Sourdough Jalapeno Cheddar Loaf

With the madness of the holidays finally over, I had some time to bake full fermented loaves again.  The Hubs wanted something savory, so we settled on this recipe from SueBee Homemaker.  

I didn't stray from her recipe much, so click the link if you're interested in trying this one.  We used slightly less pickled sliced jalapenos than what the original recipe called for because it was all we had on-hand, so I chopped them up to make sure the jalapeno flavor was distributed throughout the loaf. We shredded up some extra sharp cheddar.  The jalapeno was mild enough that even our "Everything's Too Spicy" 8 year old enjoyed eating it.

I tend to prefer using a loaf pan to more free-form, oblong loaves...mainly because I don't have an oblong pan (like this Challenger bread pan) to cook them in, so they would have to be just baked on our pizza stone, which doesn't allow for trapping in steam during the initial part of the bake, which is where you get a lot of really nice rise from.  At least with the loaf pans, there's some structure to help them rise UP rather than just out in every direction.  They're also a lot easier to slice using my new slicing guide.

We made this when it was still pretty chilly outside, so we served this alongside some hearty beef stew and chili.

I rubbed butter on the top of the loaf before baking, which added some flavor but not a lot of shine like egg wash would have.

Jalapeno Bacon Deviled Eggs

Our friends recently decided to host a throwback 50s style cocktail party, and it was SERIOUSLY fun.  We got a babysitter for the evening so we could live it up like some wild & crazy kids! 

As part of the plan, all attendees were required to dress in their 50s finery, bring an appetizer, and a bottle of booze so we could craft classic cocktails (more on that later...probably on a Thursday?) 

I'm so proud of my group of friends--we went all out with the period-appropriate appetizers.  There was a pineapple-shaped cheese ball, puffed pastries, a crock full of meatballs, even a seafood aspic terrine (aka "meat jello").  

One of the tastiest cheeseballs I've ever had.

We were all a bit intimidated by the terrine--myself because I'd sworn off aspic after working with them at Martin's in New Orleans.  However, I decided to be brave--and I'm glad I did because it was a truly tasty work of art.

Be brave, H & C!

For our part, I used my mom as inspiration--and deviled eggs are always her go-to.  But, we decided to mix it up a bit, and make jalapeno bacon deviled eggs.  NOTE: We have a few friends who are vegetarian, so I made half the batch sans bacon, and topped these with sliced pickled okra to separate them from the bacon-laden ones.

Seriously wish I had one of those old-skool deviled egg trays!  Might have to see if I can track one down at the thrift shop.

We got a ton of compliments on these, so I'm thinking it might now my MY go-to gathering fare.  Our recipe was "pinspired" by this recipe, but I tweaked it a fair bit so my recipe is below.

INGREDIENTS:
1 dozen large eggs, hard-boiled, cut in half
3/4 cup Light Miracle Whip
1/4 cup yellow mustard
8-10 pickled jalapeno rings, seeds removed, minced
1-2 tsp brine from pickled jalapeno jar
1/2 tsp sugar
6 pieces bacon, cooked (I used thick cut applewood smoked bacon) NOTE: If you decide to make half your batch vegetarian friendly, only use 3 slices of bacon.
1/2 tsp smoked paprika, plus more for decoration
1 thin/young green onion, minced for decoration (I used a young shoot from my windowsill green onion jar)
2 pickled okra, sliced (optional, use for decoration if you're making half the batch vegetarian)

DIRECTIONS:
Remove the yolks from the halved eggs, and place into a small bowl.  Then add the Miracle Whip, mustard, brine, sugar, and paprika, and whip until smooth. Tweak spices to taste--I like my deviled eggs to have a good "twang" from the mustard.  Now add in the minced jalapenos and stir until well combined.

Cook the bacon, pat off any excess grease, and then crumble, saving 12-24 larger crumbles for decoration (depending on whether you make the full batch with bacon or not).

