A Crazy Cajun Weekend!

Tonight Russ and I decided to have a few friends over for a crawfish boil. We’ll we actually decided this several days ago, but it happened tonight. Russ and I both love crawfish and last year we ate them on several occasions during the season, however, this year we have barely eaten any of them. So, we decided we would solve this by having a crawfish boil in our backyard.

I made two dips for appetizers. The first is Sumner’s Salsa which is super easy to make and very tasty. It includes two chopped tomatoes, black beans, green chiles, black and green olives, shredded monetary jack cheese, fresh cilantro, and fat free Italian dressing. I made it as soon as we got home from Do Dah Day (see below) to let it have time to marinate. The other dip I made is a new recipe for me from Ina Garten. It is her Sun-Dried Tomato Dip. It is also fairly simple to make with the help of a food processor. It is a creamy dip with cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise. It also as the name states includes sun-dried tomatoes and a few seasonings. I thought it turned out pretty well, but wished it had been a little more flavorful. Next time I think I will add a few more sun-dried tomatoes. I also think that in the future I will limit myself to one dip per party and do other non-dip appetizers to go with it. I love dips, but there are so many other good pick up appetizers out there that I should try.

Russ was in charge of the boil and crawfish. So, he ordered 35 lbs of crawfish and made a grocery list of everything else he needed. He includes fresh corn on the cob, red potatoes, garlic, lemons, and various seasonings in his boil. I think he did a great job and by the small number of crawfish left after everyone was done eating I would say that everyone else agreed. The crawfish were super moist and everything had great flavor. Russ thinks he can improve on it by getting the crawfish a little spicier. Next year he will up certain seasonings to accomplish this. The only other side we served with it was a wonderful slaw that Elizabeth made. It is her uncle’s recipe and it was the perfect side for the spicy boil.

For dessert I made Ina’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies. I made them in my beloved Kitchen Aid mixer. I still get excited using it and think it is a very fun kitchen tool. I am considering naming it…. Anyway, the cookies have peanut butter, brown sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, flour, and a couple other things. You cream the butter with the brown sugar, then add the eggs, then add the dry mixture. Last you fold in the chocolate chips. You bake these for 17 minutes and take them out when they look not quite done yet. They finish baking once you have taken them out. I think this is the key to this recipe as the cookies that were a little more done than the others were not as good. The ones that were done perfectly were very tasty! Russ and I both thought they were yummy. Sumner made brownies which were a very moist and tasty. I think that both desserts were well received.

I think that all the food turned out very well. This may just mean that we’ll have to do a crawfish boil again next year. Next time we will try to get the crawfish a little spicier and I’ll do the appetizers a little differently. However, this is not the last of the crawfish for Russ and me for this season. I will be making some etouffee soon with the leftover crawfish. Russ rates the boil a 6, the appetizers a 8, and the cookies a 9. I think Russ is being a little a little tough on himself with the 6 for the boil as I would give it a higher rating.

As I mentioned before we went to Do Dah Day today with Scott, Jess, Hugo, Allen, Blue, and of course Sweet Baby Cash. It is a super fun annual dog festival that takes place in a couple of the parks off of Highlands. It is always fun, but was especially fun this year as it was Cash’s first time. He had a blast! All the dogs had a fun time seeing all the other dogs, eating treats, and hanging out. Cash was worn out afterwards, but rallied for the crawfish boil in order to play with Thomas. Cash will be sleeping and resting for most of tomorrow!

(*Do Dah Day pictures will be posted with tomorrow's post since no food pictures or recipes will be posted... are we not cooking tomorrow night or is there something bigger going on...?)

Food Processor Slaw

(Uncle Richard's Recipe)

1 head green cabbage
1 head red cabbage
3 green onions
2 carrots
16 oz + of T. Marzetti's Slaw Dressing

Finely chop all ingredients and mix well. (You can use the food processor with the grating disk for the cabbage.) Add slaw dressing and mix well. Add more dressing to taste.

Sumner's Salsa

1/4 lb monetary jack cheese, shredded
2 (4 oz) cans of sliced black olives, drained
2 (4 oz) cans of chopped green chiles
2 large chopped tomatoes
2 green onions chopped (green and white parts)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup fat free Italian dressing

Put it all together in a bowl and let it sit for a couple hours or overnight in the fridge to marinate.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies (Ina Garten, "Barefoot Contessa, Parties!")
Makes 36 to 40 cookies

1/2 lb. unsalted butter at room temperature
1 and 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup good smooth peanut butter
2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt (my notes: next time I think I will cut this in half or possibly eliminate it, with the peanut butter I am not sure additional salt is needed)
1 pound good semisweet chocolate chunks

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and peanut butter, and mix. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and add to the batter, mixing only until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

Drop the cookie dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using either a 1 and 3/4 inch ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon. Dampen your hands, flatten the dough lightly, then press the tines of a wet fork in both directions. Bake for exactly 17 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). Do not over bake. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

BBQ for Two

Russ and I have a small and ever growing cookbook collection. Russ actually had quite a few of his own before we got married, but since then most of the new additions have been ones I wanted. However, we did get a cookbook as a wedding gift that has become one of Russ’ favorites. It is the William Sonoma’s Essentials of Grilling. We decided to take advantage of the great weather and a relaxing Sunday night together to grill out and use the cookbook. The recipe we picked from it is the Classic Barbecued Chicken.

