photo by thefancyblog

Like most Americans, I grew up with the phrase "chestnuts roasting on an open fire…" and like most, never really much in the way of actual chestnuts.  In Mexico, you'll find roasted pepitas on the street and in markets -lightly roasted with salt and chili.  With Halloween coming up and pepitas in season, the time is right for these addictive little snacks.

photo by externo

These are seriously addictive.  Roast them a couple batches at a time and they won't last more than a day.  Raw pepitas are easy to find at Whole Foods and Mexican markets.

These are also excellent on salads and other meals.  I typically keep them as a snack - especially if I plan to be cooking with anyone waiting around the kitchen.

Spicy Pepitas

1 cup raw pepitas

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp red chili, I use reshempatti from India

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


2. Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl.


3. Spread the pepitas out on a baking sheet or large casserole dish.


4. Bake for 15 minutes.  You can make these in batches.

photo by roboppy

I wish I could say my introduction to Xiao Long Bao was on the streets of Shanghai, but it was a regular Sunday morning dim sum.  Tucked away on a dumpling cart was something very different.  Xiao Long Bao are not your everyday dim sum dumpling.  They contain a little dollop of rich broth inside the dumpling.  They come freshly steamed (and hopefully freshly made) in small bamboo containers.  The process of steaming heats the soup broth up and readies the broth to burn the inside of your mouth, land on your shirt or be enjoyed as a little package of soup.  Your choice.

Xiao Long Bao, or Soup Dumplings, can't (or shouldn't) be eaten like the standard dim sum dumpling.  The dumplings are meant to be put on a soup spoon with any additional sauce.  Chopsticks are used to pierce the dumpling and let the broth flow out into the spoon.  Once every drop of the soup is enjoyed, its ok to finish off the whole dumpling.

There are some fantastic recipes out there for XLB, but they tend to have one thing in common - long preparation time.  Remember that the last step of the recipe for these little packages in the bundling, folding and sealing of the dumplings themselves.  That is going to take you some time and test your patience.  You really might want to consider whether you're up for the long cooking process followed by some precision dumpling assembly.

Typically the dumplings are made with chicken broth paired with a pork ball.  I modified the pork ball a bit and used bulk chorizo, in part because I can get it.  It made the dumplings considerably spicier than what rolls by on a cart.

The best way to make these (or at least my favorite) is to stand around the kitchen with guests or family bundling the dumplings and chatting while they are steaming.  They get perfectly fresh dumplings and you get good company.

Xiao Long Bao

Soup:

2 cups of chicken stock

1 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp Chinese rice wine

2 Tbsp unflavored gelatin

Directions

1. Bring the stock to a boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes.


2. Remove from heat and stir in the rest of the ingredients until the gelatin is dissolved.


3. Pour into a glass dish that fills to about 1/2 deep.  Chill in the refrigerator until solid.

Dumplings:

1 container of dumpling skins.  I get these in the frozen section of my local Chinese market.

1. Cut the broth into small cubes with a knife.


2. Lay 2 skins out on a board.  Wet the edges of both with your finger.  (I think its easier to do 2 at a time)


3. Put one spoonful of filling (below) and a few cubes of broth in each dumpling.  You'll get better at how much to put in as you make them.  Don't worry if your first couple are practice.


4. Pleat the skin to form a sort of bowl.  Join the edges together to form the dumpling.


5. Place the dumplings on cabbage leaves or cotton in a bamboo steamer.  Don't let them touch.


6. Steam for 10-12 minutes.

Meat Filling:

1 lb ground pork or bulk chorizo

2 green onions, diced

1 in ginger, grated

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp Chinese rice wine

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp sugar

Directions

1. Mix the pork with the vegetables well.


2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Vegetable Filling:

2 in ginger, grated

1 clove garlic, minced

1 lb fresh asparagus

1 can whole water chestnuts, diced

4 green onions, diced

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp Chinese rice wine

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp sugar

Directions

1. Very finely dice the vegetables and add to a bowl.  Don't worry about using all of the asparagus stalks.


2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

photo by wallyg

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival happens each year in the spring.   The event is at the Fairgrounds Race Track, near a large city park.  It's multiple days of excellent music and food.  I'm sure some big names have played Jazzfest, but my visits have focused on gospel and food.

The Jazz & Heritage Festival has roots in Southern gospel music, and it shows with the quality of bands that play each year.  Maybe the acoustics aren't the same as a small church, but the music makes up for it.