If you're making only half with bacon, then at this point, scoop half of your mixture into a ziploc bag, and then snip off the end to use it as a piping bag.  Pipe the mix into half your egg halves.  If there's any leftover in the bag, place it back in the bowl.

Now add in the crumbled bacon (except what's reserved for decoration) and mix well.  Place all of the remaining mix into the piping bag, and finish filling the rest of the eggs.

Now top the bacony eggs with a piece of bacon (you could also add an extra slice of pickled jalapeno if you like), and top the non-bacon eggs with the slices of pickled okra.  Dust the entire tray with paprika and minced green onions.

If you don't have a fancy deviled egg tray, you can use a 8x8 or 9x11 pan and place paper towels in the bottom.  The towels will absorb any excess moisture and keep them from slipping around in the pan.

P.S. A bonus shot of that seafood aspic...because I know you wanted a close up. ;P

Crab, shrimp, corn, tomato, avocado and cilantro.  It tasted similar to ceviche so I actually loved it.

Adventures in Pepper Jelly: aka Smoked Pineapple Jalapeno Refrigerator Jam

As I mentioned in my last post, we were recently bestowed with an ENORMOUS stockpile of jalapenos & banana peppers.  I decided, "hey, I've never made pepper jelly before, and I have a Cajun food blog--I think it's about time!"

And so began my adventure.  Let's just state for the record--I have little to no jelly-making experience. I've made some cranberry-pineapple refrigerator jam which turned out pretty well, but in general, my homemade jam experience primarily involves magical childhood memories of enjoying strawberry freezer jam made by my Nana over warm Amish-made sourdough bread.  So...mostly I just have experience with EATING a lot of fridge & freezer jam.

As with most cooking adventures, I started on Pinterest.  The first recipe I tried resulted in an absolutely beautiful product that tasted lovely...but was the consistency of roof tar.  I couldn't even clean out the jar to try & reuse it.  *sniff* So sad.  

Lesson learned: Not all pectins are the same.  I have a jar of INSTANT pectin SPECIFICALLY for making fridge & freezer jam, meaning it's not intended to go through the boiling process.  I'm sure if you try this recipe with the RIGHT pectin, it would be fabulous.  

So for Attempt #2, I went straight to the Ball Website to find a pepper jelly recipe for my type of pectin.  And I did!  We decided to tweak this just a little bit: instead of green peppers & canned chilis, we went with our fresh jalapenos, and we grilled the pineapple & jalapenos first to add an extra layer of flavor.  

Lesson learned:  You are not as bad@ss as you think you are.  Remove at least SOME of the seeds before you puree.  We ended up having to puree more pineapple and add in a bunch of pineapple juice in order to bring this down to an edible level--and even then it was really ONLY tolerable with cream cheese to kill the capsacin.

THIS is exactly why I only make one jar of things, rather than a whole batch.

So...we made ONE MORE BATCH, using all our lessons and tinkering, and THAT'S what I present to you today.  

(Served over cream cheese for our most recent work potluck luncheon.)

INGREDIENTS (per 8oz [pint] jar):
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp INSTANT Pectin (for fridge/freezer jams)
About 8 oz of pineapple slices (we did use canned for our last batch and it still tasted fine)
3 jalapenos, seeds & ribs removed (you can leave the seeds in one if you like heat)
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2-1 tsp Liquid Smoke (optional, to taste)
Pineapple Juice (as needed--grilling removes some of the moisture so you may need to add a little juice to get a full jar)

DIRECTIONS:
Have a clean, sterilized pint jar ready (as always, we used EasyClean, but you can also use your dishwasher or any of the other sterilization methods)
Grill your pineapple rings & jalapenos until they have a light char.
Stir the sugar and pectin together in a medium bowl, set aside.
Add your pineapple, jalapenos, lime juice, and Liquid Smoke to a blender or food processor and pulse until finely chopped.  Then pour the mixture into the bowl with the sugar/pectin and stir for 3 minutes.  Taste & decide if you want to add more of the Liquid Smoke (a little goes a LONG way, but we think it ups the smoky flavor from the grill).

