Jambalaya

On the upside of this pandemic, I've spent a lot less time commuting and a lot more time cooking. The next few weeks of posts will be a fun exercise on cleaning out the freezer and cooking with what's in the pantry. Good thing for me it's already pretty stocked...

I have a package of andouille sausage from making shrimp and grits a couple weeks ago. Today it's Jambalaya.

1 bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 links andouille sausage, sliced
1 chicken breast, cubed
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp olive oul
2c medium grain rice
2.5c water
Salt & Cayenne pepper to taste

In a dutch oven, saute the onion and bell pepper in olive oil on a medium high heat until browned. Add salt and pepper and stir in for a minute. Add bay leaf, sausage and chicken, continuing to stir until chicken is cooked. Stir rice in for a minute. Add water be sure to scrape up browned parts from the bottom. Cover and turn heat to medium low for 12-15 minutes. Turn heat off and let stand for another 5-10 minutes.

Bacon Jam

Bacon, it's my JAM!!!! And a really good addition to everything...Cheese platters, mac and cheese, quinoa salad, grilled cheese sandwiches, literally everything!

1 1/2 pounds sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces 

2 medium yellow onions, diced small 
3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled 
1/2 cup cider vinegar 
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar 
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 tbs freeze dried coffee 
3/4 cup rum

Fry the bacon until browned set aside. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pan. Add onions and garlic, and cook until onions are translucent. Add vinegar, brown sugar, maple syrup, coffee and rum. Bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet with a wooden spoon, about 2 minutes. Add bacon and stir to combine. 

Transfer mixture to a 6-quart slow cooker and cook on high, uncovered, until liquid is syrupy, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Transfer to a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped. Let cool, then refrigerate in airtight containers, up to 4 weeks.

Three Bean Turkey Chili

2 lbs Ground Turkey
1 Medium Onion, diced
1 8oz Can Tomato Sauce
1 28oz Can Diced Tomatoes
1 16oz Can Kidney Beans
1 15oz Can Black Beans
1 16oz Can Pinto Beans
1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
2 Garlic cloves, diced
3 Tbs Chili Powder
1 Tbs Chicken Powder

Pick your own chili powder blend according to how spicy you like it. Toss all the ingredients into a crock pot in the morning and eat at night! If using a conventional pot, use a dutch oven to cook the meat with a little bit of vegetable oil. Place all remaining ingredients in the pot and let cook at a low boil for 1-2 hours, until the meat is tender.  

Kalua Pig

One of my favorite foods at home is Kalua Pig. Traditionally, this is cooked in an imu, which is an underground oven that slow cooks the entire pig. In Los Angeles, everyone loves carnitas, which is pretty much the same slow cooked pork, without the smokey goodness. Trade it out for Kalua pig and it goes amazingly in tacos, sliders, and with pretty much everything.

5 lbs Pork shoulder or butt

1 tbs liquid smoke

2-3 tbs Hawaiian rock salt

Place all ingredients in a Crockpot (or in a dutch oven) with a little water to cover the bottom of the pot. Cook overnight in the crock pot (about 4-6 hours in the dutch oven) until the meat falls apart. I make this a day ahead so I have time to chill and scrape out the rendered fat that floats to the top.

Breakfast Sausage

½ lb Ground pork
2 tsp Kosher salt
1½ tsp Ground black pepper
2 tsp Sage leaves, chopped
2 tsp Thyme leaves, chopped
½ tsp Rosemary, chopped
1 tbs Light brown sugar
½ tsp Grated nutmeg
½ tsp Cayenne pepper
½ tsp Red pepper flakes

Combine ground pork with all other ingredients and chill for 1 hour. Form into 1-inch rounds. Refrigerate and use within 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months. For immediate use, saute patties over medium-low heat in a pan. Saute until brown and cooked through, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

Almond Crusted Chicken

1/2 c Unsalted almonds
2 tbs Olive oil
3/4 tsp Lemon zest
1 tbs Lemon juice
3/4 tsp Dried rosemary
1 Garlic clove
1/4 tsp Salt
4 (4-5oz) Chicken Breasts

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until a thick paste.

Place chicken flat on a baking sheet and evenly spread almond paste on top.

Bake @ 425º for about 10 minutes; a meat thermometer should read 165º-170º F

Beef Empanadas

These were a dorm favorite in undergraduate. One of my roommates was Argentinian and we would make these tasty treats thru out the winter. Still do.

Filling
1 lb Ground beef, cooked and drained
1 Small onion, diced
1/4 c Raisins
1/4 c Green olives, diced
1/4 c Capers
4 oz Tomato paste
1 tsp Ground cumin
2 Hard boiled eggs, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
Paprika & egg white

Crust
5 tbs Butter
3 tbs Vegetable shortening
1 1/3 c All purpose flour
1/4 tsp Salt
4 tbs Iced water

Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Scatter chilled butter and shortening pieces over the flour mixture and cut in. When coarse crumbs form, drizzle in water until dough becomes an evenly moist mass; not a ball. Wrap in plastic and chill.

Saute onion and ground beef, let cool. Mix in olives, rasins, cumin, salt, pepper and hard boiled eggs. Add tomato paste and mix well.

Roll out pie crust dough into small rounds and add 1 heaping tablespoon if filling. Wrap and seal edges with a fork. Brush on egg white and sprinkle paprika on top.

Bake @ 400˚ until golden, 12-15 minutes.

Turkey Burger, hold the bun

OR meatloaf salad, depending on how you look at it. How it happened was a friend came over for dinner and said I have some ground Turkey, what can you make with it? After a minute of scanning the ingredients in my fridge, this is what happened.

Garnishes
¼ sweet onion, chopped
6 button mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 c arugula
½ avocado
1 tsp olive oil

Turkey Burger
½ lb ground turkey
1 egg
¼ c bread crumbs
¼ onion, finely chopped
2 tbs sherry or brandy
1 tsp corn starch
salt & pepper to taste

Mix turkey burger ingredients. Shape into patties and grill, bake or fry.
Saute onion, mushrooms and garlic in olive oil.
Plate cooked burger with a handful of arugula, sliced avocado and cooled mushroom & onions.