The New York Times has a recipe here. I find scallops a hard item to find in the midwest. What about substituting a middling easy to grab fish like tilapia?

The recipe works just as well with a substitution of any mild seafood. And you can replace with plums with peaches or nectarines or any juicy fruit handy this time of year.

In case the NYT recipe disappears,

Software

• 1 lb. diced whitefish or shellfish
• 2 diced plums, peaches, nectarines, etc.
• 1 to 2 teaspoons chopped tarragon, cilantro, or any herb you like
• .25 cup lime juice – more if needed
• .5 teaspoon lime zest
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, fresh ground, to taste
• cayenne pepper, to taste

Method

1. Toss everything together
2. Let rest 15 to 20 minutes at room temperature
3. Serve

Ginger Beer at Slashfood

Ginger Beer. Looks pretty tasty!

Cooking Dinner Vol. I

This video is food pr0n at its porniest.

Tags: Video

Shrimp Gumbo Theory

Based off of Alton Brown’s recipe.

Really the only changes are to:

• Swap the cast iron pot with what you have
• Make the roux in the traditional way

By the traditional way I mean add the oil to the pan and bring it up to medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour in small bits at a time. Keep whisking until the roux turns a brick red.

You will have to do some gymnastics with your pots and the two burners most extended stay places offer. Instead of doing the rice on the range I might do it in the microwave. Note: I have never made rice in the microwave.

I have to do this on my next trip!

Tags: all-purpose flour, andouille sausage, bay leaves, black pepper, cayenne pepper, celery, file powder, garlic, green peppers, kosher salt, onion, shrimp, thyme, tomato, vegetable oil, water

Memorial Day Resuscitation

Today I brought a pot back to life.

I have a generic cast iron dutch oven type pot. I call it “dutch oven like” because it has a glass and metal lid. The Dutch ovens I grew up camping with were all cast iron with a handle and three legs. This is not that.

It is still quite useful, but I took poor care of it last winter. Somehow it, and not my other cast iron, caught a case of rust. I relegated it to the basement until such a time as I replace it.

I haven’t replaced it.

Today my son announced that he wants gumbo for dinner. This is a dish made for the pot. Time to bring it back to life.

I stared by scraping it down with a wire brush to remove as much of the rust as I could. I then rinsed it while using a plastic brush. I took a Brillo pad to it next, scrubbing and rinsing in regular intervals. Finally, once I though I had removed all of the rust from it, I rubbed it down with shortening and placed it in a 350 degree oven to season it.

My daughter and I had made the shopping run so I could make Alton Brown’s Shrimp Gumbo. I didn’t have time to do the deveining of the shrimp myself. I was more than happy to let the fishmonger do that for me.

I messed up and forgot the bell pepper and to brown the sausage before adding it.

Looking at the pot, I can see where my rush seasoning missed a few spots. I still think it worked well.

Tags: Alton Brown, bell pepper, cast iron, gumbo, Memorial Day, sausage, shrimp

Administrivia

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Guacamole

The magic number of my football food trifects.

Hardware

knife
cutting board
bowl, glass or stainless steel

Software

3 avocados
1 close garlic
2 roma tomatoes
cilantro
1 lime
1 bunch green onions
salt
pepper

Method

Remove the flesh from the avocados. I recommend Alton Brown’s method. [Ed: need to add link]

Chop everything else but the lime and spices.

Liberate the lime of it’s juice over the avocados.

Combine everything. Cover and refrigerate for at last an hour.

Tags: avocado, cilantro, garlic, onion, tomato

Salsa

Part two of my football food trifecta.

Hardware

knife
cutting board
large bowl, glass or stainless steel

Software

6 roma tomatoes
1/2 red onion
4 jalapeno peppers
1 red bell bepper
4 cloves garlic
1T olive oil
salt
pepper
chili powder
cilantro
1 lime

Method

Chop everything but the lime, oil, and spices. Place in a bowl.

Add the oil, the juice of the lime, and the spices. Stir to combine.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Tags: bell pepper, cilantro, garlic, jalapeno pepper, onion, tomato

Chili

This is one of my food trifecta today while I watch that football game on later.

Hardware

Pot
Knife
Cutting Board
Spatula
Can opener

Software

1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
1.5lb ground sirloin
19oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
8oz can tomato sauce
19oz can red kidney beans, undrained
Salt
Pepper
1T chili powder
1T vegetable Oil

Method

1. Dice the onion. Chop the garlic. Put your pot over medium low heat. Add 1 T oil. When it comes to a shimmer, add the onion and garlic and a healthy pinch of salt. Sweat the veggies for three minutes until they come just translucent.
2. Turn the burner up to medium high and add the ground sirloin. Brown the sirloin. When done remove the fat from the pan.
3. Add the canned items and chili powder. Add more salt and pepper to taste if needed. Once the pot comes to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to low. Let it simmer for 1.5 hours.

Notes

I like mine with some pepper jack cheese and yogurt mixed in, eaten with sturdy tortilla chips.

Tags: beans, beef, garlic, onion, tomato

White Beans and Rice

I got into town late on my latest business trip. The NFL playoffs are on and I didn’t want to miss the action. I thought I would make it through without any dinner, but the hunger told me no.

I started out with some popcorn, but it wasn’t doing it for me.

I raided my cooking case and found three cans: chicken broth concentrate, organic tomatoes with chili spices, and a can of white kidney beans. Those, combined with some slow, slow cooking brown rice made for nice white beans and rice.

The drawback is that there is nothing fresh in this. Pulling this together out of seemingly nothing, keeping in watching football instead of traipsing through the cold rain is pretty cool.

Hardware

Large saucepan
Ladle or large spoon
Can opener
Cup to measure rice

Software

10 ounce can condensed chicken broth, preferably low fat and low salt
19 ounce can kidney beans
19 ounce can tomatoes, chili spiced might be a good choice
10 ounces water (use the soup can)
1 cup brown or white rice (not fast cook)
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt
garlic powder
hot sauce
pepper

Method

Open the cans. Pour their contents into the pot. Add the water.

Meanwhile, rinse the rice. Add it to the pot.

Bring the pot to a boil.

Add a pinch or two of salt, pepper, the olive oil, and garlic powder. Don’t go nuts on the seasonings if you got pre-seasoned beans or tomatoes.

Cover. Reduce the heat to bring it to a simmer. Let cook unmolested for at least 40 minutes.

Stir it up a bit. Check to make sure the rice is fully cooked. It might seem soupy but will thicken as it cools. All that starch from the rice will work it’s magic.

Ladle into bowls and serve with hot sauce. Sour cream, yogurt, and cheese are all fine additions if you have ‘em.

Tags: beans, broth, rice, tomatoes