Transfer the jelly into your pint jar, and add a little pineapple juice if you need in order to get a full jar, and mix well.  Stick in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to thicken.  You can keep it in the fridge for about a month or in the freezer for a year.

Crawfish Stuffed Jalapenos

Leftover crawfish?  If you live in the south, it happens after nearly every boil, to the point that it’s almost part of the tradition—plunking down around the table with friends & family to peel all the little critters you couldn’t finish off.  There are plenty of options for what to do with leftover crawfish (like the Crawmlette or Crawchos), but what if you only have a little bit of meat to work with?  Here’s an option for you: mix with a little cheese, stuff inside of a jalapeno, and then wrap it in bacon.

Last week The Hubs & I took an extended Memorial Week trip down to Houston to visit his sister & her family.  As part of the trip, my nephew K asked if I would make crawfish for him, since he’d never tried one before.  Always happy to oblige a food request, I brought my 3-gallon pot & boil seasoning down with me. 

Since only K was really interested in trying the crawfish (my other nephew & nieces were iffy about the idea, and my sis-in-law doesn’t eat seafood), I decided to do a traditional shrimp/sausage boil, and then just pick up a few pounds of already cooked crawfish from the most popular local crawfish place (The Crawfish Shack in Crosby, TX…good stuff).

Our Feast!  Gulf shrimp, crawfish, pecan-smoked andouille, red potatoes & sweet corn. 

While we did as much damage as possible, at the end of the meal about a third of the crawfish were still left.  So I peeled the rest & brought the meat home with us.  There was only about a half cup of leftovers, so not enough to make much of an etoufee or bisque (or even Crawchos, really).  Thought about making some quesadillas, but then Primeaux suggested stuffed jalapenos.  Since we were grilling anyway, jalapenos won out.

 

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup crawfish tails/claw meat, chopped

1.5 tablespoons low fat cream cheese (try it with Creole cream cheese if you can find it!)

1/2 tsp boil seasoning or Cajun seasoning

1 green onion, diced

4 large or 8 small jalapenos, with caps removed and seeds scraped out

4 slices reduced sodium bacon

 

DIRECTIONS:

Mix the crawfish, cream cheese, seasoning & green onion in a small bowl until well combined.

Place in a sandwich bag (we reused the bag we brought the crawfish home in) and snip off a half-inch hole in one corner to create a piping bag.  Then pipe the crawfish mixture into the jalapenos. 

Use the end of the bacon strip to cover the open end, then wrap around the jalapeno & secure with a toothpick. (If you use small jalapenos you may be able to wrap them with only half a strip of bacon.)  Grill on the top rack for about 5 minutes on each side (or until the bacon is crispy), or in your oven on an aluminum covered cookie sheet at 400F.

Since we only made 4 stuffed jalapenos, we had some of the crawfish stuffing mix left over… stay tuned to see what we make with it!!!

Bacon & Boudin Wrapped Jalapeno Popper

This is the brain-child of myself & my coworker J.  When J started at our office, it was a few weeks before we realized we shared something in common—LOUISIANA.  His wife’s family was from Abbeville (just south of where I lived in Lafayette, if you’re not familiar with the area). What a coinky-dink!  We quickly became friends as we reminisced over our favorite Louisiana restaurants & watering holes.

We also periodically drift into discussions of our favorite make-at-home Southern favorites, which includes jalapeno poppers.  Which we of course had to take to the next level.  Boudin-filled jalapenos?  No… WRAP the popper in boudin, and THEN wrap it in bacon!

The other day, J stopped at my cubicle, absolutely giddy, and said, “I have something for you.”

Yup.  Authentic Louisiana boudin from Richard’s (pronounced “Ree-shards, for non-locals).  J definitely won Friend of the Week.

So of course, I had to take it home, and test out our idea.

Our delicious, delicious, overkill of an idea.

INGREDIENTS: (makes two servings)

1 link smoked boudin, split in two

2 large jalapenos, deseeded & caps removed

2 tbsp fat free cream cheese

4 slices low-sodium bacon

 

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat the oven to 400F.