The other highlight is the food.  Its one of the best ways to try different cajun and creole dishes, some that aren't very common outside the fairgrounds.  The list is long, and I hope to eventually cover most, if not all of them here:

• Crawfish bread


• Crawfish balls


• Natchitoches meat pie


• Crawfish pie


• Muffuletta

I have never found a crawfish bread that comes even close to what you can find at Jazz Fest…

Prejean's Restaurant serves an excellent gumbo at the Jazz & Heritage Festival.  This is not their gumbo, but it’s a good one.  Its simple and it never fails.  The only trick to this recipe is that you'll need a whole smoked chicken - easy where I live, perhaps not everywhere.  There are ways to smoke a chicken yourself, but when I realized how fantastic the local version was, I quit doing it myself.

I serve large bowls of gumbo with a lump of packed rice dropped on top.  The heat of this gumbo is heavily dependent on the sausage, so pay attention to what you decide to use.

Smoked Chicken Gumbo

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

2 cups white onions, minced

1 cup green bell peppers, minced

1 cup celery, chopped

10 cups chicken stock

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp thyme

2 bay leaves

1 pound andouille sausage

1 whole smoked chicken

To make the gumbo:

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Don't let it smoked.  Add the flour a little at a time.


2. Let the flour cook, stirring almost constantly, until it is a dark roux, the color of good coffee.


3. Add half the onions, peppers and celery and cook about 5 minutes.  Add the seasonings and cook another 5 minutes.


4. Add 8 cups of stock to the roux, bring to a boil and cook 30 minutes.


5. Add the rest of the vegetables, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, sausage and remaining stock.  Simmer another 30 minutes.


6. Remove the sausage from the gumbo and slice into 1/4 in slices.  Return to the gumbo and cook for another 30 minutes.


7. While the gumbo is finishing, remove all the meat from the chicken and dice.  Set aside.


8. Add the chicken and let the gumbo cool for 10 minutes.  Spoon into bowls with rice.

photo by Ingorrr

Stock is something I make as a reaction to another meal or recipe.  If I happen to be making something that requires a whole chicken, I will go ahead and make some stock.  Its not hard, and it makes a huge difference. 

I have a couple posts that require stock, so I thought I would post this.

The vast majority of the time, the stock I make is chicken.  For the most part, its what I have the building blocks to do.  If I have a serious chili day coming up I might make some beef stock, but its rare.

The only variation I make is the chicken.  If I need a rich stock, I keep some frozen chicken wings on hand to add to the chicken - that really takes it over the top.

Stock freezes.  When I thaw it, I generally boil/simmer it for 10-15 minutes before using it.

Chicken stock

Bones, neck and back of a whole chicken (I don't use the organs)

For a rich stock, I add about 1.25 pounds of chicken wings

Greens from a head of celery

1-2 cloves of garlic, smashed

1 onion, quartered

2 slices of ginger

To make the stock:

1. Put everything into a stock pot and add water to cover.  Pay attention to how full the stock pot is.


2. Bring everything to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer for 4-8 hours.


3. I leave the cover askew if I can.  When the stock boils off I add water to keep it at about the same volume.


4. Strain all solids.

photo by Grape Juice Girl

Noodles are such a simple meal - the list of noodles you can buy on streets throughout Asia is long.  You can really get by on noodles from a stand at all hours of the day - in a light broth for breakfast, with meats for lunch or a spicy bowl of noodles to end a long night out.

I just love buckwheat soba noodles.  Besides coming in great packages with perfect little wrappers, they are hearty and go well with just about everything except the lightest broths.  This is a quick recipe that makes for a terrific bowl of noodles.  If you have the chicken already cooked, its takes less than 10 minutes to cook this perfect bowl of noodles.

Soba noodles with Spicy Peanut sauce

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup scallions

1/2 tsp red chili pepper

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp brown sugar

2 in grated ginger

Zest from half a lemon

1/2 cup peanuts

2 tsp Hoisin sauce

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1/2 lb or 2 bundles of organic buckwheat soba noodles.

1 chicken breast, cooked or grilled to your liking, slivered

Scallions and cilantro for garnish

Filling

1. Boil water for the noodles with salt.  Cook the noodles while you are making the sauce.


2. Heat the oil over medium heat.  Add scallions, pepper and garlic and cook until softened.


3. Add the soy sauce, water, brown sugar, ginger and lemon zest and allow to heat through but not cook.  Set aside.


4. Blend the sauce with the peanuts, Hoisin sauce, lemon juice and sesame oil in a blender or food processor.


5. Once the noodles are cooked and drained, mix half the sauce with the noodles.


6. But the noodles in a bowl, add the other half of the sauce on top, and add the chicken on top of that.

Make 2-3 servings.