I was excited about making the barbeque sauce and Russ loves any opportunity to use his Egg. The sauce came together fairly easily despite having quite a few ingredients. It then simmered for around 25 minutes. Russ then salt and peppered the chicken breasts and basted them with the sauce while they grilled. The only deviation from the recipe is that we used only bone in split chicken breasts instead of a mix of pieces and it took a lot longer than the allotted 20 minutes to grill them. The sauce was good, but had too strong of a vinegar taste for us. Next time I think we will play with the recipe a little more and either drastically reduce or eliminate all together the vinegar and possibly add some brown sugar and other seasonings. The sauce did work well with the chicken and Russ did a great job grilling them. They were very moist and flavorful.

For the sides we did corn on the cob, roasted green beans, and Ina Garten’s Garlic and Herb Tomatoes. Yes, that is a repeat on the tomatoes from just last week. I enjoyed the tomatoes so much last week and since we still had the fresh herbs for it I decided to do it again. It was just as tasty this time around! The green beans got a little over done while waiting on the chicken to finish cooking and turned into what Russ named “green bean French fries”. They were actually kind of good! However, next time if they need to wait on the other food then instead of turning off the oven and leaving them in there like I did tonight I will take them out and cover them with foil. The corn we simply boiled using Russ' technique that always turns out perfectly cooked corn. You bring a pot of water to a boil, add the corn, bring it back to a boil, turn off the heat, and leave it covered for at least 10 minutes.

All in all it was a good barbeque dinner that could have been even better. We did have fun sitting outside eating with Cash. Russ rates the barbequed chicken a 6 mainly because the sauce was just okay and could have been better.

Classic Barbecued Chicken
"WS Essentials of Grilling"

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 cup bottled chili sauce
1 cup tomato ketchup
1 cup beer or ginger ale (we used Bud Light)
1/4 cup molasses
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 and 1/2 lbs mixed chicken parts such as breasts, thighs, drumsticks and wings (we used breasts)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

To make the quick barbecue sauce, in a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and saute for 1 minute, until fragrant. Stir in the chili powder, mustard, paprika, and cayenne. Add the chili sauce, ketchup, beer, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar. Simmer, stirring often, until the sauce is lightly thickened, 20 - 25 minutes. Use the sauce immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week. You should have 3 to 3 and 1/2 cups. Reheat the sauce before using.

Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for direct grilling over medium heat. Oil the grill rack. If using chicken breasts and they are large, cut them in half crosswise before grilling. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Have ready about 1 cup of the barbecue sauce, reserving the remainder to serve separately or for other uses.

For the charcoal: Grill the chicken thighs, skin side down, and drumsticks over the hottest part of the fire for 5 minutes, then add the breasts and wings. Grill, turning once or twice, for 10 minutes. Brush the chicken with some of the sauce and continue to grill, turning occasionally and brushing with more sauce, until the juices run clear when a thigh or breast is pierced with a knife tip, about 10 minutes.

Serve the chicken hot with reserved barbecue sauce, if desired.

Bum Shrimp Recipe

So, tonight we tried another new recipe from the April Cooking Light. Despite the yummy results from last night's dinner tonight's did not get rave reviews. We tried the New Orleans Style Shrimp. It was easy to prepare and clean up, but this was not enough to make up for the mediocre flavor.

To start the dish you prepare a simple marinade and put the shrimp (with the shells on) in it for 30 minutes. Ours ended up marinating a little bit longer because we decided to take Cash on a walk while we waited for them to marinade. Once marinated you put them in foil packets and bake them. I prepared a simple salad with hearts of romaine, grapefruit slices, goat cheese and pecans to go with it. We also served crusty french bread with it per the recipe's recommendation. While it was fun to peal the shrimp since it reminds Russ and me of the summer and being at the beach the shrimp did not have much flavor. In fact we pulled out the cocktail sauce out of the fridge since these needed some help. We dipped our bread in the sauce only to find it bitter and the shrimp were slightly overcooked. This could have been somewhat in part due to the longer marinating time, but I still don't think they would have been much better if we had marinated them for only 30 minutes. Clean up was easy since you just roll up the foil and toss it and there were no pots or pans involved.

All in all this was a bust. Russ rated it a 6 only because of the easy clean up and that it was fun to peal the shrimp. As you can see from Cash's expression in the picture he was even disappointed in it. We will not be trying this recipe again. In fact next time we are in the mood for something similar I'd rather take a little more time and effort and do a small shrimp boil.