Lightly char the outsides of the jalapenos over a burner (this way the jalapenos aren’t too crunchy in the end product). Place the cream cheese into a baggie, then clip off a corner & pipe the cream cheese into the pepper.

Slice the boudin long-wise and press gently so that there’s a pocket inside.  Leave the casing on to help hold it together.

Face the open end of the jalapeno toward the closed end of the boudin link—it’ll help keep the cream cheese from leaking out.

Close the boudin around the jalapeno as much as possible, and then use the bacon to bind it together.  It’ll take two slices per roll.

Bake on a foil-lined parchment for 20-25 minutes (or a grill for the same amount of time), or until the bacon is crisp & browned.  Let cool for about 5-10 minutes, then dig in!

This ended up being a celebratory meal, as I came home & found out that I PASSED MY ASBOG EXAM—so I get to apply for my license to be a Registered Geologist!!!!

 

NUTRIFACTS:

Calories: 410

Fat: 19.5 g

Fiber: 0.8g

Carbs: 30g

Sodium: 890 mg

Protein: 23.6g

Southwest Cauliflower Pasta Bake

 

Here’s a fun one—we bought a head of cauliflower a while back…for pretty well no reason aside from the fact that it was 29 cents.  Usually, I pretty well only use cauliflower in its raw form as a salad topping, but cauliflower is actually a really great option as a “filler” in casseroles & baked dishes.  It’s really low in calories, and doesn’t have a strong flavor of its own, and once you boil it, it breaks down really easily so you can sneak it into dishes.

…especially cheesy dishes. I mean, surely I’m not alone here: I can remember my grandma trying to get me to eat plain steamed cauliflower, and I fought it like she was trying to poison me.  But then, ol’ Nana dumped cheese sauce all over it.

(Clever Nana…DANGIT, yes, now I DO want it.)

As an adult, I know the benefits of these tiny albino trees.  Despite their lack of color, they’re a great source of antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, fiber, and B vitamins.  Not to mention there’s only 30 calories in a whole cup.

I started with this recipe from Jamie Oliver, and then modified it to give the dish a Southwest feel.

INGREDIENTS:

1 head of cauliflower

1 lb. whole wheat pasta, uncooked

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1/2 cup jalapenos, diced

8 oz. 2% or low fat Sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

4 oz. 2% or low fat Pepper jack, shredded

1 cup nonfat sour cream

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 tsp Sea salt

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp Pampered Chef chipotle seasoning

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tbsp cumin

additional seasoning to taste

1 cup sweet corn kernels

1 cup black beans, rinsed

TOPPING:

1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/4 cup wheat bran flakes

1 pat butter, melted

 

Directions:

Separate the cauliflower into 1-inch florets and wash well. 

Then boil with the pasta according to the directions on the pasta package (usually 7-10 minutes, depending on your preferred done-ness).

While the pasta is cooking, dice your onions & jalapenos. 

Now, if you read the original recipe, it calls for you to use the pasta/cauliflower pot as a double boiler, and melt the cheese in a bowl placed on top of the pasta pot, while the pasta is cooking.  I found this to be a challenge, because the pasta & cauliflower together require a really big pot, which means you need an equally large bowl to sit on top of the pot.  I didn’t have one, so I ended up having to use a bowl with handles so the handles would rest on the edge of the pot, as shown here:

This results in the bowl actually being in contact with the water, and the pasta, and consequently it got hot really fast & cooked the cheese a little too quickly in my opinion.  It would have been really easy to overshoot & have things start separating out.  Also, having a bowl of hot cheese on top of your pasta makes it kind of hard to focus both on your cheese melting and then, occasionally lifting up the bowl to check on your pasta.

So if you don’t have the proper pots & bowls to make this work, do yourself a favor & just start a separate, smaller pot of water to boil & use that as your double-boiler for melting the cheese.

Anyway… once the cheese is good & melty, and the pasta/cauliflower is done, drain the pasta/cauliflower in a colander, and then return to the pot.  Add the onions, jalapenos, corn, black beans, and finally the cheese sauce.  Add the first round of seasonings, and then season to taste.

Once everything’s tasting good, you can either serve it like this:

Or you can transfer the contents of the pot into a 9x13 baking dish, and then top with the bread crumb topping as noted above. (The wheat bran is optional—I just like to add it along with bread crumbs for the additional fiber & nutritional benefits.)  Then heat under the broiler in the oven until the crust is golden.

(Cauliflower?  What cauliflower?  There’s no cauliflower in here, kids!  Just cheesy pasta!  You love cheesy pasta!)

 

NutriFacts: (makes 12 servings)

Calories 227.4

  Total Fat 4.2 g

  Saturated Fat 2.5 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 1.0 g

  Cholesterol 12.3 mg

  Sodium 120.9 mg

  Potassium 281.5 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 38.2 g

  Dietary Fiber 6.3 g

  Sugars 0.5 g

  Protein 11.0 g

Shared on 33 Shades of Green's Tasty Tuesday

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers!

I took advantage of the unseasonably warm temps yesterday & decided to educate myself on something new.

…I learned to use our grill.

Perhaps it’s sad to be a 31-year old woman standing on her deck, having her husband show her how the grill works (and we have a super-easy button-start gas grill, which makes it all the more lame), but when I was growing up, my dad was the grill master.  Whether we were at home with the big propane grill or camping with the little flying saucer grill (what my husband refers to as a “Ball-B-Que”:

 

…It was my dad holding the lighter fluid & tongs.  But I decided it was high time to break the gender stereotype I’d built in my head, so there I was, on my porch, with my husband saying, “Okay…turn the propane tank on…now turn that dial…and push the button.”  And our grill came alive, and I felt somehow empowered.

 

Now, if you happen to NOT be somewhere where it’s convenient to use a grill in January, or if you don’t have a grill, you can ABSOLUTELY make these in the oven and they will still be delicious.  But I happen to love the charred, smoky flavor that comes from grilled foods (mmmm…free radicals), so that’s what I did.

Ingredients:

8 fresh jalapenos

4 slices of lean or low-sodium bacon (you can try it with turkey bacon; I haven’t, so I can’t offer an opinion on that method)

CHOOSE YOUR OWN cheese ADVENTURE!

Here’s where it gets fun.  I made mine two different ways.  You can choose one or the other, or do half & half.  This list assumes you’re doing one or the other:

FILLING OPTION A:

4 oz fat free cream cheese or Neufchatel

2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped

1/2 tbsp cajun seasoning

(mix all these items together & stir until well combined)

FILLING OPTION B:

4 oz garlic & basil goat cheese

(this is obviously the less labor-intensive one, since it’s already mixed.  Both are delicious.)

 

Directions:

Slice the top off the jalapenos (save the tops) & use a small paring knife and/or corer to get the pith & seeds out of the jalapenos:

 

Then, place your filling of choice into a ziploc bag & cut a small hole in one of the bottom corners.

 

Squeeze the ziploc like a piping bag to fill the jalapenos.  A smaller hole will allow you to better control the filling.  Make sure you get it all the way to the bottom.

 

Next: cut your bacon slices in half; you’ll need one half-slice per jalapeno.  Wrap the bacon in a spiral around the jalapeno & fasten with a toothpick. Put the jalapeno top back onto the popper—wedge it into the top if you can to help it stay on while in the grill:

 

Once your grill is hot (medium-high heat), place the poppers directly on the grill (top rack) & close up shop.  Let cook for about 5 minutes, then flip, and grill for another 5 minutes.  Once the bacon looks nice & crispy, you’re done.

(NOTE: if you don’t have a grill, cook these on an aluminum covered cookie sheet in the oven on 400F for the same amount of time, remembering to flip once halfway through.)

 

Fend off hungry stares from your dog, who is just as addicted to the smell of the grill as you are:

(“Mom?  Please? Please? Furreals, just one bite?”)

 

Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.  Then devour.

(Remember to remove toothpick BEFORE you nom.)

Makes 8 poppers (2 poppers in a serving).

Nutrifacts (Cliffnotes version, since I’m feeling lazy):

If you use goat cheese, there’s about 100 calories in each popper; if you use the fat free cream cheese, it’s 51 calories per popper.

 

These are super simple & great for a party.  They’re not terribly spicy since the seeds have been removed & the cream cheese neutralizes the capcasin in the pepper, but you still get that nice jalapeno flavor, plus bacon and the cheese…YUM.

Cranberry Jalapeno Dip–Perfect for Holidays!

Happy Boxing Day, or, as we usually call it, Recovery & Cleanup Day.  I have spent about 90% of my time today on the couch.  It. Feels. Fantastic. :D

But for the past two days, we hosted Christmas festivities for our family here at the FeauxHouse.  Lots of preparations and cleaning and cooking---ohh the cooking.  Ham, my mom’s chicken & noodles, spiced walnuts & almonds:

…relish trays (that got lost in the back of the fridge, so I’ve been snacking on them today), and a few good helpers to make the rest of the dinner go smoothly:

(for the record, because of an unfortunate incident I’ll refer to as the “FeauxPantry Potato Famine of 2011”, we had to do half instant, half freshly boiled potatoes for our mashed potatoes, but they turned out delicious, as always, because we are Professional Kitchen Improv-ers here.)

 

And to mix things up a bit, of course a new recipe was in order!  I was supposed to make pepper poppers for a work potluck earlier in the week, but had to miss the potluck due to a family funeral.  So I still had all the makings on hand.  I stumbled across this recipe and HAD to try it.

(LOOK at these colors!  Does this not scream “Merry Christmas”???)

 

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh cranberries

3 green onions, chopped (or a tablespoon of dried chives)

1/8 cup fresh chopped cilantro

1 small jalapeno, seeded & finely chopped

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp cumin

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/8 tsp salt

1 – 8oz package of low-fat Neufchatel (essentially light cream cheese)

crackers for serving

 

Directions:

Using a food processor, chop the cranberries.

(You could feasibly do this by hand, but the processor makes this recipe a snap.  I was done in less than 10 minutes.)

 

Add the green onions, cilantro, jalapeno, sugar, cumin, lemon juice and salt and pulse until the ingredients are well combined and very finely chopped. Then wrap your processor bowl in saran wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours (or overnight) so the flavors can develop and the cranberries lose just a bit of their tartness.  (This also gives the jalapeno a chance to mellow out as well.)

(I can’t get over how gorgeous this is.  I LOVE those colors!)

Now, a quick note: If you are going to be serving this to people who aren’t keen on spicy foods, no worries—by the time everything had had a chance to rest and we served it, there was hardly any heat left from the jalapenoes, just a nice hint of flavor.  However, if you’re serving this for friends who don’t mind some spice in their food, don’t hesitate to double the amount of jalapeno.  The cream cheese will balance out the capsaicin in the pepper.

 

About an hour before you’re ready to serve, whip your cream cheese so it gets smooth & a little fluffier.  Then spoon the cream cheese into a bowl (I used two bowls, because I’d be serving it for two different dinners) & then spoon the cranberry mixture on top.

We had 7 people eating the first night & pretty well finished it off, and 6 adults the second night & they ate about half.  So that should give you an idea on servings.

 

Anyway…you can serve as is, and leave that gorgeous red on top, or you can mix it up a bit so the guests are sure to get enough cream cheese with their cranberry.  (That’s what we did.)

 

Really loved this, and WILL make it again.  The flavor combination seemed unusual at first but it really worked well.  The sweet from the sugar, tart from the cranberry, a little heat from jalapeno, hint of smoke from the cumin, and of course the cilantro…then you add a buttery cracker and it’s just heaven.

So, happy holidays everyone!  Hope you get a little rest & relaxation in before the New Year!

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